What your Child will Learn in Grade Six

Introduction

What Your Child Will Learn is an overview of goals and expectations of students throughout the sixth-grade school year. Specific student programs may differ depending on instructional needs.

Curriculum Areas:

Language Arts
Innovation and Inquiry Program
Mathematics
Science
Social Studies
Visual Arts
Career and Technical Education
Gifted and Talented
Health Education
Instructional Technology
Library Media
Music
Physical Education
School Counseling

Language Arts

English Language Arts classes provide instruction based on the rigorous demands of the Maryland College and Career-Ready Standards which are reflected in HCPSS units that address analysis of genre and theme. The units for Grade 6 include:

Courage
Coming of Age
Heroes

English Language Arts College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards

The Standards address four main categories with sub-topics as outlined below. Specific descriptions of each sub-topic may be found at http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy

Anchor Standards for Reading (literacy and informational text)

Students will grow in their ability to comprehend complex text, drawing inferences and making connections between texts.

Key Ideas and Details
Craft and Structure
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

How to Help Your Child with Reading

Anchor Standards for Writing

Students will write in a variety of modes in response to evidence found in their reading and research.

Text Types and Purposes (argument, explanatory, narrative)
Production and Distribution of Writing
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
Range of Writing

How to Help Your Child with Writing

Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening

Students will grow in their ability to communicate in formal and informal situations while developing the interpersonal skills required for effective collaboration.

Comprehension and Collaboration
Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Anchor Standards for Language

Students will use language correctly and effectively and grow in their knowledge of content-specific and general academic vocabulary.

Conventions of Standard English
Knowledge of Language
Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Writing

Students complete assignments in a variety of modes, such as:

Explanatory, including analysis of both print and non-print texts
Argument, using evidence to support a claim
Narration

All English Language Arts students maintain writing portfolios in order to assess and enhance their growth as writers.

Reading Seminar Classes

Students who require decoding or comprehension support are enrolled in reading seminar classes. Instruction is provided in a small group setting. These classes are made available to schools based on student need. Reading seminar classes are offered at each grade level.

English Language Arts Seminar

Students have opportunities to learn and apply reading, writing and language acquisition to strategies that connect directly to learning outcomes in English Language Arts 6. The English Language Arts Seminar teacher provides scaffolded instruction in small group settings to ensure students can demonstrate and apply their knowledge of language arts skills and concepts and are successful in the English Language Arts class.

Gifted and Talented

Students address the demands of the English 6 Language Arts Curriculum, as well as specific critical reading, writing and thinking skills necessary for continued success at the high school level. In addition, curriculum compacting allows motivated students to collapse material and benefit from a more student-facilitated classroom. The teacher provides opportunities for students to respond to tasks similar to those on the College Board English Language and Composition Advanced Placement Examination.

How to Help Your Child with Language Arts

Innovation and Inquiry Program

The Inquiry and Innovation Program provides cross-curricular opportunities for students to interact with engaging, relevant, credible and diverse resources as they clarify their own thinking considering fact, opinion, credibility and relevance of sources while making real-world connections. Students interact with different media and ask probing and thoughtful questions. Student curiosity is a pathway for considering possibilities, prompting students to see a reason to conduct inquiry and generate a product. In creating a real-world connection, students learn and practice skills, gather and present information, and solve problems. Students build a deep understanding of the specific topic during each nine-week unit.

Connections

This course provides opportunities for incoming middle school students to focus explicitly on reading skills and concepts necessary for continued academic success as students transition from elementary school to middle school.

Writer’s Cafe

Students build an understanding of how creative expression provides a venue for writers to understand themselves and respond to the world around them.

The Power of Language

Students build an understanding of the link between language and culture.

Expanding and Exploring Career Options

Students explore connections among personal interests, aptitudes, and future educational and career goals.

Mathematics

Standards for Mathematical Practice

The Standards for Mathematical Practice describe varieties of expertise that mathematics educators at all levels should seek to develop in their students.

Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
Model with mathematics.
Use appropriate tools strategically.
Attend to precision.
Look for and make use of structure.
Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

The Mathematical Content Standards

The Mathematical Content Standards (Essential Curriculum) that follow are designed to promote a balanced combination of procedure and understanding. Expectations that begin with the word “understand” are often especially good opportunities to connect the mathematical practices to the content. The content standards that set an expectation of understanding are potential “points of intersection” between the Mathematical Content Standards and the Mathematical Practices.

Unit 1: Area and Surface Area

Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, surface area, and volume.

Find the area of right triangles, other triangles, special quadrilaterals, and polygons by composing into rectangles or decomposing into triangles and other shapes; apply these techniques in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.
Represent three-dimensional figures using nets made up of rectangles and triangles, and use the nets to find the surface area of these figures. Apply these techniques in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.

Apply and extend previous understandings of arithmetic to algebraic expressions.

Write expressions that record operations with numbers and with letters standing for numbers. For example, express the calculation “Subtract y from 5” as 5 – y.
Evaluate expressions at specific values of their variables. Include expressions that arise from formulas used in real-world problems. Perform arithmetic operations, including those involving whole-number exponents, in the conventional order when there are no parentheses to specify a particular order (Order of Operations). For example, use the formulas V = s3 and A = 6 s2 to find the volume and surface area of a cube with sides of length s = 1/2.

Unit 2: Introducing Ratios

Understand ratio concepts and use ratio reasoning to solve problems.

Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. For example, “The ratio of wings to beaks in the bird house at the zoo was 2:1, because for every 2 wings there was 1 beak.” “For every vote candidate A received, candidate C received nearly three votes.”
Understand the concept of a unit rate a/b associated with a ratio a:b with b ≠ 0, and use rate language in the context of a ratio relationship. For example, “This recipe has a ratio of 3 cups of flour to 4 cups of sugar, so there is 3/4 cup of flour for each cup of sugar.” “We paid $75 for 15 hamburgers, which is a rate of $5 per hamburger.”
Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams, or equations.
Make tables of equivalent ratios relating quantities with whole-number measurements, find missing values in the tables, and plot the pairs of values on the coordinate plane. Use tables to compare ratios.
Solve unit rate problems including those involving unit pricing and constant speed. For example, if it took 7 hours to mow 4 lawns, then at that rate, how many lawns could be mowed in 35 hours? At what rate were lawns being mowed?

Unit 3: Unit Rates and Percentages

Understand ratio concepts and use ratio reasoning to solve problems.

Understand the concept of a unit rate a/b associated with a ratio a:b with b ≠ 0, and use rate language in the context of a ratio relationship. For example, “This recipe has a ratio of 3 cups of flour to 4 cups of sugar, so there is 3/4 cup of flour for each cup of sugar.” “We paid $75 for 15 hamburgers, which is a rate of $5 per hamburger.”
Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams, or equations.
Solve unit rate problems including those involving unit pricing and constant speed. For example, if it took 7 hours to mow 4 lawns, then at that rate, how many lawns could be mowed in 35 hours? At what rate were lawns being mowed?
Find a percent of a quantity as a rate per 100 (e.g., 30% of a quantity means 30/100 times the quantity); solve problems involving finding the whole, given a part and the percent.
Use ratio reasoning to convert measurement units; manipulate and transform units appropriately when multiplying or dividing quantities.

Unit 4: Dividing Fractions

Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to divide fractions by fractions.

Interpret and compute quotients of fractions, and solve word problems involving division of fractions by fractions, e.g., by using visual fraction models and equations to represent the problem. For example, create a story context for (2/3) ÷ (3/4) and use a visual fraction model to show the quotient; use the relationship between multiplication and division to explain that (2/3) ÷ (3/4) = 8/9 because 3/4 of 8/9 is 2/3. (In general, (a/b) ÷ (c/d) = ad/bc.) How much chocolate will each person get if 3 people share 1/2 lb of chocolate equally? How many 3/4-cup servings are in 2/3 of a cup of yogurt? How wide is a rectangular strip of land with length 3/4 mi and area 1/2 square mi?.

Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, surface area, and volume.

Find the area of right triangles, other triangles, special quadrilaterals, and polygons by composing into rectangles or decomposing into triangles and other shapes; apply these techniques in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.
Find the volume of a right rectangular prism with fractional edge lengths by packing it with unit cubes of the appropriate unit fraction edge lengths, and show that the volume is the same as would be found by multiplying the edge lengths of the prism. Apply the formulas V = l w h and V = b h to find volumes of right rectangular prisms with fractional edge lengths in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.

Unit 5: Arithmetic in Base 10

Compute fluently with multi-digit numbers and find common factors and multiples.

Fluently divide multi-digit numbers using the standard algorithm.
Fluently add, subtract, multiply, and divide multi-digit decimals using the standard algorithm for each operation.

Unit 6: Expressions and Equations

Apply and extend previous understandings of arithmetic to algebraic expressions.

Write and evaluate numerical expressions involving whole-number exponents.
Write, read, and evaluate expressions in which letters stand for numbers.
Write expressions that record operations with numbers and with letters standing for numbers. For example, express the calculation “Subtract y from 5” as 5 – y.
Evaluate expressions at specific values of their variables. Include expressions that arise from formulas used in real-world problems. Perform arithmetic operations, including those involving whole-number exponents, in the conventional order when there are no parentheses to specify a particular order (Order of Operations). For example, use the formulas V = s3 and A = 6 s2 to find the volume and surface area of a cube with sides of length s = 1/2.
Apply the properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions. For example, apply the distributive property to the expression 3 (2 + x) to produce the equivalent expression 6 + 3x; apply the distributive property to the expression 24x + 18y to produce the equivalent expression 6 (4x + 3y); apply properties of operations to y + y + y to produce the equivalent expression 3y.
Identify when two expressions are equivalent (i.e., when the two expressions name the same number regardless of which value is substituted into them). For example, the expressions y + y + y and 3y are equivalent because they name the same number regardless of which number y stands for.

Reason about and solve one-variable equations and inequalities.

Understand solving an equation or inequality as a process of answering a question: which values from a specified set, if any, make the equation or inequality true? Use substitution to determine whether a given number in a specified set makes an equation or inequality true.
Use variables to represent numbers and write expressions when solving a real-world or mathematical problem; understand that a variable can represent an unknown number, or, depending on the purpose at hand, any number in a specified set.
Solve real-world and mathematical problems by writing and solving equations of the form x + p = q and px = q for cases in which p, q and x are all nonnegative rational numbers.

Represent and analyze quantitative relationships between dependent and independent variables.

Use variables to represent two quantities in a real-world problem that change in relationship to one another; write an equation to express one quantity, thought of as the dependent variable, in terms of the other quantity, thought of as the independent variable. Analyze the relationship between the dependent and independent variables using graphs and tables, and relate these to the equation. For example, in a problem involving motion at constant speed, list and graph ordered pairs of distances and times, and write the equation d = 65t to represent the relationship between distance and time.

Compute fluently with multi-digit numbers and find common factors and multiples.

Fluently add, subtract, multiply, and divide multi-digit decimals using the standard algorithm for each operation.

Understand ratio concepts and use ratio reasoning to solve problems.

Solve unit rate problems including those involving unit pricing and constant speed. For example, if it took 7 hours to mow 4 lawns, then at that rate, how many lawns could be mowed in 35 hours? At what rate were lawns being mowed?
Find a percent of a quantity as a rate per 100 (e.g., 30% of a quantity means 30/100 times the quantity); solve problems involving finding the whole, given a part and the percent.

Unit 7: Rational Numbers

Compute fluently with multi-digit numbers and find common factors and multiples.

Fluently divide multi-digit numbers using the standard algorithm.
Fluently add, subtract, multiply, and divide multi-digit decimals using the standard algorithm for each operation.
Find the greatest common factor of two whole numbers less than or equal to 100 and the least common multiple of two whole numbers less than or equal to 12. Use the distributive property to express a sum of two whole numbers 1-100 with a common factor as a multiple of a sum of two whole numbers with no common factor. For example, express 36 + 8 as 4 (9 + 2).

Apply and extend previous understandings of numbers to the system of rational numbers.

Understand that positive and negative numbers are used together to describe quantities having opposite directions or values (e.g., temperature above/below zero, elevation above/below sea level, credits/debits, positive/negative electric charge); use positive and negative numbers to represent quantities in real-world contexts, explaining the meaning of 0 in each situation.
Understand a rational number as a point on the number line. Extend number line diagrams and coordinate axes familiar from previous grades to represent points on the line and in the plane with negative number coordinates.
Recognize opposite signs of numbers as indicating locations on opposite sides of 0 on the number line; recognize that the opposite of the opposite of a number is the number itself, e.g., -(-3) = 3, and that 0 is its own opposite.
Understand signs of numbers in ordered pairs as indicating locations in quadrants of the coordinate plane; recognize that when two ordered pairs differ only by signs, the locations of the points are related by reflections across one or both axes.
Find and position integers and other rational numbers on a horizontal or vertical number line diagram; find and position pairs of integers and other rational numbers on a coordinate plane.
Understand ordering and absolute value of rational numbers.
Interpret statements of inequality as statements about the relative position of two numbers on a number line diagram. For example, interpret -3 > -7 as a statement that -3 is located to the right of -7 on a number line oriented from left to right.
Write, interpret, and explain statements of order for rational numbers in real-world contexts. For example, write -3 oC > -7 oC to express the fact that -3 oC is warmer than -7 oC.
Understand the absolute value of a rational number as its distance from 0 on the number line; interpret absolute value as magnitude for a positive or negative quantity in a real-world situation. For example, for an account balance of -30 dollars, write |-30| = 30 to describe the size of the debt in dollars.
Distinguish comparisons of absolute value from statements about order. For example, recognize that an account balance less than -30 dollars represents a debt greater than 30 dollars.
Solve real-world and mathematical problems by graphing points in all four quadrants of the coordinate plane. Include use of coordinates and absolute value to find distances between points with the same first coordinate or the same second coordinate.

Apply and extend previous understandings of arithmetic to algebraic expressions.

Identify parts of an expression using mathematical terms (sum, term, product, factor, quotient, coefficient); view one or more parts of an expression as a single entity. For example, describe the expression 2 (8 + 7) as a product of two factors; view (8 + 7) as both a single entity and a sum of two terms.

Reason about and solve one-variable equations and inequalities.

Understand solving an equation or inequality as a process of answering a question: which values from a specified set, if any, make the equation or inequality true? Use substitution to determine whether a given number in a specified set makes an equation or inequality true.
Use variables to represent numbers and write expressions when solving a real-world or mathematical problem; understand that a variable can represent an unknown number, or, depending on the purpose at hand, any number in a specified set.
Write an inequality of the form x > c or x < c to represent a constraint or condition in a real-world or mathematical problem. Recognize that inequalities of the form x > c or x < c have infinitely many solutions; represent solutions of such inequalities on number line diagrams.

Unit 8: Data Sets and Distributions

Develop understanding of statistical variability.

Recognize a statistical question as one that anticipates variability in the data related to the question and accounts for it in the answers. For example, “How old am I?” is not a statistical question, but “How old are the students in my school?” is a statistical question because one anticipates variability in students’ ages.
Understand that a set of data collected to answer a statistical question has a distribution which can be described by its center, spread, and overall shape.
Recognize that a measure of center for a numerical data set summarizes all of its values with a single number, while a measure of variation describes how its values vary with a single number.

Summarize and describe distributions.

Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots.
Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context, such as by:
- Reporting the number of observations.
- Describing the nature of the attribute under investigation, including how it was measured and its units of measurement.
- Giving quantitative measures of center (median and/or mean) and variability (interquartile range and/or mean absolute deviation), as well as describing any overall pattern and any striking deviations from the overall pattern with reference to the context in which the data were gathered.
- Relating the choice of measures of center and variability to the shape of the data distribution and the context in which the data were gathered.

Unit 9: Putting it All Together (OPTIONAL)

Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, surface area, and volume.

Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication and division to divide fractions by fractions.

Compute fluently with multi-digit numbers and find common factors and multiples.

Fluently add, subtract, multiply, and divide multi-digit decimals using the standard algorithm for each operation.

Understand ratio concepts and use ratio reasoning to solve problems.

Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. For example, “The ratio of wings to beaks in the bird house at the zoo was 2:1, because for every 2 wings there was 1 beak.” “For every vote candidate A received, candidate C received nearly three votes.”
Understand the concept of a unit rate a/b associated with a ratio a:b with b ≠ 0, and use rate language in the context of a ratio relationship. For example, “This recipe has a ratio of 3 cups of flour to 4 cups of sugar, so there is 3/4 cup of flour for each cup of sugar.” “We paid $75 for 15 hamburgers, which is a rate of $5 per hamburger.”
Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams, or equations.
Find a percent of a quantity as a rate per 100 (e.g., 30% of a quantity means 30/100 times the quantity); solve problems involving finding the whole, given a part and the percent.

Above Grade Level and Gifted/Talented Sixth Grade

Students enrolled in above grade level mathematics will have a blend of Mathematics 6 and Mathematics 7. Students enrolled in G/T mathematics will be taught the curriculum outlined in Pre-Algebra GT mathematics. For more information about the curriculum for these courses, visit http://hcpssfamilymath.weebly.com/

How to Help Your Child with Mathematics

Pre-Algebra GT

Standards for Mathematical Practice

The Standards for Mathematical Practice describe varieties of expertise that mathematics educators at all levels should seek to develop in their students.

Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.
Model with mathematics.
Use appropriate tools strategically.
Attend to precision.
Look for and make use of structure.
Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

The Mathematical Content Standards

Unit 1: Rigid Transformations and Congruence

Understand congruence and similarity using physical models, transparencies, or geometry software.

Verify experimentally the properties of rotations, reflections, and translations:
- Lines are taken to lines, and line segments to line segments of the same length.
- Angles are taken to angles of the same measure.
- Parallel lines are taken to parallel lines.
Understand that a two-dimensional figure is congruent to another if the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, and translations; given two congruent figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the congruence between them.
Describe the effect of dilations, translations, rotations, and reflections on two-dimensional figures using coordinates.
Use informal arguments to establish facts about the angle sum and exterior angle of triangles, about the angles created when parallel lines are cut by a transversal, and the angle-angle criterion for similarity of triangles. For example, arrange three copies of the same triangle so that the sum of the three angles appears to form a line, and give an argument in terms of transversals why this is so.

Unit 2, Part 1: Dilations, Similarity, and Introducing Slope

Draw, construct, and describe geometrical figures and describe the relationships between them.

Solve problems involving scale drawings of geometric figures, including computing actual lengths and areas from a scale drawing and reproducing a scale drawing at a different scale.

Understand congruence and similarity using physical models, transparencies, or geometry software.

Understand that a two-dimensional figure is congruent to another if the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, and translations; given two congruent figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the congruence between them.
Describe the effect of dilations, translations, rotations, and reflections on two-dimensional figures using coordinates.
Understand that a two-dimensional figure is similar to another if the second can be obtained from the first by a sequence of rotations, reflections, translations, and dilations; given two similar two-dimensional figures, describe a sequence that exhibits the similarity between them.
Use informal arguments to establish facts about the angle sum and exterior angle of triangles, about the angles created when parallel lines are cut by a transversal, and the angle-angle criterion for similarity of triangles. For example, arrange three copies of the same triangle so that the sum of the three angles appears to form a line, and give an argument in terms of transversals why this is so.

Understand the connections between proportional relationships, lines, and linear equations.

Use similar triangles to explain why the slope m is the same between any two distinct points on a non-vertical line in the coordinate plane; derive the equation y = mx for a line through the origin and the equation y = mx + b for a line intercepting the vertical axis at b.

Unit 2, Part 2: Proportional Relationships, Scale Drawings, and Interpreting Data

Analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems.

Compute unit rates associated with ratios of fractions, including ratios of lengths, areas and other quantities measured in like or different units. For example, if a person walks 1/2 mile in each 1/4 hour, compute the unit rate as the complex fraction 1/2/1/4 miles per hour, equivalently 2 miles per hour.
Recognize and represent proportional relationships between quantities.
Use proportional relationships to solve multistep ratio and percent problems. Examples: simple interest, tax, markups and markdowns, gratuities and commissions, fees, percent increase and decrease, percent error.

Apply and extend previous understandings of operations with fractions.

Convert a rational number to a decimal using long division; know that the decimal form of a rational number terminates in 0s or eventually repeats.
Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving the four operations with rational numbers.

Use properties of operations to generate equivalent expressions.

Apply properties of operations as strategies to add, subtract, factor, and expand linear expressions with rational coefficients.

Solve real-life and mathematical problems using numerical and algebraic expressions and equations.

Use variables to represent quantities in a real-world or mathematical problem, and construct simple equations and inequalities to solve problems by reasoning about the quantities.
Solve word problems leading to equations of the form px + q = r and p(x + q) = r, where p, q, and r are specific rational numbers. Solve equations of these forms fluently. Compare an algebraic solution to an arithmetic solution, identifying the sequence of the operations used in each approach. For example, the perimeter of a rectangle is 54 cm. Its length is 6 cm. What is its width?

Draw construct, and describe geometrical figures and describe the relationships between them.

Solve problems involving scale drawings of geometric figures, including computing actual lengths and areas from a scale drawing and reproducing a scale drawing at a different scale.

Solve real-life and mathematical problems involving angle measure, area, surface area, and volume.

Know the formulas for the area and circumference of a circle and use them to solve problems; give an informal derivation of the relationship between the circumference and area of a circle.
Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving area, volume and surface area of two- and three-dimensional objects composed of triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons, cubes, and right prisms.

Draw informal comparative inferences about two populations.

Use measures of center and measures of variability for numerical data from random samples to draw informal comparative inferences about two populations. For example, decide whether the words in a chapter of a seventh-grade science book are generally longer than the words in a chapter of a fourth-grade science book.

Unit 3: Linear Relationships

Understand the connections between proportional relationships, lines, and linear equations.

Graph proportional relationships, interpreting the unit rate as the slope of the graph. Compare two different proportional relationships represented in different ways. For example, compare a distance-time graph to a distance-time equation to determine which of two moving objects has greater speed.
Use similar triangles to explain why the slope m is the same between any two distinct points on a non-vertical line in the coordinate plane; derive the equation y = mx for a line through the origin and the equation y = mx + b for a line intercepting the vertical axis at b.

Analyze and solve linear equations and pairs of simultaneous linear equations.

Understand that solutions to a system of two linear equations in two variables correspond to points of intersection of their graphs, because points of intersection satisfy both equations simultaneously.

Understand congruence and similarity using physical models, transparencies, or geometry software.

Verify experimentally the properties of rotations, reflections, and translations.

Unit 4: Linear Equations and Linear Systems

Analyze and solve linear equations and pairs of simultaneous linear equations.

Solve linear equations in one variable.
Give examples of linear equations in one variable with one solution, infinitely many solutions, or no solutions. Show which of these possibilities is the case by successively transforming the given equation into simpler forms, until an equivalent equation of the form x = a, a = a, or a = b results (where a and b are different numbers).
Solve linear equations with rational number coefficients, including equations whose solutions require expanding expressions using the distributive property and collecting like terms.
Analyze and solve pairs of simultaneous linear equations.
Understand that solutions to a system of two linear equations in two variables correspond to points of intersection of their graphs, because points of intersection satisfy both equations simultaneously.
Solve systems of two linear equations in two variables algebraically, and estimate solutions by graphing the equations. Solve simple cases by inspection. For example, 3x + 2y = 5 and 3x + 2y = 6 have no solution because 3x + 2y cannot simultaneously be 5 and 6.

Unit 5: Functions and Volume

Define, evaluate, and compare functions.

Understand that a function is a rule that assigns to each input exactly one output. The graph of a function is the set of ordered pairs consisting of an input and the corresponding output.
Compare properties of two functions each represented in a different way (algebraically, graphically, numerically in tables, or by verbal descriptions). For example, given a linear function represented by a table of values and a linear function represented by an algebraic expression, determine which function has the greater rate of change.
Interpret the equation y = mx + b as defining a linear function, whose graph is a straight line; give examples of functions that are not linear. For example, the function A = s2 giving the area of a square as a function of its side length is not linear because its graph contains the points (1,1), (2,4) and (3,9), which are not on a straight line.

Use functions to model relationships between quantities.

Construct a function to model a linear relationship between two quantities. Determine the rate of change and initial value of the function from a description of a relationship or from two (x, y) values, including reading these from a table or from a graph. Interpret the rate of change and initial value of a linear function in terms of the situation it models, and in terms of its graph or a table of values.
Describe qualitatively the functional relationship between two quantities by analyzing a graph (e.g., where the function is increasing or decreasing, linear or nonlinear). Sketch a graph that exhibits the qualitative features of a function that has been described verbally.

Solve real-world and mathematical problems involving volume of cylinders, cones, and spheres.

Know the formulas for the volumes of cones, cylinders, and spheres and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems.

Unit 6: Associations and Data

Use random sampling to draw inferences about a population.

Understand that statistics can be used to gain information about a population by examining a sample of the population; generalizations about a population from a sample are valid only if the sample is representative of that population. Understand that random sampling tends to produce representative samples and support valid inferences.
Use data from a random sample to draw inferences about a population with an unknown characteristic of interest. Generate multiple samples (or simulated samples) of the same size to gauge the variation in estimates or predictions. For example, estimate the mean word length in a book by randomly sampling words from the book; predict the winner of a school election based on randomly sampled survey data. Gauge how far off the estimate or prediction might be.

Draw informal comparative inferences about two populations.

Informally assess the degree of visual overlap of two numerical data distributions with similar variabilities, measuring the difference between the centers by expressing it as a multiple of a measure of variability. For example, the mean height of players on the basketball team is 10 cm greater than the mean height of players on the soccer team, about twice the variability (mean absolute deviation) on either team; on a dot plot, the separation between the two distributions of heights is noticeable.
Use measures of center and measures of variability for numerical data from random samples to draw informal comparative inferences about two populations. For example, decide whether the words in a chapter of a seventh-grade science book are generally longer than the words in a chapter of a fourth-grade science book.

Investigate chance processes and develop, use, and evaluate probability models.

Understand that the probability of a chance event is a number between 0 and 1 that expresses the likelihood of the event occurring. Larger numbers indicate greater likelihood. A probability near 0 indicates an unlikely event, a probability around 1/2 indicates an event that is neither unlikely nor likely, and a probability near 1 indicates a likely event.
Approximate the probability of a chance event by collecting data on the chance process that produces it and observing its long-run relative frequency, and predict the approximate relative frequency given the probability. For example, when rolling a number cube 600 times, predict that a 3 or 6 would be rolled roughly 200 times, but probably not exactly 200 times.
Develop a probability model and use it to find probabilities of events. Compare probabilities from a model to observed frequencies; if the agreement is not good, explain possible sources of the discrepancy.
Develop a uniform probability model by assigning equal probability to all outcomes, and use the model to determine probabilities of events. For example, if a student is selected at random from a class, find the probability that Jane will be selected and the probability that a girl will be selected.
Develop a probability model (which may not be uniform) by observing frequencies in data generated from a chance process. For example, find the approximate probability that a spinning coin will land heads up or that a tossed paper cup will land open-end down. Do the outcomes for the spinning coin appear to be equally likely based on the observed frequencies?
Find probabilities of compound events using organized lists, tables, tree diagrams, and simulation.
Understand that, just as with simple events, the probability of a compound event is the fraction of outcomes in the sample space for which the compound event occurs.
Represent sample spaces for compound events using methods such as organized lists, tables and tree diagrams. For an event described in everyday language (e.g., “rolling double sixes”), identify the outcomes in the sample space which compose the event.
Design and use a simulation to generate frequencies for compound events. For example, use random digits as a simulation tool to approximate the answer to the question: If 40% of donors have type A blood, what is the probability that it will take at least 4 donors to find one with type A blood?

Apply and extend previous understandings of operations with fractions.

Convert a rational number to a decimal using long division; know that the decimal form of a rational number terminates in 0s or eventually repeats.

Unit 7: Exponents and Scientific Notation

Expressions and Equations Work with radicals and integer exponents.

Know and apply the properties of integer exponents to generate equivalent numerical expressions. For example, 32 × 3-5 = 3-3 = 1/33 = 1/27.
Use numbers expressed in the form of a single digit times an integer power of 10 to estimate very large or very small quantities, and to express how many times as much one is than the other. For example, estimate the population of the United States as 3 times 108 and the population of the world as 7 times 109, and determine that the world population is more than 20 times larger.
Perform operations with numbers expressed in scientific notation, including problems where both decimal and scientific notation are used. Use scientific notation and choose units of appropriate size for measurements of very large or very small quantities (e.g., use millimeters per year for seafloor spreading). Interpret scientific notation that has been generated by technology.

Unit 8: Pythagorean Theorem and Irrational Numbers

Draw, construct, and describe geometrical figures and describe the relationships between them.

Solve problems involving scale drawings of geometric figures, including computing actual lengths and areas from a scale drawing and reproducing a scale drawing at a different scale.
Draw (freehand, with ruler and protractor, and with technology) geometric shapes with given conditions. Focus on constructing triangles from three measures of angles or sides, noticing when the conditions determine a unique triangle, more than one triangle, or no triangle.

Know that there are numbers that are not rational, and approximate them by rational numbers.

Know that numbers that are not rational are called irrational. Understand informally that every number has a decimal expansion; for rational numbers show that the decimal expansion repeats eventually, and convert a decimal expansion which repeats eventually into a rational number.
Use rational approximations of irrational numbers to compare the size of irrational numbers, locate them approximately on a number line diagram, and estimate the value of expressions (e.g., π2). For example, by truncating the decimal expansion of √2, show that √2 is between 1 and 2, then between 1.4 and 1.5, and explain how to continue on to get better approximations.

Expressions and Equations Work with radicals and integer exponents.

Use square root and cube root symbols to represent solutions to equations of the form x2 = p and x3 = p, where p is a positive rational number. Evaluate square roots of small perfect squares and cube roots of small perfect cubes. Know that √2 is irrational.

Use functions to model relationships between quantities.

Understand and apply the Pythagorean Theorem.

Explain a proof of the Pythagorean Theorem and its converse.
Apply the Pythagorean Theorem to determine unknown side lengths in right triangles in real-world and mathematical problems in two and three dimensions.

Unit 9: Putting it All Together (OPTIONAL)

Define, evaluate, and compare functions.

Understand that a function is a rule that assigns to each input exactly one output. The graph of a function is the set of ordered pairs consisting of an input and the corresponding output.

Use functions to model relationships between quantities.

Understand congruence and similarity using physical models, transparencies, or geometry software.

Use informal arguments to establish facts about the angle sum and exterior angle of triangles, about the angles created when parallel lines are cut by a transversal, and the angle-angle criterion for similarity of triangles. For example, arrange three copies of the same triangle so that the sum of the three angles appears to form a line, and give an argument in terms of transversals why this is so.

Investigate patterns of association in bivariate data.

For more information about the curriculum for this course, visit http://hcpssfamilymath.weebly.com

How to Help Your Child with Mathematics

Science

Introduction

The Howard County Public School System science program is committed to supporting all students in the development of scientific literacy. As described in “A Framework for K–12 Science Education,” scientific literacy means that students appreciate the nature of science and possess sufficient knowledge and skill in practicing science and engineering, that they can engage in public discussions surrounding scientific and technological issues, be careful consumers of scientific and technological information related to their everyday lives, continue to learn about science outside of school, and enter careers of their choice including careers in science, engineering and technology. Throughout middle school, students develop scientific literacy by operating as student scientists. In sixth grade, students use scientific practices to investigate and understand Earth’s place in the universe, Earth’s systems, and the relationship between human activity and the Earth. Environmental literacy learning experiences that include Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences are woven throughout the middle school science curriculum.

Practices of Science and Engineering

Throughout middle school, science students will develop their skill in the practices of science. Each year, students will apply these skills in laboratory and field investigations. These practices, as described in “A Framework for K–12 Science Education,” include:

Ask scientific questions that can be empirically tested.
Use and construct models such as diagrams, drawings, mathematical relationships, analogies, computer simulations and physical replicas to represent ideas and explanations.
Plan and carry out scientific investigations in the field or laboratory.
Analyze and interpret data using a variety of tools.
Represent physical variables and their relationships using the fundamental tools of mathematics and computation.
Use evidence to construct explanatory accounts of the world.
Reason and argue based on evidence to identify the best explanation for a natural phenomenon or the best solution to a design problem.
Obtain, evaluate and communicate information clearly and accurately.

Course Content

The Grade 6 science curriculum is framed by four big questions that provide context and motivation for learning. These questions are:

How do scientists work together to solve problems?
How do scientists gather and analyze information to prepare for a severe weather event?
How do scientists analyze the processes within Earth that cause geologic activity?
How do scientists collect and analyze data that help them understand the movement of objects in space?

In pursuing solutions to these questions, students participate in carefully sequenced, developmentally appropriate learning experiences that support deep understanding. By the end of their sixth-grade learning experiences, students will be able to meet the Maryland Science Standards’ performance expectations in middle school in Earth/Space Science.

Gifted and Talented Science Program

In the G/T science program in sixth grade, students delve more deeply and independently into the content and practices of science by addressing additional learning objectives and completing in-depth research studies using creative problem-solving techniques. The research is embedded within the curriculum and conducted over an extended period of time to allow for authentic data collection and analysis.

How to Help Your Child with Science

Overview

This is the first part of a two-year program entitled Geography and World Cultures. This program provides opportunities for students to develop an understanding of geographic skills and concepts of world cultures in relation to their own. Students also learn about geographic and cultural issues, and of the cultural heritage and history of the various regions of study. Students are encouraged to gain an understanding and appreciation of other cultures, and to use geographic skills to solve problems.

Social Studies Skills

These skills and others are embedded throughout the curriculum.

Map reading, construction and interpretation.
Spatial analysis and interpretation.
Historical thinking skills.
Problem solving/critical thinking.
Roles, rights and responsibilities of citizenship.
Strategic reading of social studies text.
Economic decision making.
Explanatory and argument writing.
Information literacy
Analysis and evaluation of primary and secondary sources.
Data analysis and interpretation.

6th Grade

There are four units in sixth grade social studies. What follows is a summary of some key objectives.

Unit I: Our Earth: The Study of Physical and Human Geography

Define the term geography and give examples how it is used to understand the world around us.
Develop and use mental maps to organize information about people, places and environments in a spatial context.
Define, locate and compare major landforms and water bodies on Earth.
Identify the purposes of maps and their key components.
Describe how Earth’s rotation causes night and day and Earth’s revolution causes the change in seasons.
Identify the purpose of the Global Grid and determine how this helps humans make sense of location on Earth’s surface.
Explain why there are 24 time zones, give examples why time zones are useful, and be able to calculate time differences.
Identify and describe the factors that affect climate.
Describe Earth’s climatic zones and climatic regions/biomes.
Identify and analyze elements of culture such as religion, language, arts, food/diet, clothing and others.

Unit II: The Middle East

Identify the relative location of the Middle East and North Africa in the world, and describe the characteristics that make it a region.
Describe the major geographic and climatic features of North Africa and the Middle East.
Identify selected countries and major cities of North Africa and the Middle East.
Explain how geographic factors influence the development of civilizations in the Nile River Valley, along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and the eastern region of the Mediterranean Sea.
Recognize the chief characteristics of a civilization.
Describe and analyze the cultural development and the major achievements of the ancient civilizations of this region.
Compare and contrast the three monotheistic religions that developed in the Middle Eastern region.
Compare the patterns of life of various groups of people in this region.
Describe ways in which people of this region have adapted to varied environmental conditions.
Analyze the relationship between modern conflicts and the history of this region of the world.
Identify a selected contemporary issue and predict possible future trends in the Middle East and North Africa.

Unit III: Africa

Identify Africa’s relative location in the world.
Identify the various geographic regions within Sub-Saharan Africa and describe the characteristics that make them distinct regions.
Describe the major geographic and climatic features of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Identify selected countries and major cities of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Describe and analyze the development of powerful kingdoms in West Africa.
The East African kingdoms include Egypt, Nubia/Kush and Aksum.
Describe the impact of the European slave trade on Africa.
Identify the motives of European imperialism in Africa and interpret the impact on culture in Africa.
Describe the process of African independence from European countries.
Identify the characteristics of selected Sub-Saharan African cultures.
Using Africa as a model, analyze the consequences of changing the physical environment to fulfill human needs.
Compare and contrast the characteristics and levels of developing and developed economies.
Identify a contemporary issue facing Sub-Saharan Africa and predict possible future trends.

Unit IV: Asia

Identify Asia’s relative location in the world.
Identify the various geographic regions within Asia and describe the characteristics that make them distinct regions.
Describe the major geographic and climatic characteristics for a selected region in Asia.
Identify selected countries and major cities of Asia.
Describe how geographic location, physical features and natural resources influence the economic development of Southern, Eastern and Southeastern Asian nations.
Describe and analyze the cultural characteristics and achievements of the civilizations in South Asia and East Asia.
Describe the effects and influence of empires on culture and development in South Asia and East Asia.
Describe how British colonialism has affected social, economic and political systems in this region.
Examine the religious diversity of the countries of the Indian Subcontinent.
Determine the influence of the teachings of Confucius on Chinese culture.
Describe and compare the development of Hinduism and Buddhism on the Indian Subcontinent.
Explain and give examples how Asian countries adapt to the high population density of their country.
Identify a selected contemporary issue and predict possible future trends in East, Southeast, and South Asia.
Compare the characteristics of developing and developed countries in East, Southeast, and South Asia by reading and classifying information from charts and graphs.

Gifted and Talented

Students in G/T complete “G/T Research investigations” during the school year. These investigations are grounded in the content of particular units and may take the form of teacher-developed historical or geographical research, district-developed performance assessment tasks, or district approved Document Based Questions. Optionally, students may participate in the National History Day program.

Special Programs

The Office of Secondary Social Studies supports several special programs available for middle school students. The History Day Competition is a local, state and national competition that promotes historical inquiry, knowledge and understanding among secondary school students. History Day encourages the development of research skills, the analysis and interpretation of primary and secondary source materials, and the opportunity for creative expression. HCPSS sponsors a large regional competition each year that includes up to 300 students from our public and private schools. This program is typically integrated as part of the curricular program, but is dependent upon school interest. The Black Saga Competition is a statewide competition that challenges student knowledge about the African-American experience. Middle and elementary schools from across the state compete for prizes and awards. This event is very dependent upon school interest and community support, as it is an extracurricular program.

How to Help Your Child with Social Studies

Visual Arts

Apply a variety of strategies, concepts and media to:

Generate and elaborate on ideas for personal expression in the production of art.
Experiment with a variety of tools, materials, processes, techniques and ideas to organize knowledge in the production of art.
Give and receive feedback/constructive criticism and persevere in the refinement of personal solutions to artwork.
Analyze and defend personal choices and selection of objects or artwork for presentation or exhibition.
Examine how and why people collect, present and preserve objects and ideas that have personal, cultural or historical meaning.
Perceive, interpret and respond to ideas, experiences and the environment through visual arts.
Analyze and interpret influences, intent and meaning in works of art.
Evaluate artwork based on select criteria.
Connect personal experiences and knowledge to art making.
Understand art as an essential aspect of history and human experience.

When exiting middle school, students will be able to:

Apply a variety of media, strategies and concept to generate innovative ideas to solve art problems.
Maintain collection of ideas that demonstrate personal engagement and growth.
Recognize and apply the complex nature, power and history of art to connect to others, to tell stories, to record what is seen, to relate personal ideas or to make visible what is imagined.
Be comfortable with and apply a variety of strategies when there is no clear path or solution to a problem.
Work within given limitations to solve complex art problems.
Generate personally meaningful solutions.
Persevere in problem solving by evaluating work in progress to identify areas in need of improvement and alternative solutions.
Collaborate with peers to arrive at consensus and solutions.

How to Help Your Child with Visual Arts

Career and Technical Education

Technology Education for Grade 6

Students will develop an understanding of technology and its impact through exploratory experiences. Through group and individual activities, students experience ways in which technological knowledge and processes contribute to effective designs, abilities, and skills to create solutions to technological problems. The first 20 days of this 45-Day Course will include computer science fundamental concepts which support computational thinking. Computational thinking allows students to develop the ability to logically order and analyze data and to create solutions using an algorithmic approach (ordered steps). The remainder of the course will focus on applying the engineering design process. Students participate in design activities to understand how criteria, constraints, and processes affect designs. Brainstorming, visualizing, modeling, constructing, testing, and refining designs provide firsthand opportunities for students to understand the uses and impacts of innovations. Students will use computational thinking as well as the engineering design process to solve complex, open-ended problems.

The Individual, Family and Society

Analyze how the family fulfills the physical, social and psychological needs of individual family members (e.g., personal responsibility and the impact of individual actions/decisions on others).
Illustrate the interdependence of families, neighborhoods, communities and societies.
Identify and explore a variety of community resources available to help individuals and families.
Discover and act upon opportunities to serve the community.
Identify, research and meet a community need through production of an individual or class project.

Food and Nutrition

Demonstrate the ability to use sound nutritional concepts when choosing foods at home and in school, understanding that the choices made now are habits for a lifetime.
Using the school menu, identify a variety of foods and food combinations in each of the food groups that meet dietary guidelines and contribute to healthy eating patterns.
Use My Plate and the Dietary Guidelines to plan nutritious breakfasts and snacks incorporating whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and low fat dairy.
Practice safe use of kitchen equipment and tools, including electrical appliances.
Plan and follow recipes to prepare nutritious breakfast and snack items incorporating high fiber and low fat dairy foods while limiting calories from fats and sugars.

How to Help Your Child with Family and Consumer Sciences

Gifted and Talented (G/T)

The Gifted and Talented Program provides a continuum of services in addition to G/T classes. Middle School G/T Resource Teachers instruct students who participate in G/T instructional seminars and research investigations, talent development and research opportunities available to all interested students.

The Middle School G/T Research Class is designed for sixth grade students who participate in G/T English and G/T Mathematics, based upon the recommendation of the G/T Placement Committee. Taught by the G/T Resource Teacher, this class provides a curricular framework for students to become producers of new knowledge as they apply the research skills modeled in the curriculum to an original investigation in a self-selected area of study. Participating students are expected to culminate their research investigation by creating an original product to be shared with an authentic audience.

Health Education

National Health Education Standards

These skills are embedded throughout the curriculum:

Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion.
Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health behaviors.
Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid information and products and services to enhance health.
Students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks.
Students will demonstrate the ability to use decision- making skills to enhance health.
Students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce health risks.
Students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health.

Tobacco, Alcohol and Other Drugs

Describe short- and long-term effects of the use of tobacco and electronic delivery devices/systems (i.e. e-cigarettes, vaping, hookahs).
Explain how internal and external factors, including media influence decisions about tobacco use and nonuse.
Demonstrate skills that promote a personal commitment to remain tobacco free.

Disease Prevention and Control

Identify the causes, risk factors, and protective factors that influence communicable diseases.
Describe the transmission, treatment and prevention of HIV and AIDS.

Sexual Health

Identify physical and nonphysical changes that occur during puberty.
Identify positive ways to manage emotions.
Explain the anatomy and physiology of the human reproductive system.
Explain the menstrual cycle and its relationship to conception and pregnancy.
Describe the process of human reproduction.

Safety, First Aid and Injury Prevention

Demonstrate basic first aid procedures for compression-only CPR and use of AED, bleeding (cuts, nosebleeds, etc.), poisonings, burns, sprains, choking and airway obstruction, and concussions.
Identify ways to prevent injuries resulting from risky behaviors and situations.
Develop strategies to prepare for emergency situations.
Summarize prevention and intervention strategies for situations involving child abuse and bullying/cyberbullying.

How to Help Your Child with Health Education

Instructional Technology

Instructional Technology in Grade 6 follows the 2016 ISTE Standards for Students. These standards emphasize the skills and qualities Howard County Public Schools values for all students, enabling them to engage and thrive in a connected, digital world. The ISTE Standards focus on transforming learning through the use of technology throughout a student’s academic career by cultivating these skills. The Office of Instructional Technology works with Howard County teachers in all curriculum areas to support staff in working to amplify learning with technology and challenge students to be agents of their own learning.

Get a free classroom poster: I am a digital age learner

Empowered Learner

Students use technology to set goals, work toward achieving them and demonstrate their learning. For example, students will
- set personal learning goals and develop strategies leveraging technology to achieve them.
- build networks and learning environments in ways that support learning.
- use technology to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.
- understand concepts of technology operations, are able to choose and use current technologies as well as transferring their learning to new technologies.

Digital Citizen

Students understand the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world. For example, students will
- manage their digital identity and reputation and are aware of the permanence of their actions in the digital world.
- engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology.
- respect the rights of using and sharing intellectual property.
- manage their personal data to maintain digital privacy and security.

Knowledge Constructor

Student critically select, evaluate and synthesize digital resources into a collection that reflects my learning and builds my knowledge. For example, students will
- use effective research strategies to locate information and other resources.
- evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or other resources.
- curate information from digital resources to make conclusions.
- build knowledge by exploring real-world issues and problems.

Innovative Designer

Students solve problems by creating new and imaginative solutions using a variety of digital tools. For example, students will
- use a deliberate design process for generating ideas and solving authentic problems.
- use digital tools to plan and manage a design process.
- develop, test and refine prototypes.
- exhibit the capacity to work with open ended problems.

Computational Thinker

Students identify authentic problems, work with data and use a step-by-step process to automate solutions. For example, students will
- formulate problem definitions suited for technology-assisted methods.
- collect data, use digital tools to analyze, and represent data in various ways.
- break problems into component parts, extract key information, and develop models to facilitate problem solving.
- use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.

Creative Communicator

Students communicate effectively and express myself creatively using different tools, styles, formats and digital media. For example, students will
- choose appropriate tools for meeting desired objectives.
- create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.
- communicate clearly and effectively by using a variety of digital objects.
- publish or present content appropriate for their intended audiences.

Global Collaborator

Students strive to broaden their perspective, understand others and work effectively in teams using digital tools. For example, students will
- use digital tools to connect with learners from a variety of backgrounds and cultures to broaden mutual understanding and learning.
- use collaborative technologies to work with others.
- contribute to project teams, assuming various roles to work toward a common goal.
- explore local and global issues and use collaborative technologies to investigate solutions.

How to Help Your Child with Instructional Technology

Library Media

Inquiry Process

Identify information needs.
Create, refine and use criteria to guide the research process.
Follow systematic problem-solving steps using the Big6 process.

Locate and Evaluate Resources and Sources

Identify and use a wide variety of resources.
Use the library media center catalog to locate sources to meet the information need.
Evaluate potential sources for the information need.
Use text features to select appropriate sources.
Identify and follow the district’s Policy 8080: Responsible Use of Technology and Social Media.
Learn to use safe practices online.

Find, Generate, Record and Organize Data/Information

Use keywords for finding answers to questions.
Utilize effective search strategies for collecting relevant information from sources.
Use technology tools to find, record and organize data/information within sources.
Differentiate between fact and opinion.
Avoid plagiarism by correctly recording relevant information and keeping track of sources used.
Use a variety of formats for recording and organizing data/information.
Create a source list using an accepted citation style.
Match appropriate format with content to be organized.

Interpret Recorded Data/Information

Identify the main ideas of recorded information.
Apply critical thinking and problem-solving strategies.
Create new understandings and knowledge related to the information need.

Share Findings/Conclusions

Use a variety of formats to share information learned.
Apply fair use, copyright laws, and Creative Commons attributions.
Reflect on and provide feedback about the research process and the information product.

Literature Appreciation and Lifelong Learning

Read, listen to, view and discuss stories that reflect human experiences.
Make literature connections to self, to other literature, to multimedia and to the world.
Use libraries for personal or assigned needs.
Utilize library circulation procedures and policies to access reading materials.
Locate and select literature and/or multimedia in a variety of genres.
Recognize the connection between reading and being a lifelong learner.

How to Help Your Child with Library Media

Music

Creating:

Imagine – generate musical ideas for various purposes and contexts.
Plan and Make – select and develop musical ideas for defined purposes and contexts.
Evaluate and Refine – select musical ideas to create musical work that meets appropriate criteria.
Present – share creative musical work that conveys intent, demonstrates craftsmanship, and exhibits originality.

Performing:

Select – select varied musical works to present based on interest, knowledge, technical skill and context.
Analyze – analyze the structure and context of varied musical works and their implications for performance.
Interpret – develop personal interpretations that consider creators’ intent.
Rehearse, Evaluate and Refine – evaluate and refine personal and ensemble performances, individually or in collaboration with others.
Present – perform expressively, with appropriate interpretation and technical accuracy, and in a manner appropriate to the audience and context.

Responding:

Select – choose music appropriate for a specific purpose or context.
Analyze – analyze how the structure and context of varied musical works inform the response.
Interpret – support interpretations of musical works that reflect creators’/ performers’ expressive intent.
Evaluate – support their personal evaluation of musical work(s) and performance(s) based on analysis, interpretation, and established criteria.

How to Help Your Child with Music

Physical Education

Motor Skills and Movement Patterns

Demonstrates correct rhythms and patterns in selected physical activities.
Passes and receives objects while running and changing directions.
Maintains defensive and offensive positioning when in small-sided activities.

Concepts and Strategies

Executes at least one of the following offensive tactics to create open space: moves to open space without ball, uses a variety of passes and fakes, or uses a give and go with partner.
Transitions from offense to defense or defense to offense quickly when in small-sided activities.
Analyzes the situation and makes adjustments to ensure the safety of self and others.

Physical Activity and Fitness

Describes how being physically active leads to a healthy lifestyle.
Sets and monitors a self-selected physical activity goal for developing muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and/or cardiovascular endurance.

Personal and Social Behavior

Exhibits personal responsibilities by using appropriate etiquette, demonstrating respect for facilities, equipment and self.
Accepts differences among classmates in physical development, maturation and varying skill levels by providing encouragement and positive feedback.

Recognizes Value of Physical Activity

Recognizes individual challenges and copes in a positive way, such as extending effort, asking for help or feedback, or modifying the tasks.
Demonstrates respect for self and others in activities and games by following rules, encouraging others and playing in the spirit of the game or activity.

How to Help Your Child with Physical Education

School Counseling

Academic Development

Identify personal strengths and develop skills necessary to set and achieve academic goals.

Career Development

Identify personal strengths, skills, interests, and abilities, and relate them to possible career options.

Personal/Social Development

Apply knowledge of personal strengths to increase healthy decision making and positive peer interactions.

How to Help Your Child with School Counseling

How to Help Your Child with Engineering and Technology Education