Grade 6 Curriculum
Sixth grade is a remarkable time when students enter the realm of abstract thinking, where empathy is enhanced through exposure to important mature topics of social justice, and where students spend their last year being advised primarily by their homeroom teachers. They participate in a robust arts program, have the opportunity to try out to participate in interscholastic athletics teams with older students, and they spend their first year in a more immersive language program. In the fall, sixth graders go off for their first extended overnight trip to the Farm School in Athol, Massachusetts, where they learn to work hard as a community and come to appreciate where food comes from. And in the spring, they write and perform a dramatization of the seminal events in civil rights history, create their own projects rooted in social justice and equity, and learn how music both showcases and complements social movements. Over the course of this important year of adolescence, students grow intellectually as well as physically, and are guided by teachers who appreciate the complexity, challenges, and enchanting opportunities of this age group.
Program Highlights
- Freedom Night
- Kindergarten buddies
- Astronomy Night
- Solar cars
- UNICEF fundraiser
Specialist Time
- World language three times a week for 50 minutes
- Arts four times a week for 50 minutes (music, visual art, performing arts, and woodworking and 21st century skills)
- Athletics four times a week for 60 minutes

Math
Estimation, number sense, mental math, and a sense of magnitude permeate the sixth grade curriculum. All sixth graders take on complex challenges, including Math Olympiad problems, number theory, and calculating area and volume, and big ideas about ratio and proportion. The overall focus is on conceptual understanding, proficiency, accuracy, and clear communication.

Science
Sixth graders begin the year studying the solar system and go on to study electricity, Newton’s laws, and simple machines. They are introduced to the components of formal lab observations, recording, and procedures. They construct solar cars, designing, testing, and refining their vehicles for the greatest efficiency and speed.