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

English Language Arts

The 6th grade English Language Arts curriculum is a survey course designed to showcase a variety of literary forms, including short stories, novels, poetry, and nonfiction texts. Students will 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. Throughout the school year, students will consider how reading literature from a variety of perspectives can teach them about themselves and others. Students will develop their language and writing skills through multiple forms of written expression (narrative, argumentative, research/informative, poetic, and analysis). Overall, 6th grade students will expand their reading skills, develop a more complex understanding of literature, and enhance their critical thinking abilities.

Math

6th grade math will focus on four critical areas; connecting ratio and rate to whole number multiplication and division and using concepts of ratio and rate to solve problems; completing understanding of division of fractions and extending the notion of number to the system of rational numbers, which includes negative numbers; writing, interpreting, and using expressions and equations; and developing understanding of statistical thinking.

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 will study ancient civilizations and cultures of the eastern hemisphere. Assignments and activities will have an emphasis on world geography, outlining, note-taking, and creative projects in order to draw connections between the past and present. During the second semester, students will showcase their inquiry-based research through a large project on ancient Greek civilization that they will share with the entire school. Overall, 6th grade students will develop critical reasoning skills, study the relationships amongst people and their environment, and build on their understanding of responsible/global citizenship.

Religion

6th grade religion focuses on deepening students’ understanding of the Bible, the messages of the Old Testament, and how these speak to our daily lives. Students also nurture their own personal spirituality through interpretation of the Bible texts.