Sixth Grade

Theme

“The Lord is the Prophet and Preserver”

Overview

Sixth grade is a year of transition between childhood and adolescence, from the intermediate unit to the upper unit, from elementary school to middle school. As a result, students can be in a variety of places in their spiritual, physical, affective, cognitive and social development. As the students progress through the year, they begin to take on more responsibility for their learning, and they are increasingly ready to think more globally about the world around them. A highlight for the year is an independent country study that culminates in a Country Fair in the spring where students showcase their acquired knowledge of their individual country. Earlier in the year sixth grade visits the University of Pennsylvania and Glencairn Museums to appreciate the artifacts from the ancient cultures studied this year.

Religion—taught by a minister

Sixth graders study 1 Kings and 2 Kings, Isaiah and Jeremiah, and some of the other prophets. Generally the sixth graders tend to pull away from their parents and other authority figures, although they yearn for independence. They still value and need the supervision of adults who can provide rules with clear consequences and rewards, while increasing students’ freedom to make moral choices. This section of the Word provides many objective examples of people making good and bad choices, and clearly discovering the consequences of each. Through discussing these situations students can gain a perspective of the Lord who knows all about human mistakes and still continues to lead people toward heaven. Those who trust in His covenant and return to His commandments will gain the peace and happiness they are seeking.

Reading

Specific reading skills include vocabulary study, main ideas, personification, figurative language, comprehension, and critical thinking. Some of the novels read include Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, The Sign of the Beaver, and The Egypt Game.

Composition

Students write regular literature responses as well as essays on personal experiences, fiction, non-fiction, research, and descriptions. Skills focus on correct sentence structure, paragraph structure, the writing process, proofreading, and citing references.

Grammar

The focus in grammar is on the parts of a sentence and the eight parts of speech.

Spelling

Our spelling program is based on the 500 core words from the BACS spelling curriculum along with homonyms that are easily confused. During the year we expect that these words are spelled correctly on papers in all subject areas. In addition, we use the Everyday Spelling Program to reinforce skills.

Handwriting

Students continue to practice cursive in their daily work, in order to build speed and maintain legibility.

Math

The Prentice-Hall Mathematics Program—Course 1 includes a review of the four basic operations through problem solving, decimals, fractions, integers, measurement, graphs, patterns, and number sense, probability, geometry, ratio, percent, area, volume, and equations.

History

In history we learn about the Five Churches from the perspective of their culture, as well as the ancient civilizations of Sumer, Egypt, Greece and Rome.

Geography

Climate and topography affect how and where people live. We observe this theme throughout our study of Europe and Africa, and the independent country study. We also continue to practice map skills.

Science—specialist teacher

The science curriculum focuses on understanding and appreciating the Lord’s creation of the natural world and the laws that govern it. Students study chemistry, magnetism, electricity, classification, plants (with a mini unit on microscopes) and ecology.

Library—led by librarian

Students in 6th grade visit the library monthly for book report books and to find recreational reading materials.  Throughout the year, librarians provide lessons on the meaning of “genre” and discuss the elements of the genres that 6th grade focuses on.  Genre lessons are organized in a way to help students discover their own favorite genre or genres to read.  Several times during the school year, in cooperation with the 6th grade teachers, the librarians teach the 6th grade: research skills, reliable resources, plagiarism, citation, and bibliographies.  Research and citation skills coincides with 6th grade’s country studies in order to make these skills relevant and provide real-life practice. Students acquire the skills they need while navigating the overwhelming world of information. Students are encouraged to use both print and digital resources and to recognize the benefits for all media types.

Technology

Sixth graders focus on finding a variety of sources from the Internet as well as from school-chosen software programs for their research essays and projects, like the spring term country study.

Art—specialist teacher

The sixth grade practices basic art skills and works towards better proficiency through the wide variety of projects and activities. They are exposed to many mediums and approaches, many of which would have been used in ancient times. This exploration and appreciation of ancient art is in support of their classroom work and curriculum.

Music—specialist teacher

In sixth grade music, students sing, actively listen, create music, and play a variety of pitched and non-pitched instruments, with emphasis on hand bells. The content includes folk songs, hymns in notation, solfege exercises, sight singing, digital music, music history, and choral music.

Physical Education—specialist teacher

The physical education program provides the students with a standards based program that is developmentally and culturally appropriate and highly active. It fosters a lifelong commitment to a healthy lifestyle. In the intermediate grades we continue with the skills that we practiced in the primary years while adding and improving loco-motor skills. We also focus on cooperative skills, problem solving, decision making, fitness, and team and individual sports.

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