Curriculum Highlights: Sixth Grade

• Sentence structure
• Parts of speech
• Complements
• Subject and verb agreement
• Capitalization
• Punctuation
• Paragraph writing
• Writing:  expository, reports, letters, narrative, descriptive, persuasive, poetry, journal
• Literary/poetry forms and terms
• Spelling
• Vocabulary
• Independent reading
• Junior Great Books
• Summer workbook
• Summer reading

• Addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of whole numbers, decimals, fractions, integers, and rational numbers
• Number theory
• Ordered pairs and graphing
• Solving elementary equations and inequalities with whole numbers, integers, fractions, rational numbers, and decimals using one or two operations
• Ratios, proportions, and percents
• Circle logic
• Online textbook available
• Summer workbook

• Medieval period
• Beowulf
• Vikings
• Alfred the Great
• Charlemagne
• Saxons
• Normans
• Norman and Angevin England
• Note taking, outlining, research skills
• Oral/written reports

• Rocks and minerals
• Earth’s interior
• Convection currents
• Drifting continents
• Sea-floor spreading
• Plate tectonics
• Earthquakes
• Volcanoes
• Water erosion
• Glaciers, waves, and wind
• Air quality and pressure
• Earth’s atmosphere
• Heat transfer
• Wind
• Water
• Air masses and fronts
• Storms, floods, predicting weather
• Frequent hands-on activities/labs

• Listening comprehension
• Pronunciation skills
• Vocabulary: summer, weather, beach, sports, boutiques, everyday activities, car and road, sports, winter, health, medicine, personal grooming, hotel, countries
• Grammar: verbs, adjectives, articles, pronouns, comparative sentences, reflective verbs, double negative
• Written and oral reports in French
• Dialogue/conversation in French
• Cultural traditions

• Essential globe and map skills
• Geography terminology
• Physical features of Asia
• Russia
• South Asia
• China, Mongolia, and Taiwan
• Japan, North and South Korea
• Mainland Southeast Asia
• Western United States
• States and capitals

• Daily P.E. class in uniform
• Fitness and conditioning, including endurance, strength, balance, flexibility
• Healthy lifestyle
• Social dancing:  square dancing, line dances, dance party
• Game skills/strategy: soccer, football, basketball, softball, whiffle ball, field/floor hockey, volleyball, bowling, track and field, frisbee, lacrosse
• Intramural opportunities
• Sports teams opportunities (all students may play)
• Responsibility, self-control, team work, good sportsmanship

• Weekly art class
• Drawing: pencil, eraser, markers, colored pencils, oil crayons, oil pastels, pastels
• Painting: watercolors, tempera paints, acrylic paints, glass paint
• Sculpture: polymer clay
• Collage: hand-painted papers
• Stained glass windows
• Human figure
• Myth and art
• Decorative pattern and design
• Klimt and Art Nouveau
• Self-portraits

• Introduction to the opera: history and form
• Story and musical highlights of two operas
• American classical music
• Develop choral singing
• Develop musical literacy
• Performance: music program twice each year

• Attendance at drama productions
• Production of a musical play
• Speaking / singing role in class play
• Develop acting / singing / choreography skills
• Imaginative use of costumes/props
• Emphasis on ensemble / solo singing, choreography
• Public speaking, confidence, poise

• Selecting/checking out books
• Research skills
• Realistic fiction
• Fictionalized biographies
• Adventure fiction
• Science fiction
• Applied science books
• Search strategies

• Star Boards in each classroom
• Rolling computer cart for computer use in classroom
• Weekly computer class
• Keyboarding
• Word processing
• Presentations and graphs
• Computer operations and archiving
• Using portable devices
• File formats
• Internet research
• Touch typing
• Creating, editing, saving documents
• Powerpoint presentations
• Integration within academic classes

Several field trips per year; recent examples include:

• Inner Quest (outdoor challenges)
• Vulcan Quarry
• Medieval Times
• Ford’s Theater
• Lisner Auditorium
• Brass rubbings, in house
• Marriott Corporation