6th Grade
6th grade marks the beginning of the middle school experience at ASB. Students grow in their ability to think abstractly, analyze topics, read increasingly complex texts, and write in more detail. These skills are utilized in all curriculum areas. Students change classes throughout the day, gaining the exposure to different teachers and styles. ASB follows a block schedule system, which mirrors many college prep high school programs. These longer periods allows students more classroom time to delve deeper and apply information in both labs and discussion. In addition to core classes, 6th graders take Spanish, PE, and Integrated Technology classes and rotate through the Fine Arts curriculum each trimester.
6th Grade Curriculum
ELA
The 6th grade ELA/Language Arts program includes writing, grammar, spelling, proofreading, and the conventions of writing. The goal for language study is that students will apply these skills in a variety of types of writing. We use an instructional model for teaching writing called six-trait writing. This approach describes six aspects of writing: ideas, organization, voice, sentence fluency, word choice, and conventions. Teaching the six traits helps students understand components of effective writing, and gives us a common vocabulary that we can use as we discuss our writing. We also emphasize the writing process, especially effective pre-writing and revision strategies.
Additionally, 6th grade students expand their reading skills and develop a more complex understanding of literature. Through a variety of literary genres, students learn to make inferences based on text, deepen their understanding of literary elements including narrator, plot, character, setting and literary devices, and distinguish main ideas from supporting details. At times, students all read the same book, at other times, students will choose among various alternatives.
Math
Science
6th grade students will study life science. The students will begin the year with the study of cells. This unit will include cell theory, cell parts, growth and function, and cell reproduction. The students will also study genetics with the exploration of heredity. During the second half of the school year, the students will learn the organ systems in the human body.
Social Studies
In 6th grade, students study the world’s earliest history and ancient civilizations. This includes units on ancient Middle East, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the ancient Asian world of China, India, and Japan. They will learn about the origins of civilization, achievements of great empires, developments of world religions, and daily lives of ordinary people. They will examine similarities and differences between these civilizations to better understand how the world we live in today came to be.
Religion
Spanish
We start out the year with our first unit-la finca (the farm)! Through stories, animals, and a field trip in Spanish in October, students learn more advanced sentence structures and build on previous year’s concepts and vocab. Their weekly homework utilizes Quizlet to practice vocabulary to prepare for reading their first novel entirely in Spanish. The cultural focus for 6th grade is Mexico and the Mayan culture.
Art
Middle-school students have one trimester of art as part of the fine arts curriculum. Students develop their creative skills and their techniques in a positive atmosphere. Drawing is the foundation of the program. Students use basic and advanced art materials, develop their skills and techniques for creating quality work, learn central principals and elements of art, and develop their own aesthetic awareness and appreciation.
Drama
Middle school students focus on understanding the theatrical process of taking an idea, character and/or story, and bringing it to life on stage using a variety of techniques and methods. We continually build on our performance skills working on various activities and projects throughout the trimester. 6th grade students learn about character development by choosing, rehearsing and performing a monologue. They also explore the origins of Western theatre by performing Greek tragedies.
Music
In 6th grade music, we focus on world music. Timbre of instruments from around the world is an important aspect of this study. Students sing, play instruments, learn dances, listen and watch videos of performances from many other cultures. The cultures that are “visited” are: Africa, Oceania (Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand), China, Japan, India, the Philippines, and Latin America. Appreciation and understanding of other cultures and people often begins with appreciation of their arts.
Physical Education
The goal of the middle school physical education program is to introduce students to concepts and skills they can carry through life. We will accomplish this by exposing students to many individual, dual, and team experiences throughout the year. These experiences will be creative non-threatening small group drills, modified games and all active delivery systems. ASB PE aims to recognize that everyone is unique in their abilities. Students are assessed on their effort toward personal growth and excellence. Students should focus on positive participation, sportsmanship and class daily learning targets.
Overview of Middle School Mathematics
- Students will communicate effectively by solving problems using words, numbers, and pictures. This will be done individually and in groups with an emphasis on articulating the thought processes involved in reaching an answer.
- Students will demonstrate critical thinking skills by investigating and analyzing possible strategies to solve problems. They will draw conclusions, verify results and check for reasonableness of solutions.
- Students will demonstrate that they are lifelong learners by showing curiosity and enthusiasm for applying mathematical concepts in daily life, and to other academic areas.
- Students strive for excellence by assessing their own areas of strength and for growth in the area of mathematics. They set personal standards of quality for their own performance.
- Students live as people of integrity within their community by working through problems in large and small groups and by showing a willingness to help classmates who struggle.
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- Everyone can learn math to the highest levels
- Mistakes are valuable
- Questions are really important
- Math is about creativity and making sense
- Math class is about learning not performing
- Math is about connections and communicating
- Depth is more important than speed
Grading Policies: Tests, quizzes and checkpoint assessments are used to determine student’s overall grade for mathematics. Completion of daily assignments provides practice and quick feedback on their progress toward understanding standards.
Middle School Missionary Discipleship
because the education of the student is at the core. Missionary Discipleship is a method in which classroom learning is applied through action that addresses an authentic community need and provides structured time for reflection on the service experience and demonstration of acquired skills and knowledge. Because the education of the
student is at the core of student learning, student participation in the process is essential. Students will identify a need, plan and prepare for the missionary discipleship, carry out the plan of action and reflect upon the experience.
The ASB Middle School Missionary Discipleship experience will begin in 6th grade and continue through 8th grade. Beginning in 6th grade, students will build a portfolio of assignments, writing, and reflections of their missionary discipleship service. Students will add to the portfolio in 7th grade and 8th grade. Using the materials completed and
collected, 8th graders will complete a final reflection of their missionary discipleship service through middle school. Through the final reflection, students will demonstrate their ability to connect the cognitive, social and emotional aspects of the experience to the larger context of self, the community and the world. In addition, the students make
explicit what and how they have learned and what they have accomplished. The final reflection project provides students with the opportunity to celebrate and share their accomplishments with the community. Eighth graders will have the opportunity to share their projects with their ASB Family at the end of the school year. Additionally, the final reflections will be shared with the Protz family with regard to the Melissa Ann Protz “Go Make a Difference” Award.
Grade 6:
- Guidelines and directions are given to the parents and students explaining the process for the next three years.
- Students complete a personal inventory of interests, skills, and talents.
- Students plan and prepare for their missionary discipleship outside of school.
- Students complete 5 missionary discipleship hours per trimester (15 hours between
Oct-June). - Students participate in pre-planned school-wide missionary discipleship activities
(free-dress food drive, cereal drive, Whale of a Bake Sale, patrol, etc.) - Students participate in guided reflection of their participation in school-wide
missionary discipleship and the missionary discipleship of their choice. - Students begin to build a portfolio of all work, reflections, activities related to
missionary discipleship.
Events
Students study the world’s earliest history and ancient civilizations. They learn about the origins of civilization, achievements of great empires, developments of world religions, and daily lives of ordinary people. On “Greek Day” 6th graders dress in togas and presented what they have learned to the school.