At a Glance: Sixth Grade at St. Peter s School

At a Glance: Sixth Grade at St. Peter s School Sixth Grade Special Events, Traditions and Celebrations Interscholastic Sports In Sixth Grade students begin to participate in interscholastic soccer and basketball games. Riding the school bus with teammates and representing St. Peter s School at away matches gives our oldest students the opportunity to share their talents and sportsmanship with opponents. During Basketball season, our team enjoys the opportunity to have home matches at Old Pine Community Center. Upper School Chorus All Fifth through Eighth Grade students sing in the St. Peter s School Chorus. Regular rehearsals are used in preparation for special performances at Grandparents and Special Friends Day, Celebration of Light, Arts Festival, Harvest Festival and Graduation. Cape May Trip In Sixth Grade students take a trip to Cape May in the Spring. The students take a cruise on the salt marsh to study the habitat and wildlife present in the marsh. Afterward, they travel to the nature center and learn about horseshoe crabs and seine for wildlife in the bay. New York City Trip The annual New York trip takes the Sixth Grade to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Cloisters, and depending on the year other sites of interest. At the cathedral the students take part in hands on activities to better understand life in the Middle Ages. Sixth Grade Curriculum Details Art Painting o Stand-up easel painting for a longer period of time

o Self Portrait Drawing/sketching o Linear perspective with mechanical drawing tools o Human still life drawing Clay sculpture o Complex relief sculpture, mask or human figure Mixed Media o 3-D sculptures Wood Sculpture o Shingle 3-D Balsa Wood Collage Wire Sculpture o 3-D aluminum wire sculpture o Aluminum wire hanging heads Artist Series o Colored paintings o Paul Klee French Grammar o Forming questions o er verbs o Irregular verbs avoir, etre, and faire o Adjective placement and agreement o Verb + infinitive o Possessive adjectives o Expressing age o Expressions using avoir and faire o Structure il y a o Articles o Negation o Possessive adjectives o Reading comprehension Vocabulary o Review numbers, greetings, introductions, colors, dates, days, weather o Time o Food and drink o Family o Adjectives o Nationalities o Objects to own o Prepositions o Adverbs o Question words Culture o French holidays and traditions

o Francophone countries basic geography, history o Geography of France History The Middle Ages is the content focus that allows the following concepts and skills to be studied: Exploration of the reasons for studying history and its impact on the world today. Defining and expanding upon common characteristics of civilizations. Recognition of cycles of conquest, growth and decline within civilizations. Study of the legacy of civilizations throughout early European history and their influences on each other. Begin to explore power and leaderships through researching of leaders in the periods examined. Grapple with the conflicts of fact vs. fiction through a study of legends and oral storytelling. Examine the institutions that structure this period such as tribal culture, religion, education, feudalism and monarchies. Examine architecture as a means to recognizing discovery and progress of a particular period. The following skills are developed in Sixth Grade History: Development of active reading skills Note-taking Outlining Researching using primary and secondary resources Works Cited Lists MLA formatting Use of online resources for creating reference lists Cooperative project work Oral presentation skills Ability to support one s opinion with facts in both written and oral reports. Test Preparations/Study skills Developing test preparation skills and habits Developing test taking skills and habits Learning a variety of note taking forms Learning outlining skills Learning how to respond to different types of test questions True/false Short answer Essay/paragraph Language Arts Reading o Vocabulary o Comprehension o Main idea o Inferences

o Scanning o Summarizing o Outlining o Story elements Grammar o Basic Grammar o Punctuation o Diagramming Sentences Writing o Creative and factual writing o Three paragraph essays o Script writing Text: Language Exercises F Exercises in English Grammar I American Heritage Dictionary The Merriam Webster Thesaurus Literature The Upper School English Curriculum is one that is heavily steeped in the classics. The literature that the Sixth Grade reads is coordinated with the history that the students study. Therefore, some of the novels that the students read are an adaptation of The Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Challenge of the Green Knight, and The Sword in the Stone. Study of Literature o Study of plot structure o Characterization o Theme o Literary devices Study of the following selections: o The Everyman Anthology of Poetry for Children o Japanese Folk Tales o The Canterbury Tales o Sir Gawain and the Challenge of the Green Knight o Catherine, Called Birdy o The Midwife s Apprentice o The Sword in the Stone Math Quantitative Concepts o Prime numbers o Composite numbers o Negative numbers o Fibonacci numbers Counting and Numeration o Base 10 numeration

o Scientific notation for large numbers Measurement o Standard and metric measurement o Measuring distance, volume and area o Measuring angles Estimation o Estimating problems before solving Telling time o 24 hour time Operations o All operations on whole numbers, decimals, fractions and percent o Order of operations, parentheses o Adding and subtracting with negative numbers Place value o Scientific notation for large numbers Word problems o Two and three step word problems o Using a variety of Polya s methods to solve problems Decimals o Addition and subtraction of decimals o Multiplication of decimals o Relationships between decimals, fractions and percentages Fractions o Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of fractions and mixed numbers o Fractions, decimals and percentages o Functions of fractions Geometry o Congruence o Types of angles o Measuring angles o Measuring volume o Formulas for area and volume o Surface area o Parallel and perpendicular lines o Constructions with compass, ruler and protractor o Scale drawing and models Algebraic concepts o Solving for an unknown in one step equations o Using variables in formulas Graphing o Chart and graph reading/predicting o Scatter graphs Rounding o Rounding, up, down, and truncating in different situations Probability

o Odds, predicting the outcome of random events Factors and Multiples o Finding the greatest common factor and the least common multiple Equalities and Inequalities o Solving one step equalities Ratio and Proportion o Proportions o Solving proportions o Speed o Unit cost o Using and interpreting scale drawings Calculators o Using calculators for fractions and exponents Scientific Notation o Exponents Statistics o Mean, median, mode and range o Collecting/displaying data o Interpreting data Music Singing o All Upper School students sing in the St. Peter s School Chorus, an SAB ensemble o Appropriate vocal technique is taught Playing Instruments o Intermediate hand bells o Orff instruments Music Literacy o A continuation of Orff and Kodaly is used for choral music reading o Creative projects o Intermediate hand bells. Movement o Interpreting music through creative movement o Drama and folk dance. Listening o A variety of music from folk to classical to world music is used in the classroom Improvising and composing o Students create music in group projects through singing and playing classroom instruments Form o Identifying forms including free-form Style o Study of the Romantic Era and Opera

o Program music Performances o Declamations o Harvest Festival o Grandparent s Day o Celebration of Light o Graduation o Opportunity to perform in recitals. o English country, modern American and International Folk Dancing at May Day Science Skills built and/or reinforced over the course of Sixth Grade Science include: o Content reading o Note taking o Test preparation o Research and writing o Observation o Data acquisition (analog and digital) o Graphing and data interpretation o Safe lab practices o Scientific method o Critical thinking o Oral expression o Defining and distinguishing concepts o Discussion of current events o Geography o Monitoring of human processes o Comprehension of tables and labels o Understanding development/function o 3-D project building o Off campus study Topics studied in Sixth Grade Science include: o Circulation o Disease o Respiration o Bones o Muscles o Nutrition o Farm to Table o Digestion o Climatology o Biomes o Geography Technology

Office Tools o Use the basic functions of Google Apps for Education and MS Word without assistance. o Basic Excel usage. Collect simple data and perform basic mail merge. o Create interactive forms using Google Apps for Education o Create basic PowerPoint presentations o Investigate alternative presentation tools such as Prezi Research o Perform basic research using vetted online tools such as Encyclopedia Britannica o Begin to critically evaluate less vetted sources; identify the difference between advertising and content Design o Create stop motion animation using digital photography and open source animation tools o Film and edit short live action movies using basic continuity editing concepts o Perform more advanced digital photography editing using layers and transparencies o Create multi-page websites to present material for other classes Programming o Create moderately advanced games using Scratch or similar programming tools. Learn the use of loops, variables and communication between objects. Sports Fitness o Exercises and Stretching o Running/Distance Running o Track and Field 220m, 440m, mile run, broad jumps, hurdles Manipulative Skills o Baseball/Softball/Kickball Throwing, catching, hitting, base running Interscholastic games o Soccer/Basketball Dribbling, passing, shooting Interscholastic games o Floor Hockey o Swimming o Lacrosse Team Sports/Interscholastic Competition o Soccer o Basketball o Softball

It is important to note that our Curriculum Committee, with the help of our faculty, is constantly assessing the content of the curriculum. Adjustments are made to keep the curriculum relevant and to address changing needs.