Grade 6

In English, students acquire and apply the skills in reading, writing, discussion, and organization necessary for academic success in the Upper School. Through an anti-bias lens that focuses on the themes of identity and belonging in literature, students improve reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. English students learn self-advocacy skills and collaborative techniques to use in discussions and in group projects. Additionally, sixth graders learn about time management, breaking down large assignments into steps, and developing habits for organizing work and materials. Students build active reading skills through direct instruction, study guides, and annotation techniques. Fiction and nonfiction selections typically include these titles: Class Act, Inside Out and Back Again, The Breadwinner, The Giver, and various short stories and poetry. In addition to class novels, students are required to read books independently and produce one IRB (independent reading book) project per trimester; recommended titles include genres and authors that provide both windows and mirrors for students. Additionally, sixth graders write in a wide variety of genres, including narrative storytelling, exposition, persuasion, analysis, and poetry. Through creative and expository writing, students learn to express a main idea using supporting examples/quotations and providing a context. Grammar and vocabulary are taught throughout as students use the writing process to build a more proficient writing style. Engaging with teachers, they learn to apply feedback to strengthen their writing skills. Grade 6 English fosters a love of reading across genres, promotes critical thinking skills around the Harkness table, and develops sound writing habits that encourage students to execute their insights on the page with clarity and cohesion.

In a yearlong art course, Grade 6 students build upon their knowledge of the formal properties of visual art that they have explored in Lower School. Color theory and mixing, scale and proportion in drawing from observation, and shading techniques are emphasized in age-appropriate projects. Students work with a wide range of media, such as clay, ink, charcoal, paint, recycled materials, and collage papers. Grade 6 students are introduced to the use of the pottery wheel and how to throw and trim a clay form on the wheel. Students are also introduced to woodworking in the Innovation Lab where they begin to learn how to carve, join, and finish wood through a variety of projects. As students work with their hands, they expand their visual vocabulary, develop concrete skills, learn how to stretch their imaginations, and be expressive with imagery. Students have both the framework of an assigned project with specific requirements as well as free choice opportunities to follow an individual interest.

Through elementary to middle school transition curriculum and skill development, discussions, cooperation, formal communication, reading comprehension, writing practices, refined content expression techniques, sixth graders will expand their academic horizons while focusing on language and overall independent learning strategy development. Sixth-grade language and practice focuses on generating an inquisitive mindset that utilizes analytical strategies to process literature and other academic challenges in a more comprehensive, in-depth manner that yields healthy, personal success. Students develop a strategic approach to academic behaviors that facilitate academic success and confidence. Highlights in Language and Practice include Creative Writing Stories, Markers of a Successful Self project, The Demystification of Writing, The Year in a Blog activity, and dynamic, expressive activities.

Grade 6 students may enroll in Latin. This course explores the language and culture of the ancient Romans by learning about a family living in Pompeii during the first century CE, prior to the eruption of Vesuvius. Our study of the language covers basic uses of the nominative, accusative, and ablative, and students encounter the active voice of present, imperfect, and perfect tenses. Through English discussion, and by reading, hearing, writing, and speaking Latin, students explore questions such as: Where do words come from? How do words fit together in a sentence?  What was it like to live 2,000 years ago?

The Grade 6 music course dovetails with the Grade 4 and 5 curriculum and allows students to explore previously learned concepts in new, more in-depth ways. Throughout the year, students develop music-specific skills and general academic competencies that they will continue to practice in future music classes, including reading and notating music, listening to, analyzing, and describing music, and composing music within specific guidelines. Grade 6 students are composers, listeners, and performers. Though the initial preparation and organization of performance-based experiences requires teacher design and coordination, the students are ultimately responsible for individual outcomes. Students prepare and perform increasingly more challenging choral repertoire and utilize technology for composition and the creation of music. Music literacy and listening skills are paramount in Grade 6, providing students with the necessary skill set to become more proficient and independent musicians and consumers of music. Students study, prepare, and perform music from a wide range of time periods, cultural traditions, and genres. Additionally, sixth grade students explore a body of work by various composers, many of whom represent underrepresented populations, minorities, or cultures that are different than their own. Other goals in Grade 6 music class are to encourage learners to foster original ideas, practice perseverance, develop confidence in one’s own abilities, and take creative risks.

Designed to help students transition to learning science in the Upper School, the emphasis of this course is providing students with opportunities to be active and to learn by doing science. Throughout the year, students develop science-specific and general academic competencies that they will continue to practice in future science classes. After learning about scientific methods, students study environmental science, including climate change and other environmental issues, and the particle model of matter, including investigating temperature, pressure, light, sound, and states of matter. Throughout the year, students are encouraged to make connections to other areas of science and to the world around them. As part of this, students learn about scientists working in a variety of fields and also learn about their surrounding habitats while nature journaling. Building on previous science courses, students gain an ability to more independently complete scientific investigations, to learn science concepts while reading a variety of sources, and to write about experimental results. Students also learn through the design thinking process, including developing their ability to demonstrate resilience while learning through trial and error and learning from failure. Students also develop their ability to collaborate with classmates while obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information, including while practicing effective study strategies and while participating in class discussions. The course ends with an interactive assessment in which students demonstrate the scientific skills they have learned and developed throughout the year.

6 Spanish 1A is the first part of a Spanish I course. Using several types of present-tense verbs, students learn how to describe themselves and others, their schools, schedules and classes, clothing, food, sports, their families, houses, and their likes and dislikes. Special units focus on the accomplishments of famous Hispanics and the Day of the Dead. Students usually finish the year by reading Pobre Ana, a short novel written entirely in Spanish. 

The first year of upper school Theater Arts helps students build upon their skills in creative movement and begin to advance their skills in vocalization and character development. Beginning with the unit, “Building Community Through Drama,” students cultivate a classroom environment that fosters creative risk-taking, peer support, and collaboration. Through acting exercises in mime, pantomime, and improvisation, students learn to explore and expand their expressive range. In the final trimester, students study clowning and physical comedy, building their skills in concentration, scene development, and stage presence. Grade 6 students also have the opportunity to participate in either the Upper School, non-musical theatrical production or the mainstage musical production as a performer or member of the stage crew. 

Grade 6 history students will spend the first trimester exploring the world through an intense study of geography. Understanding maps and how to use them will lead into second and third trimester studies of the cultures of Africa, Asia, and South America. Using their knowledge of geography, students will engage in activities and read primary sources to gain an understanding of the connections between people and places, and discover why people settle in particular places, why they migrate, how culture and religions move with them, and how geography affects human settlement and use of resources. Overall, the course focuses on developing skills that establish the foundation for a Shore Upper School student of history to become a thoughtful, curious, and engaged learner over the three year program. Practice in discussions helps students become active listeners as well as participants, and gives them an opportunity to learn to be patient with others as they express their ideas and understanding. The collaborative work at the discussion table helps students appreciate the role of publicly articulating ideas and working together to come to a meaningful understanding of the past. Reading is emphasized as an active exercise, and specific close reading strategies are directly taught and practiced. Writing introduces the concept of an ID (who, what, where, when, why) and reinforces proper sentence structure and grammar. This serves as a springboard for writing assignments as they increase in intensity in Grades 7 and 8. Assessments include quizzes and written work, and research skills are introduced and used to create projects.