Sears, Michelle

Welcome sixth graders! My name is Michelle Sears and I am excited to be your Humanities and Advanced ELA teacher! Sixth grade is a fun and exciting year with lots of learning and exploring. This is my eighth year at Norterra Canyon and my sixth year teaching sixth grade. I taught fifth grade here at NC for three years and I also taught first grade at Terramar and Sunset Ridge. I bring lots of fun and creative learning experiences to the classroom.

   I graduated with honors at NAU, with a concentration in Social Studies. I also grew up in the Deer Valley district after moving to Arizona in 1989, fifth grade through high school. I have been married since 2003. We have one daughter, Madison, who will be starting her second year of college, studying medical sciences. She graduated from Boulder Creek HS in 2023. She was in the gifted program at her K-8 Sunset Ridge school and had been enrolled in Honors classes when she was in high school. So, as a parent, I understand the gifted mind.

   As a family, we enjoy traveling, kayaking, camping, fishing, hiking, football, motocross, swimming or simply watching our favorite television shows. 

I look forward to our year together!

The Pirate Way & PBIS Rewards

Please help us to encourage your child to follow our school-wide behavior expectations: 

Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe, and Be Kind 

The matrix below is posted across campus, and it is the responsibility of all students to follow each location-specific expectation.   During the first two weeks of school, students will be taught the expectations at each location.

Students demonstrating these positive behaviors, both in and out of their classrooms, will enjoy earning points using our PBIS Rewards program. Points can be spent on tangible items and social incentives in our NC School Store.

Discipline Process: Minor & Major 

To ensure our school is safe, positive, and productive for all learners, a process is in place to address behaviors that do not meet the expectations above. The information below will be shared with students. Please help us implement our schoolwide discipline processes by talking to your child about minor and major behaviors. If you have any questions, contact your child’s teacher.

• Unit 1: Fears and Phobias & Narrative Writing
  •  Through the Tunnel
  •  The Mountain
  •  The Mysteres of Cabala
• Unit 2: Science & Technical/Informative Writing
  •  Gaston
  • The Veldt
  • Rattlesnakes
  • Novel Study: The Giver
• Unit 3: Making Your Voice Heard & Argumentative Writing
  • The Witch Who Came for the Weekend
  • Throwing Snowballs
• Unit 4: Mythology
  • Novel Study: Dragonwings
  • Novel Study: Percy Jackson's Lightning Thief
• Unit 5: Moral & Civil Rights
  • Raymond's Run
  • As the Night  the Day
  • Parsley Garden

6th Grade Supply List 2024-2025

To keep with individual student:

• 2 1-Subject Spiral Notebooks (pockets are a plus) for ELA and History

• 4 marble composition notebooks for math and science  (one for each semester)

• 1 1” binder for math class

• Notebook paper 

• Pencils, erasers, and lead

• Pack of Colored Pencils

• Pack of markers

• Scissors

• Glue sticks

• Highlighters 

• Inexpensive pencil box or bag that students will keep in their backpacks 

• Earbuds/Headset (for testing and watching videos related to class)

 For the homeroom teacher:

• Tissues

• Multi color pack of Dry Erase Markers

• Clorox/Lysol Wipes