Grade 6 - the 11-year-old
While some subjects dealing with biology, earth science, and astronomy are covered in the 6th-grade book, many educators stress the physical science during this grade; so my comments will emphasize this area.
The concepts of chemistry should be introduced during this year. You may have already covered some of this as you covered foods in the earlier grades. Atoms and familiar elements such as gold, copper, oxygen, hydrogen, and iron can be introduced. The Periodic Table could be introduced in a very elementary way, learning some of the most common.
The basic concepts of physics and some simple formulas can be learned during this grade. This subject is covered more in depth on the secondary level. Different forms of energy, including fossil fuels and nuclear power, should be covered in depth during this grade.
Though the subject of genetics will be covered in depth in biology, the subject should be introduced. The immune system, drug/alcohol, and AIDS education could be covered in depth during this grade to allow more time in the 7th and 8th grades for earh/space science.
Heath Science 6
Unit 1 - Plants and Animals on Our Planet
Chapter 1 - Classifying Animals with Backbones
Term: classify, classification
Alive and Not Alive - protoplasm
Animals and Plants
How Are Animals Classified - terms: invertebrates and vertebrates (fish, amphibians,
reptiles, birds, and mammals)
Fish - gills, cold-blooded, sharks
Amphibians
Reptiles
Birds- warm-blooded, air-sacs
Mammals
Chapter 2 - Classifying Animals Without Backbones
Invertebrates
Jointed-Legged Animals - arthropods, exoskeleton
The Soft-Bodied and spiny-Skinned Invertebrates - mollusks, echinoderms
Worms, Stinging-Celled Animals, and Sponges
The One-Celled Living Things - protists, bacteria
Chapter 3 - Classifying Plants
Seeds in Flowers - pistil, ovary, ovules, stamen, pollen, fertilization
Classifying by Seeds - cotyledon, dicotyledon, monocotyledon
Classifying by Leaves, Stems, and Flowers
Seeds in Cones - conifers
Plants That Do Not Make Seeds - ferns, mosses
The Lower Plants - algae, fungi
Plant Puzzles
Chapter 4 - Life Cycles
Life Cycles - reproduce
Insects - stages: egg, larva, pups, nymph
Growth and Development - cell division, nucleus, chromosomes
New Living Things from One Parent - hydra, budding, regeneration, planarium
New Animals from Two Parents - meiosis
Parents Pass On Some Traits When They Reproduce
Genes, Genetics
Unit 2 - Energy for Now and the Future
Chapter 5 - Elements and Compounds
Building Blocks of Matter - nucleus, protons, neutrons, electrons
How Matter Moves and Changes - molecule, physical change, properties
Mixing Things Together - mixture, dissolve, solution
Naming the Atoms - element, symbol, atomic chart
Putting Elements Together - compound, chemical formula
Changing One Kind of Matter to Another - chemical change, chemical reaction
Testing Chemicals - base, acid, indicators, litmus, neutral, additives
Chapter 6 - Electricity and Magnetism
Electricity at Rest - charge, negative, positive, static electricity
Moving Charges - attract, electric current
Electricity from Magnets - magnetic field
Pushing Electrons with Chemicals, Light, and Heat - batteries
Paths for Electric Current - circuit, closed circuit, thermostats
Electrons Move Through Certain Matter - conductor, insulators
Using Electricity Safely - short circuit, fuse, circuit breaker
Using Electrical Energy - electromagnet, alternating current, direct current
Chapter 7 - Sources of Energy
Energy Makes Things Happen -electrical, light, heat, energy transfer, chemical, kinetic,
and potential energy
Energy That Goes In Equals Energy That comes Out - "Law of Conservation of
Energy"
Matter and Energy - chemical bonds, oxidation
Nuclear Energy - uranium, fission, nuclear reactors, mass-energy
More Sources of Energy - nonrenewable, geothermal
Energy from the Sun - solar cells, greenhouse effect
Unit 3 - Energy and Communications
Chapter 8 - Properties of Light
Where Does Light Come From? - sources, bioluminescence, photon
Waves or Particles? - John Newton, medium of the wave
How Light Moves - thunder, lightning, stars
Getting In the Way of Light - transparent, translucent, opaque
The Bouncing of Light - reflection
Bending Light - refraction
Light and Color - spectrum, prism, frequency
Chapter 9 - Light and Vision
How Your Eyes Work - lens, retina, picture distance
Your Living Lenses
The Colored Part of the Eye - iris, cornea, pupil
The Retina - optic nerve
Glasses Can Help Some People - nearsighted, farsighted
The Care of Your Eyes - glare
Chapter 10 - Communications
The Beginnings of Modern Communication - books, Gutenberg, pigment, lampblack
Transmitting Sound Through Waves - transmitter, receiver
Preserving Sound - Edison
Machines That Use and Store Information - calculator, computer, program
Beyond the Red and Violet - infrared, ultraviolet, X-ray, radar
Morse Code
Unit 4 - Solar Energy and the Earth
Chapter 11 - Climates of the World
Sunlight and Temperature - climate, equator
Zones - tropical, temperate, polar
Precipitation - wet, humid, subhumid, semiarid, arid, cold
Sunlight and Climates - poles, axis
More Reasons Why Climates are Different - ocean currents
Precipitation
The Earth’s Climate: Past and Present - glaciers
Chapter 12 - Energy for Living Things
How Do Green Plants Make Food - photosynthesis - air spaces, pores, carbon dioxide
How Do Living Things Get the Energy Stored in Food? - respiration, air sacs
From Sugar to Other Chemicals - amino acids
Flow of Energy - producers, consumers, first-level consumers, second-level consumers,
decomposers, food chain
Many Related Food Chains - food web, pyramid
A Community and Where It Lives - stages of change: succession