Sixth Grade

Following the district-wide ELA Learning curriculum, we spend 6th Grade wrestling with the essential questions: What is a hero? Is a perfect society possible? These questions coordinate with our two, primary texts for the year: Seedfolks and The Giver. In addition to these books, we launch our year establishing our independent reading program, which requires that students read at least 20 books outside of school over the course of the year. Our curriculum also places an emphasis on developing our students as analytical readers and writers. To this end we focus on students constructing arguments that are supported by sufficient and relevant evidence and that demonstrate reasoning.

Following the district-wide Illustrative Math (Open Up Resources) curriculum, 6th graders will explore solutions to real-life situations and persist in solving complex problems. Topics covered include: area and surface area; introducing ratios; unit rates and percentages; dividing fractions; arithmetic in base ten; expressions and equations; rational numbers; data sets and distributions. At Putnam Ave. we are focused on exploring and bolstering students’ mathematical reasoning skills and employ instructional strategies such as number talks to promote equity of voice and elicit students’ thinking.

Following the district-wide curriculum, the goal of 6th Grade Science is to engage in scientific inquiry by: analyzing and interpreting data; using mathematics and computational thinking; asking questions and defining problems; planning and carrying out investigations and developing and using models in order to make an argument about the value of scientific knowledge as a tool to both understand and manipulate our world. Our units of study will focus on: Light Waves (Can I believe my eyes?); Physics (Where does the fat go? How do chemical reactions make new substances with new properties? What happens to substances in our body?); Mechanisms of Plate Tectonics (How is the earth changing?).

Following the district-wide curriculum, the goal of our work in 6th Grade Social Studies is to guide students towards becoming knowledgeable, culturally aware, and environmentally responsible citizens who will actively participate in their local communities. The Social Studies curriculum begins with an overview of geographical terms and a brief focus on the application of a geographer and archaeologist's job and skill set. Over the progression of the year, students will learn about the rise and life of early humans, the rise of agriculture and the geography, culture, and economy of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece. During the year, we will explore and study these places and topics by means of group activity, whole class discussion, projects, station work and assessments. While focusing on these topics, students will read and engage with a variety of text and media, develop critical thinking and analytical skills, and learn how to discuss complex ideas with peers.

Learning Objectives

• Appreciation of language and culture of another land – Spanish, French, and Chinese;
• Phrases and short dialogues about: introductions, health, common classroom expressions, parts of the body, days of the week, months, seasons, weather expressions;
• Simple vocabulary about the home, family, and school situations;
• Developmental Design activities in the second language;
• Cultural differences/similarities between the United States and other cultures.
• Oral and written communication skills in the target language

Students will:

• Collaborate and communicate with classmates and the teacher in the target language;
• Create projects that integrate the study of grammar & vocabulary into oral presentations;
• Work in groups and in pairs to practice the language structures and vocabulary;
• Prepare dialogues and make oral presentations with the content provided by the teacher;
• Play games and use computer websites to practice the language;
• Access and use proficiently computer technology to research data about oral and written projects.