Students begin their studies in American History with the establishment of the thirteen colonies and travel a time line to the present. Students participate in activities such as internet scavenger hunts, traveling the Oregon Trail and becoming a figure in a wax museum of important historical figures. Once every two years, the fifth and sixth grade classes take a weeklong trip to Washington, D. C., to visit the Capitol, White House, National Archives, and many other historical buildings. On this trip, students have the opportunity to see how the government serves our country. They also visit memorials that honor the country’s forefathers, leaders, and those who fought to protect our freedom.
Sixth graders at Riverhill learn math using the Saxon system. Saxon’s distributed approach breaks apart traditional units and distributes the concepts throughout the year. Not all students learn at the same rate, and Saxon allows for skills to be built upon every day throughout the entire year. Guided problem solving is a first approach toward mastery of higher level thinking skills; students then move on to applying their problem solving skills to real-world situations.
English for sixth graders at Riverhill consists of learning the grammar, usage, and mechanics skills necessary for clear written and oral communication. Using the skills learned, students write narrative, persuasive, expository, and descriptive essays. Writing and public speaking skills learned in English are integrated throughout the sixth grade curriculum. Language concepts are further explored through the continuation of our Greek and Latin Root Words program, our spelling program, and our vocabulary program.
Science is an adventure through the earth–including a trip to the center! The year begins with a brief look at maps. Next is a unit on space which is a favorite with everyone. Following the adventures in space, students buckle down and begin studying earth processes, including the rock cycle, plate tectonics, weather, oceans, and biomes. What is science without experiments? In sixth grade, students do many experiments including measuring the altitude of the sun, drawing ellipses, looking through spectroscopes, measuring an earthquake, and triangulating the location of a hidden treasure on the school grounds.
Curriculum Summary
Language
- Punctuation
- End marks
- Commas
- Semicolon
- Colon
- Italics
- Quotation Marks
- Apostrophes
- Hyphensy
- Capitalization
- Spelling
- Vocabulary
- Meaning
- Word Analysis/etymology
- Parts of Speech
- Nouns
- Pronouns
- Personal
- Possessive
- Demonstrative
- Interrogative
- Indefinite
- Adjectives
- Common/Proper
- Compound
- Verbs, Adverbs
- Prepositions
- Direct Objects
- Indirect Objects
- Conjunction
- Interjection
- Phrases/Clauses: Prepositional, Verb, Adverb, Dependent/Subordinate
- Sentence Structure: Simple, Compound/Complex, Problems, Combining/expanding
- Agreement: Subject/ Verb, Pronoun/ Antecedent
United States History
- The Gold Rush
- The Westward Movement
- The Civil War
- Reconstruction
- The Westward Transformation
- Industrialization
- Urbanization & Immigration
- Political Reform & Progressive Era
- World War I
- The Roaring 20’s
- The Great Depression
- World War II
- Cold War
- Civil Rights Era
- Vietnam War
- End of the Cold War
- Conflict in the Middle East
- Terrorism
- Economy & Environment
- Changes in Science, Technology, & Society
Writing
- Paragraphs: Narrative, Descriptive, Expository, Persuasive
- Five Paragraph Essays: Narrative, Expository, Descriptive, Persuasive
- Research Paper
- Summaries
- Essay
- Newspaper Articles
Literature
- Interpret written material
- Apply Strategies: Making predictions, Using prior knowledge, Setting purposes, Interpreting author’s meaning
- Informal reading
- Recreational reading
- Utilize the study process
- Demonstrate listening: Comprehend message, Understand literal meaning, Recall details/sequence, Paraphrase
- Express opinions
- Integrate oral reading with written composition
- Understanding and empathy
- Select and explore genre
- Determine author’s purpose
- Respect/recognize works of literature
- Literary terms review
Mathematics
- Facts and terminology
- Place value through billions
- Whole number operations
- Multiplication
- Division
- Powers and exponents
- Order of operations
- Measurement in metric & customary units
- Converting measurements
- Mean, median, mode
- Line, bar, & circle graphs
- Decimals: Place value, Ordering decimals, Estimation, Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division
- Distributive Property
- Mass and capacity
- Fractions: Prime factorization, Greatest Common Factor, Least Common Multiple, Ordering fractions, Mixed numbers, Improper fractions, Changing decimals to fractions, Fraction estimation, Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division
- Geometry: Angles, Classifying triangles, Polygons, Symmetry, Perimeter and area of a square, rectangle, circle, and triangle
- Integers: Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division
- Probability and statistics
Earth Science
- Scientific method
- Branches of Earth Science
- Scientific Models
- Maps and Models of the Earth
- Topographic Maps
- Minerals: Identification, Formation, Use
- Rocks/The Rock Cycle
- Igneous Rock
- Sedimentary Rock
- Metamorphic Rock
- Natural Energy Resources
- Fossil Fuels
- Alternative Energy Resources
- Rock and Fossil Records
- Relative Dating of Fossils
- Absolute Dating of Fossils
- Interior of the Earth
- Continental Drift
- Theory of Plate Tectonics
- Deformation of Crust
- Earthquakes: Measurement/Response
- Volcanic Eruptions
- Oceans of the Earth: Floor, Life, Resources, Pollution, Currents
- Waves/Tides
- Atmosphere
- Heating of the Atmosphere
- Winds
- Air Pollution
- Air Moisture
- Air Masses and Fronts
- Severe Weather
- Forecasting Weather
- Climates
- Stars, Galaxies, the Universe
- Life Cycle of Stars
- Formation of the Solar System
- Planetary Motion
- Inner/Outer Planets
- Moons
- Small Bodies of the Solar System