Typical 6^th Grade Schedule:

• 8:00-8:55:Math
• 9:00-9:50:Science
• 9:55-10:45:Language Arts
• 10:50-11:40:Language Arts
• 11:40-12:20:Lunch
• 12:20-1:10:Art ¹
• 1:15-2:05:Social Studies
• 2:05-3:00:Spanish ²

1: twice a week
2: three times a week
Music: three times a week
S.E.T.: once a week
Health: once a week
P.E.: twice a week

6th Grade Subject Overview

Language Arts

6th grade Language Arts students deepen their mastery of skills acquired in previous years, extend their critical thinking, and explore a variety of learning styles. Literary study throughout the year focuses on the theme of Identity. Across a variety of texts, students reflect on how characters define themselves, how they grow and change, and how they react when their identity is threatened. To parallel the 6th grade Social Studies Global Issues curriculum, the selected texts often have a multicultural focus. Students demonstrate their understanding of the novels, poetry and stories read for this class through written work, performance, and visual art. Students also read self-selected novels during weekly “Silent Sustained Reading” time, commenting on their books in an Independent Reading Log that tracks their choices through the year.

6th grade students solidify their understanding of parts of speech and fundamental writing mechanics through a formal grammar study. They apply this understanding to all of their written assignments, becoming adept editors of their own and others' work. Writing is emphasized throughout the 6th grade year. Students write twice weekly in journals, responding either to a teacher-provided prompt or writing on the topic of their choice. In November the 6th grade participates in National Novel Writing Month, building fluency through the process of writing an entire 12,000-40,000 word novel over 30 days. Over the course of the year, students write brief essays to demonstrate their understanding of literary themes by identifying, citing, and interpreting passages from their texts. The culminating writing project of the year is a research paper. Students work through the research process over the course of the year, utilizing a variety of sources and techniques to produce a well-researched and well-written final paper in the spring. Students also have independent writing time to work on self-directed projects including poetry, short stories, graphic novels, and plays.

Math

6th grade math extends basic skills and moves students closer to Algebra. Students practice with whole numbers and exponents, understanding variables and expressions, and employing the order of operations. They utilize a variety of operations with decimals and fractions, and practice factoring and prime factorization. Students organize and plot data, becoming familiar with the graphing process and measures of central tendency. An introduction to geometry addresses polygon relationships, transformations, tessellations, and coordinate geometry. Students apply their understanding of mathematical concepts to determine perimeter, area, circumference, volume and surface area of solids. The year culminates with a study of probability and functions, connecting the students' prior learning to algebraic concepts.

Science

The 6th grade year is devoted to Earth Science. The course begins with a study of rocks and minerals, followed by an examination of the effects of weathering and erosion. Students investigate the formation of soil, water cycles, ground water sources, water pollution, and waste water treatment. The girls then shift their focus to a review of the fundamentals of plate tectonics, earthquakes and volcanoes, mountain building, geologic time and Earth's planetary history, oceans, the atmosphere, weather patterns, and climate. An Astronomy unit rounds out the course with a tour of the solar system, stars, and galaxies. In addition to the unit work represented above, each 6th grade girl submits a science fair project (created mostly at school and consisting of student-only work) to the annual school-wide GSA Science Fair, held in December.

Social Studies

6th grade GSA students begin an exciting two-year Global Issues curriculum that is interdisciplinarily linked with their literature study in Language Arts and designed to help them build an understanding of the world around them through a combined World Cultures and Geography curriculum. The Cultural studies component encourages the girls to investigate a wide variety of worldviews and ways of life. Through Geography study, which emphasizes such skills as map reading, data interpretation, and the extrapolation of meaning, students consider the impact of natural events and human behavior. During the course of the year, 6th grade students begin to see how diverse peoples, issues, and events are interrelated, as well as gain a sense of themselves as a vital part of the global community.

Spanish

The Middle School Spanish Language program is designed to help students develop a solid foundation and self-confidence with the language, as well as to gain an understanding and an appreciation for the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. Each grade level continues to strengthen the skills acquired in the Lower School courses, while focusing more deeply on the details of grammar and communication. 6th graders learn to conjugate all present tense verbs, practice maintaining a five-minute conversation, and generate written responses to simple questions in paragraph form.

Art

The GSA Art Curriculum is designed to develop each girl's individual creativity and self-expression through a well-rounded study of art, which includes history/context, mechanics, and hands-on application. Students are exposed to a wide variety of particular art forms and mediums, which are introduced in an historical context and exemplified in the work of notable artists such as Modigliani, Botticelli, Matisse, Vermeer, Elizabeth Vigee LeBrun, Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, Georgia O'Keefe, and Andy Warhol. Discussion and demonstration then focuses on mechanics, and each unit culminates in a technique-oriented project in which students create original work in that medium or art form.

Artistic mediums/processes covered during the year include pastels, drawing, acrylic painting on canvas, printmaking, pen/ink, and clay. Technical instruction includes classical lessons in drawing the head and body, uses of shadow and light, landscapes, and still life. Guest artists/lecturers provide real-world perspective by sharing their work and experiences.

Throughout the course of the year, girls of all levels enjoy plenty of opportunities to experience a sense of personal accomplishment and recognition through their art by participating in international artwork exchange programs, formal gallery exhibits and informal school displays of their work, charitable events, and multi-cultural collaborative art-centered occasions such as The White Buffalo Project. Middle School students are also encouraged to enter their work in various local/regional/national competitions.

Every year, each K-8 student creates her own self-portrait, and the annual Self-Portrait Show is a highlight for the GSA community. By exploring and creating art, students not only engage in creative self-expression, but also develop another perspective from which to appreciate their own culture and that of others.

Music

Piano
The GSA K-8 Piano program is designed to promote a life-long love of music. A student's course of study is tailored to her individual development/skill/experience level and consists of a unique combination of one-on-one and group lessons in both application and music theory, practice and experimentation time, performance opportunities, and a variety of activities involving listening, discussion, and written response. The Faber and Faber Piano Adventures series lesson book materials are supplemented with repertoire from numerous sources and disparate styles. The girls learn how to decode and respond physically to traditional western music notation and interact with multiple number systems simultaneously. Reinforcement through in-class and at-home practice is an essential component of progress, and students are taught both healthy physiological approaches and strategic practice methods such as identifying patterns and layers, counting whole and subdivided beats, setting and meeting reasonable/strategic goals, hands-separate work, and small-section drilling. As a student advances, more abstract and/or nuanced issues of musicianship such as structure analysis, compositional technique, tactile relationship with the keyboard, constructive critique, personal interpretation, and expressive choices are incorporated into discussions and lessons.

The girls participate in two school-wide concerts per year, as well as other performances as they arise. These events provide performance experience as well as opportunities to learn and practice appropriate performer and audience etiquette. Throughout the course of the year, piano students at all levels are exposed to and encouraged to share their responses to a wide variety of musics representing disparate traditions, time periods, and levels of formality. Music is explored in a synaesthetic and interdisciplinary context.

Strings
In Middle School, the focus of Strings class is on developing a more autonomous approach to the instrument while reaching a more refined level of musicianship. The students choose some of the songs themselves and become more critical in their playing and practicing. They tackle a wider variety of musical styles, including rock songs and unedited classical pieces, and work on making their playing more expressive, using vibrato and a wider bowing palette. This experience often becomes a springboard for more in-depth discussions of music's emotions, as well as its correlation with other fields.

The most dedicated students are encouraged to take private lessons, audition for All-Region Orchestra, and play in Honors Orchestra. The less experienced players learn simpler parts and benefit from the help and modeling of their peers. As always, teamwork is emphasized both in orchestral and chamber music settings, and the approach is always goal-oriented: the students see their efforts rewarded during special performances held in conjunction with the Art program, school assemblies, and biannual school-wide concerts.

Health and Wellness

Topics covered in 6th grade Health are: stress management; coping with emotions; body systems and weight management; male and female reproductive systems; pregnancy and birth; social skills including friendship/relationship skills and conflict management; preventing abuse and violence; body image and eating disorders, responsible social behavior; infectious and noninfectious diseases; consumer awareness.