6th Grade Science Learning Targets

Students will know or be able to do the following things at the end of the teaching cycle:

Learning targets and sequence are subject to revision as the Science Department begins to transition to the new integrated Next Generation Science Standards. Full implementation is expected by the 2018-2019 school year.

Introduction to 6th grade Science

  • What are the expectations of 6th grade science?
  • What's my citizenship grade?
  • How do I get to Edmodo?
  • What's plan book?
  • How do I get classwork I missed?
  • Language of Science?
  • What's a digital locker or digital classroom?

Cycle #1

3 weeks

Learning the steps of the Scientific Method (What is the Scientific Method?)
  • Good observation skills is a type of skill that scientists use - what are other skills important to a scientist in their work?
  • Choosing tools and technology that scientists might select and use during an investigation
  • What is the difference between superstition, pseudoscience, and science?

Cycle #2

Learning to be a Scienctist

Qualitative and Quantitative Data
  • Collect data and create tables, charts, pie graphs, bar graphs
  • Choosing tools and technology that scientists might select and use during an investigation
  • choosing and using correct tools for earthworm dissection

Cycle #3

Plate Tectonics

Big Idea

What are Earth's plates, and how do their movements change our planet's surface?

  • 6.1.b~Students know Earth is composed of several layers: a cold, brittle lithosphere; a hot, convecting mantle; and a dense, metallic core.
  • How have Geologists learned about Earth's inner structure?
  • What are the characteristics of the Earth's crust mantle and core?
  • 6.4.C~Students know heat from Earth's interior reaches the surface primarily through convection.
  • How is heat transferred?
  • What causes convection currents?
  • What causes convection currents in Earth's mantle?
  • 6.1.A~Students know evidence of plate tectonics is derived from the fit of the continents; the location of earthquakes, volcanoes, and midocean ridges; and the distribution of fossils, rock types, and ancient climatic zones.
  • What was Alfred Wegener's hypothesis about the continents?
  • What evidence supported Wegener's hypothesis?
  • Why was Wegener's hypothesis rejected by most scientists of his day?

Cycle #4

Big Idea

What are Earth's plates, and how do their movements change our planet's surface?
Sea-Floor spreading & Continental Drift

  • 6.1.A~ Students know evidence of plate tectonics is derived from the fit of the continents; the location of earthquakes, volcanoes, and midocean ridges; and the distribution of fossils, rock types, and ancient climatic zones.
  • What is the process of sea-floor spreading?
  • What is the evidence for sea-floor spreading?
  • What happens at deep-ocean trenches?
  • 6.1.C ~ Students know lithospheric plates the size of continents and oceans move at rates of centimeters per year in response to movements in the mantle.
  • What is the theory of plate tectonics?
  • What are the three types of pate boundaries?

Cycle #5

Big Idea
How do plated motions affect Earth's crust?

Earthquakes

Forces & Seismic Waves

  • 6.1.E~Students know major geologic events, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building, result from plate motions.
  • How does stress in the crust change Earth's surface?
  • Where are faults usually found, and why do they form?
  • What land features result from the forces of plate movements?
  • 6.1.D~Students know that earthquakes are sudden motions along breaks in the crust called faults and that volcanoes and fissures are locations where magma reaches the surface.
  • 6.1.G~Students know how to determine the epicenter of an earthquake and know that the effects of an earthquake on any region vary, depending on the size of the earthquake, the distance of the region from the epicenter, the local geology, and the type of construction in the region.
  • How does the energy of an earthquake travel through Earth?
  • How do scientists locate the epicenter of an earthquake?
  • How do seismographs work?
  • How do geologists monitor faults?
  • How are seismographic data used?
  • 6.2.D~Students know earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and floods change human and wildlife habitats.
  • How do geologists determine earthquake risk?
  • What kind of damage does an earthquake cause?
What can be done to increase earthquake safety and reduce earthquake damages?

Cycle #6

Big Idea

How do air pressure and temperature vary in the atmosphere?

The Atmosphere & Air pressure

  • 6.4.E~Students know differences in pressure, heat, air movement, and humidity result in changes of weather.
  • 6.6.B~Students know different natural energy and material resources, including air, soil, rocks, minerals, petroleum, fresh water, wildlife, and forests, and know how to classify them as renewable or nonrenewable.
  • What is the composition of Earth's atmosphere?
  • How is the atmosphere important to living things?
  • What causes smog and acid rain?
  • What are some of the properties of air?
  • What instruments are used to measure air pressure?
  • How does increasing altitude affect air pressure and density?
  • What are the four main layers of the atmosphere?
  • What are the characteristics of each layer?

Cycle #7

Big Idea

How do air pressure and temperature vary in the atmosphere?

Energy & Heat in the Earth's Atmosphere

  • 6.3.D~Students know heat energy is also transferred between objects by radiation (radiation can travel through space).
  • 6.4.D~Students know solar energy reaches Earth through radiation, mostly in the form of visible light.
  • In what form does energy from the sun travel to Earth?
  • What happens to the sun's energy when it reaches Earth?
  • 6.3.C~Students know heat flows in solids by conduction (which involves no flow of matter) and in fluids by conduction and by convection (which involves flow of matter).
  • How is temperature measured?
  • In what three ways in heat transferred?
  • How is heat transferred in the troposphere?
  • 6.4.E~Students know differences in pressure, heat, air movement, and humidity result in changes of weather.
  • What causes winds?
  • How do local winds and global winds differ?
  • Where are the major global wind belts located?

Cycle #8


Big Idea

Which weather factors produce changes in weather?

Weather & Climate

  • 6.4.A~Students know the sun is the major source of energy for phenomena on Earth's surface; it powers winds, ocean currents, and the water cycle.
  • 6.4.E~Students know differences in pressure, heat, air movement, and humidity result in changes of weather.
  • What is humidity and how is it measured?
  • How do clouds form?
  • What are the three main types of clouds?
  • What are the common types of precipitation?
  • What are the major types of air masses in North American, and how do they move?
  • What type of weather is associated with cyclones and anticyclones?

Cycle #9

Big Idea

Which weather factors produce changes in weather

Storms

  • 6.2.D~Students know earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and floods change human and wildlife habitats.
  • 6.4.E~Students know differences in pressure, heat, air movement, and humidity result in changes of weather.
  • What are the main kinds of storms and how do they form?
  • What measures can you take to ensure safety in a storm?
  • How do weather forecasters predict the weather?
  • What can be learned from the information on weather maps?

Cycle #10

Big Idea

What relationships

Exist between living things and the Environment?

Ecosystem

  • 6.5. E~ Students know the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available and on abiotic factors, such as quantities of light and water, a range of temperatures, and soil composition.
  • What needs are met by an organism's environment?
  • What are the two parts of an organism's habitat with which it interacts?
  • What are the levels of organization within an ecosystem?
  • What causes populations to change in size?
  • What factors limit population growth?
  • 6.5.A~Students know energy entering ecosystems as sunlight is transferred by producers into chemical energy through photosynthesis and then from organism to organism through food webs.
  • 6.5. C ~ Students know populations of organisms can be categorized by the functions they serve in an ecosystem.
  • What energy roles do organisms play in an ecosystem?
  • How does energy move through an ecosystem?
  • How much energy is available at each level of an energy pyramid?

Cycle #11

Big Idea

What relationships

Exist between living things and the Environment?

Energy flow in the ecosystem

  • 6.5. C ~ Students know populations of organisms can be categorized by the functions they serve in an ecosystem.
  • How do an organism's adaptation adaptations help it to survive?
  • What are the major ways in which organisms in an ecosystem interact?
  • What are the three types of symbiotic relationships?
  • 6.5.B ~ Students know matter is transferred over time from one organism to others in the food web and between organisms and the physical environment.
  • What processes are involved in the water cycle?
  • How are carbon and oxygen recycled in the ecosystem?
  • What is the nitrogen cycle?
  • 6.2. D ~ Students know earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, and floods change human and wildlife habitats.
  • 6.5. E~ Students know the number and types of organisms an ecosystem can support depends on the resources available and on abiotic factors, such as quantities of light and water, a range of temperatures, and soil composition.
  • How do primary and secondary succession differ?

Cycle #12 (2 weeks)

Health Ed.

(Sex Ed & cyber safety)

  • Introduction to family life
  • Learning about puberty in boys and girls
  • Learning about the reproductive system
  • Learning refusal skills
  • Learning about STDs
  • Learning about HIV/AIDS
  • What is sexual harassment?
  • Cyber Safety
  • Health Promotion
  • Curriculum preview is available at the beginning of each school year
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