Grade 6 · Quarter 2 · Week 13 · Monday

The Persian Empire

The Persian Empire & the Persian Wars — Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes; Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis.

Week standards: 6.RP.A.3 · 6.NS.C.5 · RI.6.3 · W.6.7 · MS-LS1-5 · C3 D2.His.4.6-8

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

Cyrus the Great; satraps and the Royal Road; Zoroastrianism.

Learning target: I can cyrus the Great.

Step-by-step

Warm-up (5 min): one-question opener tied to yesterday's lesson.
Together (10 min): Cyrus the Great.
Together (12 min): satraps and the Royal Road.
Independent practice (14 min): Zoroastrianism..
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 "Cyrus the Great".

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

Percent as ratio per 100 (6.RP.A.3); convert fractions ↔ percents.

Learning target: I can percent as ratio per 100 (6.

Step-by-step

Warm-up (5 min): one-question opener tied to yesterday's lesson.
Together (10 min): Percent as ratio per 100.
Independent practice (12 min): convert fractions ↔ percents..
Closure (5 min): students name one thing they learned and one question they still have.

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 percent as ratio per 100." 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 6 — Unit 2 'Introducing Ratios' — Illustrative Math (OER, CC-BY) (https://im.kendallhunt.com/MS/students/1/2/index.html)
Video: Intro to ratios (5 min) — Khan Academy — 6th grade (https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-sixth-grade-math/cc-6th-ratios-prop-topic/cc-6th-ratios-intro/v/introduction-to-ratios-new-hd-version)
Interactive / simulation: Ratio practice set (adaptive) — Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-sixth-grade-math/cc-6th-ratios-prop-topic/cc-6th-ratios-intro/e/ratio-word-problems)
Textbook / OER reading: Illustrative Mathematics 6 — Unit 4 'Dividing Fractions' — Illustrative Math (https://im.kendallhunt.com/MS/students/1/4/index.html)

ELA

45 min

Read on Cyrus; analyze how individuals shape events (RI.6.3).

Learning target: I can read on Cyrus.

Step-by-step

Warm-up (5 min): one-question opener tied to yesterday's lesson.
Together (10 min): Read on Cyrus.
Independent practice (12 min): analyze how individuals shape events (RI.6.3)..
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 on Cyrus".

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

Resources to teach from

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

Plant response to gravity (gravitropism) — design a tilt test.

Learning target: I can plant response to gravity (gravitropism) — design a tilt test.

Step-by-step

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 "Plant response to gravity (gravitropism) — design a tilt test" 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: 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 "Plant response to gravity (gravitropism) — design a tilt test" on a sticky note.

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

Resources to teach from

Interactive / simulation: PhET — Forces and Motion: Basics — PhET (https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/forces-and-motion-basics)
Video: Newton's Laws (Crash Course Kids) — Crash Course Kids #19.1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn34mnnDnKU)
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)

Math

Calculator (optional)

ELA

Passage: Reading Passage: Democracy in Athens (with comprehension) [2C]
Assessment: Q2 ELA Assessment [Q2]
Anchor text or passage handout

End-of-day reflection (student)

One thing I learned today:

One question I still have: