Sixth Grade
Students in Sixth Grade will experience many opportunities for personal, social, and academic growth during the school year. All of these opportunities will help them to develop self-directed positive attitudes and to acquire skills for lifetime learning. The emphasis at this level is on organization and independence.
ENGLISH
Text: English, Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
The Sixth Grade program is designed to improve student’s oral and written language through daily lessons in the processes and techniques of reading, writing, listening, speaking, thinking, and language study.
READING
Text: Reading Street, Publisher: Scott Foresman
The Sixth Grade curriculum includes weekly reading selections to develop comprehension. Vocabulary practices, and literary terms such as plot, cause and effect, and author’s purpose are practiced and developed within each story. Our weekly textbook stories, as well as monthly novels cover a variety of genres including fiction, science fiction, adventure, and historical fiction. Our weekly selections are also correlated with a weekly spelling lesson.
SPELLING
Text: Reading Street Spelling, Publisher: Scott Foresman
The Sixth Grade will use workbook exercises to practice with prefixes, suffixes, related words, and spelling patterns within the English language. These different lessons work with the use of a dictionary and thesaurus to use the vocabulary correctly, as well as in their writing.
SCIENCE
Text: Science Explorer Earth Science, Publisher: Prentice Hall
The Sixth Grade curriculum explores earth and its place in the universe. This will include the study of Geology, Meteorology, Astronomy, and Environmental Science as we research our planets, weather, climate, rocks, minerals, and its natural occurrences.
MATH
Text: Math, Publisher: Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
The Sixth Grade program starts off with a review of the last year’s concepts which correlates with the National Council Teachers of Mathematics Standards. Areas covered are the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of decimals; graphing, statistics, probability, number theory, and fractions (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), measurement of customary and metric units; all algebra functions, equations, inequalities, integers, rational numbers; geometry concepts and application; ratios and proportions; percents and problem solving in all areas.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Text: World Adventure In Time and Place, Publisher: Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
The Sixth Grade program focuses on an overview of World History. The five fundamental themes of geography are used to support the ties among past and present people, places and events. Geographic literacy is developed throughout the year.
RELIGION
Text: We Believe, Publisher: Sadlier
Sixth Grade students will gather to learn about beliefs of the Catholic religion and how to respond to those beliefs as a Christian through the six tasks of Catechesis: learn, celebrate, choose, pray, share, and live. The Sixth Grade program focuses on the forming of the covenant, building the covenant nation, redefining the covenant people and the covenant fulfilled in Jesus. The curriculum also includes human sexuality and development, taught from a Catholic perspective. The Benziger text FAMILY LIFE is used as an aid for this part of the curriculum.
ART
Teacher resources are utilized
Sixth Grade students will produce a variety of seasonal art projects.
Appreciation for art is fostered.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Please see Other Areas of Study for more information regarding the gym curriculum.
MUSIC
Please see Other Areas of Study for more information regarding the music curriculum.
The Sixth Grade program includes an introduction to some of the many ways in which we enjoy music. With the knowledge that is gained specifically in grades 3, 4, & 5, a study of Music through the Ages, its periods, styles, composers, similarities, and differences is studied.
COMPUTER
Please see Other Areas of Study for more information regarding the computer curriculum.
INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGIES
The Sixth Grade classroom teacher will use a variety of instructional methodologies including whole group discussions, small group cooperative learning, individual work, and one-on-one support.
Teacher Biography
Mrs. Katie Avelar has a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education as well as a middle school endorsement for Mathematics from Concordia University of River Forest.
Mrs. Avelar has been teaching junior high at Saint Zachary School since 2007.
Mrs. Avelar’s sixth grade page coming soon!