Sixth Grade

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Sixth grade is an exciting new adventure to the third floor, Middle School! Students are challenged to think critically and analytically in the content matter while working collaboratively, learning to be independent and organized, and discovering new and exciting content matter.

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English Language Arts

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English focuses on the basic foundational concepts of grammar, and integrating it into our essay writing using the 6 Step Writing Process which include: nonfiction narrative, fiction narrative, expository, poetry, persuasive, literature response, and research. Students collaborate with one another and improve their writing using CUPS (Capitalization, Usage, Punctuation, and Syntax) giving critical, positive feedback while peer editing. Cross curricular content is a large part of middle school's curriculum. One example, is our nonfiction narrative, My Heritage Essay, is derived from our discussion about why history is important in social studies, and several short stories and poems discussed during Literature are compiled for a final product.

Literature

Students are encourage to think critically, analytically, and reflectively while reading for comprehension. They learn about the elements of the plot, author’s point of view, variety of perspectives, setting (tone, mood, atmosphere). With a wide range of texts, students will engage in variety of thematic units including: Embracing Heritage, Breaking Stereotypes and Perceptions, Tolerance/Acceptance, and Diverse Voices.  One of the favorite aspects of Literature would be the Literature Circles and the many discussions we have while we are reading the texts. Students are able to bring their knowledge into their understanding, and brings the text more alive!

Social Studies

In part of understanding ourselves, we must understand our history. History is what makes us who we are, and is important to understanding the present.  Students learn the important aspects of social studies (geography, archeology, and history), it is all integrated.  As a class, we discover the beginning of time of the Stone Ages, and how societies formed into complex civilizations from Mesopotamia to Ancient Rome.  We explore the content in a variety of ways from textbook, articles, videos, and learning centers. A class favorite would have to be the discovery of how complex board games can uncover the understanding of a civilization, which they will eventually be able to create their own Ancient Civilization Board game to be played during our Saint Brigid Game Night in May!

Religion

Being Active Christians who act like Jesus, is a strong part of our curriculum. We learn the gift of faith shown through God’s work.  Understanding the important aspects of the Holy Trinity, deeply rooted into how we can be strong servants of the Catholic faith. The importance of prayer with thoughtful conversations about morality is consistently apparent.  

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Fieldtrips

Field Trips are a way of bringing to life what we have been learning in class to the wonderful resources we have in our community. We try to incorporate at least one a month.  Here are a few exciting Field trips that we go on each year.​

• Asian Art Museum (Brush Painting)

• Legion of Honor (Get Smart with Art)

• Children of Willesden Lane (Play)

• Ocean Film Festival

• Ocean Beach Cleanup

• Guest Speaker- Holocaust Survivor