6th Grade Science

Class Overview

First and foremost it is my goal to inspire a love for science and an appreciation of the mesmerizing world around us! 

Students cover a variety of topics in 6th grade.  

• They will participate in multiple labs and develop an enhanced understanding of the scientific method. 

• We will look into the microscopic world of atoms by exploring their structure and bonds and using them to understand chemical changes and chemical equations.  We will investigate which elements make up the atmosphere, oceans, earth's crust, and living matter.

• We will flow into the study of water, the water cycle, and the impacts that water has in our lives.  We will investigate the impact people have on the environment based on how we treat our water sources.

• Our water journey will take us to Virginia's watersheds where we will dive deeper into the ecosystems in wetlands focusing on what is in our own backyard.  We will investigate the importance of estuaries and water quality and predict future issues for one of our most important resources.  Students will be given the opportunity to participate in numerous activities as we attend Watershed Field Day with other 6th graders from Smyth County.  

• Through the study of energy we will understand how energy moves in our oceans and through our atmosphere.  We will track energy from the sun to see the transformations it goes through to provide us with energy that is required to run our world.  We will investigate how fossil fuels are formed and their uses.  

• Through the study of natural resources we will investigate the impact that we have on Earth's systems.  We will research renewable and nonrenewable resources and how they can be managed.  Through research we will see how water and air pollution and energy sources impact human health.  We will learn how to reduce environmental hazards and waste management costs.  We will step into the role of local and state conservation professionals to see what ways they protect our resources and systems and what we can do to help.  

• Taking to the sky we will learn the layers of the atmosphere followed by an in depth study of weather phenomena.  We will learn how different instruments and maps allow for the prediction of weather conditions.  Students will try their hand at becoming a meteorologist and predicting weather.  

• Our final study will be out of this world as we travel to space to how the Earth supports life, has day, night, seasons, and tides and, investigate the phases of the moon.  We will study the planets and other celestial objects.  As we travel through time we will track the changes and developments in technology and our understanding of the solar system.