COURSE
DESCRIPTION for GRADE 6
English
6 Course
# ENG06
In Sixth Grade Language Arts, students engage in skill
lessons that focus on writing conventions and vocabulary
building. They are responsible for obtaining copies
of Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, The Giver
by Lois Lowry, and From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs.
Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsbury. All three
books are Newberry Award Books. Students are required
to read these books and use the writing process to
write several papers including a research paper. Students
also develop and present a variety of speeches. Emphasis
is placed on recognizing and using literary elements
and techniques.
Math
6 Course
# MATH06
Sixth graders analyze the steps in standard and non-standard
algorithms for computing with fractions and decimals.
Students use a variety of strategies, including proportional
reasoning, to estimate, compute, solve and explain
solutions to problem solving. They work with two-dimensional
shapes and explain what happens when the measurements
of a shape are changed. They predict and describe
results of transformations of two-dimensional figures
and draw similar figures that model proportional relationships.
They address algebraic expressions, linear equations
and use technology to analyze change. They predict,
using data in tables, graphs and experiments to test
probability.
Social
Studies 6 Course
# SS06
The sixth-grade year focuses on the study of world
regions. The concentration is geographic rather than
historic. Students study some of the earliest people
who lived in each region in order to understand how
humans interacted with the environmental conditions
at that time. Connections are made to present-day
world regions including characteristics of governments
and economic interactions.
Science
6 Course
# SCI06
Students in grade six continue to conduct investigations
and begin to apply mathematical skills in evaluating
and analyzing variables of data. They identify basic
skills of the scientific inquiry process, such as
how thinking scientifically is helpful in daily life
and how technological advances affect the quality
of life. Students research how men and women of other
countries and cultures contribute to science. Sixth-grade
students identify rocks, their distinct properties
and formation and characteristic properties of the
minerals that form them. They learn to recognize that
a cell continually divides to create new cells, reproduction
of cells occur, similar cells have special functions,
and characteristics of an organism are a result of
inherited traits. Students acquire knowledge of the
uses, properties and chemical processes of the small
particles that compose matter. They learn the renewable
and nonrenewable sources of energy as part of the
grade six indicators.
Rev. 01-13-05
