Sixth Grade

Reads independently 90+ minutes daily at the Grade 7–8 band, including abridged classics and primary sources; cites explicit and inferential evidence; determines theme and central idea; analyzes plot, character, and point of view; traces and evaluates arguments; and acquires eight to ten thousand reading-vocabulary words.

Masters ratios, unit rates, and percent; fraction division; integers, absolute value, and the four-quadrant coordinate plane; exponents, GCF and LCM; algebraic expressions, one-step equations, and inequalities; area, volume with fractional edges, and surface area via nets; and statistics — with a Grade 7 preview of proportional relationships and two-step equations.

Writes argumentative, informative, and narrative essays; literary analysis with thesis and textual evidence; and a first true MLA research paper of five to eight pages with a multimedia product — quoting, paraphrasing, and citing primary and secondary sources without plagiarism.

Covers NGSS middle-school Earth, space, physical, and life science in one year — atoms and matter conservation, forces and energy, waves, cells and body systems, ecosystems, heredity and evolution, geologic time and plate tectonics — and completes an engineering-design capstone.

Surveys world history from early humans through the Renaissance — the four river-valley civilizations, the classical empires of Persia, Greece, and Rome, the origins of the major world religions, Mesoamerica, medieval Europe, the Islamic Golden Age, West African empires, and the Italian and Northern Renaissance.

Keeps a year-long sketchbook with three self-portraits; recreates and studies art across every civilization — from cave art and Egyptian conventions through Greek and Roman forms to Renaissance perspective and sfumato; and embeds visual work in the capstone.

Performs fluently on recorder and voice across multiple pieces; studies ancient, classical, religious, medieval, and Renaissance music traditions worldwide; and selects, practices, and performs a capstone music piece at the year-end concert.

Navigates early-adolescent identity formation; begins dialectic-stage logic with premises, syllogisms, and fallacies; deepens civic conscience and perspective-taking; practices digital citizenship; holds complexity; and writes sealed letters opened at year’s end. (At Sixth Grade, Character emerges as its own strand starting Q3; on this page it is presented within SEL to keep the nine-strand framing consistent.)

Manages time with a planner; builds financial literacy through budgeting, interest, and taxes; cooks five-plus meals from world traditions; learns sewing, first aid, and basic home maintenance; reads maps and coordinate grids; and hosts the capstone celebration end-to-end.