GRADE SIX

In Grade Six, children develop their ability to form abstract concepts. Prior to this age, thought was pictorial rather than conceptual in nature. With the approach of puberty and its subsequent growth spurt, the children have a love for things delineated as absolutes. Everything is experienced as black or white and the nuances of grey are distant. Roman law, black and white drawing and the teaching method of “compare and contrast” all speak to the developmental stage of these children..

The curriculum for Grade Six focuses on:

Language Arts

• Writing
• Reading
• Spelling
• Grammar
• Composition
• Biographies
• Speech Formation/Dramatics
• Creative Writing
• Business Letters

English writing skills are practised through business and personal letters.

Mathematics

• Geometric drawing with instruments
• Per cents
• Fractions
• Decimals
• Business Math
• Graphs
• Ratio
• Interest
• Discount

Geometrical shapes drawn freehand in earlier grades are now exact constructions with compass and straightedge, with an emphasis on the mathematical properties of these shapes. Business math and perimeter and area provide the means of introducing simple formulae.

Natural Sciences

• Physics: acoustics, electricity, heat, cold, magnetism, optics
• Botany

The approach to physics is first through art, for example: acoustics begins with music. Acoustics or sound theory leads from familiar experiences in tone and speech to experimentation with sound phenomena of other kinds expressed in fractions, these relationships are revealed as number harmonies uniting the Mathematics curriculum with the Natural Sciences.  The study of colour and experiments with light and shadow determine the law of light refraction through concrete experiences rather than theoretical statements.

Earth Sciences

• Mineralogy
• Astronomy
• Geology
• Geography/Surveying

The approach to astronomy is geocentric or navigational astronomy. How does the night sky actually look to a person here, or at any other location on the earth, at different times of the day, and of the year? This orientation between earth and sky can support the children emotionally as they become ever more aware of the world around them. With the children’s increasing awareness of their physical bodies, the time is right for geology, the study of the physical body of the earth. North and South American geography is also studied.

Social Sciences

• Roman and Medieval History
• Study of China
• Ancient History

In this grade, history transitions from ancient to modern, from poetic consciousness to a search for truth in the form of scientific concepts. The Roman era epitomizes what the children are experiencing in their bodies. Seeking justice and cohesion in the world, the children are met with the law and logic of Roman and medieval history.

Second Languages

• French
• German

Fine Arts

• Watercolour Painting
• Three-dimensional Work
• Drawing
• Woodwork/Carving
• Class Play

Music

• Recorder Ensemble
• Singing
• Choir

The children’s newly strengthened individuality provides them the ability to hold their own in part singing; canons and rounds form a natural bridge to this exciting new skill.

Physical Education

• Eurythmy
• Cooperative Games
• Sports