Sixth Grade Science Essential Learning Goals
Sixth Grade Science Essential Learning Goals
Physical Science Forces and Motion: Concepts: 1. Newton’s first law predicts that an object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest unless otherwise acted upon. 2. For any pair of interacting objects, the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first, but in the opposite direction (Newton’s third law). 3. Newton’s second law accurately predicts changes in the motion of macroscopic objects. 4. Learn that total forces acting on an object determine the effect of the forces. 5. Understand how friction affects objects. 6. Understand how gravitational force affects objects. 7. Explain and give examples of Newton’s laws of motion. 8. Understand that work is done when a force moves on an object. 9. Describe how the six kinds of simple machines make work easier. 10. Find examples in the “real world” of the six simple machines. 11. Explain how simple machines can be put together to form compound machines.
Structures and Properties of Matter: Concepts: 1. Substances are made from different types of atoms, which combine with one another in various ways. Atoms form molecules that range in size from two to thousands of atoms. 2. Each pure substance has physical and chemical characteristics that can be used to identify it. 3. Gases and liquids are made of molecules are constantly in contact with others; in a gas, they are widely spaced except when they happen to collide. In a solid, atoms are closely spaced and may vibrate in position but do not change relative locations. 4. Solids may be formed from molecules, or they may be extended structures with repeating subunits (e.g., crystals). 5. The changes of state that occur with variations in temperature or pressure can be described and predicted using these models of matter. 6. Each atom has a substructure consisting of a nucleus, which is made of protons and neutrons, surrounded by electrons. 7. Become fluent in measuring in metric units for mass, length, and volume. 8. Make metric estimates of various sizes in each type of measure. 9. Convert between metric units. 10. Understand the use of scientific notation in describing very large and very small measurements. 11. Read and write numbers in scientific notation. 12. Compare values in scientific notation. 13. Identify the subatomic particles, characteristics and uses of atoms 1-20 on the periodic table of elements.
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Sixth Grade Science Essential Learning Goals
Life Science Structure and Function: Concepts: 1. Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can vary over time. Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations. 2. Biodiversity describes the variety of species found in Earth’s terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems. The completeness or integrity of an ecosystem’s biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health. 3. Changes in biodiversity can influence humans’ resources, such as food, energy, and medicines, as well as ecosystem services that humans rely on – for example, water purification and recycling. Independent Relationships in the Ecosystem: Concepts: 1. Organisms, and populations of organisms, are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors. 2. In any ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may compete with each other for limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction. 3. Growth of organisms and population increases are limited by access to resources. 4. Similarly, predatory interactions may reduce the number of organisms or eliminate whole populations of organisms. Mutually beneficial interactions, in contrast, may become so interdependent that each organism requires the other for survival. Although the species involved in these competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial interactions vary across ecosystems, the patterns of interactions of organisms with their environments, both living and nonliving, are shared. Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms: Concepts: 1. Food webs are models that demonstrate how matter and energy are transferred between producers, consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact within an ecosystem. Transfers of matter into and out of the physical environment occur at every level. Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in aquatic environments. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem.
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Sixth Grade Science Essential Learning Goals Earth and Space Science Weather and Climate: Concepts: 1. Human activities, such as the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in the current rise in Earth’s mean surface temperature (global warming). Reducing the level of climate change and reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities.
Natural Resources Concepts: 1. Water continually cycles among land, ocean, and atmosphere via transpiration, evaporation, condensation and crystallization, and precipitation, as well as downhill flows on land. 2. The complex patterns of the changes and the movement of water in the atmosphere, determined by winds, landforms, and ocean temperatures and currents, are major determinants of local weather patterns. 3. Global movements of water and its changes in form are propelled by sunlight and gravity. 4. Variations in density due to variations in temperature and salinity drive a global pattern of interconnected ocean currents. 5. Waters movements – both on the land and underground – cause weathering and erosion, which change the land’s surface features and create underground formations.
Engineering Design Defining and delimitating Engineering Problems: Concepts: 1. The more precisely a design’s task criteria and constraints can be defined, the more likely it is that the designed solution will be successful. Specifications of constraints includes consideration of scientific principles and other relevant knowledge that are likely to limit possible solutions.
Developing Possible Solutions: Concepts: 1. A solution needs to be tested, and then modified on the basis of the test results, in order to improve it. 2. There are systematic processes for evaluating solutions with respect to how well they meet the criteria and constraints of a problem. 3. Sometimes parts of different solutions can be combined to create a solution that is better than any of its predecessors. 4. Models of all kinds are important for testing solutions.
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Sixth Grade Science Essential Learning Goals Optimizing the Design Solution: Concepts: 1. Identifying the characteristics of the design that performed the best in each test can provide useful information for the redesign process—that is, some of those characteristics may be incorporated into the new design. 2. Testing the most promising solutions and modifying what is proposed on the basis of the test results leads to greater refinement and ultimately to an optimal solution.
Science and Engineering Practices The eight practices of science and engineering: 1. Asking questions (for Ask questions based on observations to find more information about science) and defining the natural and/or designed world(s). problems (for Ask and/or identify questions that can be answered by an engineering) investigation. Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool. 2. Developing and Identify limitations of models. using models Collaboratively develop and/or revise a model based on evidence that shows the relationships among variables for frequent and regular occurring events. Develop a model using an analogy, example, or abstract representation to describe a scientific principle or design solution. Develop and/or use models to describe and/or predict phenomena. Develop a diagram or simple physical prototype to convey a proposed object, tool, or process. Use a model to test cause and effect relationships or interactions concerning the functioning of a natural or designed system 3. Planning and Plan and conduct an investigation collaboratively to produce data to carrying out serve as the basis for evidence, using fair tests in which variables are investigations controlled and the number of trials considered. Evaluate appropriate methods and/or tools for collecting data. Make observations and/or measurements to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence for an explanation of a phenomenon or test a design solution. Make predictions about what would happen if a variable changes. Test two different models of the same proposed object, tool, or process to determine better criteria for success. 4. Analyzing and Represent data in tables and/or various graphical displays (bar interpreting data graphs, pictographs and/or pie charts) to reveal patterns that indicate relationships. Analyze and interpret data to make sense of phenomena, using logical reasoning, mathematics, and/or computation. Compare and contrast data collected by different groups in order to discuss similarities and differences in their findings. Analyze data to refine a problem statement or the design of a proposed object, tool, or process. Use data to evaluate and refine design solutions. 4
Sixth Grade Science Essential Learning Goals 5. Using mathematics and computational thinking
6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)
7. Engaging in argument from evidence
8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
Decide if qualitative or quantitative data are best to determine whether a proposed object or tool meets criteria for success. Organize simple data sets to reveal patterns that suggest relationships. Describe, measure, estimate, and/or graph quantities (e.g., area, volume, weight, time) to address scientific and engineering questions and problems. Create and/or use graphs and/or charts generated from simple algorithms to compare alternative solutions to an engineering problem Construct an explanation of observed relationships (e.g., the distribution of plants in the back yard). Use evidence (e.g., measurements, observations, patterns) to construct or support an explanation or design a solution to a problem. Identify the evidence that supports particular points in an explanation. Apply scientific ideas to solve design problems. Generate and compare multiple solutions to a problem based on how well they meet criteria and constraints. Compare and refine arguments based on an evaluation of the evidence presented. Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in an explanation. Respectfully provide and receive critiques from peers about a proposed procedure, explanation, or model by citing relevant evidence and posing specific questions. Construct and/or support an argument with evidence, data, and/or a model. Use data to evaluate claims about cause and effect. Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem by citing relevant evidence about how it meets the criteria and constraints of the problem. Read grade-appropriate texts and/or use media to obtain scientific and/or technical information to determine patterns in and/or evidence about the natural and designed world(s). Describe how specific Images support a scientific or engineering idea. Obtain information using various texts, texts features, and or other media that will be useful in answering a scientific question and/or supporting a specific claim. Communicate information or design ideas and/or solutions with others in oral and/or written forms using models, drawings, writing or numbers that provide detail about scientific ideas, practices, and/or design ideas.
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Physical Science Forces and Motion: Concepts: 1. Newton’s first law predicts that an object in motion will stay in motion and an object at rest will stay at rest unless otherwise acted upon. 2. For any pair of interacting objects, the force exerted by the first object on the second object is equal in strength to the force that the second object exerts on the first, but in the opposite direction (Newton’s third law). 3. Newton’s second law accurately predicts changes in the motion of macroscopic objects. 4. Learn that total forces acting on an object determine the effect of the forces. 5. Understand how friction affects objects. 6. Understand how gravitational force affects objects. 7. Explain and give examples of Newton’s laws of motion. 8. Understand that work is done when a force moves on an object. 9. Describe how the six kinds of simple machines make work easier. 10. Find examples in the “real world” of the six simple machines. 11. Explain how simple machines can be put together to form compound machines.
Structures and Properties of Matter: Concepts: 1. Substances are made from different types of atoms, which combine with one another in various ways. Atoms form molecules that range in size from two to thousands of atoms. 2. Each pure substance has physical and chemical characteristics that can be used to identify it. 3. Gases and liquids are made of molecules are constantly in contact with others; in a gas, they are widely spaced except when they happen to collide. In a solid, atoms are closely spaced and may vibrate in position but do not change relative locations. 4. Solids may be formed from molecules, or they may be extended structures with repeating subunits (e.g., crystals). 5. The changes of state that occur with variations in temperature or pressure can be described and predicted using these models of matter. 6. Each atom has a substructure consisting of a nucleus, which is made of protons and neutrons, surrounded by electrons. 7. Become fluent in measuring in metric units for mass, length, and volume. 8. Make metric estimates of various sizes in each type of measure. 9. Convert between metric units. 10. Understand the use of scientific notation in describing very large and very small measurements. 11. Read and write numbers in scientific notation. 12. Compare values in scientific notation. 13. Identify the subatomic particles, characteristics and uses of atoms 1-20 on the periodic table of elements.
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Sixth Grade Science Essential Learning Goals
Life Science Structure and Function: Concepts: 1. Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can vary over time. Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations. 2. Biodiversity describes the variety of species found in Earth’s terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems. The completeness or integrity of an ecosystem’s biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health. 3. Changes in biodiversity can influence humans’ resources, such as food, energy, and medicines, as well as ecosystem services that humans rely on – for example, water purification and recycling. Independent Relationships in the Ecosystem: Concepts: 1. Organisms, and populations of organisms, are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors. 2. In any ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may compete with each other for limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction. 3. Growth of organisms and population increases are limited by access to resources. 4. Similarly, predatory interactions may reduce the number of organisms or eliminate whole populations of organisms. Mutually beneficial interactions, in contrast, may become so interdependent that each organism requires the other for survival. Although the species involved in these competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial interactions vary across ecosystems, the patterns of interactions of organisms with their environments, both living and nonliving, are shared. Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms: Concepts: 1. Food webs are models that demonstrate how matter and energy are transferred between producers, consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact within an ecosystem. Transfers of matter into and out of the physical environment occur at every level. Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in aquatic environments. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem.
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Sixth Grade Science Essential Learning Goals Earth and Space Science Weather and Climate: Concepts: 1. Human activities, such as the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in the current rise in Earth’s mean surface temperature (global warming). Reducing the level of climate change and reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities.
Natural Resources Concepts: 1. Water continually cycles among land, ocean, and atmosphere via transpiration, evaporation, condensation and crystallization, and precipitation, as well as downhill flows on land. 2. The complex patterns of the changes and the movement of water in the atmosphere, determined by winds, landforms, and ocean temperatures and currents, are major determinants of local weather patterns. 3. Global movements of water and its changes in form are propelled by sunlight and gravity. 4. Variations in density due to variations in temperature and salinity drive a global pattern of interconnected ocean currents. 5. Waters movements – both on the land and underground – cause weathering and erosion, which change the land’s surface features and create underground formations.
Engineering Design Defining and delimitating Engineering Problems: Concepts: 1. The more precisely a design’s task criteria and constraints can be defined, the more likely it is that the designed solution will be successful. Specifications of constraints includes consideration of scientific principles and other relevant knowledge that are likely to limit possible solutions.
Developing Possible Solutions: Concepts: 1. A solution needs to be tested, and then modified on the basis of the test results, in order to improve it. 2. There are systematic processes for evaluating solutions with respect to how well they meet the criteria and constraints of a problem. 3. Sometimes parts of different solutions can be combined to create a solution that is better than any of its predecessors. 4. Models of all kinds are important for testing solutions.
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Sixth Grade Science Essential Learning Goals Optimizing the Design Solution: Concepts: 1. Identifying the characteristics of the design that performed the best in each test can provide useful information for the redesign process—that is, some of those characteristics may be incorporated into the new design. 2. Testing the most promising solutions and modifying what is proposed on the basis of the test results leads to greater refinement and ultimately to an optimal solution.
Science and Engineering Practices The eight practices of science and engineering: 1. Asking questions (for Ask questions based on observations to find more information about science) and defining the natural and/or designed world(s). problems (for Ask and/or identify questions that can be answered by an engineering) investigation. Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool. 2. Developing and Identify limitations of models. using models Collaboratively develop and/or revise a model based on evidence that shows the relationships among variables for frequent and regular occurring events. Develop a model using an analogy, example, or abstract representation to describe a scientific principle or design solution. Develop and/or use models to describe and/or predict phenomena. Develop a diagram or simple physical prototype to convey a proposed object, tool, or process. Use a model to test cause and effect relationships or interactions concerning the functioning of a natural or designed system 3. Planning and Plan and conduct an investigation collaboratively to produce data to carrying out serve as the basis for evidence, using fair tests in which variables are investigations controlled and the number of trials considered. Evaluate appropriate methods and/or tools for collecting data. Make observations and/or measurements to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence for an explanation of a phenomenon or test a design solution. Make predictions about what would happen if a variable changes. Test two different models of the same proposed object, tool, or process to determine better criteria for success. 4. Analyzing and Represent data in tables and/or various graphical displays (bar interpreting data graphs, pictographs and/or pie charts) to reveal patterns that indicate relationships. Analyze and interpret data to make sense of phenomena, using logical reasoning, mathematics, and/or computation. Compare and contrast data collected by different groups in order to discuss similarities and differences in their findings. Analyze data to refine a problem statement or the design of a proposed object, tool, or process. Use data to evaluate and refine design solutions. 4
Sixth Grade Science Essential Learning Goals 5. Using mathematics and computational thinking
6. Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering)
7. Engaging in argument from evidence
8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information
Decide if qualitative or quantitative data are best to determine whether a proposed object or tool meets criteria for success. Organize simple data sets to reveal patterns that suggest relationships. Describe, measure, estimate, and/or graph quantities (e.g., area, volume, weight, time) to address scientific and engineering questions and problems. Create and/or use graphs and/or charts generated from simple algorithms to compare alternative solutions to an engineering problem Construct an explanation of observed relationships (e.g., the distribution of plants in the back yard). Use evidence (e.g., measurements, observations, patterns) to construct or support an explanation or design a solution to a problem. Identify the evidence that supports particular points in an explanation. Apply scientific ideas to solve design problems. Generate and compare multiple solutions to a problem based on how well they meet criteria and constraints. Compare and refine arguments based on an evaluation of the evidence presented. Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in an explanation. Respectfully provide and receive critiques from peers about a proposed procedure, explanation, or model by citing relevant evidence and posing specific questions. Construct and/or support an argument with evidence, data, and/or a model. Use data to evaluate claims about cause and effect. Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem by citing relevant evidence about how it meets the criteria and constraints of the problem. Read grade-appropriate texts and/or use media to obtain scientific and/or technical information to determine patterns in and/or evidence about the natural and designed world(s). Describe how specific Images support a scientific or engineering idea. Obtain information using various texts, texts features, and or other media that will be useful in answering a scientific question and/or supporting a specific claim. Communicate information or design ideas and/or solutions with others in oral and/or written forms using models, drawings, writing or numbers that provide detail about scientific ideas, practices, and/or design ideas.
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