Grade 6 Science & PLTW

Throughout this course, students will be introduced to a number of different science concepts.  We will start off with an introduction to matter, more specifically, the three stages of matter we know as solid, liquid, and gas.  We’ll also explore energy and its forms and thermal energy.  You will learn about earth’s systems, weather in the atmosphere, minerals and rocks in the geosphere, plate tectonics, and the mechanisms that affect earth’s surface systems.  Finally, you will learn about living things in the biosphere.

Design and Modeling (DM) provides students opportunities to apply the design process to creatively solve problems. Students are introduced to the unit problem in the first activity and are asked to make connections to the problem throughout the lessons in the unit. Students learn and utilize methods for communicating design ideas through sketches, solid models, and mathematical models. Students will understand how models can be simulated to represent an authentic situation and generate data for further analysis and observations. Students work in teams to identify design requirements, research the topic, and engage stakeholders. Teams design a toy or game for a child with cerebral palsy, fabricate and test it, and make necessary modifications to optimize the design solution.

Students will be collaborating in teams to work through problems as engineers and designers would. They will complete design challenges while simultaneously being exposed to the tools and software that they will need to complete them.