6th grade Science
9 units matched to the Arizona Academic Standards.
Focus areas
- Atoms, states of matter and energy
- The solar system, seasons and tides
- Ecosystems and the flow of energy
Units
Unit 1
Particles and Heat
Solids, liquids and gases in the particle model, faster particles when heated and slower when cooled, melting, freezing, evaporation and condensation, and why mass stays the same in a phase change.
Learning standard: 6.P1U1.1; 6.P1U1.2 · how particle motion, temperature and pressure explain changes of state
Unit 2
Atoms & Elements
Elements versus compounds and mixtures, chemical symbols (H, O, Na, Cl, Fe, Au…), counting atoms in formulas like H₂O and C₆H₁₂O₆, metals and non-metals, and the basics of the periodic table.
Learning standard: 6.P1U1.3 · matter made of atoms
Unit 3
Fields & Forces at a Distance
Practices forces that act without touching: what affects electric and magnetic force strength, why gravity is always attractive and depends on mass, and how fields store energy.
Learning standard: 6.P2U1.4 · forces that act on objects at a distance
Unit 4
Kinetic & Potential Energy
Practices how kinetic energy depends on mass and speed, how potential energy changes with position, and how energy transfers change an object's motion.
Learning standard: 6.P4U2.5 · stored (potential) energy and energy of motion (kinetic)
Unit 5
Seasons & Tides
Practices how the tilt of Earth's axis as it revolves around the Sun causes the seasons, and how the positions of the Earth, Sun and Moon cause daily tides and monthly spring and neap tides.
Learning standard: 6.E2U1.9; 6.E2U1.10 · tides, and how the tilt of Earth's axis causes the seasons
Unit 6
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.
Learning standard: 6.E2U1.7 · the scale, properties and relationships of objects in the solar system
Unit 7
Ecosystems
Biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem, how they interact, and the limiting factors and carrying capacity that decide how many organisms an ecosystem can support.
Learning standard: 6.L2U1.13 · the interdependence of organisms and their environment
Unit 8
Food Chains & Energy
Producers, consumers and decomposers, food chains and webs, how energy shrinks as it passes up a chain (about 10% each step), and what happens when part of a chain changes.
Learning standard: 6.L2U1.14 · the flow of energy through food chains and webs
Unit 9
Cycles & Succession
How water, carbon and nitrogen are cycled through ecosystems, why cycling supports sustainability, and the difference between primary and secondary succession.
Learning standard: 6.L2U1.14; 6.L2U3.11 · matter cycling in ecosystems, and how ecosystems change
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