GRADE 6
PROGRAM OF STUDIES 2025- 2026
AMERICANHISTORYPOSTCIVILWAR
Sixth Grade American History is a study of important eventsinourpastsincetheCivilWarand Reconstruction. Students will examine various topics including the Settlement of the West, Second Industrial Revolution, Progressive Era, World War I, Great Depression, World War II, Cold War, the Sixties, Civil Rights movement, Vietnam War, and Watergate. Students will also learn new study skills, content reading strategies, data interpretation, test preparation skills, and technology skills. Students will learnthroughdiscussion,role-playing,simulations,debates,web site visits, and the drawing of maps, charts, and graphic organizers. American History and English classes work closely together in teaching paragraphs, composition, research skills, novelsandbiographies.
ART
Thesixthgradeartclassesofferthestudentsachancetoexperimentwithmanydifferent materialsandtosolveavarietyofinterestingvisualproblems.Sixthgradestudentswillwork withclay,painting,printmaking,sculpturalmaterials,journalingtechniquesandcollage.They willlearnbeginningdrawingtechniques,howtomixcolorsandapplyglaze,aswellasexplore creativeusestothevariousmediaintheroom.Wewilldiscussandappreciatetheartofothers, professionalaswellastheirpeers,andlearntoevaluateourownwork.
CONCERTBAND
The6thgradebandisprimarilyasecondyearinstrumentalensemble,butbeginnersaremore thanwelcome.Instrumentationincludes:flute,clarinet,bassclarinet,altosaxophone,tenor saxophone,trumpet,trombone,baritone/euphonium,tuba,andpercussion.Additionalinstrument choicesofpiano,bass,andguitararealsoavailableuponrequestandapprovalbythedirector. Thisensemblelearnsaboutthefundamentalskillsrequiredtocreateensemblemusicwithan emphasisonmusicliteracyandlisteningskills.Studentsarerequiredtoperformintwoconcerts (winterandspring)withopportunitiesforadditionalperformances.Comemakemusicwithus!
ENGLISH
The sixth grade English program is designed to strengthen skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The reading selections range from novels, short stories, non-fiction, to poetry. They complement the students’ American history course, explore more contemporary social issues, and allow for personal interpretations. Within each literature unit, students learn new vocabulary, participate in discussions, and produce written responses in a variety of forms, emphasizing both formal voice and creative expressions. The writing process is introduced and utilized with most writing assignments. Furthermore, the curriculumincludeswritingmechanics andthebasicsofsentenceandparagraphconstruction.
GENERALMUSIC
SixthGradestudentswillexploreallaspectsofmusicusingkeyboards,guitars,andsingingall genresofmusic. Studentswilllearnandbecomefamiliarwithpopularmusicalstylesandsongs fromtheearly1900sdecadestotheHarlemRenaissanceandontothemid-1960sinconjunction withtheirstudiesofthoseperiodsintheirAmericanHistoryclass.Musictheoryandscore readingexercisesinSchoology,musicalgames,andmusiclisteningwillhelpreinforceand developthestudent’sknowledgeandunderstandingofthegoalssetforthforourGeneralMusic classtimetogether.Lastly,exploringthemusicandculturalimpactofwell-knowncomposers, andbecomingacquaintedwithmusicofallerasofmusichistoryandmusicfromaroundthe worldwillbeabenefittoprovidingawell-roundedmusicexperienceforthestudents.
GENERALSCIENCE
Learnsciencebydoingscience!Engageinscienceandengineeringpracticestoexplainnatural phenomena,supportaclaimwithevidence,andmodelphenomenatoscale.
Coursetopicsinclude:HumanBiology,fromsystemstocells;andEarth'sSystems:the hydrosphereandthegeosphere.
PHYSICALEDUCATION
Sixthgradephysicaleducationwillprovidestudentswithanequalopportunitytodevelopan understandingofphysicalfitness,spaceawareness,leadershipabilities,cooperativelearning, characterbuilding,goodsportsmanshipandcoedteambuilding. Eachstudentwillbeintroduced tothebasicrules,conceptsandtheskillsetforeachactivity. Theywillhavetheopportunityto demonstratetheirknowledge,abilityandunderstandingthroughouteachactivity. Thesixth gradephysicaleducationprogramwillprovideanenvironmentconduciveforthestudentsto attainanacceptablephysicalfitnesslevel,todevelopanappreciationoflifetimeactivities,andto developtheskillsanddesiretocontinuewithahealthylifestyleastheyprogressthroughtheir middleschoolyears.
PRE-ALGEBRA
Sixthgradestudentswillstudyapre-algebracurriculuminordertopreparethemforAlgebra1 duringtheirseventhgradeyear Thefirstquarterofsixthgradewillfocusonsolidifyingbasic mathfactsandskills,andtherewillbeanemphasisonoperationswithwholenumbers,fractions, anddecimals.Othertopicswillincludeestimation,measurement,dataanalysis,prime factorization,leastcommonmultiples,andgreatestcommonfactors.Age-appropriateprojects, games,andhands-onclassactivitieswillfurtherreinforcethemathematicalconcepts.
Thepre-algebracurriculumwillincludebasicoperationsofintegers,evaluationofalgebraic expressions,solvingequationsandinequalities,ratios,proportions,percents,squareroots, coordinateplanes,andgeometry Thereisalsoaheavyemphasisonproblemsolving.
Duringthiscourse,enrichmentwillbeofferedtostudentswhothoroughlyandreadilymasterthe conceptstaughtinclass.Studentsreceivingenrichmentwilltaketheinitiativeandresponsibility foracceptingmorechallengingcoursework.Additionalinstructionwillberequiredforthose studentswhostrugglewithconceptsorneedadditionalsupport(thisincludesanystudentwitha gradebelowaC).Attheendofsixthgrade,studentswillbegivenaplacementtesttodetermine
theircourseforseventhgrade.Basedontheresults,studentswillentereithertheseventhgrade honorscourse,Algebra1-Accelerated(theentireAlgebra1courseinoneyear),orAlgebra1-Year 1(Algebra1completedovertwoyears).
SIXTHGRADEFRENCH
This course is designed to develop introductory conversational skills as wellastobuildastrong foundation in pronunciation and oral comprehension. Emphasis will be placed on the development of thematic vocabulary. Special attention will be given to cultural links with the sixth grade curriculum along thematic lines with an emphasis on the history and geography of France.
SIXTHGRADEMANDARINCHINESE
ThisisabeginningcourseforstudentswithlittleornopreviousstudyofChinese.Thestrategy toconstructChinesecharactersandtheapproachtowriteChinesecharactersaretaught,aswell asthepronunciation.Bytheendofthislevel,studentsareexpectedtobeabletohaveshort conversations,readandwriteshortparagraphs.StudentswillexploreChinesecultureasthey learnthelanguage.TheywillgainmoreunderstandingoftheChinesewayoflifeandthinking.
SIXTHGRADESPANISH(Blue)
Thiscourseisdesignedtodevelopintroductoryconversationalskillsaswellastobuildastrong foundationinpronunciationandoralcomprehension.Emphasiswillbeplacedonthe developmentofthematicvocabulary.Specialattentionwillbegiventoculturallinkswiththe6th gradecurriculumalongthematiclineswithanemphasisonthehistoryandgeographyofLatin AmericaandSpain.
SIXTHGRADESPANISH(Red)
Thiscourseisdesignedtobuildonconversationalskills,pronunciationskillsandlisteningskills developedintheLowerSchool.Inthiscourse,studentswillfocusondevelopingwritingand readingskillsaswell.Grammarwillbeintroducedformallythroughtheuseoftextbookand supplementarymaterials.Placementinthisclasswillbedeterminedbythestudent’sperformance in5th grade(gradesandworkethic),teacherrecommendation,andcumulativeassessmentscores. Thiscoursewillbemoredemandingintermsofpreparationandstudyingwhilealsohaving morechallengingexpectations.Studentsshouldbeabletohandletheworkandfeelsuccessfulin theircommunicationskills.Ifastudentisnotbenefittingfromthenatureofthiscourse,6th grade teachermayrecommendthathe/shejointheBlueSpanishclassfor7th grade.