6th grade Science
10 units matched to the Alabama Course of Study.
Focus areas
- Earth and Space Science: the sun, Earth and moon, the solar system, rocks and plate tectonics, weather and resources
- Science and engineering practices: analyzing data and building models
- Engineering design: solving real problems in Alabama and beyond
Units
Unit 1
Our Solar System
The planets in order, rocky versus giant planets, reading a table of planet data, moons, dwarf planets, comets and the asteroid belt.
Content standard: 6.1; 6.4 · models of the motions of the sun, Earth and moon, and the scale of the solar system
Unit 2
Solar System Tour
Practices the properties, locations and movements of objects in the solar system (the Sun, planets, moons, meteors, asteroids, comets, the Kuiper belt and the Oort cloud), how gravity governs their motion, and what makes Earth able to support life.
Content standard: 6.3; 6.4 · the planets, and gravity holding objects in orbit in the solar system
Unit 3
Stars, Galaxies & the Universe
Practices the life cycle of stars and classifying stars on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, spiral, elliptical and irregular galaxies and where our solar system sits in the Milky Way, and the evidence (such as galaxies moving apart and leftover radiation) for the Big Bang theory of the origin of the universe.
Content standard: 6.2; 6.3 · stars and galaxies, gravity, and how our view of the universe has changed
Unit 4
Stars & the Universe
Practices how fusion in the sun's core makes the energy that reaches Earth, the life cycles of stars and the elements they make, and the evidence for the Big Bang: galaxies moving apart, leftover microwave radiation and the mix of elements.
Content standard: 6.2 · how stars form, and evidence for the structure and history of the universe
Unit 5
The Rock Cycle
How igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks form and change into one another, weathering and erosion, and a short reading passage.
Content standard: 6.5 · constructive and destructive processes that form and change rock
Unit 6
Managing Resources
Practices why resource management matters for reducing energy poverty, malnutrition, and air and water pollution around the world, and how conservation, efficiency and technology help manage air, water, soil and energy resources.
Content standard: 6.11 · how people use and manage Earth's resources
Unit 7
Weather Systems
Your child explains how the sun's energy moves water through the water cycle and uses weather data to predict changes and severe weather, such as Alabama's tornadoes and hurricanes.
Content standard: 6.8; 6.9 · how the sun drives the water cycle, and using data to predict weather and severe weather
Unit 8
Climate & Climate Change
Your child explains how the sun, air, land and water affect climate and how human activities affect Earth's systems, with examples from Alabama.
Content standard: 6.10; 6.11 · how the sun, air, land and water affect climate, and how human activities affect Earth's systems
Unit 9
Earth's Changing Surface
Your child explains how moving plates build mountains and how weathering and erosion wear them down over time.
Content standard: 6.5; 6.6 · how plate movement, weathering and erosion shape Earth's surface
Unit 10
Earth's History & Fossils
Your child uses rock layers and fossils to put events in Earth's long history in order.
Content standard: 6.7 · rock layers and fossils as a record of Earth's history
Ready to try Gradelings?
Curriculum-matched practice for Kindergarten to Grade 9 in British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Nunavut, and in Washington, Oregon, California, New York, Texas, Maine, Minnesota, Alaska, Alabama, Arizona and Arkansas, with kind hints, learning games and no ads. Subscribe now, or try everything free for 30 days with no card.