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Does this seem too much to you? 6th grade dd


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Dd returned to ps this year for middle school and she was just given three weeks to write a 1200 word report on a country. She must use 4 sources and use 2 quotes from each. She must also have a block quotation (she doesn't even know what that is) and have a title page,bibliography, at least one picture, and a table or graph. It must all be done in MLA format. This is for technology class.:001_huh:

 

She's in advanced classes and makes all A's and she has not written more than a one page essay so far ~ including in her advanced language arts class. We do afterschool and she's in R&S 6 so she is still working on researching, taking notes, outlining, and writing good paragraphs. She's done two page reports for me but I haven't yet required quotes (she's thrown some in) or any certain formatting.

 

I know she could do the research and write it but she's going to need help with quotes and a lot of help with MLA format.

 

I keep wondering if they haven't made them write this year but all these kids already know this. Did I screw up and not require enough?

 

It just really seems like a lot all of a sudden when they've done so little writing and there's really no instruction or guidance in class because its technology not language arts. Arrgh! I think this turned more into a vent and if you've read it all, thanks!

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So that’s going to be about a 3 or 4 page paper? That does seem a bit long for sixth grade, but not unheard of. I think a block quotation is when you have a quote in a different font that is set apart from the rest of the text. It looks really cool.

I think the best thing you can do as your daughter's parent is make sure that she knows that you know/think/believe that she is smart enough and capable enough to do a big project like that. So instead of letting her pick up on your apprehension that maybe the teacher has assigned something too large, make sure she knows that you empathize with her that it's a big project, but that you are 100% confident that she is up to the challenge.

(Full disclaimer... I'm reading Parenting Teens with Love and Logic right now.) :)

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So that’s going to be about a 3 or 4 page paper? That does seem a bit long for sixth grade, but not unheard of. I think a block quotation is when you have a quote in a different font that is set apart from the rest of the text. It looks really cool.

I think the best thing you can do as your daughter's parent is make sure that she knows that you know/think/believe that she is smart enough and capable enough to do a big project like that. So instead of letting her pick up on your apprehension that maybe the teacher has assigned something too large, make sure she knows that you empathize with her that it's a big project, but that you are 100% confident that she is up to the challenge.

(Full disclaimer... I'm reading Parenting Teens with Love and Logic right now.) :)

That. Or you could take it up with the teacher. Personally, I find the assignment absolutely unreasonable, especially given the circumstances you described.

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1200 words with 12 point font and doubled spaced is 4 1/2 to 5 pages, which is challenging for a sixth grader, but a research paper of that length is assigned at some schools. The block quotation will help because you can find a 300 words to quote and use two block quotes so the paper really becomes 900 words. My nephew who is at a public school had to write a 5 page report on Egypt this fall with a bibilography and in MLA style. The only thing that the teacher really cared about was that the bibliography was formated in MLA style. She wasn't expecting much more. Perhaps, you are thinking they expect a college paper, but really in public schools quantity is more important than quality. It would make more sense to learn how to write one page well. Additionally, the teacher is not really going to go over each essay in detail because if it is at a public school there are too many kids in the class.

 

My nephew's teacher really didn't give the students much help in class so my nephew didn't know where to start. My SIL began to panic so she sent him over to us for the weekend so we could help him. If you break it down into steps it will be easy. Pick four topics to concentrate on (physical geography, major cities, etc.) Each topic gets a page. Write out facts about each topic on an index card as you go through your four sources and write the books initials on each card so you know where the fact or quote came from. Put the cards an order that makes sense. If something is missing ask a question and have your child find it. Every two or three days, write one page about the topic. The teacher should have instructed the students on how to do this or something similar or perhaps might be leaving class time to do this.

I kept asking my nephew if he was sure they didn't give him more instructions but he assured me that they didn't, so luckily I was able to help him if not I am not sure what he would have done.

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1200 words with 12 point font and doubled spaced is 4 1/2 to 5 pages, which is challenging for a sixth grader, but a research paper of that length is assigned at some schools. The block quotation will help because you can find a 300 words to quote and use two block quotes so the paper really becomes 900 words. My nephew who is at a public school had to write a 5 page report on Egypt this fall with a bibilography and in MLA style. The only thing that the teacher really cared about was that the bibliography was formated in MLA style. She wasn't expecting much more. Perhaps, you are thinking they expect a college paper, but really in public schools quantity is more important than quality. It would make more sense to learn how to write one page well. Additionally, the teacher is not really going to go over each essay in detail because if it is at a public school there are too many kids in the class.

 

My nephew's teacher really didn't give the students much help in class so my nephew didn't know where to start. My SIL began to panic so she sent him over to us for the weekend so we could help him. If you break it down into steps it will be easy. Pick four topics to concentrate on (physical geography, major cities, etc.) Each topic gets a page. Write out facts about each topic on an index card as you go through your four sources and write the books initials on each card so you know where the fact or quote came from. Put the cards an order that makes sense. If something is missing ask a question and have your child find it. Every two or three days, write one page about the topic. The teacher should have instructed the students on how to do this or something similar or perhaps might be leaving class time to do this.

I kept asking my nephew if he was sure they didn't give him more instructions but he assured me that they didn't, so luckily I was able to help him if not I am not sure what he would have done.

:iagree: entirely, esp. the "ps wants quantity of quality" part. It's ok to pad it and use fluff. That's what the ps teachers expect, in my experience.

I still think you should talk to the teacher, though.

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Thanks for the replies. She doesn't feel overwhelmed. We just both think it's a bit ridiculous considering in her actual language arts class they have done very little writing. I was just surprised when she brought home the assigment sheet and started wondering if I was off base for thinking the assigment was a bit much.

 

She has said they were told they could do online research during class but I doubt there will be any instruction or guidance regarding actual writing since it is a technology class.

 

I've told her I will give her a timeline of when things should be done and that when it's time for formatting I will go through the steps with her. She's worried I'm not supposed to be helping so much and I told her I highly doubt the other students can do it all on their own.

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Is it possible that it's an interdisiplinary assignment and the two teachers are coordinating on it? I remember having assignments like that (typed, no computer required) in 6th/7th grade but the work counted for more than one class. Now that I think about it though, we also had more time because quality did count.:glare:

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It could have something to do with the state standards, and teacher is trying to incorporate as many as possible into one assignment.

 

Although it does seem overwhelming, it sounds like your dd has more than enough background and support to get it done. You could make this the focus of afterschooling for the next few weeks.

 

For info on block quotes, etc., I strongly suggest the Purdue OWL site. It has just about everything you need.

 

Good Luck!

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I don't really think it seems too much for 6th grade. I didn't have a technology class, but we were required to write 3-8 page papers in middle school from 5th grade on, each year the length increasing. And we used MLA through my public school career until college when i started learning APA and Chicago because of my major. I never had to add pictures or charts, but again, i never took a technology class. I'm sure it'll be okay and it'll be good practice for her. just break it down into chunks. I'm sure that they aren't expecting a perfectly written paper. At that age, it's mostly just about getting experience in dealing with the style and taking notes from sources and stuff. Good luck!

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:iagree: entirely, esp. the "ps wants quantity of quality" part. It's ok to pad it and use fluff. That's what the ps teachers expect, in my experience.

I still think you should talk to the teacher, though.

 

Sorry, I don't want to start a flame war, but I can't agree. I could never instruct my child to pad and use fluff on purpose, even if that's what they expect.

 

I like another poster's idea about choosing four topics and writing a page per day. That could work.

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:iagree: entirely, esp. the "ps wants quantity of quality" part. It's ok to pad it and use fluff. That's what the ps teachers expect, in my experience.

I still think you should talk to the teacher, though.

 

 

I know schools are different and I understand that writing instruction doesn't always produce the desired results in PS, but I have a hard time imagining any good teacher (and we have many of them) expects fluff. Actually they want quantity AND quality.

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Have you seen any technology vetting papers come home, or does she remember recently being taught how to source high-quality authority sites?

 

I'm wondering now if this isn't an exercise in separating academic sources partially....does she have access via the school library or the public library to paid databases and knows how to navigate thru them? Is she restricted in her sources or any guidelines given?

 

Do you have access to the actual assignment paper?

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Have you seen any technology vetting papers come home, or does she remember recently being taught how to source high-quality authority sites?

 

I'm wondering now if this isn't an exercise in separating academic sources partially....does she have access via the school library or the public library to paid databases and knows how to navigate thru them? Is she restricted in her sources or any guidelines given?

 

Do you have access to the actual assignment paper?

 

I've seen the assigment paper. The teacher only gives them one website they must use but gives no instruction on other sites (other than no wikipedia). She has been asking me specific questions and I have been giving her lists of safe websites and trying to show her ways to find them on her own so she can look up the information.

 

The grading rubric shows there is a heavy emphasis on grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Second on the list was organization. Third was using correct number of quotes per source. Last are her tables, pictures, and technology specific information.

 

She's excited about the assignment but I still wish they were doing this with more instruction and organization in class.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Dd finished a few days early and turned her assignment in. She worked very hard, actually had a lot of fun, and was given zero writing instruction in class. I just checked her grades online and she received an A. :D

 

She learned a lot about researching and note taking. She also learned a great deal from editing her own first draft. I usually do that part for her but this time I had her do it. It was a good experience ~ and she didn't fill it with fluff!

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