Curriculum Overview (click to view)

 

In English Language Arts your child will…

• The Grade 6 Thematic Units take students through literature and informational texts about people facing crucial decisions and learning from their responses. Unit 1, Turning Points, examines what happens when a critical event interrupts and even defines a life, be it a watershed moment of history or a simple choice of which path to take. Unit 2, Ancient Realms, travels back to early Egypt, Greece, Troy, and the settings of myth and fable, to provide inspiration from stories and civilizations that have influenced our own time. Unit 3, Facing Challenges, brings the battles people have fought into the realm of our own century. 
  • Unit 1: In this Grade 6 unit, your students will explore life-changing events from a variety of perspectives, as they read fiction, memoirs, nonfiction narratives, articles, autobiographies, and poetry. The unit begins with an excerpt from the Newbery-award-winning novel Hatchet, which gives insight into a 13-year-old boy’s state of mind when he is stranded in the wilderness with only a tattered windbreaker and the hatchet his mother had given him as a gift. Other selections include accounts of the struggles real people have faced, including Melba Pattillo Beals’ experience as a key figure in the fight for school integration, and Jackie Robinson’s rise to baseball fame when he enters the Major Leagues and becomes the first African American player to break through the color barrier. Throughout this unit, students will explore how fictional characters and real people adapt and succeed when life suddenly changes direction.
  • Unit 2: In this Grade 6 unit, your students will explore how history informs and inspires us from a variety of perspectives, through fiction, myths, nonfiction narratives, and poetry. The unit begins with an excerpt from Hatshepsut: His Majesty, Herself, which sheds light on what life was like in ancient Egypt, how society was governed, and what happened when a female pharaoh came to power. Other selections share stories of history, including Philip Isaacson’s critique on the Egyptian pyramids, the Greek myth of Perseus, and morals learned through Aesop’s Fables. Throughout this unit, students will explore the different ways that history can inspire and inform people.
  • Unit 3: In this Grade 6 unit, your students will explore through a variety of texts what motivates people to stand up for others and themselves, how they take a stand, and the outcomes of their actions. The unit begins with an excerpt from the novel A Wrinkle in Time, which showcases the bravery of two siblings who set out on a dangerous journey to find their father. Other selections share stories, past and present, of people who take a stance against injustice, including a selection that focuses on educator Leo Hart who stood up for “Okie” children during the Great Depression, an account of the efforts of Japanese Americans to prove their loyalty to the United States during World War II, and two sides of an argument about whether schools are doing enough to prevent  bullying. Throughout this unit, students will explore the different reasons and ways in which people take a stance and, despite challenges, work hard to make a change for the better.

 

How can I support my child at home?

Set aside twenty minutes each day in a comfortable reading space for reading together. During this 20 minutes, read aloud to your child and encourage them to read to you. By reading aloud with your child every day, you can model fluency and expression and support the work your child is doing at school. 

 

Is there an online platform or app available?

• Yes! Students can access the StudySync platform (ConnectEd) through the Clever portal.

 

Additional Information about our core resource:

• StudySync is a complete rigorous ELA curriculum designed to meet the needs of every learner. Study Sync uses a variety of texts to build language and comprehension skills through reading, writing and research. Learn more about Study Sync’s comprehensive English Language Arts curriculum at their webpage, studysync.com.

In math, your child will:

• Understand ratio concepts and use ratio reasoning to solve problems.

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

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

• Apply and extend previous understandings of arithmetic to algebraic expressions.

• Reason about and solve one-variable equations and inequalities.

• Represent and analyze quantitative relationships between dependent and independent variables.

 

Is there an online platform or app available?

• Yes! Dreambox is a personalized math program that builds students' confidence and competence.  Learn more about how to support the program at home.
• Big Ideas online platform is available for students in their Clever portal.

 

Additional Information about our core resource:

• If you would like to preview a portion of the curriculum, please visit Big Ideas Learning.

 

District 58 incorporates an inquiry-based approach. Students engage in inquiry through rich discussion, questioning, research using various resources, and summarizing their understanding with a project for an audience. DG58 started inquiry with social studies and embeds it throughout other content areas. Ultimately, District 58 staff light the way for students to engage in a path of exploration and discovery.

 

The gradual release process of inquiry.

 

In Social Studies your child will…

• Explore disciplinary concepts through a study of history and ancient world civilizations.
• Engage individually and collaboratively in inquiry within four disciplinary concepts; civics, economics, history, and geography.
• Gather and evaluate sources
• Develop claims and use evidence
• Communicate conclusions
• Take informed action to demonstrate understanding

 

Additional Information about our core resource:

For more information on our National Geographic curriculum resource.

 

What is inquiry?

Simply put, inquiry-based learning is founded on an "essential question". In our sixth grade studies resource, each lesson introduces an an essential question to spark the inquiry process. Then, reading and activities guide students through investigation to answer the essential question. In the end, students complete an inquiry project to demonstrate learning and understanding. 

The inquiry process, according to C3, includes 4 stages:  

• Developing Questions and planning inquiries
• Applying the disciplines (civics, economics, geography, history)
• Evaluating resources
• Communicating conclusions and taking informed action

To learn more, watch this quick and helpful video.

 

How can I support my child at home?

As parents, it can be hard to see our children struggle. However, by not giving the answer, through "failure" (F-first, A-attempt, I-in, L-learning), children learn and build self-efficacy. 

 

Below are helpful ideas to easily incorporate inquiry into your home.

• Learn along with children through books, TV programs, and learning hobbies, such rock collecting.
• Visit museums, zoos, aquariums, and historical sites with children. The Downers Grove Public Library has museum passes available. Downers Grove also has a rich history. To learn more, visit the Downers Grove Historical Museum.
• Explore quality television programs like PBS, the Discovery Channel, and the History Channel.
• Subscribe children to magazines.

 

1. Bring Inquiry into Your Home

Meet a question with a question. Our first instinct when a child asks a question is to provide an answer. This can prevent a golden opportunity to learn about how to learn. So, next time your child asks you a question (“How do you spell ….?” “What are the types of energy?”), instead of supplying the answer, try responding like this:

Great question! How could you find that out? What resource could you use to discover that? 

 

Be prepared to inquire together. Sometimes, when you meet a question with a question, you get an “I don’t know”. That is an invitation to a great teachable moment! If your child doesn’t know how to find out on their own or what resource to use, you can respond with:

Let’s figure it out together. Maybe we can try this….Let’s see if this resource has the answer…

 

Ask the magic question – “What do you notice?”. No matter what subject – the secret ingredient to inquiry is asking learners to think about what they notice. That one question works every time, and can be followed up with “what else do you notice?”.

You don’t have to be an expert, just be a learner. It is okay to not know. That presents an opportunity to model your own approaches to learning. Confidently to say, “I don’t know”.  Follow it up with, “But now I want to know, so here is how I am going to find out!” or, “Let’s figure this out together!”

 

2. Encourage Reflection

Get them thinking about their thinking. There are two magic questions you can ask your child to help them think deeper – any subject:

 

How do you know?

What makes you say that?

 

3. Support your child’s agency 

Invite their voice. Give space for children to articulate what they like and don’t like about learning. Listen to what they care about and what matters to them and try to understand and find ways to support it.

Respect and support their choices. Be aware of choices you make for your child that they could make themselves. Choices may include when, where, and how they learn. Teach  the decision-making process (What choice are you making for yourself?). Then follow up with a reflection (How did that choice work out for you? How do you know? What will you choose differently next time?).

Emphasize ownership. Sometimes learning can get misrepresented as something done to learners. These phrases build that sense of ownership over their learning:

 

It’s your learning.

You’re in the driver’s seat.

Your learning, your choice. 

*Credit: makinggoodhumans.wordpress.com

In Science your child will study...

• Life Science: Where Have All the Creatures Gone? Organisims and Eco Systems
  • This ecosystem unit focuses on organisms’ needs for survival and what happens when those needs are not met. Throughout the unit, students investigate a specific population change: the decrease in the trout population in the Great Lakes from 1930 to 1990. Because the sea lamprey, as an invasive species in the Great Lakes, is such a fascinating organism, this particular case of population change engages students in learning core science ideas that they can then apply to changes in their local environments or elsewhere. Over the course of their investigation, students learn why food is important, what structures different organisms have in order to eat and reproduce, what the possible relationships are between organisms (e.g. competition, predator/prey, producer/consumer), and what abiotic factors affect ecosystems. All of these pieces help students to invest in developing an evidence-based scientific explanation and engaging in argumentation about why the trout population decreased so dramatically, employing a key scientific practice as they learn core science ideas.

 

• Earth Science: How Does Water Shape Our World? Water and Rock Cycles
  • To contextualize core ideas about the water and rock cycles at the middle school level, this unit focuses on selected national parks in the United States and the study of features common and unique to each. In groups, students take on the task of collaborating to develop a visitors’ guide that explains how water has shaped the landscape of a single park. To complete this task, students must understand how water moves through the park, what types of rock are present, and how the water and rock have interacted to shape the land. Students learn where water can be found on, above, and below the Earth’s surface. They learn how water moves and is transformed in the water cycle by investigating evaporation, precipitation, infiltration, and flow. Students also explore how rocks are formed and the properties of different types of rock. Finally, they examine the effects of water on the land by investigating weathering, erosion, and deposition. To do so, students engage in relevant scientific practices, address crosscutting concepts, and build an understanding of energy and the particle nature of matter as both apply in the study of Earth science.

 

• Physical Science: Can I Believe My Eyes? Light, its role in sight and its interaction with matter
  • The unit begins with a contextualizing activity in which students view optical illusions that make them uncertain of what they are seeing. They spend the next several weeks investigating light waves and their interaction with matter. To do so, students engage in several scientific practices, with an emphasis on constructing and using models to explain and predict phenomena. Each new investigation causes students to realize that the model they developed to fit one situation does not fit the new one, requiring revision based on new evidence. This practice enables students to engage in modeling in ways similar to those in which scientists develop, use, and revise models they use to explain and predict real-world phenomena. Students continually delve into core science ideas, gaining a deeper understanding of how light moves through space, what happens when it meets matter, how eyes detect light, how colors of light can be perceived, and that some light is non-visible. A conceptual understanding that “light can make things happen” sets the stage for understanding energy, a crosscutting concept revisited in future IQWST units in physics, chemistry, life science, and Earth science and central to all future science learning.

 

District 58 utilizes the Second Step program to support students’ social emotional learning through a holistic approach to building our school communities. Children benefit from social-emotional learning (SEL) at any time, but today it’s especially important to help them develop the skills they need to connect and thrive. Second Step® Elementary is a leading research-based SEL curriculum

 

In Second Step your child will… 

•  Practice strategies when learning new things and how our brain works
•  Practice skill for empathy and how our brains work
•  Learn about recognizing and responding to various types of bullying
•  Learn and practice goal-setting skills 
•  Practice problem-solving and calming strategies when dealing with conflict
•  Preparing for challenges faced in middle school

 

How can I support my child at home?

If you are interested in learning more about the Second Step curriculum and approach, please visit their website at SecondStep.org.

Art

In Art your child will…

• Learn to create self-portraits to express our self-identify
• Learn about 3D at
• Engage in the inquiry process to learn about social issues and logos through art

 

How can I support my child at home?

To inspire your child, visit museums, art shows, and the Downers Grove Public LIbrary where there is exposure to a variety of artwork. The library offers museums free passes that you can check out. Build inspiration for art, by learning about local and historical artists. As you drive around town, see if you can identify various forms of art, whether sculptural or other modes. Finally, have a variety of art materials available at home, such as clay, playdough, paint, colored pencils, fun paper, and more. Many stores have small and large art kits available to encourage children tap into their creativity.

 

Is there an online platform or app available?

Seesaw is a resource our art teachers rely on the most. Through Seesaw, we connect with parents and share a window into your child’s creative side. At the beginning of each year, your child’s teacher will send you an invitation to their Seesaw class, which will automatically connect you to their art class. Once there, families can see updates, helpful videos, assignments and more.

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Music

(content coming soon)

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Physical Education (PE)

In physical education your child will learn:

•  Cardiovascular endurance
•  Muscular endurance
•  Flexibility
• Muscular strength
• Speed and Agility
• Power and Balance Skills
• Coordination andReaction time
• Understanding of Heart Rate

 

How can I support my child at home?

• Encourage active play: Encourage your child to be physically active every day. Activities such as running, jumping, climbing and playing outdoor games are great for students this age. 
• Make physical activity a family event. Engage in physical activities as a family. Plan trips to the park, nature trails, or the park distinct where everyone can participate in activities like hiking, booking, swimming, or playing sports together. 
• Limit screen time: Set limits on screen time. Excessive screen time can negatively affect a child’s physical activity levels. Encourage your child to engage in more hands-on activities instead. 
• Create a supportive environment: Create an environment that supports physical activity in your child’s daily routine. Provide your child with access to sport equipment, bikes, and other active equipment.  

 

Is there an online platform or app available?

Shape America. Their website offers resources and ideas for parents to support physical education at home and in the community. Website: https://www.shapeamerica.org/MemberPortal/events/parents.aspx

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Library

In Library your child will…

Build an appreciation of literature through a variety of genres that represent neurodiversity and cultures. In Library, students explore the Illinois State Award books, engage in research, and learn how to navigate the library to access books and information online. The library curriculum follows the Association of Illinois School Library Educators standards to engage students in an exploration of genres and modes of media.

 

How can I support my child at home?

Reading and discussing books with children of any age has the most impact on a child’s motivation and ability to read. You can even read the same book that your child is reading. Visit the Downers Grove Public Library to expose your child to a variety of genres and reading materials and even establish a relationship with the local librarian. The library also has free museum passes. The night before your child’s school checkout, brainstorm books or topics they might explore.

 

Is there an online platform or app available? 

Common Sense Media offers helpful resources, articles, videos and digital citizenship parent tips: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles

Visit Destiny to explore books available at your child’s school.