#10thingsilearnedinsixthgrade

Wow, I can’t believe our school year is almost over. I must say, out of the 23, ummm, maybe 24 years of teaching, this has been one of the best. My students and I have grown tremendously! After reading a blog on Twitter, by @Kara_Welty, I was inspired to ask my students to list the ten most important things they learned in sixth grade. We started out with individual lists. Then, I compiled the top choices from the class on a Google Form. Students then chose five from the master list. With Google’s amazing graphing capabilities, the top ten choices became evident. Once we had the list, I created another doc for students to share their thoughts and elaborate on the top ten list. Let’s take a look at what my Sunsational Sixth Graders thought was important this year.

#1 I learned how to use many online websites like Google Classroom, Kahoot, and CS-First.

• “These websites are a huge part of this year’s learning techniques. Google Classroom, which is currently used right now, is most definitely the most needed. Without it, we’d have to hand write all essays we typed, and that’s a huge help. Kahoot was able to make learning fun for us in many ways, through games we created for ourselves and the ones with educational content. CS-First coding was yet another way to help make learning a fun experience for all of us, and a huge part of our future.” - Nancy
• “By using these websites, we have learned many new ways on how to attack a problem to find its solution and have deepened our learning in a way that could not have been possible without these educational sites.” - Jorge

#2 I learned that everyone is unique and has unique characteristics/skills.

• “I learned that other people may be good at something that you're not good at but you might be good at something they’re not good at. Now you can help each other out.” - Demetrie
• "During this school year, many students discovered that they had many different talents. Also, they all showed us their unique personalities which was very interesting to learn about others." - Diana

#3 I learned that missing a day of school can hold you back from school work. Each day counts.

• “From past experience, missing a day of school could mean you missed over 100 things that day. You could even miss a really fun day with your friends at recess or a very important test. This is an important fact to learn in one’s life.” - Andrew
• "This is a good way to tell people that they shouldn’t miss school, because each day really does count and missing school can really hold you back from school work. It's hard to catch up when you miss out on a lot of stuff like homework, math, and language arts. I really liked coming to school this year." - Julissa

#4 I learned that it’s important to always be true to yourself. Never change for anyone or anything.

• “You should never change your personality to fit in or to make others happy. You should never think that you are not good enough for anything. You are beautiful, unique, and extraordinary in every way. Love yourself for all you are, and stop hating yourself.” - Deonne
• "You should be yourself, love yourself, and also be you." - Isela

#5 I learned how people can overcome adversity.

• “I agree with this because our whole theme for this year has been “Overcoming Adversity.” We have researched articles, videos, and quotes/pictures to see if they could connect to overcoming adversity. Since we are going to middle school, I think this topic will help us because we will be in new environments and we will have more challenges to face. Remember, everyone will face adversity in their lives, either now or later.” - Dhiren
• "We have been learning about overcoming adversity, this really helped me through the year because when I had a hard situations I would solve them. In our project about overcoming adversity, my group focused on being positive, determined, and having a growth mindset. This really helped me out this year." - Chiara

#6 I learned that determination is key to success.

• “I believe this is always true because now that we are going to a new school we must stay determined to all challenges we are going to face in all different classes and teachers.” - Natalia
• “I do agree with this one because determination can get you through almost everything because with determination you have the courage to keep going and never give up, even if you’re faced with something that seems impossible to get through.” - Gilbert

#7 I learned how to use the 4 Cs to solve puzzles with Breakout Edu.

• "I think that this was an essential part of our school year because using the 4Cs is very important since the skills we learned will help us in the future. We use all the 4Cs when solving a Breakout Edu. If we are ever tasked with a project in the future, we can implement the knowledge we have with solving Breakout Edus. This can make us achieve very much and is very beneficial." - Chanu
• "I think the four C’s were very helpful in Breakout Edu because communication and collaboration tied in because lots of people were working together and solved some locks together. Creativity and critical thinking tied in because the locks took a lot of twist and turns when solving." - Brennan                                                                                                                                                                                                                #8 I learned that once you get into a book it’s almost impossible to stop until you finish it.                                                                                                                      
• “People just love books so much that they feel like they’ve been sucked into it and now they have to find a way out.” - Johann
• “I can relate to this since after I pick up a book, I can never put it down. Sometimes when I get a book I have doubts about it, but once I’m on the second page my eyes are glued to the book.” - Susanna

#9 I learned about the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset.

• “It’s important to realize and understand the differences, as they are crucial and decide what type of person you are, or who you are, because if you don’t know the difference, you could fall into the fixed mindset and not even realize it. It’s always better to live with the growth mindset.” - Dante
• “I learned that when someone has a growth mindset they can overcome anything they want. A person that has a fixed mindset will not accomplish as much as other people.” - Derek

#10 I learned how to code in sixth grade.

• “This is true because coding is an important thing in our lives and without codes, music, online fashion shops, video games, online painting, and online educational sites would probably never exist.” - Grant
• " Coding enhances our skills in technology. Many jobs need coding. By learning to code, I think I'll be able to find a job in technology that I like." - Orlando

#Students
Oh, Class, I’m so proud of all of you! You have all worked so hard this year. From day one, I knew you were special. When Edgar announced he wanted to be a train engineer, and meant it, I knew we were in for a fabulous ride. I’ve watched you growth both academically and socially. Your mathematical thinking has improved exponentially, your tech skills have definitely leveled up, and your ability to be mindful of your choices has impressed me. When we started the year I told you that my job was to prepare you for junior high. Well, guess what? You’re ready. (You know I’m crying now, but give me a minute.) You have all the skills you need to navigate through the next phase of your lives. As you know, adversities will come, but with positivity, determination, and the support of your family and friends, you’ll make it. It is with confidence that I send you off. XOXOX . . .

#Parents
Thank you so much for sharing your precious children with me. They’re respectful, resilient, compassionate, funny, and hard working. This is a transition time for you as well. My husband and I have to constantly remind ourselves that our role as parents is to raise our children to go out into the world, to prepare them to be independent, to be proud of their accomplishments, to guide and instruct them when needed. They’re ready, Mom and Dad. Be proud of what you’ve raised. And I can’t wait to see them years from now and hug them and squeeze them as if they were still mine. Take care them!!! XOXOX . . .

With lots and lots of love,
Mrs.McAlister​

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