Mr. Ryan Carpenter
Mr. Carpenter was born in Oakland, California where he lived until he was seven. He then lived in Gig Harbor for the rest of his formative years where he attended Bellarmine Prep. He finished his undergrad at University of Washington, Tacoma with a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences. He then went back to school to receive his teaching certificate and also received his Master’s in Education. Mr. Carpenter enjoys hiking, golf (even though it’s been a struggle), reading, and all things Seahawks related. His parents still reside in Gig Harbor and has a sister who is currently working at Russel Investments in Seattle.
Mr. Carpenter also enjoys going outdoors with his two dogs pictured below. On the left is Dusty and on the right is Jack.
The biggest news in Mr. Carpenter’s life right now is that he is recently engaged and is looking forward to getting married during the summer of 2012.
Welcome Letter
Click here to download Mr. Carpenter’s welcome letter to parents.
6th Grade Textbook Websites
Subjects
Religion
6th graders use Following Christ by the Faith and Life series. This curriculum informs the students about the Old Testament and how it relates to our lives today. The unit topics are The Ten Commandments, The Holy Mass, and The Afterlife.
There is an emphasis on Scripture Study. 6th Graders focus on the Old Testament completing detailed studies about some of our favorite scripture stories.
In grades 6 through 8 students learn about Catholic Social Teaching and how the principles of Social Justice can be applied to what they learn in other classes and in their daily life.
Further the Seventh Grade participates in a bullying prevention program called Second Step along with other lessons that focus on Liturgical holidays.
Language Arts
Focus: In 6th grade the students learn that writing is a process. Whether it’s an informative paragraph, an opinion paper, or a silly Spring story the students learn the skills of pre-writing, drafting, final-edit, and publishing. These skills help students to continually improve their work and produce a stellar product!
Vocabulary – The Vocabulary Workshop program (Sadlier – Level A) helps students build their English vocabulary in preparation for higher quality speaking and writing, elementary school achievement testing, and SAT, ACT, and GRE testing. Each text presents 300+ key words in 15 units.
Reading – This anthology, Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes (Copper Level), is divided into ten units with universal themes so students can relate to their reading through familiar, relevant topics. The genres presented in this anthology include short story, poetry, essay, autobiography, folk tale, article, and report. The anthology includes a broad collection of award-winning literature that engages students and inspires them to write and to think. Many writing activities are inspired by the readings in this anthology. During the course of the year, students will engage in at least one novel study.
Reading Logs – All 6th-8th grade students will maintain a reading log for literature class throughout the year. Students are to complete an average of 15 hours per month. With the time allowed in class students should read 15-20 minutes per day. Guidelines are provided. The reading log is 20% of the literature grade
Accelerated Reader (AR) Quizzes are 20% of the literature grade. The AR quiz requirement is 4 quizzes for an A and 3 for a B for each grading period. Every week, students have at least one entire literature period to read AR books in class and take AR tests. Each week, students have the opportunity to go to the school library to check out new books or take tests in the library.
English – Students are taught language skills through a balanced approach to grammar and writing. Students learn through a process that combines language skills with immediate application to writing. Writing skills and process are also cultivated though Step Up to Writing, a program that focuses on various writing styles and the necessary steps to writing effectively. In general, students will write an essay every two weeks.
General Science
The sixth grade text is a general science course where the students will be exposed to three different disciplines of science in their studies this year: Life Science, Earth Science and Physical Science. The year begins in Life Science with the focus on classification followed by cells, reproduction (some basic genetics), body systems, plants, biomes and ecosystems. We will then move into Earth Science where we will look at plate tectonics, rocks and minerals, changing landforms, earth’s resources, climate and weather. Physical Science will wrap up our year with studies in matter, forces and motion, machines and, if there’s time, some astronomy.
Camp Hamilton – Each spring, the sixth graders attend Environmental Education camp at Camp Hamilton. For more information, click here.
Math
The sixth grade math program is designed to bring the student from the elementary mathematics that they had been studying, and prepare them for the Algebra and other higher mathematics that they will eventually study. The course begins with reminders of the math that they had studied up until this year and then moves into fractions and decimals, measurement/data and graphing, integers, geometry, ratios and percents and Algebra.
Social Studies
In 6th grade, students continue with the Houghton Mifflin Social Studies Series that was adopted in grades 1-6. The focus in 6th grade is World Cultures & Geography. 6th grade social studies feels like a whirlwind world tour. We start the year with a study of Geography then Western Hemisphere nations. We study a little history and geography from each continent. The emphasis in World Cultures and Geography from Houghton Mifflin is learning about cultures. The teacher puts a special emphasis on map knowledge.
The 6th Grade Culture Fair Project is a study of a specific country.
