Montague Township School District
Science Curriculum Guide
Grade 6
2025-2026
Kassidy House
| Unit | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | ||
Description
This Grade 6 science curriculum spans life science, physical science, and earth science domains across seven units organized into three major phases. The first three units focus on life systems, beginning with how organisms grow and reproduce, then examining energy and matter cycling in ecosystems, and finally studying ecosystem interactions and biodiversity. Students progress from organism-level biology to population dynamics to engineering solutions for ecosystem management. The next two units shift to physical science, covering force and motion through Newton's laws and collision engineering design, followed by gravitational, electrical, and magnetic interactions. The final two units address earth science systems, with astronomy exploring Earth's place in the cosmos and the role of gravity in celestial motion, and weather and climate examining energy flow and matter cycling in Earth's geosystems. Throughout the year, students develop models, analyze data, construct arguments, and apply engineering design processes to make sense of natural phenomena at multiple scales.
Big Ideas
- Growth, reproduction, and survival of organisms depend on both genetic traits and environmental conditions.
- Matter cycles and energy flows through ecosystems, connecting organisms and affecting population dynamics.
- Forces shape the motion of objects and can act at a distance through fields.
- Gravity governs motion at all scales, from falling objects to planetary orbits to galactic systems.
- Earth's weather and climate result from interactions among systems driven by solar energy and planetary rotation.
Essential Questions
- How do genetic and environmental factors influence organism growth and reproduction?
- How do matter and energy cycle through ecosystems, and what happens when these systems change?
- How can forces be explained and predicted, including forces that act without direct contact?
- What patterns in the Earth-sun-moon system explain observable phenomena like seasons and eclipses?
- How do interactions among Earth's systems determine weather and climate?
Core Textbook
Mosa Mack Science — Mosa Mack
Earth and Space Sciences
Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science
Life Sciences
Physical Sciences
Students cite textual evidence from science and technical texts, write arguments and informative/explanatory texts focused on discipline-specific content, gather and evaluate information from multiple sources, and draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis and research across all units. Reading standards for science and technical texts (RST.6-8.1, RST.6-8.2, RST.6-8.7, RST.6-8.8, RST.6-8.9) and writing standards (WHST.6-8.1, WHST.6-8.2, WHST.6-8.7, WHST.6-8.8, WHST.6-8.9) are explicitly referenced throughout all units. Speaking and listening standards support collaborative discussions and multimedia presentations.
Students use ratio and rate reasoning, summarize numerical data sets, represent relationships between variables using graphs and equations, and apply mathematical practices including reasoning abstractly and modeling with mathematics. Mathematical standards 6.SP.A.2, 6.SP.B.4, 6.SP.B.5, 6.EE.C.9, 6.RP.A.3, and Standards for Mathematical Practice MP.2 and MP.4 are explicitly referenced across units to support data analysis, statistical reasoning, and quantitative thinking in science contexts.
Assessment throughout the year emphasizes evidence-based reasoning and modeling. Students conduct investigations and experiments to collect empirical data on organism growth, ecosystem dynamics, force relationships, and earth processes. They construct scientific arguments and explanations supported by evidence and data analysis. Engineering design units require students to define criteria and constraints, evaluate competing solutions, and iterate based on test results. Models serve as both learning tools and assessment artifacts, allowing students to demonstrate understanding of complex systems including food webs, earth-sun-moon interactions, and water and energy cycling. Students analyze patterns in data to make inferences and predictions about biological, physical, and earth systems.
| Unit | Formative | Summative | Benchmark | Alternative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01Growth, Development, and Reproduction of Organisms | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| 02Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| 03Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| 04Force and Motion | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 05Types of Interactions | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| 06Astronomy | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| 07Weather and Climate | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Coverage | 7/7 | 7/7 | 2/2 | 7/7 |
| Unit | IEP | 504 | MLL | At-Risk | Gifted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01Growth, Development, and Reproduction of Organisms | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 02Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 03Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 04Force and Motion | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 05Types of Interactions | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 06Astronomy | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| 07Weather and Climate | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Coverage | 7/7 | 7/7 | 7/7 | 7/7 | 7/7 |