Grade 6

Sixth grade students engage in transformative learning experiences that blend innovation, real-world application, and service. As part of Best Buddies, students participate in Buddies in Business, learning from local entrepreneurs and exploring the connections between passion, sustainability, and community. In ELA, students read impactful texts like I Am Malala and The Giver, fostering empathy and global awareness. Across math, science, and social studies, Building Thinking Classrooms strategies promote engagement, problem-solving, and student-led discovery.

English Language Arts

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• Unit 1: Discovering Strength - How do we find resilience in the face of our toughest moments?
  • All students will read A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
  • Optional read of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Young Reader's Edition) by William Kamkwamba, Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate, or The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney
• Unit 2: Cultivating Perception - How do we defend our beliefs?
  • All students will read I am Malala (Young Reader's Edition) by Malala Yousafzai
  • Optional read of Refugee by Alan Gratz
• Unit 3: Cultivating Perception - Why should we seek a careful understanding of society?
  • All students will read The Giver by Lois Lowry
  • Optional read of the other three books in the Giver series: Gathering Blue, Messenger, and Son. The book Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix will also be an option for students choosing to read an additional book during this unit
• Ongoing Area of Study: Exploring Language - How will learning about vocabulary and grammar make us more effective communicators?
• Projects: 
  • One Pager
  • Hero's Wheel
  • Defending a Human Right
  • Writing Assignments

World Language

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• Unit 1: Chocolate
  • How do my personal preferences compare to those of the people around me?
  • What factors have contributed to the development of my personal preferences and values?
  • How does history contribute to the development of cultural values and norms?
• Unit 2: Faroles
  • How does cultural traditions and celebrations related to patriotism impact your sense of belonging and connection to your country?
  • Which national and other symbols do I feel a strong sense of connection to?
  • What does the concept of national pride mean to me? And how does my personal experiences and values influence my understanding of it?
• Unit 3: Papas
  • How does Peru's diverse geography, from the Andes Mountains to the Amazon Rainforest, compare to the geographical features of our own region?
  • What similarities and differences can we find between popular tourist destinations in Peru, such as Machu Picchu, and famous landmarks or attractions in our own country?
  • How does the biodiversity of Peru compare to the wildlife and ecosystems in our own area?
  • What are the primary agricultural products of our region, and how do they compare with those of Perú?
• Unit 4: Barriletes
  • In what ways does geography shape a country's culture and way of life?
  • How do contemporary Guatemalan customs and traditions reflect a blend of indigenous Mayan practices and European influences, and how do indigenous spiritual practices coexist with Catholicism?
  • How can understanding the history, culture, and traditions of the Mayan people contribute to promoting cultural diversity, social inclusion, and respect for indigenous rights in Guatemala and beyond?
  • What are the enduring legacies of the achievements of the Mayan civilization?
• Unit 5: El dominó
  • ​​​​​What role do sports and recreational activities play in different cultures?
  • What factors influence an individual's choice of sports or recreational activities, including my own?
  • How do sports and leisure activities contribute to physical health, mental well-being, and social cohesion?
• Unit 6: La Amazonia
  • Where is the Amazon rainforest and who lives in it?
  • What are current threats to the rainforest and how does one help to save it?
  • Why is conservation of the Amazon rainforest important for the health of the planet?
• Projects:
  • Amazon Rainforest Fundraiser
  • Capybara Creation
     

Mathematics

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• Unit 1: Area and Surface Area

  • Reasoning to Find Area 

  • Parallelograms

  • Triangles

  • Polygons

  • Surface Area

  • Squares and Cubes

• Unit 2: Introducing Ratios
  • What are Ratios?
  • Equivalent Ratios
  • Representing Equivalent Ratios
  • Solving Ratio and Rate Problems
  • Part-part-whole Ratios
• Unit 3: Unit Rates and Percentages
  • Units of Measurements
  • Unit Conversion
  • Rates
  • Percentages
• Unit 4: Dividing Fractions
  • Making Sense of Division
  • Meanings of Fraction Division
  • Algorithm for Fraction Division
  • Fractions in Lengths, Areas, and Volumes
• Unit 5: Arithmetic in Base Ten
  • Adding and Subtracting Decimals
  • Multiplying Decimals
  • Dividing Decimals
• Unit 6: Expressions and Equations
  • Equations in One Variable
  • Equal and Equivalent
  • Expressions with Exponents
  • Relationships between Quantities
• Unit 7: Rational Numbers
  • Negative Numbers
  • Inequalities
  • The Coordinate Plane
  • Common Factors and Multiples
     

Social Studies

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• Unit 1: Was the Development of Agriculture Good for Humans?
  • I can compare and contrast the shelter and settlements of Paleolithic and Neolithic times
  • I can identify and illustrate the locations of first civilizations and the reasoning for their locations
  • I can investigate the human and physical characteristics of early patterns when communities were first established
  • I can describe the impact new jobs had on communities and trad
• Unit 2: How Did Geography Affect Early Settlements in Egypt?
  • I can identify and illustrate environmental factors of water, topography, and vegetation
  • I can describe physical geography aspects affecting vegetation
  • I can summarize how early humans utilized and adapted to their physical environment
• Unit 3: What Was the Most Significant Factor in the Development of the Early Societies in West Africa?
  • I can identify and illustrate the locations of the first cities, civilizations, and empires of West Africa and the reasoning for their locations.
  • I know the importance of Salt
  • I can analyze government-how rulers affect how people live
  • I can explain why or how some decisions can help or hurt your economy.
• Unit 4: In What Ways Do the Contributions and Accomplishments of China Continue to Influence the World Today?
  • I can recognize important inventions and ideas from ancient China (like paper, silk, the compass, or printing).
  • I can explain how these contributions helped ancient Chinese society.
  • I can describe ways these inventions or ideas are still used or important today around the world
• Unit 5: In What Ways Do the Contributions and Accomplishments of Mesoamerica Continue to Influence the World Today?
  • I can use text evidence
  • I can understand central ideas
  • I can take a stance

Science

• Unit 1: Lyme Disease
  • What is Lyme Disease?
  • How do you get Lyme Disease?
  • How does Lyme Disease affect your body?
  • Independent research based on interest about Lyme Disease
• Unit 2: Organisms
  • Can you describe why living things are alive?
  • How are living things in our world organized?
  • Can you prove that something is living?
• Unit 3: Cells
  • What are cells?
  • What are the different types of cell?
  • What is inside a cell?
  • How do cells work?
  • Independent research based on interest about cells
• Unit 4: Structure and Function of Organs
  • How do cells make tissue?
  • How does tissue make organs?
  • What are human organs?
  • How do human organs work?
• Unit 5: Human Body Systems
  • What is a system?
  • How is the human body system?
  • What are the major systems in the human body?
  • How do the human body systems interact?
  • How do we make sense out of our world?
• Unit 6: Heat Transfer
  • Why are penguins becoming extinct?
  • What makes up all matter in our world?
  • What are the states of matter?
  • How does energy affect matter?
  • How is heat transferred?
• Unit 7: Extreme Weather
  • What is dangerous weather?
  • What makes dangerous weather?
  • What is water's role in our world?
  • What is climate?
  • Why is there different weather and different climates in our world?
• Projects:
  • Lyme Disease Research Project
  • Lyme Disease Interactive Model
  • Individualized Cell Research Q&A

  • Cell Research Interactive Model

  • “Big Foot” Body Systems Game/Model

  • Insulator “Big Freeze”

  • Insulated Penguin Habitat

  • Individualized research project about dangerous weather

  • Dangerous weather interactive model

  • Water cycle interactive model