Monday — The New Kingdom Begins
Social Studies
40 minAhmose expels the Hyksos; Egypt becomes an empire.
Show full lesson detailHide lesson detail
Learning target
Lesson flow
- Warm-up (5 min): one-question opener tied to yesterday's lesson.
- Together (10 min): Ahmose expels the Hyksos.
- Independent practice (12 min): Egypt becomes an empire..
- Closure (5 min): students name one thing they learned and one question they still have.
Check for understanding
Exit ticket: name two specific details (place, person, date, or cause) and explain why they matter.
At-home tip for parents
At home, ask: "Where on a map would you find what you studied today?" Have your child point it out and tell you one cause and one effect from "Ahmose expels the Hyksos".
Homework
Read tonight's textbook section (10–15 min) and add three new facts to your notebook timeline.
Resources & materials to teach from (6)Hide resources
- OpenStax World History Vol. 1 — Ch. 3 §3.2 'Ancient Egypt'· Textbook / OER reading · OpenStax
Free chapter spine for the unit.
- Rosetta Stone (artifact)· Primary source · British Museum
Hook for the hieroglyph lesson — the key that unlocked the script.
- Book of the Dead of Hunefer· Primary source · British Museum
Use the weighing-of-the-heart scene for the afterlife discussion.
- Pyramid Builder simulation· Interactive / simulation · PBS LearningMedia / NOVA
Students sequence the engineering steps.
- OpenStax World History Vol. 1 — Ch. 7 'Experience of Empire: Greece and Rome'· Textbook / OER reading · OpenStax
Chapter spine.
Math
50 minVariables intro: write x + 5 instead of '5 more than a number' (6.EE.A.2).
Show full lesson detailHide lesson detail
Learning target
Lesson flow
- Number talk (5 min): mental-math warm-up tied to today's concept.
- Mini-lesson (12 min): worked example of "Variables intro: write x + 5 instead of '5 more than a number' (6" with the teacher modeling thinking out loud.
- We do (10 min): class works two problems together; students explain each step.
- You do (15 min): students try 4–6 problems independently or with a partner; teacher confers.
- Closure (5 min): one student presents a solution; class critiques the reasoning.
Check for understanding
Exit ticket: 2 problems — one procedural, one word problem — graded for accuracy and reasoning.
At-home tip for parents
Ask your child to teach you tonight's idea in 60 seconds: "Show me one example of variables intro: write x + 5 instead of '5 more than a number' (6." Teaching it back is the fastest way to lock it in.
Homework
Practice set: 6–8 problems mirroring class work. Show steps; circle the answer.
Resources & materials to teach from (4)Hide resources
- Illustrative Math 6 — Unit 6 'Expressions & Equations'· Textbook / OER reading · Illustrative Math
- Intro to variables (5 min)· Video · Khan Academy
- Illustrative Mathematics — Grade 6 (free, CCSS-aligned)· Textbook / OER reading · Illustrative Math (Kendall Hunt OER)
The recommended free OER spine for Grade 6 math.
ELA
45 minBegin reading on Hatshepsut; analyze how setting shapes a leader (RL.6.3).
Show full lesson detailHide lesson detail
Learning target
Lesson flow
- Warm-up (5 min): one-question opener tied to yesterday's lesson.
- Together (10 min): Begin reading on Hatshepsut.
- Independent practice (12 min): analyze how setting shapes a leader ..
- Closure (5 min): students name one thing they learned and one question they still have.
Check for understanding
Exit ticket: one quoted sentence from today's text + one sentence explaining what it shows.
At-home tip for parents
Ask: "Who is the main character or speaker in what you read today, and what do they want?" Then have your child read aloud one favorite sentence from "Begin reading on Hatshepsut".
Homework
Independent reading 20 min + log title, pages, and one sentence of reaction.
Resources & materials to teach from (2)Hide resources
- CommonLit — Grade 6 free reading library· Article · CommonLit
Free leveled passages with built-in text-dependent questions.
Science
45 minHierarchy of life — back to cell ↔ tissue ↔ organ ↔ system ↔ organism.
Show full lesson detailHide lesson detail
Learning target
Lesson flow
- Phenomenon (5 min): show an image, video, or demo and ask, "What do you notice? What do you wonder?"
- Mini-lesson (10 min): teacher introduces the science of "Hierarchy of life — back to cell ↔ tissue ↔ organ ↔ system ↔ organism" with a labeled diagram.
- Investigation (20 min): students gather data — observe, measure, model, or run the lab.
- Sense-making (8 min): students record a Claim-Evidence-Reasoning response in the lab notebook.
- Share-out (2 min): one group presents data; class compares results.
Check for understanding
Exit ticket: one claim + one piece of evidence from today's investigation, with units where relevant.
At-home tip for parents
Ask: "What did you observe today, and what do you think it means?" Encourage your child to draw a labeled sketch of "Hierarchy of life — back to cell ↔ tissue ↔ organ ↔ system ↔ organism" on a sticky note.
Homework
Finish lab notebook entry (sketch + CER paragraph) if not done in class.
Resources & materials to teach from (5)Hide resources
- OpenSciEd 6.4 'Cells & Systems' (free unit)· Textbook / OER reading · OpenSciEd
Full free NGSS unit — lessons, slides, handouts.
- Cell Explorer — virtual microscope· Interactive / simulation · CELLS Alive
Project the interactive cell when you don't have slides.
- Inside the Cell (5 min)· Video · Amoeba Sisters
- OpenSciEd — free NGSS middle-school units· Textbook / OER reading · OpenSciEd
The recommended free OER spine — full units with materials lists.
- PhET Simulations (free, classroom-ready)· Interactive / simulation · PhET — CU Boulder
Use whenever a phenomenon needs a hands-on model.
Materials & worksheet checklist
Bring every day
- Sharpened pencil & eraser
- Day's notebook (one section per subject)
Science
- Microscope & prepared slides