Grade 6 Science

Welcome to Science 6!

A quick overview:

Grade 6 Science is an inquiry-based course where students investigate big scientific questions through experiments, modeling, and problem-solving. Throughout the year, students will study physical science, earth science, and life science topics, building skills in observation, data analysis, and communication.

Course Description

In Grade 6 Science, students will investigate how light and energy work, how Earth’s systems interact, and how living things function and heal. Using experiments, data analysis, and scientific modeling, students will build their understanding of core science concepts while developing skills in observation, collaboration, and critical thinking.

Unit Plans

Unit 1: Light and Matter

Quarter 1

(8/18- 10/2)

Rubric

Why do we sometimes see different things when looking at the same object?

In this unit, students explore the fascinating world of light and vision. We begin with a puzzling phenomenon: a “one-way mirror” that appears as a mirror from one side but a window from the other. Through engaging experiments, collaborative discussions, and model building, students investigate:

How light interacts with different materials.
How the structure of a material affects whether light reflects, transmits, or is absorbed.
How the eye and brain work together to create what we see.
Why lighting differences can cause people to see the same object in different ways.

By the end of the unit, students will be able to explain this phenomenon using scientific vocabulary, diagrams, and evidence from their own investigations.

Key Learning Goals

By the end of this unit, students will be able to:

Model light behavior — Describe and represent how light reflects, transmits, absorbs, and refracts.
Explain material properties — Connect a material’s microscopic structure to its effect on light.
Understand human vision — Explain how the eye and brain work together to process light signals.
Apply scientific reasoning — Use evidence and models to explain related real-world phenomena.

Aligned NGSS Standards

MS-PS4-2 – Develop and use models to describe how light interacts with objects.
MS-PS4-3 – Integrate qualitative and quantitative data to describe that light can be reflected, absorbed, or transmitted.
MS-LS1-8 – Gather and synthesize information that sensory receptors respond to stimuli by sending messages to the brain.

Why This Unit Matters

Understanding how light works not only helps explain everyday experiences—like mirrors, sunglasses, and reflections—but also builds the foundation for future study in physics, biology, and technology. Students learn to think like scientists, test their ideas, and clearly communicate their reasoning.

Why does a lot of hail, rain, or snow fall at some times and not others?

In this unit, students develop a model for how the global movements of water and its changes in form are propelled by sunlight and gravity, first in small-scale weather systems (thunderstorms). They then extend this model to explain mesoscale weather systems. Students will investigate:

1. The temperature profile of the atmosphere above the Earth’s surface. They conduct investigations into how sunlight affects the temperature of different surfaces and the air above them, and how this contributes to cloud formation and growth.
2) They explore how the interactions of air masses, prevailing winds, proximity to the ocean, ocean currents, and surface elevation profiles work together to influence how much precipitation different regions receive.

By the end of the unit, students will be able to explain this phenomenon using scientific vocabulary, diagrams, and evidence from their own investigations.

Key Learning Goals

By the end of this unit, students will be able to:

Thermal Energy Transfer: How sunlight affects the temperature of different surfaces and the air above them, and how this transfer of energy drives the water cycle and weather.
Phase Changes: How water changes state (evaporation, condensation, crystallization) in the atmosphere and its role in cloud and storm formation.
Air Density and Movement: How heating and cooling air changes its density, causing it to move (convection), which is essential for cloud lift and storm development.
Large-Scale Systems: The interaction of warm and cold air masses along fronts, and how these interactions create large-scale precipitation events.

Aligned NGSS Standards

MS-PS1-4: Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.
MS-ESS2-4: Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth’s systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.
MS-ESS2-5: Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions.
MS-ESS2-6: Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.

Why This Unit Matters

Unit 3: Weather, Climate, and Water Cycling

Quarter 2

(10/30- 1/23)

Rubric

Broad Learning Categories / Transfer Goals

Classroom and Course Expectations

Students can expect the following from the teacher concerning the following:

GOOGLE CLASSROOM - All class resources will be posted in Google Classroom. If you are having trouble locating it, contact the teacher.
RUBRICS AND POLICIES - Once posted here they will not change. However, if a change is necessary the teacher will inform students well in advance and will clearly mark the changes.

Calendar