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6th Grade

  • Chumash 6

    During the sixth grade the students learn Sefer Shmot (the Book of Exodus) from the crossing of the Red Sea up to and including the laws in Parashat Mishpatim. The students work on text skills, such as looking for the root word and identifying suffixes and prefixes and grammatical tense, in order to work towards independent translation skills. Teachers reinforce students' skills in reading Rashi commentary in its specialized font.

    Students convey their understanding of the text through class discussions, student presentations, illustrative stories, and moral lessons.

    Chumash is part of the Judaics Block Class. Navi (Prophets), Parsha (the weekly Torah portion), and Chagim (Jewish holiday laws, customs, and liturgy) are also taught in this class.

    The students use a standard Chumash with Rashi text. Teachers supply translation sheets and worksheets. Students who require remediation are often given permission to use an English translation text, by special permission of the Administration.

  • Creative Arts 6

    Grade 6 has Arts instruction two (2) periods each week. Our goal is to give students an overview of the arts, providing classes that build basic skills and pique interest in the topic. Students may choose either a trimester rotation of Visual Art, Creative Movement, and Theatre, or, if inclined, students may opt out of the trimester rotation and instead take a full year of Grade 6 Band.

  • Earth Science 6

    General Course Expectations
    • In the sixth grade Earth Science course, students are introduced to the basic concepts of Earth Science. The course of study includes skills, chemistry, geology, meteorology and the universe.
    • The Earth Science course allows students to experience "hands on" laboratory investigations, demonstrations with student interaction and cooperative learning strategies. Students document their laboratory results in a science notebook, on data sheets, and on their laptop computer.
    • In addition, students read and analyze articles from newspapers and periodicals relating to current event topics in Earth Science.

    Course Objectives
    • Students will be stimulated to seek answers to scientific questions.
    • Students will apply critical thinking techniques to problem solving skills.
    • Students will be encouraged to learn science, based upon their own unique learning style along with a creative, hands on teaching approach.
    • Students will learn to use laboratory equipment safely to solve scientific problems.
    • Students will develop the confidence to be able to apply science skills to everyday life.

  • English 6

    Humanities is an interdisciplinary course integrating English and World Cultures (Geography and Social Studies.) Students use multicultural literature to put into context the ideas from various cultures. Moreover, students in 6th grade deepen their understanding of literary elements as well as plot and novel structure. In addition, students learn mechanics of writing, vocabulary, parts of speech, and other grammar. All of the aforementioned skills are combined to allow students to improve their writing skills when writing about topics related to both World Cultures and literary analysis.

    The year includes two large scale research projects where students apply their knowledge learned through World Cultures. Students also read four assigned novels, as well as three independently chosen books throughout the year.


    Texts
    Selections from Prentice Hall Literature (Anthology) - Prentice Hall, 2007
    Writing and Grammar – Prentice Hall, 2007
    World Studies – Prentice Hall, 2005
    Nystrom World Atlas, Nystrom, 2005
    Vocabulary from Classical Roots – Educators Publishing Service, 2006

    Trade books that may be used:
    • Brian’s Winter – Gary Paulsen
    • Greek Myths - Olivia Coolidge
    • Extra Credit by Andrew Clements
    • The Endless Steppe - Esther Hautzig
    • Forced Journey: The Saga of Werner Berlinger - Rosemary Zibart

  • General Math 6

    General Math 6 is designed to expand the student’s familiarity with mathematics from the arithmetic concentration to a higher level of abstraction in a broader variety of topics. Students will continue to refine basic computational skills, including number facts and algorithms. They will also develop new problem-solving strategies to handle important mathematical situations in daily life and prepare for successive mathematics courses. Major topics include operations with whole numbers, using variables, the decimal system, geometric figures, number theory, fractions, percent, area and volume, statistics and probability.

  • Hebrew 6

    The 6th grade Hebrew classes use Yeladim Lomdim Ivrit by Irit Talmud, Volume 2 and 3.  At the beginning of the year the students are assessed to ensure correct placement into precise fluency levels. This aids us in helping each student make appropriate strides for his or her abilities.  By engaging the students in topics that are relevant to their lives, the teachers extract lessons on the four components of language - understanding through listening and reading, and communicating through writing and speaking.  The topics and skills in the 6th grade build on the course work in the 5th grade by expanding the student’s vocabulary and skill set.
     
    This course also exposes students to the culture and people of the modern State of Israel.  Through mastery of the language, activities, movies and music the children learn to appreciate the specialness of the Jewish homeland.

  • Hebrew Mechina 6

    The Mechina program, designed for transfer students without a prior Jewish day school background, launches their Hebrew language journey through exposure to the culture and people of the modern State of Israel. Through mastery of the language, activities, movies and music, the children learn to appreciate the specialness of the Jewish homeland.

  • Learning Lab

    Students in our Academic Support Program attend Learning Lab four periods per week. During this time, a Resource Teacher provides critical learning strategies in small groups while reinforcing science, social studies, and English content material. Because reading, writing, study, organizational, and time management skills are crucial for academic success in Middle School and beyond, the Academic Support Program provides extra assistance for students who require help developing these skills.

  • Navi 6

    This course covers the entire Sefer Shoftim (Book of Judges). Focus in Navi is primarily on the moral and ethical lessons that are embedded in the text. These stories cover the experiences of the Jewish People during their first 350 years in the Land of Israel, the rise and fall of their fortunes, and the leaders that helped shape that pre‑monarchy era. Great care is given to ensuring that our students comprehend the text. This is done in a variety of ways, from class discussions, student presentations, illustrative stories, and moral lessons.
     
    The students are familiarized with the text of each chapter, and the teacher shares relevant commentaries that are pertinent to a basic understanding of the text.

  • Pre-Algebra 6

    This course is designed for academically mature sixth graders. The comprehensive topic coverage prepares students for Algebra I in the Seventh Grade. In addition to reinforcing and expanding upon skills introduced in the primary grades, the class emphasizes reasoning skills, problem solving, number relationships, algebraic relationships, integer operations, solving and graphing equations and inequalities, basic geometry formulas, radicals, and elementary probability and statistics.

  • Social Studies 6

    Humanities is an interdisciplinary course integrating English and World Cultures (Geography and Social Studies.) Students use multicultural literature to put into context the ideas from various cultures. Moreover, students in 6th grade deepen their understanding of literary elements as well as plot and novel structure. In
    addition, students learn mechanics of writing, vocabulary, parts of speech, and other grammar. All of the aforementioned skills are combined to allow students to improve their writing skills when writing about topics related to both World Cultures and literary analysis.

    The year includes two large scale research projects where students apply their knowledge learned through World Cultures. Students also read four assigned novels, as well as three independently chosen books throughout the year.


    Texts
    Selections from Prentice Hall Literature (Anthology) - Prentice Hall, 2007
    Writing and Grammar – Prentice Hall, 2007
    World Studies – Prentice Hall, 2005
    Nystrom World Atlas, Nystrom, 2005
    Vocabulary from Classical Roots – Educators Publishing Service, 2006

    Trade books that may be used:
    • Brian’s Winter – Gary Paulsen
    • Extra Credit by Andrew Clements
    • The Endless Steppe - Esther Hautzig
    • Forced Journey: The Saga of Werner Berlinger - Rosemary Zibart

  • Tefila

    Prayer (tefila or davening) is an important part of the culture in the Middle School. In the 5th and 6th grade, boys and girls daven in the same room, and in the 7th and 8th grades, the students are separated by gender into different tefila groups.

    In 5th grade, the spirit in the room is lively and fun. The children enjoy singing prayers together and they love learning and sharing new tunes and insights into the prayer service. The group focuses on the daily prayer service and the weekday Amidah. The children enjoy this meaningful start to their day.

    In 6th grade, the focus of the prayer service is the accurate pronunciation of the prayers, understanding the meaning of the prayers, and the choreography of the service. The environment is comfortable and spirited as the children sing and participate each day. The children enjoy this meaningful start to their day.

    The 7th and 8th grade girls tefila group focuses on the meaning of prayer in the lives of the children and the importance of a relationship with the Creator through prayer. The girls are given the opportunity to lead the prayer service and to explain the meanings of the prayer. Each year, this group has a focus that is a little different based on the interests of the particular group of girls. This tefila group prepares the girls for any of the many options for prayer in our High School.

    The 7th and 8th grade boys tefila group is designed to train the boys to participate and lead a service in a synagogue or shiva home. Torah reading on Mondays and Thursdays allows our recent bar mitzvah boys the chance to practice their Torah reading skills. The group is led by student "gabbaim." This is an excellent opportunity for the boys to learn how to be a leader and how to take responsibility for community needs.

  • Writing Lab 6

    Writing Lab is an opportunity for students to express themselves creatively in a safe environment. Since students will be encouraged to take risks to improve their written expression, assignments are not graded. Students will practice each step of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing. In addition, coursework will reflect the traits of effective writing:

    • Ideas and Content
    • Voice
    • Organization
    • Word Choice
    • Sentence Fluency
    • Conventions
    • Presentation

Department Faculty

Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School

Roz & Marvin H. Weiner Family Campus
3300 Old Court Road | Baltimore, MD 21208
410-486-1905 | mail@bethtfiloh.com
Learning together. For life.
Baltimore’s only Jewish independent preparatory school serving PreSchool through Grade 12.
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