Sixth graders moves to a new wing of the school. There are two teachers for the core subjects as well as additional special area teachers.  Through our Catholic identity we strive to help students cope with developmental and social change.  There are many opportunities for enrichment and support for all students.

Sixth Grade Curriculum

Religion

Students learn about God’s love through classroom experiences, weekly attendance at Mass, daily prayer and using our Blest Are We daily religion program and materials.  Students study the books of the Old Testament to understand the great roles of the patriarchs and leaders of our faith.  Students pray the Rosary regularly and lead a parish Rosary in the month of October.  In our Child Lures program, we discuss the various lures that could most commonly lead middle school students into harm, and teach prevention techniques to keep all students safe and responsible.

Language Arts

We use the SRA Imagine It! Series.  One of main goals to develop the love of reading through both fiction and nonfiction stories.  Within these stories the students learn to analyze and comprehend literature along with focusing on spelling and vocabulary introduced weekly.  In writing we use the 6+1 Traits of Writing to become successful writers of short stories, persuasive essays, poetry and more.

Math

We use Pearson’s enVisions Math Program.  This program uses a wide variety of hands-on materials and resources such as manipulatives, scales and center games.  It also uses online visuals and interactive stories to help students understand the different math concepts being taught along with writing.  The goal is to have a complete understanding of fractions, extending into the area of rational numbers with an emphasis on story problems.  Students begin to explore more deeply algebraic thinking, preparing for pre-algebra.

Science

Sixth graders use a variety of different resources to study physical, earth and life science.  With focus on matter and energy, students experiment with many types of energy and even demonstrate the transfer of kinetic and potential energy in a roller coaster.  For Earth Science they dig deeply into rocks, minerals and soil to become “expert” geologists.  When learning about Life Science their attention is spent on ecosystems, the food chains and food webs that are present in each.  Students will dissect a regurgitated owl pellet in order to get an up close and personal view of an owl’s eating habits within a food web.  Another focus in Life Science is learning how our human behavior affects the living and nonliving things in our community and the Earth.

Social Studies

Our curriculum centers on North and South America as well as Europe and Russia using the publisher Glencoe’s text Exploring Our World.  Features covered include the land, climate, economies and people of each region.  Various group and individual activities as well as oral presentations are incorporated into class.  Students are encouraged to stay informed on current events.

How to Get Ready for Sixth Grade:

• Practice adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing whole numbers

• Practice adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions

• Practice adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions

• Join a summer reading program and read at least 20 minutes a day

• Write about summer activities in a daily journal