6th grade Science
7 units matched to the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards.
Focus areas
- Earth and space science: the solar system, plate tectonics, rocks, Earth's history, resources and climate
- Science and engineering practices: analyzing data and building models
- How science connects to people and communities in Minnesota 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.
Benchmark: 6E.3.1.1.1; 6E.1.2.1.1 · scale models of the solar system, and how the motions of Earth, the moon and sun explain patterns we see
Unit 2
The Rock Cycle
How igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks form and change into one another, weathering and erosion, and a short reading passage.
Benchmark: 6E.3.1.1.2 · how Earth's rock materials cycle
Unit 3
Plate Tectonics
Practices the evidence that Earth's plates move (fossils, rocks, the shapes of continents and the seafloor), what happens at plate boundaries, and how scientists forecast earthquakes and volcanoes to keep people safe.
Benchmark: 6E.2.1.1.2; 6E.2.1.1.3 · fossils, rocks, continents and seafloor as evidence of plate motion, and forecasting natural hazards
Unit 4
Earth's Moving Surface
Practices how Earth's surface changes slowly and quickly, at small and large scales: plates, mountain building, the rock cycle, weathering and erosion, and glaciers, which shaped Minnesota's lakes.
Benchmark: 6E.4.1.1.1; 6E.2.1.1.1 · how Earth's surface changes at different speeds and sizes
Unit 5
Earth's History & Fossils
Practices how rock layers and the fossils in them are used to build the geologic time scale and to work out the relative ages of rocks, with examples from Minnesota, home to some of the oldest rocks in North America.
Benchmark: 6E.3.2.1.1; 6E.1.1.1.2 · rock layers, the geologic time scale and the relative ages of rocks
Unit 6
Climate & Climate Change
Practices how sunlight, oceans, latitude and large lakes shape regional climates, the evidence for why Earth's average temperature is rising, and ways to reduce it, with how a warming climate is changing Minnesota's winters.
Benchmark: 6E.1.1.1.3; 6E.3.2.1.3 · the causes of the rise in global temperatures, and ways to lessen human impact
Unit 7
Resources & Hazards
Practices why Earth's mineral, energy and water resources are spread unevenly, how scientists forecast natural hazards, and ways to reduce human impact on the environment, including Minnesota's iron ore and groundwater.
Benchmark: 6E.3.2.1.2; 6E.2.1.1.3; 6E.3.2.1.3 · why Earth's resources are spread unevenly, forecasting natural hazards, and lessening human impact
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