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Sixth Grade Curriculum Summary
ENGLISH:
In sixth grade English, students examine the theme of patterns. Students learn to identify the patterns of basic plot elements in a variety of genres including myths, legends, folktales, poetry, drama, short stories and novels. They also learn to recognize and understand literary devices used to enhance each selection. In conjunction with the Social Studies curriculum, students examine the influences of culture, religion, government, and economy in literature and in the real world. Literary selections include: Greek and Roman myths and legends; tales from the Middle Ages; The Odyssey, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Red Pony; The Second Mrs. Giaconda; The Wave; and The Loser.
Vocabulary development involves a daily SAT word as well as words selected from reading assignments. A detailed study of the grammatical patterns in speech and in writing helps students better understand the structure and power of the English language.
Writing skills and the writing process are a central focus throughout Middle School. Sixth graders review descriptive writing and work to develop clarification and point of view writing. They work on opening and closing paragraphs, detailed reasoning and using multiple transitions. Students develop listening and speaking skills by participating in daily class discussions and oral presentations.
SOCIAL STUDIES:
In sixth grade Social Studies, students explore Western Civilization starting with the Greeks and Romans, working their way through major periods in European history including the Medieval period, the Renaissance, and the Industrial Revolution. Students examine such questions as: What makes a civilization great? Are there patterns in the rise and fall of societies? In seeking answers to these sorts of questions, students research and write, act and debate, make masks, design buildings and cook meals. They might put Socrates on trial, attempt to sink the Spanish Armada, and decide whether to join in World War I. This sort of inquiry not only captures students' imaginations and sparks their creativity; it also helps them see connections between the events of the past and their place in the world of today.
An additional unit deals with social issues and examines questions such as: How do we judge people? What is popularity? How do we include others who are different or new? These tend to be timely questions for sixth graders as every generation of students wrestles with such issues.
Students use a computer-based CD version of the Prentice Hall texts, World Studies: The Ancient World and World Studies: Medieval Times to Today. The CD texts include additional resources and work well with our required laptop program. Some students also purchase the hardbound edition.
MATHEMATICS:
Sixth grade math uses a textbook from Prentice Hall (Mathematics Course 2) to address the following topics: decimals and integers; equations and inequalities; exponents, factors and fractions; operations with fractions; ratios, rates and proportions; percents; an introduction to geometry; algebraic patterns and rules; graphing and the coordinate plane; displaying and analyzing data; probability. Some of these topics are extensions of concepts learned in Lower School (through the Every Day Math program) while others are introduced and will be revisited in subsequent years. Within the context of these topics, students practice basic math skills and facts. Although students review some of the basics, they are expected to be facile in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. While the use of technology is integrated in Middle School math, the focus is on continued development of conceptual understanding and effective application of math skills and facts. Teachers may allow students to use calculators at times but not always.
SCIENCE:
The Middle School science curriculum is based on the FAST program developed by the University of Hawaii (Foundational Approaches to Science Teaching). The constructivist philosophy of this program requires students to engage in experiential, hands-on learning. Investigations are carefully sequenced and connected to previous experience both in- and outside school to help students build their knowledge. FAST investigations are conducted in small groups that share data, ideas, and experiences. Group members interact in planning and executing investigations, discussing and validating hypotheses, and summarizing and drawing conclusions. They must identify the kind of problem, formulate hypotheses, conduct experiments, and report their findings for critical review by their peers. Class discussion following each investigation identifies and clarifies common conclusions. Through this process, students develop scientific researching skills, becoming producers rather than receivers of information.
In Sixth Grade the sequence of laboratory investigations centers on the local environment. Students examine basic biological and geological interrelationships in natural systems. In physical science sequences they begin to experience the concepts of matter that explain aspects of our physical environment. Topics covered include the properties of matter, principles of motion, concepts related to botany and the lithosphere, and a detailed study of the solar system with an emphasis on Mars.
Examples objectives in 6th grade science:
- To develop an operational definition of matter
- To formulate a universal explanation for buoyancy concepts
- To identify plants using a dichotomous key
- To develop an understanding about how plants grow
- To identify the properties of soil
- To develop methods of analyzing soils
- To identify rocks and minerals that make the soil
- To investigate the weathering process by which rocks become soil
- To interpret scientific theories concerning the components, patterns, and cycles of the solar system
- To compare and contrast Earth to other planets
- To understand the new technologies that aid in the study of Earth and the other planets
- To apply Newton's Laws of Motion to the way a rocket works
SPANISH:
In Sixth Grade, Spanish becomes one of five core academic courses. Many of our students have a healthy background in Spanish thanks to the Lower School program. For those who do not, Sixth Grade Spanish gets off to a quick start, jumping right into the first half of a high-school level Spanish I course. Most students use an online version of Holt Rinehart's text, Ven Conmigo I, that includes additional resources and listening exercises in every chapter. While students practice listening, speaking, reading and writing, the emphasis is on developing an introductory level of communication skills. Topics covered include: saying hello and goodbye; introducing people and responding; asking how someone is; asking and saying how old someone is; asking and saying where someone is from; forming questions with question words; talking about likes and dislikes; talking about wants and needs; describing contents of a room; talking about classes; telling time; sequencing events; talking about being late or in a hurry; describing people and things; explaining why you like something; talking about what you like to do; discussing what you do in free time; telling where people and things are; talking about where you go; discussing how often you do things; talking about what you do with friends; talking about a typical week; giving the date; talking about the weather; describing people; describing family; discussing things a family does together; discussing problems and giving advice.
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