Grade 6

Derby Academy, Hingham, private school, South shore

To foster our Grade 6 students' sense of independence, our students take on more responsibility in their own learning.

Our faculty focus on helping students get to know themselves, their motivations, their goals, and encourage them to examine why they believe the things they do.

A highlight of the year is the much-anticipated Grade 6 Musical, in which every Grade 6 student has a role, whether on the stage or behind the scenes developing the set, props, costumes, sound and lighting. Students work together and get to know one another in a way they otherwise might not—and the result is a more collaborative and united peer group.

Grade 6 Highlights

Outdoor Education Trip
Grade 6 Musical
Grade 6 Game Night
Pals
Thematic English and History Units
Language Choice of French, Spanish, or Latin
Future City Competition
Engineering & Design
Math Team
Study Skills & Executive Function
Book Club, Band Club

In the Classroom

Math

The Grade 6 math program provides our students with a solid foundation of operations with integers and rational numbers. Students are introduced to algebraic expressions, monomials. multi-step equations and inequalities, percent, ratio and proportions, similar figures, and graphing, writing, and interpreting linear functions. Standard and Honors classes provide a range of opportunities to study math within the context of real-world problems. Students also have the opportunity to challenge themselves with the Mathematics Association of America’s AMC8 test.

Science

History

In history class, the students begin honing their paraphrasing skills as they research for an array of presentations related to the American Revolution, the Constitutional Convention, and three branches of government. Many themes purposefully weave into a humanities thread shared with the English curriculum as well as the current events of the day. Emphasis is placed on risk-taking, consistent participation and public speaking/presentation skills.

World Languages

English

Grade 6 English students make use of higher-order thinking skills when reading to see connections, make inferences, and determine meaning. Students learn how to annotate novels to keep track of their metacognitive process, and develop a love and a passion for reading. That passion can be shared with other readers and foster meaningful discussions about important ideas in literature.

Writing

In our writing program, students write for a variety of purposes and in a number of effective styles with a broad range of audiences in mind. Students make full use of the writing process and principles of design thinking to work in an iterative fashion. With the goal of producing a high-quality and effective piece of writing, students grasp important concepts in grammar and mechanics in order to understand the structure of the English language and create a meaningful response.