Skills and Goals for Sixth Graders

Sixth Grade Math Goals

By the end of the sixth grade, students should be able to understand and perform the following activities.

• Understand the concepts of mean, median, and mode.
• Understand ratios and proportions.
• Be able to compute problems of retail math percentages in order to calculate discounts, tips, and interest.
• Understand pi and know the definitions for circle, circumference radius, diameter, and area.
• Be familiar with area and surface formulas.
• Be able to find the greatest common factor.
• Apply order of operations correctly to solve expressions.
• Determine the least common multiple and the greatest common divisor of a whole.
• Use a scientific calculator.
• Convert one unit of measurement to another.
• Solve word problems concerning average speed, distance, and time.
• Be familiar with terminology and measurements related to angles.

Science Goals for Sixth Grade

By the end of the sixth grade, students should be able to understand the concepts below and/or perform the following activities:

• Know about major geologic events, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
• Recognize geologic maps.
• Understand the basics of plate tectonics.
• Understand that energy arrives at earth from the sun in the form of solar radiation.
• Understand how living populations interact in ecosystems.
• Understand evolutionary theory and populations of organisms.
• Recognize the significance of renewable or nonrenewable energy resources.
• Understand hypothesis and theory in science.
• Be familiar with the different aquatic communities.
• Understand the importance of oceans and ocean life.
• Know the traits of fungi and algae.
• Know the characteristics of microbes.
• Gain a basic understanding of the laws of motion and force.
• Understand the basics of electricity.
• Know how magnets work.
• Gain an understanding of basic astronomy and the solar system.

Sixth Grade Goals for English and Composition

By the end of the sixth grade, students should be able to understand and carry out the following rules for grammar, reading, and composition.

• Recognize a figure of speech.
• Be able to carry out compare and contrast essay assignments.
• Use brainstorming methods to generate ideas.
• Recognize first person and third person point of view.
• Recognize themes in books.
• Know the basic types of essays.
• Write a five-paragraph essay.
• Create a logical topic sentence.
• Write a summary.
• Use a word processor such as Microsoft Word.
• Create a basic bibliography.
• Know when to use a colon and a semicolon.
• Know when to use I and me.
• Know when to use who and whom.
• Know the difference between to and too.
• Understand capitalization rules.
• Know the rules for punctuating titles.
• Know how prefixes and suffixes change meaning.

Sixth Grade Social Studies

By the end of the sixth grade, students should be familiar with the concept of many societies and cultures developing around the world. Students should understand settlement patterns and how human beings interacted with their environments in the ancient world.

By the end of sixth grade, students should be familiar with:

• The development of hunter-gatherer societies.
• The importance of domestication of plants and animals.
• The significance of Mesopotamia
• The characteristics of settlement patterns and the physical features of regions where civilizations flourished.
• Greek philosophers
• Development of a caste system.
• Have a strong familiarity with the major regions of the world.
• Know the importance of cuneiform.
• Have a grasp of the history, tenets, and the scope of the major world religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism,​ Islam, and Judaism.
• Understand early trade routes and the roots of international trade.
• Be familiar with a timeline of the Roman Republic.
• Realize significance of early city-states.
• Understand the migration of Germanic peoples.
• Be familiar with the historic significance of the Magna Carta.
• Understand the historical implications of the outbreak of the Black Death.
• Understand the definition and significance of feudalism.
• Have an understanding of regions and cultures of the many ancient Native American cultures.