Sixth Grade Science objectives build upon students’ science understanding from earlier grades and provide deeper understandings in six major content topics: Weather and Climate; Space Systems; Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation; Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems; Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems; and Human Interactions. The objectives blend core ideas with scientific and engineering practices and crosscutting concepts to support students in developing useable knowledge across the science disciplines. There is a focus on several scientific practices which include developing and using models; analyzing and interpreting data; using mathematical and computational thinking; obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information; and engaging in argument from evidence. Engineering, Technology, and the Application of Science objectives are integrated throughout instruction as students define problems and design solutions related to the course objectives. Students will engage in active inquiries, investigations, and hands-on activities as they develop and demonstrate conceptual understandings and research and laboratory skills described in the objectives. Safety instruction is integrated in all activities, and students will implement safe procedures and practices when manipulating equipment, materials, organisms, and models. All West Virginia teachers are responsible for classroom instruction that integrates content literacy and 21st Century Learning Skills and Technology Tools.

Topic: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems (Life Sciences Content)

S.6.LS.1

Students will construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.

S.6.LS.2

Students will evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.*

Topic: Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems

S.6.LS.3

Students will construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.

S.6.LS.4

Students will develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reactions forming new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as this matter moves through an organism.

S.6.LS.5

Students will analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.

S.6.LS.6

Students will develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

S.6.LS.7

Students will construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.

Topic: Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation

S.6.PS.1

Students will use mathematical representations to describe a simple model for waves that includes how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave.

S.6.PS.2

Students will develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.

S.6.PS.3

Students will integrate qualitative scientific and technical information to support the claim that digitized signals are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information than analog signals.

Topic: Space Systems

S.6.ESS.1

Students will develop and use a model of the Earth-sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the sun and moon, and seasons.

S.6.ESS.2

Students will develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.

S.6.ESS.3

Students will analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.

Topic: Weather and Climate

S.6.ESS.4

Students will collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions.

S.6.ESS.5

Students will develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of the Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates.

S.6.ESS.6

Students will ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the change in global temperatures over the past century.

Topic: Human Impacts

S.6.ESS.7

Students will analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.

Grade 6-8: Science (Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science)

Topic: Engineering Design

S.6-8.ETS.1

Students will define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.

S. 6-8.ETS.2

Students will evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

S. 6-8.ETS.3

Students will analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.

S. 6-8.ETS.4

Students will develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.

Grade 6-8: Science (Science Literacy)

Topic: Reading- Key Ideas and Details

S.6-8.L.1

Students will cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.

S.6-8.L.2

Students will determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; provide an accurate summary of the text distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

S.6-8.L.3

Students will follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks.

Topic: Reading- Craft and Structure

S.6-8.L.4

Students will determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6–8 texts and topics.

S.6-8.L.5

Students will analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to an understanding of the topic.

S.6-8.L.6

Students will analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text.

Topic: Reading- Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

S.6-8.L.7

Students will integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).

S.6-8.L.8

Students will distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.

S.6-8.L.9

Students will compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.

Topic: Reading- Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

S.6-8.L.10

Students will by the end of grade 8, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

Topic: Writing- Text Types and Purposes

S.6-8.L.11

Students will write arguments focused on discipline-specific content:

  • introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
  • support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
  • use words, phrases and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons and evidence.
  • establish and maintain a formal style.
  • provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.

S.6-8.L.12

Students will write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments or technical processes:

  • introduce a topic clearly, previewing what is to follow; organize ideas, concepts and information into broader categories as appropriate to achieving purpose; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts and tables) and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
  • develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
  • use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
  • use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
  • establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.
  • provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented.

Topic: Writing- Production and Distribution of Writing

S.6-8.L.13

Students will produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.

S.6-8.L.14

Students will with some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.

S.6-8.L.15

Students will use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.

Topic: Writing- Research to Build and Present Knowledge

S.6-8.L.16

Students will conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.

S.6-8.L.17

Students will gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

S.6-8.L.18

Students will draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection and research.

Topic: Writing- Range of Writing

S.6-8.L.19

Students will write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.