Bellingham Public Schools

Curriculum Department

June 2004

Sixth Grade Learning Targets

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LEARNING TARGETS

What are "learning targets?"

The State of Washington has established standards that identify a basic level of proficiency in skills, knowledge and understandings essential to student success and well-being. These standards are called the State of Washington Essential Academic Learning Requirements. The EALRs identify learning targets in reading, writing, math, social studies, science, health and fitness, communication, and the arts for all students in the State of Washington. The Bellingham School District is in the process of aligning their curriculum content areas with the EALRs and supports all children in their continuous progress toward these standards of achievement.

Curriculum

Bellingham School District's curriculum frameworks identify and organize concepts, essential understandings, processes, skills and critical content that students need to know and be able to do at each grade level. Critical content is outlined in the state's curriculum frameworks as well as in the Bellingham School District's curriculum guides. These guides outline grade level expectations in each academic content area. Middle school programs include instruction in reading, writing, science, mathematics, social studies, health and physical education. Schools also offer a broad range of elective or exploratory options that may vary from school to school.

LEARNING TARGETS FOR READING

The following information identifies the learning targets in reading for students who are in sixth grade in the Bellingham School District.

By the end of Sixth Grade .

Sixth Grade Reading Expectations

Uses skills and strategies

word recognition and meaning

• applies phonetic principles: sounding out, word segmentation and syllabification
• uses language structure and knowledge of conventions to understand reading materials
• identifies and discusses reading strategies necessary to comprehend: self corrects when reading, rereads to clarify meaning, reads on when encountering difficult text, uses context cues to check understanding of what is read
• questions text to clarify understanding

vocabulary

• builds reading vocabulary by interpreting context clues, using dictionaries, glossaries and other sources to develop a bank of words which are recognized when encountered in different contexts

fluency

• reads fluently, silently and orally, adjusting intonation and pace to fit purpose and material
• discusses how rereading influences initial meaning or ideas

fiction elements

• identifies techniques for making comparisons, including conjunctions, simile, metaphor, personification, and analogy
• discusses literary devices such as imagery, exaggeration and irony
• understands story elements (character, plot, theme, setting)

non fiction elements

• recognizes organizational features of electronic information
• identifies and discusses different text forms
• locates and uses text organizers
• explores and identifies ideas and information from visual and electronic materials

Understands What Is Read

ideas and details

• reads text confidently and can retell major content, distinguishing between main ideas and supporting details
• retells and discusses own interpretation of text
• makes inferences and predictions while reading, confirming or revising as needed
• discusses information relating to plot, character, or main ideas and details

expanding comprehension

• connects prior knowledge to text to construct meaning about characters, events and text information
• demonstrates basic comprehension of literary, informational, and task oriented texts such as plays, newspaper articles and instructions through written responses

critical thinking

• compares and contrasts within and among texts
• considers and discusses issues and values presented in text along side own experiences and current thinking

Selects and Reads Texts for a Variety of Purposes

learn new information

• selects appropriate material and reads to learn new information
• knows a variety of community resources available to locate text information to meet a purpose

perform a task

• selects and reads to perform a task for a variety of authentic purposes
• locates and sorts information for a specific topic or purpose
• selects and reads a range of resources including fiction and non-fiction text to research topic

literary experience

• recognizes and pursues favorite authors and genres

career applications

• identifies particular reading skills required for occupational/career areas of interest

Takes Responsibility for Reading Skills

assess strengths and needs

• evaluates reading skills with teacher and sets goals for improvement

seek and offer feedback

• accepts specific feedback from others when discussing or writing responses to text

develop interests

• establishes reading interests and reads beyond established interests for ideas and information
• recommends books to others
• discusses reading preferences and justifies opinions
• organizes daily schedule to include time for exploring and enjoying reading
• uses book reviews to increase awareness of other books or authors

LEARNING TARGETS FOR WRITING

The following information identifies the learning targets in writing for students who are in sixth grade in the Bellingham School District.

By the end of Sixth Grade .

Sixth Grade Writing Expectations

Understands and Uses Steps of Writing Process - Uses technology at all stages of the writing process as needed.

prewrite/plan

• plans and drafts from oral communication
• uses a variety of prewriting strategies
• gathers information from a variety of sources
• discriminates between essential, intriguing, and useful information
• narrows or expands a topic
• devotes more time to prewriting, revising, and editing stages, working for clear meaning and effective presentation

draft

• elaborates and organizes prewriting activities to create a rough draft
• drafts text, demonstrating awareness of focus, sequence, and pacing by carefully selecting details, determining the extent of elaboration, and constructing transitions that maintain fluency and emphasize organizational structure

revise

• revises to maintain reader's interest while emphasizing point of view and style
• makes changes to draft based on knowledge of the traits
• seeks and provides peer input to improve draft

proofreading

• edits own work and that of others for conventions

publish

• selects a display form and publishing options to produce a legible final product
• uses visuals to enhance the message

Writes Clearly and Effectively Using Traits of Quality Writing

concept and design

• includes a descriptive detail, cause and effect, and comparative facts in informational writing
• writes well-rounded, researched, and reasoned texts on a variety of topics and themes
• analyzes a theme or issue in informational and literary texts and in poetry
• varies method of developing character setting, mood, and suspense, and of indicating resolution
• selects from an increasing repertoire of structures and techniques to maintain own interest as well as that of audience
• acknowledges and cites sources correctly
• provides detailed labeling, captions, headings, and sub-headings when appropriate

style

• uses voice appropriate to genre and audience
• communicates own perspective and ideas
• maintains own voice, experiments with other voices, exploring new audiences, topics, and forms
• uses a wide range of words that clearly convey meaning in a particular form
• writes appropriate pronoun consistent with previous subject or object in order to avoid repetition
• uses adjectives, nouns, verbs, and adverbs to enhance the meaning of sentences
• uses figurative language and imagery
• uses a variety of simple and compound sentences
• constructs sequenced paragraphs using effective transitions

conventions

• uses ending and most common internal punctuation accurately in own writing (periods, commas, apostrophe, quotation marks)
• uses capitals in own writing to begin sentences, proper nouns, abbreviations, titles, and for emphasis
• determines when a work is misspelled
• spells grade-level words accurately in own writing
• understands spelling patterns, rules or generalizations

Writes in a Variety of Forms for Different Audiences and Purposes

different audience

• identifies, analyzes, and writes for a chosen audience

different purposes

• selects relevant information for a specific purpose from a range of material and paraphrases, expands, or summarizes it according to purpose
• pursues personal writing interest independently
• writes for a variety of purposes: entertain, retell, classify, describe, explain, argue or persuade

variety of forms

• uses a variety of forms: recount, procedure, narrative, expository (report and explanation), persuasive
• responds to questions and texts from a considered personal stance supported by experiences or examples
• writes about the same topic, theme, or issue in more than one form or purpose (e.g., speeches, interviews)
• collaborates with peers on long-term projects (e.g., class newspaper)

career applications

• uses technical and career documents to gather information
• explores the way writing plays a role in a wide range of careers
• identifies particular writing skills required for occupation/career areas of interest

Analyzes and Evaluates Effectiveness of Written Work

assess strengths and needs

• evaluates own work and that of others for the craft of writing as well as the content
• uses established criteria to reflect upon and improve writing
• maintains a portfolio of own literary work

seeks and offers feedback

• accepts criticism as a means for improving writing

LEARNING TARGETS FOR MATH

The following information identifies the learning targets for both content and process strands in math for students who are in sixth grade in the Bellingham School District.

By the end of Sixth Grade .

Sixth Grade Math Expectations

Content Strands:

Number Sense

number and numeration

• use models to explain equivalencies of fractions, decimals, and percents
• identify, compare, and order non-negative whole numbers, fractions, and decimals
• use models to describe primes, composites, factors, and multiples, and determine divisibility by 2, 4, 5, 8, and 10
• use objects, pictures, and symbols to create equivalent ratios in part:whole context
• find missing values within proportional conditions using ratios and rates

computation

• add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers
• add, subtract, multiply decimals, fractions, and mixed numbers
• calculate simple percentages
• use models to demonstrate the meaning of division of simple fractions and decimals
• use order of operations to simplify arithmetic expressions with whole numbers
• justify the use of mental arithmetic, paper and pencil, calculator or computer as appropriate for a given situation

estimation

• determine and justify the reasonableness of answers by estimating results prior to actual computation with whole numbers and fractions

Measurement

attributes and dimensions

• describe relationships among perimeter, area, and volume
• determine area and volume when given dimensions of the object or space measured in U.S. or metric units of measurement
• determine the area of irregular shapes using customary and metric units of measurement
• apply the concept of ratio when constructing scale models using customary or metric units of measurement

approximation and precision

• explain how precision depends on the calibration of the measurement tool

systems and tools

• determine which U.S. or metric unit of measurement will result in the most appropriate measurement for a given situation
• use a protractor to measure angles

Geometric Sense

properties and relationships

• identify and describe figures that are similar, congruent, or symmetric
• identify the number of degrees in a circle, triangle, and quadrilateral
• compare, contrast, classify, and construct 2-D figures, such as isosceles, equilateral, and scalene triangles

locations and transformations

• describe the location of points on coordinate grids using letters and numbers on axes
• describe simple transformations using combinations of translations, reflections, and rotations

Probability and Statistics

probability

• display the sample space of a probability experiment by making a table or using a diagram
• conduct simulations to determine probabilities

statistics

• form a random sample from a described population
• collect, organize, and display data using the appropriate forms
• identify the effects of outliers on the mean and median
• compute mean, median, mode, and/or range as appropriate in describing simple data

prediction and inference

• predict outcomes of simple experiments and simulations and compare the predictions to experimental results
• make inferences based on experimental results

Algebraic Sense

patterns

• recognize and extend number patterns and sequences
• use relationships found among sets of numbers to extend patterns on t-tables and function machines

representations

• write rules for data found on t-tables and function machines
• express relationships between numbers using =, ¹ , >, or <
• describe variables found in simple inequalities and formulas
• translate a given problem situation into a simple mathematical equation and find the problem

operations

• evaluate simple expressions using pictorial representations
• use pictures and/or words to describe solutions to single-variable equations

Process Strands:

Problem Solving

investigate situations

• search systematically for patterns in simple situations
• develop and use a variety of strategies, such as draw a diagram, make a chart or table, and look for a pattern

formulate questions and define the problem

• identify unknowns in new situations

construct solutions

• select and use appropriate mathematical tools to construct solutions to problems

Reasoning

analyze information

• interpret, compare, and contrast information from a variety of sources, such as books, personal investigations, and/or a computer
• validate thinking and mathematical ideas using models, patterns, and relationships

predict results

• make conjectures and inferences based on analysis of new problem situations

draw conclusions and verify results

• support arguments and justify results using inductive reasoning
• check for reasonableness of results

Communication

gather information

• use reading, listening, and observation skills to access and extract mathematical information
• use available technology to browse, select, and retrieve relevant mathematical information

organize and interpret information

• organize and clarify mathematical information by reflecting and writing

represent and share information

• express ideas clearly and effectively using both everyday and mathematical language (words, tables, graphs, and functions)

Connections

within mathematics

• connect conceptual and procedural understandings among different mathematical content areas

to other disciplines

• identify mathematical patterns and relationships in other disciplines
• use mathematical thinking and modeling in other disciplines
• describe examples of contributions to the development of mathematics

to real-life situations

• recognize the extensive use of mathematics outside the classroom
• investigate the use of mathematics within several occupational/career areas

Teaching resources for math include:

• Connected Mathematics, Prentice Hall 2004

LEARNING TARGETS FOR SOCIAL STUDIES

The following information identifies the learning targets in social studies for students who are in sixth grade in the Bellingham School District.

The sixth grade social studies program focuses on the theme of "Ancient Civilizations - Foundations of the Modern World." Students will learn how scientists draw conclusions about ancient civilizations based on the artifacts that have been discovered. From this context, students will study the origins of civilizations and their connections to the modern world by understanding what affected the choices people made long ago and how those choices affect the world today. The guiding questions for social studies in sixth grade are:

Geography

• How are cultures shaped by geography?
• How do human patterns affect the geography?
• What was the impact of cross-cultural exchange on developing civilizations? What is the impact of cross-cultural exchange in today's world?

Civics

• What are the needs of people that lead to an organized system of decision-making?
• What are the characteristics of effective government systems?

History

• How do historians learn about and interpret the past?
• How do historical turning points influence individuals and communities?
• What causes conflicts in-and-between civilizations and what are the effects?
• How do individuals and groups shape history?

Economics

• Using knowledge of ancient civilizations, how do limited resources affect the choices people make and how do those choices affect their resources?
• What are the chief characteristics of effective economic systems and how do such systems evolve?

Sixth grade teaching resources for social studies include:

• The Ancient World, Prentice Hall 2001
• Geography Tools and Concepts, Prentice Hall 2001
• World Wall Map and Globe

LEARNING TARGETS FOR SCIENCE

The following information identifies the learning targets in science for students who are in sixth grade in the Bellingham School District.

By the end of Sixth Grade .

Sixth Grade Science Expectations

PHYSICAL SCIENCE - Systems (Content)

Properties

Properties of Substances

• Describe why freshwater and saltwater with the same volume may have different densities.
• Use the properties of an unknown substance to identify the substance.

Motion of Objects

• Identify and describe the relative position or change of position of one or two objects.
• Identify and describe the speed of an object relative to speed of another object.
• Identify, describe and explain an objects' motion as speeding up, slowing down or moving with constant speed using models, numbers, words, diagrams, or graphs.
• Measure and describe the relative position or change in position of one or two objects.
• Measure and describe the speed of an object relative to the speed of another object.

Wave Behavior

• Identify and describe how water waves affect the motion of the particles in the substance through which the wave is traveling (e.g., motion of water molecules in an ocean wave).
• Identify and describe the height and wavelength of water waves.

Energy Sources and Kinds

• Explain that matter has energy because the particles of a substance are in continual motion (kinetic energy).
• Describe electrical and mechanical as forms of energy
• Compare and contrast or explain the forms of stored (potential) energy for different systems (e.g., springs, electric circuits, fuel for vehicles, ball held up from floor, catapult).
• Identify and explain the kind or form of energy at some place in a system.

Structure

Systems Approach

• Reassemble disassembled simple mechanical devices.
• Recognize how the parts or components of a system interconnect and influence each other.
• Identify the inputs, and outputs of a system.
• Locate the transfers of energy and matter within a system (e.g., electrical energy is transferred to light in a light bulb in an electric circuit).

Energy Transfer and Transformation

• Describe the transfer of energy by waves.
• Describe how an increase in one type of energy of an object or system results in a decrease in other types of energy within that object or system.
• Trace and explain the transfer of energy within a system (e.g., simple machines).

Changes

Nature of Forces

• Label the forces acting on an object and identify the factors determining the strength of interaction.
• Identify the forces in a system and explain the factors that determine their strength.

Forces to Explain Motion

• Cite factors that affect the motion of an object.
• Explain the effects of an unbalanced force on an object moving in a straight line.
• Identify and describe how unbalanced forces can change the speed or direction of motion of an object or how mass can affect the speed of an object.
• Measure the change in an object's motion due to a change in the force on the object.
• Describe how changing the mass of an object affects the object's motion.

Changes in Matter

• Explain that matter is neither created nor destroyed when substances undergo (non-nuclear) physical and/or chemical changes (e.g., law of conservation of matter and energy).

EARTH/SPACE SCIENCE - Systems (Content)

Properties

Nature and Properties of Earth Materials

• Identify and describe the properties of minerals and rocks (e.g., texture, luster, cleavage, hardness, pH).
• Identify and describe the properties of soils (e.g., chemical composition such as Nitrate nutrients and texture such as clay, sand, and gravel).
• Identify and describe the processes that create different types of rocks.
• Identify and describe processes that contribute to the composition of soil (e.g., weathering rock, decomposition via plant acids).

Structure

Components and Patterns of the Earth System

• Describe the components among the parts of Earth's systems (hydrosphere, lithosphere).
• Describe the interactions among the parts of the Earth's systems (hydrosphere, lithosphere).

Changes

Processes and Interactions in the Earth System

• Differentiate between changes that happened quickly and those that have occurred over a long period of time.
• Identify and describe how rocks change in form, composition, and location during the rock cycle.
• Explain the causes of weathering, erosion and deposition.
• Identify and describe how human activities cause changes in landforms and bodies of water.

History and Evolution of the Earth

• Show how fossil and other evidence can be used to document past life and conditions on Earth.
• Explain how fossil or other evidence can be used to document environmental changes (extinction, evolution, major climatic changes, and relative age of rock layers).

LIFE SCIENCE - Systems (Content)

Properties

Characteristics of Living Matter

• Categorize plants and/or animals into groups according to how they accomplish life processes such as food production/consumption or reproduction, or whether they are consumers, producers, or decomposers.
• Categorize plants and/or animals into groups by similarities and differences in physical characteristics, functional characteristics, and/or internal and external structures.
• Explain an inference about whether animals or plants have a biological relationship based on given characteristics.
• Explain why an organism is classified as a producer, consumer, or decomposer.

Structure

Systems Approach

• Identify the parts and components of an ecosystem.

• Describe the interconnections between the parts of an ecosystem.

• Identify the inputs, and outputs of an ecosystem.
• Locate the transfers of energy and matter within an ecosystem.

Changes

Biological Evolution

• Describe how natural selection functions and how it leads to changes in species over time.
• Using external and/or internal characteristics, explain how several species could have a common ancestor.
• Explain how environmental changes can lead to the extinction of one species or the emergence of a new species.
• Describe why more recently deposited rock layers are more likely to contain fossils resembling existing species.

Interdependence of Life

• Illustrate the cycle of nutrients and the flow of energy through a food chain or web.
• Identify and describe how competition among species can affect the population of one or the other species in an ecosystem.
• Identify and describe one or more mutually beneficial relationship among species in an ecosystem.
• Explain how an organism's role (predator, prey, consumer, producer, decomposer, scavenger) and non-living factors contribute to the balance of an ecosystem.
• Describe how population changes in an ecosystem can affect other species in that ecosystem.
• Describe how substances such as air, water, and nutrients are continually recycled in ecosystems.

Sixth grade teaching resources for science include the following kits:

• FOSS (Full Option Science System) Earth History
• FOSS Populations and Ecosystems
• STC Energy, Machines & Motion

FOSS=Full Option Science System

STC=Science and Technology Concepts for Middle School

LEARNING TARGETS FOR HEALTH & FITNESS/PHYSICAL EDUCATION

The following information identifies the learning targets in health and fitness for students who are in sixth grade in the Bellingham School District.

By the end of Sixth Grade .

Health and Fitness/Physical Education Expectations

Students will:

• perform a progression of combined movement skills to achieve activity goals
• practice safety procedures, demonstrate sportsmanship, and adhere to activity rules
• identify and participate in a physical activity to enhance lifelong fitness goals
• develop an understanding of meal planning based on personal goals for nutrition and healthy food choices
• identify the relationship between eating habits, exercise and self-esteem
• demonstrate individual or group-created rhythmic compositions
• identify and describe structure and function of the circulatory, respiratory, and reproductive systems
• describe physical, emotional, mental, and social changes that occur during growth and puberty
• know how and where to find reliable sources of health information
• identify, demonstrate and practice skills that reduce the risk of contracting HIV and other diseases
• describe the relationship between behavioral choices and personal health and safety
• understand the relationship between stress and health and practice strategies to reduce harmful stress
• practice skills that help self and others in an emergency
• identify strategies for dealing with abusive use of legal and illegal substances in peer/social situations
• describe how environmental factors can affect our health in positive and negative ways
• create a plan to resist unreliable and unhealthy messages and to use healthy messages to select and use health products
• identify reliable information about health products and services
• demonstrate communication skills to build and maintain healthy relationships
• differentiate between negative and positive behaviors used in conflict situations
• describe the emotional appeal of the media and advertising on health issues and its impact on the consumer
• evaluate healthy practices to determine their consequences
• access a variety of sources for safety and health information pertaining to possible career choices
• demonstrate strategies to improve or maintain personal health and fitness
• explore different exercise options
• develop a weekly plan that demonstrates understanding of responsible personal health behaviors

Sixth grade teaching resources for health and fitness include:

• Teen Health Course 1, Glencoe McGraw-Hill 1999
• KNOW HIV/STD Prevention Curriculum
• Second Step, A Violence Prevention Curriculum from Committee for Children

Please note: Washington State law (RCW28A.230.070) requires public schools in the state of Washington to teach about the "life threatening dangers" of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) grade 5 and beyond. The Bellingham School District provides a Parent Information Night regarding the HIV/AIDS curriculum in the fall of each school year. Parents wishing to exempt their student from this lesson must review the material and make the request in writing not to have their student participate in the classroom presentation. Parents may review the middle school material at their school or the Curriculum Office.

SIXTH GRADE ASSESSMENTS

The Bellingham School District requires teachers to assess students using a variety of tools to inform instruction and evaluate programs. These tools provide the teacher with specific information about student skills and progress toward standards.

• Ongoing Classroom-based Assessments  

• Fluency Test - The Fluency Test is used as a predictor in reading comprehension. It measures rate and accuracy in oral reading. Testing is done in the fall, winter and spring.  

• Assess2Learn - Assess2Learn is an online, standards-based classroom assessment. Tests for reading, math, and writing are used fall, winter, and spring.  

• Qualitative Reading Inventory (QRI) - The QRI is an individualized test used to identify a student's strengths and weaknesses in reading. Testing is done as soon as a student is identified below standard on the DRP.  

• District Writing Assessment - The District Writing Assessment measures the six traits of writing: ideas and content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency and conventions and is given to sixth grade students in January.  

• Degrees of Reading Power (DRP)

The DRP measures a student's ability to comprehend surface meaning of non-fiction text at an instructional level. Testing is done in the fall and spring.

The DRP is administered to all grade 3-8 students except those reading at or below DRA level of 24 (2 nd grade level). The expected levels of performance for grades 6-8 are shown below.

• Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) - The WASL is a state mandated standards-based assessment in reading and math given to sixth grade students in the spring.

STUDENT SUCCESS IS OUR GOAL

As parents and guardians, we encourage you to be actively involved in your child's learning. The staff at your child's school can answer questions concerning their progress and give you suggestions about how you can support their education at home. The school district and parents need to work as partners to ensure that every child finds success.