Upper Elementary

 

 

Grade 6

Program of Studies – 6th Grade

 

Literature Appreciation

Students are encouraged to explore personal interests and identify genres, authors, and topics that they enjoy reading. Students are introduced to a variety of online tools that assist in finding books, awards programs and award winning book lists, book talks, book trailers, and book reviews. During the semester students also read and write book reviews and contribute to the library book review blog. 

 

Research

Students conduct research on topics related to the 6th grade core curriculum and on topics of personal interest. In the library, students learn about the research process using the Big6 Research Method: choosing a topic, setting a goal, doing the research, organizing materials, evaluating goals, creating a product, and presenting a product. During these projects, students participate in weekly lessons on the following: how to develop good research questions, note-taking techniques, organizing your research, copyright, plagiarism, fair use, creating proper citations, evaluating websites, getting the most out of a search engine, using library databases, and creating a strong final presentation.

 

Technology 

Students use technology on a weekly basis to retrieve and organize information using websites, search engines, databases, and online note-taking tools. Students use the library catalog to find material in a variety of formats including print, audiobooks, and ebooks. Students become ethical users of information by evaluating websites, using online citation tools to properly credit all sources of information, understanding the proper use of media in an educational setting, and how to paraphrase and take notes using online tools. Students also use a selection of online tools and software to create presentations. In addition, students participate as members of a learning network by contributing book reviews to the library blog.