Sixth Grade Curriculum Overview

Language Arts – Students continue to spend in-depth time in both grammar and composition. Using their knowledge of grammar from previous grades, students will analyze and diagram sentences with advanced grammatical constructions through the Spalding Method. Students will continue to write for a variety of purposes with increased independence and expectations, including summarizing, outlining, historical and scientific narratives, and multi-paragraph expository and persuasive essays. Additionally, students will complete an independent research paper. When studying literature, students will use their knowledge of literary devices to annotate their reading, engage in classroom discussions, and write independent responses to their literature.

Math –  In grades K-5 at Great Hearts, students use Singapore Math, which helps them understand the why behind the math concepts they are studying through the use of manipulatives and pictorial representations. Having received a solid mathematical foundation, 6th grade students are ready for a more abstract study of mathematics and will cover such pre-algebra topics as variables, exponents, plane geometry, fractions and rational numbers, solving equations, statistics and probability.

History – Students enrolled in Grade 6 World History will be immersed in the study of humanity across time, geographic space, and culture. Each quarter will include one or two historical units as well as a survey unit. Within each historical unit, topics will include society, law, wars, technology, and more philosophically-oriented reflections on how each period exhibits a set of values, a way of being in (and using) the world, how man regards himself and others, what man’s main activities are, what the great accomplishments of each age have been, and what the great failures of each age have been. The content will be weighted toward the Western tradition but will consider it in the context of world cultures. The cultures of Mesopotamia and southwest Asia, the Mediterranean region, Europe, China, India, Russia, and the Americas will be of primary importance, with periodic and appropriate attention to the cultures of Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australia and the Pacific. The purpose of these units is not so much to contrast diverse traditions as to bring into focus the story of mankind.

Science – In 6th grade, students utilize experiments, observation, discussion, lectures, and readings to immerse themselves in the field of Life Science. Students will spend the year investigating the classification of living things, progressing from Kingdom Protista and Fungi, moving to Kingdom Plantae, and spending a substantial quantity of time in Kingdom Animalia.  Whenever applicable, students will study examples from the Sonoran Desert, enabling them to connect their studies to their immediate surroundings and to understand and appreciate the environment closest to them.

Specials – All 6th grade students will participate in Latin, Art, and PE year round.