Science
Windham Central Supervisory Union
Science: Grade 6 Scope & Sequence
Unit 1: Space Systems
Unit 2: History of Earth
Unit 3: Earth's Systems
Unit 4: Weather and Climate
Unit 5: Human's impact on Earth's systems and environments
Earth Day Essays
The Attorney General’s Office is holding an Earth Day Essay Challenge for 5th and 6th graders all around Vermont to submit essays on Earth Day and the environment.
The essay will be posted on the Attorney General's webpage on or around Earth Day, April 22nd, 2024.
Our Earth is always in Motion
The Earth is always in motion. It rotates, or spins, on its axis, an imaginary line from the north pole to the south pole. Each complete rotation is about 24 hours.
Phases of
the Moon
The Moon is always half illuminated and half dark, the phases are what we see from Earth.
Pangaea
This is a diagram of Pangaea, which was a supercontinent that existed millions of years ago. This is where all of the continents of today were once connected and fit together like a puzzle. This diagram shows the fossil remains of the Cynognathus, a Triassic land reptile approximately 3 meters long, are found across the middle of South American and into the middle of Africa where the continents were once joined. There are fossils of the Triassic land reptile, Lystrosaurus, found in India, Antarctica, and Africa where those three continents were once joined. Fossil remains of the fresh water reptile Mesosaurus are found in the southern part of South America and southern Africa where those two continents were once joined. Fossils of the fern Glossopteris, found in all of the southern continents, show that they were once joined.
Plate Motions
This diagram shows a cross section of the Earth’s surface illustrating the different types of plate motion. From left to right, there is a plate converging on another. The denser plate sinks down under the less dense plate, forming a deep sea trench where the two plates converge. This convergence also forms a mountain range with folded layers to the right of the trench. Further to the right two plates diverge forming a mid-ocean ridge.
Rock Cycle
Three rectangles in a circle connected by bidirectional arrows connecting them. In the upper left is Igneous Rocks; upper right is Sedimentary Rocks; and bottom middle is Metamorphic Rocks. From Igneous Rock to Sedimentary Rocks is an arrow labeled Weathering and erosion. From Sedimentary Rocks to Igneous rocks is an arrow labeled Melting. From Sedimentary Rocks to Metamorphic Rocks is an arrow labeled Heating and Pressure. From Metamorphic Rocks to Sedimentary Rocks is an arrow labeled Weathering and erosion. From Metamorphic Rocks to Igneous Rocks is an arrow labeled Melting. From Igneous to Metamorphic is an arrow labeled Heating and Pressure.
Water Cycle
This model shows a cross-section of California’s Central Valley. On the left (West Coast Ranges) are loose sediment, sedimentary rocks, and small grains. This layer swoops under the main part of the valley and nearly reaches the surface at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (solid bedrock) in the east. On top of the loose sediment in the interior of the valley is loose sediment with large grains, along with pockets of loose sediment with small grains throughout. The water is shown coming into the valley from streams or rivers from both the west and the east (snow pack), and then filtering through the loose sediment, eventually rising to the top again. At the surface of the valley is a river flowing through the middle of the valley fed by the water table that lies just below the surface of the valley. At the surface, evapotranspiration occurs with water evaporating into the atmosphere. Precipitation also occurs in the valley adding water back into the cycle.