Milton Academy views Grade 6 as a transitional year; students are moving from childhood to adolescence, and their academic program and learning environment need to reflect sensitivity for that shift. The Grade 6 curriculum includes elements of the Lower School and the Middle School programs. It builds on sixth grade students’ increasing cognitive ability to grasp abstract ideas, to deal with many variables simultaneously, and to consider differing points of view while clarifying their thinking. Sixth graders develop an understanding of their individual learning styles and grow in their ability to take responsibility for their academic work both at school and at home. We encourage students to hold themselves to high standards, to ask for help when they need it, and to view their classmates, as well as adults, as valuable resources.
English
Grade 6 strengthens the sense that students are a community of readers; many students read avidly and eagerly share their thoughts about books with teachers and classmates. Students and teachers sustain a dialogue about books by exchanging weekly entries in open-ended readers’ journals. Teachers share their love of reading by reading aloud to students.
Sixth graders begin the year with discussions and activities related to the summer reading book. Students then move to class books such as Lyddie by Katherine Paterson, Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, The Giver by Lois Lowry, and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor; these books acquaint students with protagonists who grapple with choices that have serious consequences—issues sixth graders face as they enter adolescence. We encourage students to become increasingly analytical and specific in their writing; in both short responses and critical essays, we expect them to use details from the text to support their inferences. “That’s an interesting statement,” the teacher frequently responds to a student. “What is your evidence?”
Sixth graders consider the choices authors make, and use the books they admire as mentor pieces for their writing. Each student keeps a daily writer’s notebook to record observations or thoughts; keeping this notebook helps students to clarify their thoughts and to collect ideas for when they create more developed pieces. In Writing Workshop, sixth graders select topics, write and revise drafts of stories and poems—having conferred both with peers and teachers—and publish their work. We encourage them to tighten their organization, to be descriptive, and to experiment with sentence structure and stylistic elements.
Faculty members teach and reinforce the mechanics of writing. Each students keeps a list of skills he or she has learned, and is therefore accountable in self-editing. Students learn grammar in the context of writing in the first term; during the winter and spring, we teach grammar more formally.
Using the library at Milton
We build library skills into English as well as other curriculum areas, as students search for information to complete projects. They learn to determine which reference sources are appropriate for their purposes. Sixth graders critique and share books they are reading. Milton’s librarian, aware both of the curriculum and the personal tastes of the students, optimizes the matches between students and their reading.
Students participate in the Massachusetts Children’s Book Awards Program by reading and discussing some of the nominated books. We submit the class’ top choice to the statewide selection committee. The librarian further supports students’ reading by her participation in our Readers’ Journal program. She writes to students about books they are reading and suggest others they might enjoy. We encourage students to use the library at any time.
Mathematics
The objectives of the year in mathematics are four: to solidify mastery of whole number, decimal and fraction concepts and computation; to extend understanding of measurement and spatial reasoning; to strengthen problem-solving skills; to reinforce checking the reasonableness of answers. Teachers introduce computation with signed numbers, dividing with fractions and decimals, ratios, percent, and order of operations as new topics. We reinforce the importance of geometric concepts, measurement, and mathematics in the real world through a unit in which students design and build scale models of houses.
We present mathematics as a form of logic that allows students to understand relationships among various numerical forms and mathematical ideas. During math classes we challenge students to share the ways they have selected one of four possible answers to the problem of the day. This focus on understanding and talking about the process of mathematics, as well as on cooperative learning, encourages sixth graders to use their burgeoning abstract reasoning abilities and to become aware of their own learning styles. While we emphasize standard algorithms , we value the excitement and empowerment students feel when they extend their understanding independently by connecting their questions with what they already know.
Social Studies
Students in Grade 6 study American history. We invite students to connect their lives and stories with the lives and stories of Americans who have lived before them. We help students to understand that America’s history includes both heroes and ordinary people engaged in great events. History includes women, men, native peoples, and immigrants: those who brought here forcibly and those who chose to come. In addition to reading traditional texts, students examine original sources, and read historical fiction and biography. We teach reading critically, sharing opinions lucidly, writing answers to factual and inferential inquiries, taking notes, as well as outlining and writing cogent paragraphs.
In studying early American history sixth graders examine issues that mirror their roles as they form friendships and contribute to communities. Questions about the creation of a new country focus on choices and values. Students consider conflicts and resolutions among individuals, between individuals and groups, and among groups. We challenge students to understand multiple perspectives and the cause and effect relationships in history. These issues loom large in the lives of sixth graders.
We study America at the time of the arrival of the first Europeans and their relationships with native peoples. This unit culminates in a daylong visit to Plimoth Plantation where students experience a day in the lives of early European colonists and enjoy a seventeenth century dinner in the company of a Plimoth interpreter. As we study the complex forces affecting the formation of a new nation, we encourage students to adopt the point of view of people living in the past. They re-enact the Boston Massacre trial of Thomas Preston, they draft their own versions of the Declaration of Independence, and they simulate the Constitutional Convention. Finally, we study America during other times of great debate and conflict—the Civil War, the expansion into the West, and the civil rights movement.
We help sixth graders experience the fun of studying the stories that build history, and to show that how these stories increase our understanding of later historical events and political issues.
Science
Students investigate many of the natural processes at work on Earth during their sixth grade year. Through direct observation and modeling, students explore all three components of the Earth system: the atmosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere. In addition, a comprehensive study of Earth’s place in the solar system and universe is undertaken.
During our investigations into Earth processes, students are engaged as frequently as possible in the scientific process. Whether collecting original data from the field or using internet resources, students are asked to make interpretations, draw conclusions, and make connections between lab data and topical course content. While formal lab reports are not completed regularly, students are exposed to all elements of a scientific investigation, and taught to differentiate between them.
We have three goals for the sixth graders in the earth science program: to become excited about science; to increase their understanding about the natural phenomena at work on their home planet; and to build on the scientific skill set they have developed during elementary school. Accomplishing all three has proved to be a rewarding experience for both student and teacher.
