Sixth Grade Curriculum

The sixth grade reads and discusses works such as The Bronze Bow, Adam of the Road, Parzival, and Otto of the Silver Hand. These materials serve as the primary resources for vocabulary and reading comprehension review. Students also learn to break the writing process into steps, allowing time and inspiration for outlining, drafting, editing, and proofreading. Through assignments such as research projects and creative compositions, sixth graders become well-versed in library and reference book research methods.

The increasing maturity of the sixth graders allows them to strengthen their command of number facts and practice basic operational algorithms. The core math curriculum includes heavy review of previously studied topics such as estimating, rounding, decimals, fractions, and problem solving. Students also apply the formulas for perimeter and surface area for basic figures.

Students examine the transformation from bartering to money-based economies. They also learn to calculate percentages to pay taxes, find the value of a discount, and understand the power of compounding interest.

Constructing geometric figures using a compass and straightedge is an exercise in precision and artistry that allows students to understand mathematic relationships in a visual, kinetic, and artistic ways. In addition to creating geometric progressions of polygons and spirals, students learn the laws of complementary, alternate, and opposite angles. A formal geometric proof is introduced for the first time: the sum of the angles of a triangle equals 180°, an exercise that bridges the transition to an in-depth study of the triangle.

Students continue their reading, writing, and oral exercises from the previous years. Vocabulary is taken directly from stories, and grammar lessons focus on different verbs and their conjugations in different tenses.

Sixth graders focus on mastering sentence structure and verbs as well as expanding their repertoire of commonly-used vocabulary. Short stories, songs, poems, and specific topics continually offer new vocabulary, while reading comprehension skills are improved through questions about the texts.

Students are introduced to the areas of acoustics, optics, heat, magnetism, and electricity. Experiments and games using objects of different materials are vital in the study of acoustics. Conductors and insulators are the primary topics in the heat unit, while optics is analyzed using color simulations in the darkroom. Students learn the basic qualities of magnetism, such as polarity, attraction and repulsion, force field. The electricity unit establishes the concepts of static electricity, current, and voltage.

Lessons examine the four seasons and the role of the Sun as the creator of weather. With many in-class experiments students discover the properties of air, water, heat, and wind. Students keep a weather log, honing their skills of identifying clouds, wind speed and direction, and weather changes.

Here at the Waldorf School of Garden City, astronomy is taught primarily from a geocentric and phenomenological perspective. Students embark on numerous night observations, using that as supplementary material for their study of the rotation of the stars around the celestial pole, the zodiac and circumpolar stars, the Sun, the ecliptic, the Moon’s phases, and the planets.

Students embark on a grand journey through the Americas as they study the geography of Central, and South America. Lessons take them back in time to the emergence and movement of the islands that formed in the Caribbean’s, as well as the Mayan, Aztec, and Incan civilizations. From the heights of the Andes to depths of the Amazon River Basin, sixth graders revel in the majesty, diversity and challenges of this continent. Students also explore the basics of climatology, such as the relationship between latitude/altitude and temperature, atmospheric and oceanic currents and their role in precipitation.

Our northern neighbor provides a sharp contrast to Latin America. Students learn of the rising of the western mountains and the effect of glaciers, leading to a type of terrain that proved to be a challenge for human life. Immigration, spanning from the legendary land trail leading from Asia to North America that guided early movements to the European colonization following 17th Century exploration, is examined.

The story of the Aeneid bridges the ancient Greek unit in fifth grade to the Roman history course in the sixth grade. Students hear tales of the Romulus’ and Remus’ brutal beginnings followed by the tumultuous times of the legendary early kings to the founding of the Republic. Biographies of Hannibal of Carthage, the Graachi, Scipio Africanus, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, and Caesar Augustus illustrate to students both the glories and tragedies of this mighty empire. The reading list also contains contemporary works such as The Shadow of Vesuvius by Eilís Dillon and The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare.

Topics include the fall of the Roman Empire and the impact of the German and Asian invasions on its former territory, such as the creation of feudal societies. Students also study the spread of Islam, along with the Crusades. Many of these topics are presented through the biographies of historic personalities like Pope Gregory, King Richard the Lion Heart, and Mohammed or through archetypes like monks or peasants. The students supplement their understanding of medieval history by reading poems in both Old and Middle English.

Each year, sixth graders work together to put on a class play. In addition to acting, the students are in charge of all aspects of production, including set design, props, costumes, music, and lighting, with assistance from teachers and parents. Recent productions have included A Roman Comedy and Lover’s Knot by Robert Trostli.

Students practice sight reading and intonation. Students participate in performances throughout the year.

This course teaches line dances and group dances of eight people in circular and rectangular formations. These exercises reinforce coordination and cooperation, as children practice stepping in time to the music and following the caller at all times.

Music lessons focus mainly on two instruments: the voice and the recorder. To further good vocal habits, students learn to support musical phrases with appropriate breathing and clear pronunciation for a full and pleasant choral sound. As usual, students add rhythm to their rhyme by adding body percussion and movement to their exercises, a challenge that teaches them sustained concentration and effort. Additionally, students also study medieval music, deconstructing pieces dating from 12th to 14th century England, Spain and France. These songs and dances come to life as the students sing, play, and embellish the tunes with recorders, harps, and percussion instruments.

Themes for painting class include the landscape of northern Canada and the warm Amante style of Mexico. Other assignments include capturing the likeness and spirit of the Roman aqueducts and galley ships using the wet-on-wet watercolor method. Students also attempt veil paintings of fiery volcanoes, a challenging technique that demands much concentration, attention, and patience.

Art projects consist of self portraits, stained-glass windows, beeswax sculpting, and set painting. Students also develop the rudimentary skills for calligraphy, tessellation, and black and white shading.

As sixth graders enter pre-adolescence, the handwork curriculum supports their new sense of self, depth of feeling, and independence. Students cultivate artistry, imagination, and focus through the creation of stuffed animals. Students create their own patterns and profile drawings, cut and sew their pieces of felt, and stuff for the final step. The result is a wonderful assortment of differently colored, shaped, and expressioned animals, a composition that reflects the individuality of the children who made them.

The main task of the sixth grade woodworking class is to create a spoon and fork set out of a piece of green cherry wood from Glen Brook. Students compare different samples of spoons to help them choose a design for their own utensils. Then begins the process of hatching, sizing, roughing, sanding, and oiling. The end result is a beautiful set of woodenware, as well as a deeper understanding of convex and concave shapes.

Sixth graders begin to fill various leadership roles around the court including taking care of attendance, assisting in the locker rooms, setting up the fields, and collecting equipment. Fall sports include track and field, soccer, and Capture the Flag, activities that call for stamina, spatial awareness and teamwork. Dodge ball games are introduced to develop control, accuracy, sensitivity, and strategy. Other games include juggling, European handball, volleyball, and ultimate Frisbee.

Eurythmy exercises are inspired by the culture of ancient Rome. Attention is placed on precise forms, the practice of mental imaging, and vigorous exercises requiring dexterity. Students begin to work with the copper rods to strengthen their orientation in space, stimulate blood circulation, and develop muscle tone. Each lesson begins with a concentration and coordination exercise to stimulate the mind and body.

The gardening curriculum aims for the children to learn and appreciate organic gardening skills. They care for a plot of land by improving the soil, making and using compost, planting trees, flowers and bushes, harvesting their produce, and weeding. During the winter months the children learn how to winterize the garden and prune trees. The children will also experience a brief introduction to Biodynamic Agriculture, a practice of enlivening the soil that enables the land to sustain itself through time.

Sixth graders also learn to make schoolyard salve by crushing, soaking, and melting plaintain and comfrey leaves with beeswax. This soothing remedy is distributed throughout our classrooms to aid childhood scrapes.

This class examines the relationships between organisms and their environments. Students construct a picture of the Earth as a living organism, with each element holding an important role as part of an interconnected whole. Topics covered include the flow of energy through ecosystems in food webs, the importance of biodiversity, the affect of climate on regional ecosystems, the process of growth over time after disturbances in an area, plant and animal habitats and adaptations, and the changing relationship of human beings to the Earth. Students frequently explore the campus ecosystem as part of their extended classroom.

Students evaluate how slow changes on the earth over geologic time can yield dramatic effects, such as the growth and regression of mountains, the ebb and flow of oceans, and the emergence and disappearance of entire continents. Students also examine the rock cycle and characterize primary types of rock, glaciation and weathering, and prominent minerals. Practical applications of these natural wonders such as metals, industrial minerals, and fossil fuels are also introduced.