PEABODY PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PEABODY, MASSACHUSETTS

 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CURRICULUM

 GRADE 6, 2002

  

Prepared by:

   Kaylyn Govoni

 

 

Administrator of Instruction:

   C. Milton Burnett, Ed.D.

 

PEABODY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CURRICULUM

GRADE 6

 

 

COURSE OVERVIEW

 

The sixth grade Science program at the Higgins Middle School concentrates primarily on living things.  There are also four units that are covered in the sixth grade, that are not in the frameworks, but are essential skills and tools that students need in order to complete the Science curriculum.  These four units are: The Scientific Method, Metrics-Linear Measurements, Observation and Inference, and The Microscope: Parts and Functions.

 

These topics are taught through constant use of process skills and critical thinking skills within a hands-on, guided inquiry lab approach to covering the curriculum.

 

The text used is the Science Explorer modular series published by Prentice Hall.  At the sixth grade level there are five student version textbooks available for each student.

 

CELLS AND HEREDITY:

            Chapter 1 – Cell Structure and Function

            Chapter 2 – Cell Processes and Energy

            Chapter 3 – Genetics: The Science of Heredity

            Chapter 4 – Modern Genetics

            Chapter 5 – Changes Over Time

 

FROM BACTERIA TO PLANTS:

            Chapter 1 – Living Things

            Chapter 2 – Viruses and Bacteria

            Chapter 3 – Protists and Fungi

            Chapter 4 – Introduction to Plants

            Chapter 5 – Seed Plants

 

ANIMALS:

            Chapter 1 – Sponges, Cnidarians, and Worms

            Chapter 2 – Mollusks, Arthropods, and Echinoderms

            Chapter 3 – Fishes, Amphibians, and Reptiles

            Chapter 4 – Birds and Mammals

 

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE:

            Chapter 1 – Populations and Communities

            Chapter 2 – Ecosystems and Biomes

            Chapter 3 – Living Resources

HUMAN BIOLOGY AND HEALTH:

            Chapter 2 – Bones, Muscle, and Skin

            Chapter 3 – Food and Digestion

            Chapter 4 – Circulation

            Chapter 5 – Respiration and Excretion

            Chapter 6 – Fighting Disease

            Chapter 7 – The Nervous System

            Chapter 8 – The Endocrine System and Reproduction

 

One supplemental source that all sixth grade teachers have to cover the units not in our frameworks, but that are essential to our curriculum, is the Science Workshop Series, published by The Globe Book Company.  The three titles that are available to teachers are:

 

BIOLOGY: SURVEY OF LIVING THINGS

1.      How do scientists measure things?

2.      What is a scientific method?

3.      How are experiments done safely?

 

 

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

 

The sixth grade Science program uses a wide variety of teaching techniques where the students work both independently and cooperatively to satisfy the following strands and concepts put forth in the Massachusetts Frameworks published on May of 2001.

 

The Prentice Hall, Science Explorer modular series is the text supplement used to teach the current subject matter.

 

 

INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS

 

Inquiry and Experimentation – All grade (6-8) inquiry standards

 

Strand 2 – Life Science (Biology)

 

·        Classification of Organisms – Learning Standard #1

·        Structure and Function of Cells – Learning Standards #2, 3 and 4

·        Systems of Living Things – Learning Standards #5 and 6

·        Reproduction and Heredity – Learning Standards #7, 8 and 9

·        Evolution and Biodiversity – Learning Standard #10

(grades 6 and 7 will cover this standard)

(grade 7 will cover Standard #11)

(grades 6 and 7 will cover Standard #12)

·        Living Things and Their Environment – Learning Standard #13

·        Energy and Living Things – Learning Standards #14 and 15

(grades 6 and 8 will cover Standard #16)

·        Changes in Ecosystems Over Time – Learning Standards #17 and 18

(grades 6 and 7 will cover these standards)

 

The following units are also covered in the sixth grade to ensure satisfactory completion of the frameworks assigned.  Supplemental materials are used to meet these requirements.

 

¨      The Scientific Method

¨      Observation and Inference

¨      The Microscope – parts and functions

¨       Metric Linear Measurements: millimeter, centimeter and meter

 

INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS – GRADE 6	STRAND 2 LIFE SCIENCE	STANDARD
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
NATURE OF SCIENCE: PROTECTING DESERT WILDLIFE	13
CHAPTER 1
POPULATIONS AND COMMUNITIES	13,17,18
S1: LIVING THINGS AND THE ENVIRONMENT	13
S2: INTEGRATING MATHEMATICS: STUDYING POPULATIONS	13,17
INTERACTIONS AMONG LIVING THINGS	13,17,18
CHAPTER 2
ECOSYSTEMS AND BIOMES	13,14,15,17,18
S1: ENERGY FLOW IN ECOSYSTEMS	13,14,15
S2: INTEGRATING CHEMISTRY: CYCLES OF MATTER	13,14,15
S3: BIOGEOGRAPHY	13,14,17
S4: EARTH’S BIOMES	13,17
S5: SUCCESSION	13,17,18
CHAPTER 3
LIVING RESOURCES	10,12,17,18
S1: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES	10,17
S2: FORESTS AND FISHERIES	10,17
S3: BIODIVERSITY	10,12,17,18

 

 

 

INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS – GRADE 6	STRAND 2 LIFE SCIENCE	STANDARD
CHAPTER PROJECT
CH.1: WHAT’S A CROWD?	13,17
CH.2: BREAKING IT DOWN	13,14,15
CH.3: VARIETY SHOW	10,18
DISCOVER ACTIVITY
HOW WELL CAN YOU HIDE A BUTTERFLY? P31	13
WHERE DID YOUR DINNER COME FROM? P44	14
HOW CAN YOU MOVE A SEED? P56	13
HOW MUCH RAIN IS THAT? P62	13
WHAT HAPPENED HERE? P76	18
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TUNA? P91	10
SKILLS LAB
WORLD IN A JAR P22	13
CHANGE IN A TINY COMMUNITY P74	13,17
TREE COOKIE TALES P96	10,17
REAL WORLD LAB
COUNTING TURTLES P29	13,17
BIOMES IN MINIATURE P60	13,14
CELLS AND HEREDITY
NATURE OF SCIENCE: UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF CELLS	2

 

 

 

INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS – GRADE 6	STRAND 2 LIFE SCIENCE	STANDARD
CHAPTER 1
CELL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION	2,3,4
S1: DISCOVERING CELLS	2,3,4
S2: LOOKING INSIDE CELLS	2,3,4
S3: INTEGRATING CHEMISTRY: CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS IN CELLS	2,4
S4: THE CELL IN ITS ENVIRONMENT	2,4
CHAPTER 2
CELL PROCESSES AND ENERGY	2,4,7,8,9,16
S1: PHOTOSYNTHESIS	2,4,16
S2: RESPIRATION	2,4,16
S3: CELL DIVISION	2,7,8,9
CHAPTER 3
GENETICS: THE SCIENCE OF HEREDITY	7,8,9,10
S1: MENDEL’S WORK	7
S2: INTEGRATING MATH: PROBABILITY AND GENETICS	7
S3: THE CELL AND INHERITANCE	8,9
S4: THE DNA CONNECTION	8,9,10
INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS – GRADE 6	STRAND 2 LIFE SCIENCE	STANDARD
CHAPTER 4
MODERN GENETICS	8
S1: HUMAN INHERITANCE	8
CHAPTER 5
CHANGES OVER TIME	10,11,12,17,18
S1: DARWIN’S VOYAGE	10,11,12,17,18
S2: INTEGRATING EARTH SCIENCE: THE FOSSIL RECORD	10,11,12,17,18
S3: OTHER EVIDENCE FOR EVOLUTION	10,11,18
CHAPTER PROJECTS
CH.1: EGG-SPERIMENT WITH A CELL	2,4
CH.2: SHINE ON!	16
CH.3: ALL IN THE FAMILY	7
CH. 4: A FAMILY PORTRAIT	8
CH. 5: LIFE’S LONG CALENDAR	11,17
DISCOVER ACTIVITIES
HOW DO MOLECULES MOVE? P40	2
WHERE DOES ENERGY COME FROM? P50	4,16
WHAT IS A PRODUCT OF RESPIRATION? P55	4,16
WHAT ARE THE CELLS DOING? P61	7,8,9
WHICH CHROMOSOME IS WHICH? P96	8,9
HOW TALL IS TALL? P112	8
HOW DO LIVING THINGS VARY? P140	10,18

 

 

 

INSTRUCTIONAL UNITS – GRADE 6	STRAND 2 LIFE SCIENCE	STANDARD
WHAT CAN YOU LEARN FROM FOSSILS? P151	10,11,12
HOW CAN YOU CLASSIFY SPECIES? P159	10,11
SKILLS LAB
A MAGNIFIED VIEW OF LIFE P32	2,3,4
MULTIPLYING BY DIVIDING P69	2,9
TAKE A CLASS SURVEY P86	7
MAKE THE RIGHT CALL P94	7
NATURE AT WORK P146	10,11,12,17,18