6th Grade Academics

A school district best serves its students and parents by establishing an integrated and dynamic relationship between its curriculum, instruction, and assessment standards.

In Novi, these standards and practices are grounded in the Michigan state standards. Michigan standards have changed over time, and the state, in recent years, has adopted new standards to ensure that all students are career and college ready.

Career & college-ready students possess the skills necessary to earn a self-sustaining wage and participate in postsecondary opportunities without remediation.

This means that they:

use technology and tools strategically in learning and communicating
use argument and reasoning to do research, construct arguments, and critique the reasoning of others
communicate and collaborate effectively with a variety of audiences
solve problems, construct explanations and design solutions

Through the vision statement of the Novi Board of Education and the exit outcomes for high school students, Novi educators have embedded the needs and aspirations of its community into our standards-based aligned curriculum . The end product is an organization of programs that is continuously reviewed and aligned to best practices that provides for continuous professional learning and student continuous progress. Michigan's Academic Standards from the Michigan Department of Education.

Sixth grade

Sixth grade

Art

Band and Orchestra

Sixth grade band and orchestra are yearlong elective classes that meet 2-3 times a week during Academic 30 time. Students will not miss any other special class or instruction time during band class.

Sixth grade band and orchestra is intended for second year players with one year of playing experience. Students will work on developing good tone quality, recognizing and performing different styles of music, increasing technical and rhythmic skills and developing as an individual and ensemble musicians. Students may have the opportunity to switch to an instrument that is needed in our band (bassoon, oboe, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, French horn, trombone, baritone or tuba) or orchestra (viola, cello or bass). Private lessons may be required for instrument switches. Students may elect to join sixth grade band or orchestra as a first year player. Hard work and private lessons will be required to help the student catch up to their peers.

Band and orchestra students are expected to practice 80 minutes a week. Students will learn valuable team building skills, setting and meeting short and long -term goals, individual responsibility, and many other lifelong lessons. The sixth grade band and orchestra will have two performances (winter, spring).

ELA

The sixth grade English Language Arts curriculum is designed to give students a critical foundation in reading and writing narrative, informational and argumentative texts. Through analysis and production of texts in these three genres, students will become more skilled as readers, writers, and thinkers. Students will study fiction and nonfiction in a variety of formats and will be expected to increase the complexity and volume of their independent reading through rigorous expectations. The use of a reader and/or writer’s notebook for each unit encourages students to be independent, engaged, and empowered learners who value close reading, idea generation, drafting and revision.

Math

Math 6 (Taught in 5th and 6th grade)

Sixth grade students work toward mastery of fluency with all operations of whole, decimal, and fractional numbers. Students will work toward connecting ratio and rate to whole number multiplication and division and using ratio and rate to solve problems. Students extend their previous understandings of number and the ordering of numbers to the full system of rational numbers, which includes negative rational numbers, and in particular negative integers. They reason about the order and absolute value of rational numbers and about the location of points in all four quadrants of the coordinate plane. Students work on reasoning about relationships among shapes to determine area, surface area, and volume. The relationship between perimeter and area is studied, with a focus on how changes in one affect the other. Students understand the use of variables in mathematical expressions. They are expected to write, interpret, and use expressions and equations to describe and solve mathematical situations. Building on and reinforcing their understanding of number, students begin to develop their ability to think statistically. They summarize data using the measures of center, measures of variability, and distribution.

Math 7 (Taught in 5th and 6th grade)

In Math 7, students study ratios and proportionality in both geometric and algebraic situations. They investigate key concepts in two-dimensional and three-dimensional geometry. After a study of rational numbers, students study linear relationships in graphic, tabular, and symbolic form. Math 7 students also study probability and data analysis with an emphasis on sampling. Students in Math 7 study all seventh-grade learning goals as identified by Novi Community Schools and the Michigan Department of Education.

Math 8 (Taught in 6th grade)

In this course, students extend the study of linear relationships that has been building through Math 6 and Math 7 as they compare linear functions to inverse, exponential, and quadratic functions. For both linear and non-linear functions students look at graphs, tables, and equations (symbolic form) as well as identifying situations that can be represented by each type of function. Students study the Pythagorean Theorem and the geometric topics of transformation, congruence, and similarity. Students develop skills in symbolic representation, as they continue the study of linear equations and systems of equations. Students in Math 8 study all eighth-grade learning goals as identified by Novi Community Schools and the Michigan Department of Education.

Physical Education

Physical Education Curriculum

Adventure Education: Team Building
Fitness Testing: Pre-test Mile Run.
Soccer: Passing, trapping, kicking, dribbling, with modified game play
Lacrosse: Passing and catching, with modified game play
Floor hockey.
Team Handball: Modified game play
Pillo Polo: Stick handling, Passing, Shooting, with game modified game play
Volleyball: Serving, Forearm Pass and Overhead Set, with modified game play
Basketball: Dribbling, Passing and Shooting with station work
Base Games: Whiffleball and Kickball-style games
Fitness Testing: Mile Run.
Football: Passing and Catching, with modified game play
Invasion Games: Capture-the-flag style games

Expectations/Assessment:

All students will be able to:

Demonstrate age appropriate motor skills, fitness skills and sport skills
Come to class prepared with appropriate gym shoes
Actively participate in daily activity, demonstrating best effort
Follow rules and directions
Use good sportsmanship
Work cooperatively with others
Stay on task during daily activities

Students are assessed on the above with a 3, 2,1 scale with 3 being the highest.

Science

Sixth grade science focuses on life on Earth. The sixth grade curriculum helps to build the foundation for high school biology.

Students complete four units of study:

The Diversity of Life will help students learn about the characteristics common to all living organisms.
Human Systems Interactions will provide an opportunity for students to explore how the body systems interact while solving a medical problem.
Populations and Ecosystems will explore population dynamics within ecosystems.
Heredity and Adaptation will explore genetics and inheritance.

These units will help students develop an ecological understanding and appreciation for the diversity on our planet.

World Language

Robotics

The 6th grade robotics program, the first of its kind offered in North or South America, is designed to teach the students the basic concepts of anthropomorphic robots and robot programming, including the concepts of the history, application, components, and movements of most common robots. The program integrates concepts of spatial mathematics -- as well as the scientific method -- to teach students to problem-solve both simple and complex tasks utilizing the robot arm, as well as other resources.

The curriculum is divided into five main sections:

Robotics 1: Components and Movements (8 weeks)
Mathematics 1: The Cartesian Plane (8 weeks)
Mathematics 2: Scientific Method (8 weeks)
Coding 1: Coding with eDo (5 weeks)
Coding 2: From Flow Chart to Blockly (5 weeks)

Social Studies

Vocal Music

Meadows students performing in a concert.

Course Description and Units

Vocal Music provides an opportunity to learn music fundamentals with an emphasis on the voice. Students learn and practice proper vocal technique including breath control, diction and tone quality, through singing a variety of music. Music reading skills, part-singing, and common vocabulary are also studied in this class. Students develop ensemble skills and incorporate choreography, fostering individual coordination, as well as teamwork. A developed solo voice is not essential; however, a willingness to improve singing skills is vital.

Technique Unit:

Demonstrate correct posture
Sing with clear diction and choral vowels while blending with others
Use breath control for long phrases and sustained notes
Manage head and chest voices appropriately

Reading Music Unit:

Decode rhythms & pitches to sight-read simple patterns
Identify and demonstrate musical forms and tonality, as well as the meaning of common musical symbols and vocabulary
Read music in 2-3 parts on the grand staff

Expression Unit:

Identify and demonstrate vocal articulation, dynamic markings, tempo markings, musical tonality & phrasing

Performance Unit:

Follow the cues of a conductor
Use music vocabulary to create criteria for evaluation of performances
Demonstrate appropriate audience and riser behaviors
Sing songs from memory in 2-3 parts
Demonstrate stage presence & perform choreography accurately