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How to learn Grade 6: Science

Wisconsin academic standards: Science, Grade 6

0 of 48 concepts ready to learn · Markdown, for your AI

1. Science and Engineering Practices · Obtain, Evaluate, and Communicate Information

  1. Evidence Supporting Ideas: Identify scientific evidence that has been used to support or refute ideas or arguments, evaluating the strength of evidence
  2. Accurate Measurement: Take measurements with increasing accuracy and precision using a range of scientific equipment, taking repeat readings when appropriate

2. Science and Engineering Practices · Argue from Evidence

  1. Comparing Possible Solutions: Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints

3. Science and Engineering Practices · Design Solutions

  1. Simple Design Problems: Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost

4. Science and Engineering Practices · Construct an Explanation

  1. Science Can Be Revised: Scientific knowledge is provisional — it is the best current explanation based on available evidence, and it can and should be revised when better evidence arrives
  2. Controlling variables: Plan different types of scientific enquiries to answer questions, recognising and controlling variables where necessary

5. Science and Engineering Practices · Qualitative and Quantitative Data

  1. Drawing conclusions from evidence (age 12+): Identify patterns and trends in data, draw conclusions that directly address the hypothesis with quantitative reference to evidence, and evaluate the investigation by distinguishing between systematic and random errors and proposing targeted improvements

6. Science and Engineering Practices · Analyze and Interpret Data

  1. Reading Weather Maps: Read and interpret weather maps, data tables, and graphs — identifying symbols for sun, rain, wind, and temperature; spotting trends and patterns in weather data over weeks, months, or seasons; and using data to make simple predictions
  2. Correlation vs Causation: Two things happening together doesn't mean one caused the other — recognise the difference between correlation and causation before drawing conclusions

7. Science and Engineering Practices · Developing Models

  1. Fair testing (age 8+): Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved
  2. Predicting Motion Patterns: Make observations and measurements of an object's motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion

8. Engineering, Technology, and the Application of Science (ETS) · Science and Engineering Are Unique Ways of Thinking with Different Purposes

  1. Weather-Resistant Engineering: Understand that engineers design buildings, flood defences, and warning systems to protect communities from extreme weather — hurricane-resistant roofs, flood barriers, tornado shelters, and early-warning alert systems — and evaluate the merits of these solutions

9. Engineering, Technology, and the Application of Science (ETS) · Influence of Engineering, Technology, and Science on Society and the Natural World

  1. Human impact on environments: Use vocabulary for human impact on the environment — pollution, habitat destruction, deforestation, biodiversity, conservation, renewable energy, non-renewable energy, fossil fuel, carbon footprint, sustainability, endangered, extinct — and apply these when discussing environmental issues and human choices

10. Earth and Space Science · Global Climate Change

  1. Climate Change Basics: Understand the basics of climate change: Earth’s atmosphere traps some of the Sun's heat (the greenhouse effect), burning fossil fuels adds extra greenhouse gases (especially CO₂), this is making Earth gradually warmer, and this warming changes weather patterns, melts ice, and raises sea levels

11. Earth and Space Science · Human Impacts on Earth Systems

  1. Earth's atmosphere: Develop a model to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere interact as connected Earth systems

12. Earth and Space Science · Natural Hazards

  1. Finding patterns in data: Analyse and interpret data from maps to describe patterns of Earth's features, recognising that many features result from processes that occur over long periods

13. Earth and Space Science · Natural Resources

  1. Natural resources: Obtain and combine information to describe that energy and fuels are derived from natural resources and that their uses affect the environment

14. Earth and Space Science · Biogeology

  1. Fossils as Evidence: Analyse and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of organisms and environments that existed long ago

15. Earth and Space Science · Weather and Climate

  1. Oceans & Climate: Understand the connection between the ocean and climate: the ocean absorbs heat and carbon dioxide, drives weather patterns through evaporation, and ocean currents distribute warmth around the planet — making the ocean Earth's climate engine

16. Earth and Space Science · The Roles of Water in Earth's Surface Processes

  1. Sun-Driven Weather Systems: Understand how the Sun drives weather: the Sun heats Earth's surface unevenly (land heats faster than water, equator gets more heat than poles), creating differences in air pressure that cause wind patterns, ocean currents, and large-scale weather systems

17. Earth and Space Science · Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions

  1. How Tectonic Plates Move: Understand that convection currents in the molten mantle drive the movement of rigid tectonic plates; distinguish between convergent (collision/subduction), divergent (spreading ridges), and transform (sliding) plate boundaries; explain why volcanoes, earthquakes, and mountain chains cluster at boundaries; introduce the Wilson cycle of supercontinent assembly and breakup
  2. Tectonic Plates: Understand that Earth's crust is broken into large pieces called tectonic plates that float on hotter, softer rock beneath and move very slowly — a few centimetres per year

18. Earth and Space Science · The Universe and Its Stars

  1. The Vast Scale of Space: Describe the scale of the universe in nested layers: Earth is one planet in our solar system, the Sun is one star among billions in the Milky Way galaxy, and the Milky Way is one galaxy among billions in the universe

19. Physical Science · Information Technologies and Instrumentation

  1. Waves & Different Materials: Explain how waves can be absorbed, transmitted, or reflected by different materials, and apply these interactions to explain colour perception, sight, communication technologies, and the effects of different surfaces on wave behaviour

20. Physical Science · Wave Properties

  1. Waves & How They Move: Develop a model of waves to describe patterns in terms of amplitude and wavelength, and understand that waves can cause objects to move
  2. Wave Properties & Types: Describe waves in terms of amplitude, wavelength, frequency, and wave speed; distinguish transverse waves (oscillation perpendicular to direction of travel) from longitudinal waves (oscillation parallel); and use the wave equation v = fλ

21. Physical Science · Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life

  1. Photosynthesis: Explain photosynthesis as the process by which plants use light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen, and describe how mineral nutrients are absorbed through roots

22. Physical Science · Relationships Between Energy and Forces

  1. What happens when things collide: Ask questions and predict outcomes about the changes in energy that occur when objects collide

23. Physical Science · Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer

  1. Energy stores and transfers: Identify the main energy stores (kinetic, gravitational potential, elastic potential, thermal, chemical, nuclear, electromagnetic) and the pathways by which energy is transferred between stores (mechanically, electrically, by heating, by radiation)

24. Physical Science · Definitions of Energy

  1. Speed and energy: Use evidence to construct an explanation relating the speed of an object to the energy of that object

25. Physical Science · Types of Interactions

  1. Gravity & Falling Objects: Explain that unsupported objects fall towards the Earth because of the force of gravity acting between the Earth and the falling object

26. Physical Science · Forces and Motion

  1. Newton's First & Second Laws: State and apply Newton's First Law (an object stays at rest or constant velocity unless acted on by a resultant force) and Second Law (force = mass × acceleration), including the relationship between mass, force, and acceleration
  2. Newton's Third Law: State and apply Newton's Third Law: every force has an equal and opposite reaction force acting on a different object, distinguishing action-reaction pairs from balanced forces
  3. Relative Motion: Explain relative motion — how the apparent speed and direction of an object depends on the observer's own motion — using everyday examples such as trains and cars passing

27. Physical Science · Chemical Reactions

  1. Physical vs Chemical Changes: Distinguish between physical changes (reversible, no new substances formed) and chemical changes (new substances formed, often irreversible), using conservation of mass to understand both types

28. Physical Science · Structures and Properties of Matter

  1. Matter Is Made of Particles: Develop a model to describe that matter is made of particles too small to be seen, and that this explains properties of solids, liquids, and gases

29. Life Science · Biodiversity and Humans

  1. Biodiversity & Resilience: Explain what biodiversity means, why high biodiversity makes ecosystems more resilient, and describe the ways human activity threatens biodiversity (habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species, climate change)

30. Life Science · Adaptation

  1. How animals adapt to environments: Identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment and understand that adaptation may lead to evolution over time

31. Life Science · Natural Selection

  1. How Natural Selection Works: Explain natural selection as the mechanism of evolution: heritable variation + competition for resources + differential survival and reproduction = change in allele frequency over generations

32. Life Science · Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity

  1. Evidence for Evolution: Describe the main types of evidence for evolution: the fossil record (change over time), comparative anatomy (homologous structures), and the geographic distribution of related species

33. Life Science · Variation of Traits

  1. Genetic Mutation: Explain genetic mutation as a random change in DNA sequence, describe causes of mutation (e.g. radiation, chemicals, copying errors), and explain that most mutations are neutral, some harmful, and a few beneficial

34. Life Science · Inheritance of Traits

  1. Inherited characteristics: Analyse and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms

35. Life Science · Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems

  1. Matter Cycling in Ecosystems: Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment in an ecosystem

36. Life Science · Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems

  1. Ocean Ecosystems: Understand ocean ecosystems as interconnected systems where living things (producers, consumers, decomposers) and non-living factors (temperature, salinity, light, currents) all interact, and that changes to one part affect the whole system

37. Life Science · Information Processing

  1. Senses, Brain & Responses: Use a model to describe that animals receive information through their senses, process it in their brain, and respond in different ways

38. Life Science · Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms

  1. Energy from Food & the Sun: Use models to describe that energy in animals' food was once energy from the sun, transferred through plants or other organisms

39. Life Science · Structure and Function

  1. Cells Under the Microscope: Understand that all living organisms are made of cells and use a light microscope to observe, interpret, and record cell structure

40. Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth’s systems driven by energy from the sun and the force of gravity.

  1. The Water Cycle: Describe the water cycle, tracing water through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, surface runoff, and transpiration in plants, explaining how the sun drives the cycle