Beyond the Core

Specials

The four core subjects don't tell the whole story of sixth grade. Specials weave art, music, movement, language, and life skills directly into the historical arc of the year so students experience each civilization with their hands, ears, and bodies — not just their eyes.

Studio Art

2× per week

Cuneiform clay tablets, Egyptian self-portrait cartouches, Greek black-figure vases, Roman mosaics, Islamic geometric tiling, illuminated manuscripts.

Music & Movement

1× per week

Listen to and perform music from each civilization studied — lyre and frame-drum rhythms, Gregorian chant, Tang-dynasty pipa, West African djembe.

Physical Education

Daily, 30 min

Olympic-style track and field unit (Q2), Roman legion fitness circuits (Q3), medieval-style archery and footwork (Q4), plus year-round outdoor play.

World Languages

3× per week

Continue grade-5 language study (Spanish, French, or Mandarin) with a six-week Latin roots elective in Quarter 3 to support Roman history and SAT vocabulary later on.

Life Skills & Logic

1× per week

Personal finance basics, cooking from each civilization, logic puzzles, and an introduction to computational thinking with Scratch.

Week-by-week highlights

Specials are themed to whatever civilization or arc the core subjects are studying. These are the marquee weeks — every other week has a quarter-default rotation. Click into a week to see the full connection.

Week 1 · Q1
Course Launch— Geography of the Ancient World & the Rise of Cities
Open week →
Studio Art
Sketchbook setup & artifact contour drawing
Establish a year-long sketchbook; first entry is an observational drawing of a 'mystery artifact'.
Life Skills & Logic
Goal-setting & binder systems
Build the 4-subject binder, agenda routines, and write three SMART goals for the year.
Physical Education
Fitness baseline
Pacer run, push-up, and flexibility baselines logged in the PE journal.
Week 2 · Q1
Mesopotamia— Mesopotamia I — Sumer and the First City-States
Open week →
Studio Art
Cuneiform clay tablet
Press a personal name and short message into air-dry clay using a chopstick stylus.
Music
Lyre & frame-drum listening
Compare reconstructed Sumerian lyre music to modern Middle Eastern percussion.
World Languages
Sumerian number names
Connect to math ratios — count to 60 in Sumerian and discuss base-60 time.
Week 4 · Q1
Ancient Egypt— Egypt I — The Nile, the Old Kingdom & the Pyramids
Open week →
Studio Art
Cartouche self-portrait
Design a personal cartouche using hieroglyph symbols painted in gold-leaf and lapis blue.
Physical Education
Nile flood relay
Cooperative relay simulating irrigation: teams carry water buckets across 'flood seasons'.
Life Skills & Logic
Bread from emmer wheat
Simple flatbread cooking lesson tied to ancient grain agriculture.
Week 7 · Q1
Indus Valley & Shang China— The Indus Valley Civilization
Open week →
Studio Art
Oracle bone pictographs
Carve simplified oracle-bone characters into soap bars; reflect on writing as divination.
Music
Guqin & pipa listening journal
Note pentatonic patterns and compare to Western diatonic scales from grade 5.
World Languages
Mandarin number roots
Latin/Spanish/French class pauses for a one-day comparison of number words across families.
Week 10 · Q2
Ancient Greece— The Aegean World — Minoans & Mycenaeans
Open week →
Studio Art
Black-figure vase painting
Paint terracotta planters in black-figure silhouette style depicting an Olympian story.
Physical Education
Mini-Olympics unit kickoff
Begin 4-week unit: discus (frisbee), stadion sprint, long jump, javelin (foam).
Music
Modal scales lab
Sing Dorian/Phrygian/Lydian modes; tie to math's intro of variables (mode as 'pattern variable').
Week 13 · Q2
Hellenistic World— The Persian Empire & the Persian Wars
Open week →
Physical Education
Mini-Olympics finals
Closing ceremonies, medals, and reflection writing in ELA the next day.
World Languages
Greek roots scavenger hunt
Identify Greek roots in science vocabulary (bio-, hydro-, geo-, astro-).
Life Skills & Logic
Greek salad cooking lab
Knife-safety lesson + simple Greek salad; connects to ratios in dressing recipes.
Week 16 · Q2
Rise of Rome— Greek Mythology, Theater & the Olympics
Open week →
World Languages
Latin roots elective begins
6-week Latin roots elective opens — focus on prefixes that recur in science and SAT vocabulary.
Studio Art
Roman mosaic tile design
Cut colored paper tesserae to design a mosaic floor panel; geometric and figurative options.
Physical Education
Legion fitness circuit
Timed circuit: marching with a pack, lunges, planks — tied to Q3 PE unit.
Week 19 · Q3
Roman Empire— Rome Rising — From Republic to Mediterranean Power
Open week →
Physical Education
Legion circuit + formation drills
Practice tortoise/wedge formations as cooperative spatial reasoning.
Studio Art
Fresco panel
Plaster small panels and paint while wet to learn the buon fresco technique.
World Languages
Latin roots: motion verbs
Focus week on -port-, -duc-, -mit-, -cede- with science vocabulary tie-ins.
Week 22 · Q3
Byzantine & Early Islamic World— Roman Engineering & Daily Life
Open week →
Studio Art
Islamic geometric tiling
Construct 6-, 8-, and 12-fold star tessellations with compass and straightedge.
Music
Call-to-prayer & Gregorian chant
Side-by-side listening: maqam vs. plainchant; vocabulary for melismatic singing.
World Languages
Arabic numerals story
Trace how 'Arabic' numerals reached Europe via al-Khwarizmi — ties to math algorithm unit.
Week 25 · Q3
Medieval Europe— The Spread of Buddhism
Open week →
Physical Education
Archery & footwork unit
Foam-tip archery basics, medieval-style footwork drills, and longbow history.
Studio Art
Illuminated manuscript initial
Design a decorated initial letter using gouache and imitation gold leaf.
Music
Gregorian chant performance
Class learns and performs a short two-part chant for a Friday recital.
Week 28 · Q4
West African Empires— The Byzantine Empire — Rome's Long Eastern Echo
Open week →
Music
Djembe rhythm cycle
Learn a 12/8 West African rhythm in three parts; perform as a class ensemble.
Studio Art
Adinkra symbol prints
Carve simple stamps from foam to print Adinkra symbols with chosen personal meaning.
Life Skills & Logic
Trade-route market simulation
Run a salt/gold barter market — connects to math's percent and proportion review.
Week 31 · Q4
Mesoamerica— Early Medieval Europe — Charlemagne to the Vikings
Open week →
Studio Art
Maya codex page
Fold an accordion 'codex' and illustrate a personal calendar in Maya glyph style.
Music
Andean flute & rattle
Listen to quena flute recordings and build simple shaker rattles for a rhythm jam.
World Languages
Nahuatl loanwords
Identify English words from Nahuatl (chocolate, tomato, avocado, coyote).
Week 34 · Q4
Renaissance & Year Synthesis— Sub-Saharan African Kingdoms — Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Great Zimbabwe
Open week →
Studio Art
One-point perspective studio
Two-day perspective drawing lab culminating in a Renaissance-style courtyard scene.
Music
Madrigal singing
Class performs a short SATB-style madrigal at Friday family showcase.
Life Skills & Logic
Capstone exhibition prep
Build display boards, rehearse 3-minute talks, and host families on Friday.
Week 36 · Q4
Year Celebration— Year-End Synthesis & the Grade 6 Portfolio
Open week →
Studio Art
Sketchbook retrospective
Curate 6 favorite pages into a portfolio cover with artist statement.
Physical Education
Field day across civilizations
Rotating stations: Greek stadion, Roman circuit, West African dance, Mesoamerican ball-toss.
Life Skills & Logic
Reflection & next-year planning
Write a letter to the incoming grade 6 class and set summer learning goals.