Our Philosophy
The middle-school years at St. Francis are fun, challenging and productive. There are many curricular and social activities that make these years memorable. Sixth graders have the exciting job of making the critical transition from elementary school to middle school. This means more independence, increased responsibilities, higher expectations, balancing school life with busy home schedules and dealing with those very special emotional, social, and physical changes that occur during these years. St. Francis School believes that the K-8 structure builds leadership, confidence and compassion in middle-school students. At the foundation is a commitment to growing in faith and love of God. They are actively involved in prayer, service, and liturgy. Our highly qualified and committed staff has many years of experience teaching 6th graders and are keenly aware of and sensitive to the unique needs of these students during these critical growth years.
Academic Policies
Sixth graders take the NWEA three times during the year as mandated by the Diocese of Lansing. Teachers use the results to differentiate instruction and parents are able to view their child’s score after each testing period.
Sixth-Grade Curriculum
Religion
Textbook: Spirit of Truth published by Sophia Institute.
The sixth-grade Religion program consists of Mass, personal and group prayer, regular worship through singing, numerous service opportunities and a curricular study of the Old Testament and salvation history. Because students are expected to live a Jesus-centered life at all times, faith and morality are integrated into every curricular subject! The sixth graders also participate in Second Step, a middle-school program teaching empathy, bullying prevention, emotion management, problem-solving and substance abuse prevention.
English
Textbook: English by Houghton Mifflin, Write Source by Houghton Mifflin and Vocabulary Workshop, Level A by Sadlier-Oxford..
In English, sixth graders will work on grammar and mechanics through mini-lessons and interactive notebook development. We will write every day in class! As students build a strong foundation and understanding of the rules of grammar, they will also work to develop their individual voices in the written word through daily and long-term writing activities and opportunities.
Sixth graders also engage in integrated vocabulary study focusing on definitions, context, synonyms and antonyms.
Math
Textbook: Glencoe Math published by McGraw-Hill.
The sixth-grade math program is differentiated within each class to meet the needs of all learners. The topics and concepts covered during the year include computing with decimals and fractions, integers and the coordinate plane, ratios and rates, conversion among decimals, fractions and percents, expressions and equations, functions and inequalities, geometry, and statistical measures and displays. ALEKS, an online program correlated to the content in our textbook, is used regularly to supplement the curriculum.
Science
Textbook: Project-Based Inquiry Science published by It’s About Time
The Project-Based Inquiry Science series is correlated to the NGSS Science Standards and is designed to give students the skills and practice they need to think and act like authentic scientists. Each unit begins with a big question or challenge related to a real-world problem that requires students to apply scientific skills, gather, organize and analyze data, use critical thinking, develop explanations and work collaboratively. They have opportunities to do the work of scientists: run experiments, design and build models, research, examine data sets, use technology and make presentations. In the process, they learn the scientific concepts and skills they need to answer the big questions and challenges. During the 6th grade, students are immersed in earth science. They begin the year with a launcher unit, Digging In, in which they acquire scientific skills within an earth science context. The other three geology units include Ever-Changing Earth, Weather Watch, and Astronomy.
Literature
Textbook: Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes published by Prentice Hall, Inc. (Bronze Edition).
Through discussions, projects, readers theater, activities, analysis and much more, 6th graders will dive deep into literature. Each text we read will connect to larger themes that are relevant to students’ lives and development as well as often directly relate cross-curricularly to content and ideas being discussed in social studies. Connecting themes between classes and throughout the students day will only deepen learning and meaning. Texts read in class will include, but are not limited to, The Giver, Tuck Everlasting, and The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963.
Social Studies
Textbook: History Alive! The Ancient World and History Alive! The Medieval and Beyond by TCI, Inc.
The focus of social studies in the sixth grade is to expand the students’ understanding of history through the study of people and events leading up to and through the Renaissance. Students will explore the human story through a variety of exciting and challenging activities and units. We will dive into moments of innovation, bravery and inspiration. We will also take on the more challenging task of grappling with the tougher moments and harder questions about humanity and its history. Our units will include, but are not limited to: Human Culture, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Spanish
Curriculum: SOMOS published by The Comprehensible Classroom.
¡Bienvenidos al maravilloso mundo del espaῆol!– Welcome to the wonderful world of Spanish!
Learning the Spanish language and Hispanic culture is a journey that starts in the elementary grades at St. Francis of Assisi.
Students in sixth grade will start the Middle School curriculum with an introduction to common phrases, culture, vocabulary, nouns, pronouns, sentence structure, numbers, and verbs with their respective conjugation in the present and past tenses. Please note: it is NOT necessary to have prior knowledge of Spanish to succeed in this class.
Technology
Students will continue working as good digital citizens and we will discuss email and email etiquette. We will discuss Internet safety and bullying with technology. We will talk about the digital footprint that is created using the Internet and how to protect our information. We will use their new Google accounts throughout the year through Gmail, Google docs, and Google classroom. We will create visual organizers and learn best practices to gathering information from various online resources. We will work collaboratively in groups and learn about features located in Microsoft Word and Google Docs that will help us to construct research papers. Students will problem solve as we move further into computer programming. We will create multimedia presentations that can feature many pieces that were manipulated by the students.
Enrichment
Our sixth graders participate weekly in art, band and physical education taught by our specials teachers. They visit the library once a week with their homeroom teachers. Many field trips, guest speakers and service opportunities also make up an important part of our sixth-grade year.