Standards map

6th grade: standards by week

Every week of the 6th grade plan, with the skills taught and the standards they practice: Common Core for reading, writing and math, NGSS for science, and the C3 Framework for social studies. Use it to plan, to match another curriculum, or for a homeschool record.

135 standards codes across 36 weeks and 180 day plans. Open the 6th grade plan · Year at a glance · Other grades

September: Welcome / My World and Maps

Week	Skills	Standards
Week 1 Welcome to the Map Room	Word study: Greek roots geo (earth), graph (write or draw) and logy (study of); use roots to figure out new words. Reading & writing: Set up reading routines and a reading log, name story elements, and write a reader and writer profile. Math: Use ratio language to describe two quantities: a to b, a:b and a/b, part-to-part and part-to-whole. Science: Matter has mass and takes up space; it is made of atoms that can join into molecules. Social studies: Hemispheres, the globe, latitude and longitude.	`L.6.4b` `RL.6.2, RL.6.3, W.6.3, W.6.10` `6.RP.1` `MS-PS1-1` `D2.Geo.1.6-8, D2.Geo.3.6-8`
Week 2 Theme Hunters	Word study: Latin roots port (carry), tract (pull) and ject (throw). Reading & writing: Find a theme and the details that build it; write an objective summary and a theme paragraph. Math: Make equivalent ratios and use ratio tables to find missing values and compare ratios. Science: Particles in solids, liquids and gases are always moving; heat makes them move faster. Social studies: Continents, oceans and physical features on physical maps.	`L.6.4b` `RL.6.1, RL.6.2, W.6.9a` `6.RP.3a` `MS-PS1-4` `D2.Geo.2.6-8`
Week 3 Words That Work	Word study: Academic words that appear in directions and tests: analyze, infer, cite, evidence, summarize, contrast, determine, interpret. Reading & writing: Make inferences, cite evidence, and trace how a character changes; write an evidence paragraph. Math: Find unit rates and unit prices and use them to compare and solve problems. Science: Adding or removing thermal energy changes particle motion and causes phase changes. Social studies: Where people live and why: population patterns, rivers and coasts.	`L.6.6, L.6.4a` `RL.6.1, RL.6.3, W.6.1b` `6.RP.2, 6.RP.3b` `MS-PS1-4` `D2.Geo.5.6-8, D2.Geo.8.6-8`
Week 4 Map It, Measure It	Word study: Suffixes -ist and -ian (a person who) with the roots we learned. Reading & writing: Compare how two adventure novels approach the theme of travel and risk; write and present an informative piece. Math: Use double number lines, ratio tables and coordinate graphs to solve ratio and rate problems. Science: Mass stays the same when ice melts; review the particle model of matter. Social studies: Map projections, world regions and making a thematic map.	`L.6.4b` `RL.6.9, W.6.2, SL.6.4` `6.RP.3a, 6.RP.3b` `MS-PS1-4` `D2.Geo.1.6-8, D2.Geo.3.6-8`

October: Fall / Earth's Changing Surface

Week	Skills	Standards
Week 5 Puzzle Pieces of Earth	Word study: Latin roots terra (earth, land) and rupt (break). Reading & writing: Use text features and identify chronological and cause-and-effect structures; plan an informative piece. Math: Understand percent as a rate per 100 and connect fractions, decimals and percents. Science: Earth's layers and the evidence for continental drift: matching coastlines, fossils and rock layers. Social studies: Mesopotamia: the Tigris and Euphrates, irrigation, farming and the first city-states of Sumer.	`L.6.4b` `RI.6.5, RI.6.7, W.6.2a` `6.RP.3c` `MS-ESS2-3` `D2.His.1.6-8, D2.Geo.4.6-8`
Week 6 Shake, Rattle and Write	Word study: Greek chron and Latin tempor, both meaning time. Reading & writing: Identify compare-and-contrast and problem-and-solution structures and how a section fits the whole text; write a compare-and-contrast essay. Math: Find a percent of a quantity and find the whole when given a part and the percent. Science: Plate boundaries (divergent, convergent, transform) and how they cause earthquakes, volcanoes and mountains. Social studies: Sumer's achievements: cuneiform, the wheel, ziggurats; Hammurabi's Code in Babylon.	`L.6.4b` `RI.6.3, RI.6.5, W.6.2` `6.RP.3c` `MS-ESS2-3, MS-ESS2-2` `D2.His.3.6-8, D2.His.14.6-8`
Week 7 Wearing Down, Building Up	Word study: Noun suffixes -tion, -sion and -ment turn verbs into nouns. Reading & writing: Find the central idea of an informational text, separate key details from extras, and write an objective summary. Math: Use ratio reasoning to convert units: inches and feet, cups, pints, quarts and gallons, ounces and pounds. Science: Weathering breaks rock; erosion moves it; deposition drops it. Water, wind and ice all do this work. Social studies: Ancient Egypt: the Nile's yearly flood, farming, pharaohs and daily life.	`L.6.4b` `RI.6.2, W.6.2` `6.RP.3d` `MS-ESS2-2` `D2.Geo.4.6-8, D2.His.1.6-8`
Week 8 Rock Stories	Word study: Greek lith (stone) and morph (shape), Latin sed (sit, settle). Reading & writing: Compare two informational texts on the same topic; write an explanation with a labeled diagram. Math: Review ratios, rates, percents and conversions with tables and graphs. Science: The rock cycle: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and the energy that drives the cycle. Social studies: Pyramids, hieroglyphs and the Rosetta Stone; primary and secondary sources.	`L.6.4b` `RI.6.9, W.6.2` `6.RP.3a, 6.RP.3b, 6.RP.3c, 6.RP.3d` `MS-ESS2-1` `D2.His.9.6-8, D2.His.10.6-8`

November: Family and Gratitude / Ecosystems

Week	Skills	Standards
Week 9 Who Eats Whom?	Word study: Greek bio (life) and Latin vor (eat, swallow). Reading & writing: Retell vs summarize; write an objective summary of a story and trace how its theme develops. Math: Divide fractions by fractions with models and by multiplying by the reciprocal; solve word problems. Science: Producers, consumers and decomposers; food chains and food webs; the sun's energy enters through photosynthesis. Social studies: The Indus Valley: Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, planned cities, drains, seals and an undeciphered script.	`L.6.4b` `RL.6.2, W.6.9a` `6.NS.1` `MS-LS2-3, MS-LS1-6` `D2.His.10.6-8, D2.Geo.6.6-8`
Week 10 Energy Pyramids and Big Rivers	Word study: Latin cred (believe) and ver (true). Reading & writing: Trace an argument: claim, reasons and evidence; tell supported claims from unsupported ones; start an argument essay. Math: Divide multi-digit numbers with the standard algorithm; add, subtract, multiply and divide decimals. Science: Energy pyramids: only a small part of energy (about 10%) passes to the next level; competition, predation and mutualism. Social studies: Ancient China: the Yellow River, Shang oracle bones, the Qin and the Great Wall, Han inventions and the Silk Road.	`L.6.4b` `RI.6.8, W.6.1a, W.6.1b` `6.NS.2, 6.NS.3` `MS-LS2-3, MS-LS2-2` `D2.His.14.6-8, D2.Geo.7.6-8`
Week 11 Give Thanks, Make a Case	Word study: Latin grat (pleasing, thankful) and a review of November roots. Reading & writing: Compare how two texts present the 1621 harvest gathering; finish and publish an argument essay; write a thank-you letter. Math: Find the greatest common factor and least common multiple, use the distributive property, and use positive and negative numbers in real situations. Science: When conditions change, such as a drought or an invasive species, populations in an ecosystem change too. Social studies: The Maya of Mesoamerica: city-states, maize farming, a calendar and a symbol for zero; harvest traditions around the world.	`L.6.4b` `RI.6.9, W.6.1, W.6.4` `6.NS.4, 6.NS.5` `MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-4` `D2.His.1.6-8, D2.Geo.6.6-8`

December: Winter Holidays / Forces and Motion

Week	Skills	Standards
Week 12 Push, Pull, Celebrate	Word study: Latin pel and puls (push, drive). Reading & writing: Analyze an author's word choice, tone and figurative language; begin a personal narrative. Math: Write and evaluate numerical expressions with whole-number exponents; use the order of operations. Science: Forces are pushes and pulls with size and direction; balanced forces do not change motion, unbalanced forces do. Social studies: Festivals of light: Hanukkah, Diwali, Christmas, St. Lucia Day and Las Posadas.	`L.6.4b` `RL.6.4, L.6.5a, L.6.5c, W.6.3a` `6.EE.1` `MS-PS2-2` `D2.Geo.5.6-8, D2.Geo.6.6-8`
Week 13 Motion Stories	Word study: Latin mot and mob (move) and Greek kine (move). Reading & writing: Analyze point of view and how a narrator is developed; explain how a scene fits the plot; draft a narrative. Math: Write expressions with variables from words, name their parts, and evaluate them, including formulas. Science: More mass needs more force to change motion; in a collision, objects push on each other with equal and opposite forces. Social studies: The winter solstice: why nights are longest, and traditions such as Dongzhi, Yalda, Newgrange and Inti Raymi.	`L.6.4b` `RL.6.5, RL.6.6, W.6.3b` `6.EE.2a, 6.EE.2b, 6.EE.2c` `MS-PS2-2, MS-PS2-1` `D2.Geo.5.6-8, D2.His.1.6-8`
Week 14 Ramp It Up	Word study: Similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole and idioms, plus December roots review. Reading & writing: Compare how two holiday stories handle the theme of generosity; revise, edit and publish a narrative. Math: Write equivalent expressions with the distributive property and like terms; test solutions; solve one-step equations. Science: Engineering design: define criteria and constraints, then build, test and improve a bumper that protects a passenger in a collision. Social studies: Kwanzaa and its seven principles; how traditions spread, blend and change; family tradition interviews.	`L.6.5a, L.6.4b` `RL.6.9, W.6.3, W.6.5` `6.EE.3, 6.EE.4, 6.EE.5, 6.EE.7` `MS-ETS1-1, MS-PS2-1` `D2.Geo.7.6-8, D2.His.2.6-8`

January: New Year / Cells and Body Systems

Week	Skills	Standards
Week 15 Fresh Start, Tiny Cells	Word study: Greek micro (small), scope (look at) and cyte (cell). Reading & writing: Cite several pieces of evidence to support an analysis of an informational text; set new reading goals. Math: Test solutions by substitution and solve one-step equations of the form x + p = q. Science: All living things are made of one or more cells; microscopes let Robert Hooke and Antonie van Leeuwenhoek see them in the 1600s. Social studies: Why people form governments: order, safety, rights and services.	`L.6.4b` `RI.6.1, W.6.10` `6.EE.5, 6.EE.7` `MS-LS1-1` `D2.Civ.6.6-8`
Week 16 Cell Parts, City Parts	Word study: Greek demo (people), cracy (rule) and auto (self). Reading & writing: Trace how a key idea is introduced and developed with examples and analogies; revise the informative essay. Math: Solve one-step equations of the form px = q and write equations for real problems. Science: Cell parts and their jobs: membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm, mitochondria; plant cells also have a cell wall and chloroplasts. Social studies: Where democracy began: direct democracy in ancient Athens and representatives in the Roman Republic.	`L.6.4b` `RI.6.3, W.6.2b` `6.EE.6, 6.EE.7` `MS-LS1-2` `D2.Civ.3.6-8, D2.His.1.6-8`
Week 17 The Body Team	Word study: Greek cardi (heart), derm (skin) and neur (nerve). Reading & writing: Combine information from text, diagrams and video to explain a topic; write an informative piece. Math: Write inequalities like x > c and x < c for real situations and graph their solutions. Science: Cells form tissues, tissues form organs, and organs form systems; the circulatory, respiratory and digestive systems work together. Social studies: The U.S. Constitution creates three branches of government with checks and balances.	`L.6.4b` `RI.6.7, W.6.2` `6.EE.8` `MS-LS1-3` `D2.Civ.4.6-8`
Week 18 Citizens in Action	Word study: Latin civ (citizen), Greek poli (city) and Latin jur (law). Reading & writing: Evaluate the argument in a civic speech or article; write a short argument about a community issue. Math: Use variables for two quantities that change together; write an equation, make a table and graph it. Science: The nervous system: sense receptors send messages to the brain, which sends signals to respond. Social studies: Rights and responsibilities of citizens; local, state and national government; how citizens solve problems.	`L.6.4b` `RI.6.8, W.6.1` `6.EE.9` `MS-LS1-8` `D2.Civ.2.6-8, D2.Civ.10.6-8`

February: Friendship / Weather and Climate

Week	Skills	Standards
Week 19 Questions in the Clouds	Word study: Greek hydr and Latin aqua, both meaning water. Reading & writing: Ask a focused research question, find credible sources, and start a research notebook. Math: Recognize statistical questions that expect variability; describe data by center, spread and shape. Science: The water cycle is driven by the sun's energy and gravity: evaporation, condensation, precipitation and runoff. Social studies: Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony: longtime friends who worked for equal rights.	`L.6.4b` `W.6.7, W.6.8` `6.SP.1, 6.SP.2` `MS-ESS2-4` `D2.His.3.6-8`
Week 20 Fronts and Plots	Word study: Greek therm (heat), meter (measure) and baro (weight, pressure). Reading & writing: Quote and paraphrase accurately to avoid plagiarism; use information from maps and charts. Math: Display data on dot plots and histograms and describe what they show. Science: Air masses meet at fronts; high and low pressure systems bring changes in weather. Social studies: Harriet Tubman and the network of helpers on the Underground Railroad.	`L.6.4b` `W.6.8, RI.6.7` `6.SP.4` `MS-ESS2-5` `D2.His.3.6-8, D2.His.4.6-8`
Week 21 Currents and Centers	Word study: Adjective suffixes -ous, -ive and -al. Reading & writing: Combine information from several sources into one clear explanation; draft the research report. Math: Find mean, median, mode and range and choose the measure that best describes a data set. Science: Uneven heating of Earth and its rotation drive winds and ocean currents that carry heat around the globe. Social studies: Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, who worked together for California farmworkers.	`L.6.4b` `W.6.2, W.6.7` `6.SP.3, 6.SP.5c` `MS-ESS2-6` `D2.His.3.6-8, D2.His.14.6-8`
Week 22 Climate Detectives	Word study: Greek atmo (vapor) and sphere (ball), Latin sol (sun). Reading & writing: Revise, edit and present a research report with a list of sources. Math: Make box plots and find the interquartile range and mean absolute deviation. Science: Weather vs climate; latitude, elevation, oceans and mountains shape climate zones. Social studies: Present research on a historical figure who brought people together.	`L.6.4b` `W.6.5, W.6.8, SL.6.4` `6.SP.4, 6.SP.5c` `MS-ESS2-6` `D2.His.16.6-8`

March: Spring / Matter Cycles and Resources

Week	Skills	Standards
Week 23 Triangles and the Carbon Cycle	Word study: Number prefixes tri, quad, penta and poly, and the Greek ending -gon (angle). Reading & writing: Combine short sentences into compound and complex sentences for variety. Math: Find the area of parallelograms and triangles by rearranging them into rectangles. Science: The carbon cycle: plants take in carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, and living things release it during cellular respiration. Social studies: Southwest Asia and North Africa as a region; Nowruz, the Persian New Year at the spring equinox.	`L.6.4b` `L.6.3a, W.6.2` `6.G.1` `MS-LS2-3` `D2.Geo.10.6-8, D2.Geo.6.6-8`
Week 24 Polygons and Resources	Word study: Context clues (definition, example, contrast), resource words, and intensive pronouns such as myself and themselves. Reading & writing: Use context clues to figure out unknown words in informational text; fix vague pronouns. Math: Find the area of polygons by breaking them into simpler shapes; draw polygons on the coordinate plane and find side lengths. Science: Minerals, fresh water and fossil fuels are unevenly spread across Earth because of past geologic processes. Social studies: South Asia: monsoons, great rivers and Holi, the spring festival of colors.	`L.6.4a, L.6.1b` `L.6.4a, L.6.1d` `6.G.1, 6.G.3` `MS-ESS3-1` `D2.Geo.10.6-8, D2.Geo.5.6-8`
Week 25 Volume and Chemical Change	Word study: Latin prefixes trans (across), inter (between) and sub (under). Reading & writing: Denotation and connotation; how word choice shapes meaning and tone; write a poem. Math: Find the volume of rectangular prisms with fractional edges using unit cubes, V = l × w × h and V = B × h. Science: In a chemical reaction atoms rearrange into new substances with new properties; signs include gas, color change and temperature change. Social studies: East Asia: Qingming in China and cherry blossom season in Japan.	`L.6.4b` `L.6.5c, RL.6.4` `6.G.2` `MS-PS1-2` `D2.Geo.6.6-8`
Week 26 Spring Around the World	Word study: Review the year's roots; use commas and parentheses to set off extra information. Reading & writing: Analyze how a poem's lines and stanzas build its meaning; write a short poem analysis. Math: Review area, volume and the coordinate plane with real problems. Science: Matter cycles connect: the water, carbon and rock cycles all move matter around Earth. Social studies: Compare spring holidays across regions: Nowruz, Holi, Passover, Easter and Qingming.	`L.6.4b, L.6.2a` `RL.6.5, RL.6.4` `6.G.1, 6.G.2, 6.G.3` `MS-LS2-3, MS-ESS2-1` `D2.Geo.5.6-8`

April: Earth and Environment / Human Impact

Week	Skills	Standards
Week 27 Nets and Notes	Word study: Greek eco (house, environment) and nomy (management, law). Reading & writing: Take two-column notes from informational text and write a summary from the notes. Math: Use nets made of rectangles and triangles to find the surface area of prisms. Science: Building and farming change land and habitats; data shows how living things are affected. Social studies: Scarcity, choices and opportunity cost.	`L.6.4b` `RI.6.2, W.6.8` `6.G.4` `MS-ESS3-3` `D2.Eco.1.6-8`
Week 28 Earth Day Week	Word study: Prefixes re- (again), de- (remove, down) and pre- (before). Reading & writing: Evaluate arguments about plastic waste; tell claims backed by evidence from claims that are not. Math: Find the surface area of pyramids and prisms with triangular faces. Science: Pollution of air, water and land, and solutions that reduce it. Social studies: The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, and how citizens act for the environment.	`L.6.4b` `RI.6.8, W.6.1` `6.G.4` `MS-ESS3-3` `D2.His.14.6-8, D2.Civ.10.6-8`
Week 29 Fill It Up	Word study: Latin struct (build) and duct (lead). Reading & writing: Synthesize notes from several sources; revise the argument for stronger, credible evidence. Math: Solve real problems with volume and surface area: boxes, packaging and rooms. Science: Growing populations and rising use of resources increase impacts on Earth's systems. Social studies: Goods and services, buyers and sellers, supply and demand.	`L.6.4b` `W.6.1b, W.6.8` `6.G.2, 6.G.4` `MS-ESS3-4` `D2.Eco.3.6-8, D2.Eco.4.6-8`
Week 30 Make the Case for Earth	Word study: Review of April roots and prefixes. Reading & writing: Present a researched argument with visuals and answer questions. Math: Review surface area and volume with nets, formulas and real problems. Science: Engineering solutions that monitor and reduce human impact; criteria and constraints. Social studies: Why countries trade, and the benefits and costs of trade.	`L.6.4b` `W.6.1, SL.6.4, SL.6.5` `6.G.2, 6.G.4` `MS-ESS3-3, MS-ETS1-1` `D2.Geo.11.6-8, D2.Eco.15.6-8`

May: Oceans / Inventors and Technology

Week	Skills	Standards
Week 31 Waves at Sea	Word study: Latin son (sound) and aud (hear), Greek phon (sound). Reading & writing: Read with accuracy, expression and good pacing in reader's theater; track how a character responds to events. Math: Probability is a number from 0 to 1: impossible, unlikely, equally likely, likely, certain. Science: Waves carry energy; amplitude and wavelength describe a wave. Social studies: Ocean trade routes then and now: sailing ships to container ships.	`L.6.4b` `SL.6.6, RL.6.3` `7.SP.5 (preview)` `MS-PS4-1` `D2.Geo.7.6-8`
Week 32 Light, Sound and Signals	Word study: Greek photo (light) and tele (far), with a review of graph and phon. Reading & writing: Read a biography of an inventor and analyze how the author introduces and develops the person. Math: Review negative numbers, absolute value, and fraction and decimal operations. Science: Light and sound waves are reflected, absorbed or transmitted by different materials. Social studies: Communication then and now: the printing press, the telegraph, the telephone and the internet.	`L.6.4b` `RI.6.3` `6.NS.1, 6.NS.3, 6.NS.7` `MS-PS4-2` `D2.His.2.6-8, D2.Geo.7.6-8`
Week 33 Inventor's Workshop	Word study: Inventor words with the suffixes -or, -er and -tion. Reading & writing: Revise a narrative about an invention with vivid details, a clear sequence and dialogue. Math: Run probability experiments, compare results to predictions, and see that more trials usually land closer to the expected result. Science: Engineering design: define the problem, criteria and constraints; brainstorm and compare solutions. Social studies: Household technology then and now: iceboxes to refrigerators, oil lamps to light bulbs.	`L.6.4b` `W.6.3, W.6.3b` `7.SP.6 (preview)` `MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2` `D2.His.2.6-8`
Week 34 Ship It	Word study: Review of the year's most useful roots. Reading & writing: Read about global supply chains and write a narrative from the point of view of a traveling product. Math: Review ratios, equations and statistics with mixed problems. Science: Test, analyze and improve a design; share results. Social studies: Global connections: one product, like a pencil or a phone, is made from parts from many places.	`L.6.4b` `RI.6.3, W.6.3` `6.RP.3, 6.EE.7, 6.SP.5` `MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4` `D2.Geo.11.6-8`

June: Review and Celebration

Week	Skills	Standards
Week 35 Look How Far We've Come	Word study: Mixed root, prefix and suffix review games. Reading & writing: Independent reading with book talks; reflect on reading growth. Math: Mixed review of ratios, the number system, equations and geometry with games. Science: Review investigations on matter, Earth's surface, ecosystems and forces. Social studies: Revisit ancient civilizations and world regions on a class year map.	`L.6.4b` `RL.6.10, SL.6.4` `6.RP.3, 6.NS.1, 6.EE.7, 6.G.1` `MS-PS1-4, MS-ESS2-2, MS-LS2-3, MS-PS2-2` `D2.His.1.6-8, D2.Geo.2.6-8`
Week 36 Celebrate and Launch	Word study: Create a personal dictionary of the year's 25 favorite words. Reading & writing: Make a summer reading plan and write a year in review piece. Math: Math game tournament and a summer math plan. Science: Science investigation showcase. Social studies: My year in review: a timeline of learning and goals for 7th grade.	`L.6.4b, L.6.6` `RL.6.10, W.6.10` `6.RP.3, 6.NS.3, 6.EE.2, 6.SP.4` `MS-ETS1-4` `D2.His.2.6-8`

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