United States · Common Core State Standards
6th Grade Science
This curriculum explores the fundamental principles of life, earth, and physical sciences through the lens of interconnected systems. Students investigate how energy flows and matter cycles through the natural world while developing skills in modeling and evidence based argumentation.
Molecules in Motion
An exploration of the particle nature of matter and how thermal energy affects the behavior of atoms and molecules.
Students investigate how adding or removing thermal energy changes the arrangement and motion of particles in solids, liquids, and gases.
A study of how the mass and volume of a substance determine its ability to float or sink in a fluid.
Students observe how atoms rearrange to form new substances and prove that mass is conserved during these changes.
Cells and Body Systems
Investigation into the microscopic building blocks of life and how specialized cells work together to maintain complex organisms.
Students compare plant and animal cells to understand how specialized organelles support life functions.
An examination of how organ systems interact to process nutrients, move the body, and respond to the environment.
Students explore how organisms receive and process information from their surroundings to survive.
Energy Flow in Ecosystems
Tracing the path of energy from the sun through food webs and analyzing the cycling of matter in the environment.
Investigation of the chemical processes that allow plants to make food and animals to release energy.
Analyzing the relationships between producers, consumers, and decomposers in various habitats.
Evaluating how ecosystems respond to changes such as natural disasters or human intervention.
Earth's Changing Surface
A study of the geological processes that shape our planet over millions of years and in sudden events.
Students use models to explain how the movement of Earth's lithospheric plates creates mountains and volcanoes.
Investigating how water, ice, wind, and gravity reshape the landscape through physical and chemical processes.
Tracing the transformation of Earth materials through igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic phases.
Weather and Climate
Analyzing the factors that drive atmospheric circulation and influence global climate patterns.
Exploring how unequal heating of Earth's surface creates pressure differences and wind patterns.
Students model how water moves through the atmosphere and how air masses interact to create weather.
An investigation into the greenhouse effect and how human activity impacts the Earth's long term climate.
Human Impact and Engineering
Applying scientific principles to design solutions for environmental challenges and resource management.
Comparing renewable and non-renewable resources and the environmental costs of their extraction.
Students analyze human impacts on water systems and design filtration or conservation methods.
Designing and testing structures or systems that mitigate the effects of natural disasters.