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Grade 6 · Quarter 3 · Week 21 · Friday

Empire at Its Height

The Roman Empire & the Pax Romana — Augustus and the long Roman peace.

Week standards: 6.SP.B.4 · 6.SP.B.5 · RI.6.7 · W.6.2 · MS-LS2-3 · C3 D2.Civ.6.6-8

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

Map the Roman Empire under Trajan; greatest extent.

Learning target: I can map the Roman Empire under Trajan.

Step-by-step

  1. Warm-up (5 min): one-question opener tied to yesterday's lesson.
  2. Together (10 min): Map the Roman Empire under Trajan.
  3. Independent practice (12 min): greatest extent..
  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 "Map the Roman Empire under Trajan".

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 — Ch. 7 'Experience of Empire: Greece and Rome' — OpenStax (https://openstax.org/books/world-history-volume-1/pages/7-introduction)
  • Primary source: Twelve Tables (translated) — Avalon Project (Yale Law) (https://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/twelve_tables.asp)
  • Interactive / simulation: Ancient Rome 3D reconstruction — Google Arts & Culture (https://artsandculture.google.com/story/wQXxAY8Skd6oLg)
  • Video: Fall of the Roman Empire (12 min) — Crash Course World History #12 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PJgwgbqdNc)

Math

50 min

Mixed practice: data displays.

Learning target: I can mixed practice: data displays.

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 "Mixed practice: data displays" 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 mixed practice: data displays." 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 Math 6 — Unit 8 'Data Sets & Distributions' — Illustrative Math (https://im.kendallhunt.com/MS/students/1/8/index.html)
  • Interactive / simulation: Plop It! — build distributions — NCTM Illuminations (https://www.nctm.org/Classroom-Resources/Illuminations/Interactives/Plop-It!/)
  • 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

Publish informative essay; portfolio entry.

Learning target: I can publish informative essay.

Step-by-step

  1. Warm-up (5 min): one-question opener tied to yesterday's lesson.
  2. Together (10 min): Publish informative essay.
  3. Independent practice (12 min): portfolio entry..
  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 "Publish informative essay".

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

Resources to teach from

  • Article: ReadWorks — Grade 6 informational passages — ReadWorks (free) (https://www.readworks.org/)
  • Article: Newsela — Grade 6 leveled news (free tier) — Newsela (https://newsela.com/)
  • 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

Lab notebook reflection on energy flow.

Learning target: I can lab notebook reflection on energy flow.

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 "Lab notebook reflection on energy flow" 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 "Lab notebook reflection on energy flow" on a sticky note.

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

Resources to teach from

  • Textbook / OER reading: OpenSciEd 7.4 'Matter Cycling & Photosynthesis' — OpenSciEd (https://www.openscied.org/instructional-materials/7-4-matter-cycling-and-photosynthesis/)
  • Interactive / simulation: Food Web simulation — PBS LearningMedia (https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.eco.foodweb/food-web/)
  • 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)

Materials & worksheet checklist

Bring every day

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

Social Studies

  • Outline map & colored pencils

ELA

  • Lined paper

Science

  • Lab notebook

End-of-day reflection (student)

One thing I learned today:

One question I still have:

SixthGrade · Quarter 3 · Week 21 · FridayPrinted for classroom use

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