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Grade 6 · Quarter 2 · Week 10 · Tuesday

Minoan Civilization

The Aegean World — Minoans & Mycenaeans — Bronze-age Crete and mainland Greece; the Trojan War context.

Week standards: 6.RP.A.3 · 6.NS.C.5 · RL.6.1 · RI.6.7 · MS-LS1-4 · C3 D2.Geo.2.6-8

Suggested timing

8:30 Morning meeting · 8:45 Social Studies · 9:30 Math · 10:15 break · 10:30 ELA · 11:30 Science · 12:15 lunch · 1:00 specials & wrap-up

Social Studies

40 min

Knossos, frescoes, the labyrinth myth; trade across the Mediterranean.

Learning target: I can explain knossos, frescoes, the labyrinth myth.

Step-by-step

  1. Warm-up (5 min): one-question opener tied to yesterday's lesson.
  2. Together (10 min): Knossos, frescoes, the labyrinth myth.
  3. Independent practice (12 min): trade across the Mediterranean..
  4. Closure (5 min): students name one thing they learned and one question they still have.

Check: Exit ticket: name two specific details (place, person, date, or cause) and explain why they matter.

Home tip: 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 "Knossos, frescoes, the labyrinth myth".

Homework: Read tonight's textbook section (10–15 min) and add three new facts to your notebook timeline.

Resources to teach from

  • Textbook / OER reading: OpenStax World History Vol. 1 (full free textbook) — OpenStax — Rice University (https://openstax.org/details/books/world-history-volume-1)
  • Article: World History Encyclopedia — search — World History Encyclopedia (https://www.worldhistory.org/)

Math

50 min

Locate integers on a horizontal & vertical number line.

Learning target: I can locate integers on a horizontal & vertical number line.

Step-by-step

  1. Number talk (5 min): mental-math warm-up tied to today's concept.
  2. Mini-lesson (12 min): worked example of "Locate integers on a horizontal & vertical number line" with the teacher modeling thinking out loud.
  3. We do (10 min): class works two problems together; students explain each step.
  4. You do (15 min): students try 4–6 problems independently or with a partner; teacher confers.
  5. Closure (5 min): one student presents a solution; class critiques the reasoning.

Check: Exit ticket: 2 problems — one procedural, one word problem — graded for accuracy and reasoning.

Home tip: Ask your child to teach you tonight's idea in 60 seconds: "Show me one example of locate integers on a horizontal & vertical number line." 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 to teach from

  • Textbook / OER reading: Illustrative Mathematics — Grade 6 (free, CCSS-aligned) — Illustrative Math (Kendall Hunt OER) (https://im.kendallhunt.com/MS/students/1/index.html)
  • Video: Khan Academy — Grade 6 math — Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-sixth-grade-math)

ELA

45 min

Read the Minotaur myth; identify central conflict (RL.6.1).

Learning target: I can read the Minotaur myth.

Step-by-step

  1. Warm-up (5 min): one-question opener tied to yesterday's lesson.
  2. Together (10 min): Read the Minotaur myth.
  3. Independent practice (12 min): identify central conflict (RL.6.1)..
  4. Closure (5 min): students name one thing they learned and one question they still have.

Check: Exit ticket: one quoted sentence from today's text + one sentence explaining what it shows.

Home tip: 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 "Read the Minotaur myth".

Homework: Independent reading 20 min + log title, pages, and one sentence of reaction.

Resources to teach from

  • Primary source: The Odyssey — Butler translation — Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1727/1727-h/1727-h.htm)
  • Video: Why is Vincent van Gogh so popular? not this — try 'Odyssey' on TED-Ed — TED-Ed (https://ed.ted.com/lessons/everything-you-need-to-know-to-read-homer-s-odyssey-jill-dash)
  • Article: CommonLit — Grade 6 free reading library — CommonLit (https://www.commonlit.org/en/texts?grade_levels%5B%5D=6)
  • Article: ReadWorks — Grade 6 passages + questions — ReadWorks (https://www.readworks.org/find-content#!q:/g:6/t:/dt:/sb:relevance)

Science

45 min

Pollination investigation: model insect transfer with cotton swabs.

Learning target: I can pollination investigation: model insect transfer with cotton swabs.

Step-by-step

  1. Phenomenon (5 min): show an image, video, or demo and ask, "What do you notice? What do you wonder?"
  2. Mini-lesson (10 min): teacher introduces the science of "Pollination investigation: model insect transfer with cotton swabs" with a labeled diagram.
  3. Investigation (20 min): students gather data — observe, measure, model, or run the lab.
  4. Sense-making (8 min): students record a Claim-Evidence-Reasoning response in the lab notebook.
  5. Share-out (2 min): one group presents data; class compares results.

Check: Exit ticket: one claim + one piece of evidence from today's investigation, with units where relevant.

Home tip: Ask: "What did you observe today, and what do you think it means?" Encourage your child to draw a labeled sketch of "Pollination investigation: model insect transfer with cotton swabs" on a sticky note.

Homework: Finish lab notebook entry (sketch + CER paragraph) if not done in class.

Resources to teach from

  • Printable: CER (Claim-Evidence-Reasoning) graphic organizer — Stanford SCALE (https://www.nextgenscience.org/sites/default/files/Using%20Phenomena%20in%20NGSS.pdf)
  • Textbook / OER reading: OpenSciEd — free NGSS middle-school units — OpenSciEd (https://www.openscied.org/access-the-materials/)
  • Interactive / simulation: PhET Simulations (free, classroom-ready) — PhET — CU Boulder (https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/filter?subjects=earth-science,biology,physics,chemistry&type=html)

Materials & worksheet checklist

Bring every day

  • Sharpened pencil & eraser
  • Day's notebook (one section per subject)

ELA

  • Reading: Reading Response: The Golden Goblet (early chapters) [1A]
  • Assessment: Q1 ELA Assessment [Q1]
  • Reading: Reading Response: Black Ships Before Troy (early chapters) [2A]
  • Anchor text or passage handout

Science

  • Lab notebook
  • Sketching pencils & ruler

End-of-day reflection (student)

One thing I learned today:

One question I still have:

SixthGrade · Quarter 2 · Week 10 · TuesdayPrinted for classroom use

Part of the K–6 Homeschool Curriculum series · Grade 6 · Eastern Hemisphere & Ancient Civilizations