1. To present 6th grade Humanities course content and facilitate advancement
   in academic areas.
2. To enhance development of students' listening, speaking, reading and
   writing skills.
3. To promote continued enrichment in the area of various cultures.
4. To foster students' social development and interaction in a nurturing and
   safe classroom environment.

REQUIREMENTS:
While all new material will be covered in class, students are expected to complete in a timely manner any reading or follow-up work assigned as homework or missed due to absence. Projects, reports, presentations, etc., are to be turned in when due, and full participation in class discussions and cooperative work groups is expected of all students. One special project will be completed each grading period, and some form of homework (reading, study, or other) can be expected Monday through Thursday.

EVALUATION:
Grades will be based on effort and participation, the successful and timely completion of class work, projects, and homework assignments, and performance on occasional exams and quizzes.

6th Grade Monthly Reading

• Autobiography, Biography, and Heroes
• Science Fiction and Fantasy
• Mystery, Adventure, and Supernatural
• Historical Fiction
• Contemporary Realism
• Poetry and Humor
• Nonfiction
• Classic and Honor/Award Winners

During the month, students complete a bibliography card that includes publishing information and a concise summary of the book. A different creative response is due at the end of the month.

Students will:

• read from a variety of genres
• identify, analyze and critique literary elements (e.g., plot, setting, character, theme
• summarize the main idea
• recognize figurative language in poetry and prose
• develop vocabulary

Writing Strategies

• narrative (e.g., story, personal narrative)
• expository (e.g., description, explanation, compare &contrast, problem solution)
• response to literature
• research reports (e.g., ancient Egypt/Greece/Rome)
• persuasive

Writing Conventions

• sentence structure (e.g., complete sent., compound/complex sent.)
• grammar (e.g., pronouns, subject-verb agreement)
• punctuation (periods, commas, question marks, exclamation marks, quotation marks, apostrophes, semicolons, colons)
• spelling - frequently misspelled words (e.g., there, their, they're)

Social Studies

Students describe what is known through archaeological studies of the early physical and cultural development of humankind.
Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious and social structures:

• of the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Kush, Ancient Greece, India and China
• of the Ancient Hebrews
• during the development of Ancient Rome

Social Studies skills integrated with those of language arts include:

• note taking and outlining strategies
• question & answer
• cause & effect
• research and technology
• Bibliographic form