6th Grade: Building College Bound Habits Early
If you do nothing else but get familiar with what they are being asked to do, you will quickly see your connection around their learning deepen.
You can start with our free checklist of learning targets for the year. This is a great reference when checking homework or as a topic of conversation in the car.
Hello, World!
You came to this page looking for advice on how to help your 6th grader.
Paying attention to their learning is the most critical thing you can do.
The 4 Habits
Our Approach for Parents to dive in.
These practices allow you to dive right into any of the math and language standards in your grade level with effortless, bite-sized practice that builds skill fluency and confidence.
Modeling
Our most powerful habit. Grab a blank page, use our prompts, and show your child how to approach a new skill. This direct, stress-free connection is the fastest way to ensure grade-level mastery.
CarTalk
Turn your daily drive into a classroom. Use quick practice games to solidify math facts and phonics, prompt socratic reasoning, or use our SEL cards to help your child navigate friendships and emotions.
Listen and Write
Use these cards to supercharge reading skills. You say the sounds, words, or sentences, and your child writes them down—building the exact phonetic foundation they need to read with ease.
StoryTime
Whether at bedtime or on the weekend, elevate your reading routine. Our cards give you the exact questions to ask to build deep comprehension, ensuring your student is ready to lead classroom discussions.
Using the Habits in 6th grade
We have put together a program to help you tackle all these many learning targets using just our 4 habits. Imagine using a car ride or two a week to develop higher level thinking with Socratic Dialogues.
Here is a look at the scope of the program in 6th grade.
Math Habits
M1Ratios and Rates
M2Unit Rates & Ratio TablesM3Percent as Rate per 100M4Dividing Fractions by FractionsM5DecimalsM6Negative Numbers & Absolute ValueM7The Coordinate PlaneM8Writing & Evaluating Algebraic ExpressionsM9Solving One-Variable Equations & InequalitiesM10Area of Triangles, Parallelograms & TrapezoidsM11Surface Area & Volume with NetsM12Statistical VariabilityLanguage Habits
L1Vocabulary
L2Notetaking
L3FluencyL4Figurative LanguageL5Citing Evidence & Drawing InferencesL6Determining A Central IdeaL7Text StructureL10Exploring Sentence VarietyL11Register, Word Choice & StyleProjects
P1Taking a PositionP3Weather StationP4Old Stories told from a New LensSEL
SEL 1Social Dynamics & Rumor SpreadingSEL 2Digital Footprint & Online IdentitySEL 3Emotional Regulation & De-escalationSEL 4Perspective-Taking in Complex ConflictsSEL 5Stress Management & Academic BalanceSEL 6Ethical Leadership & Bystander ActionA sample of what our activities look like.
We have included a mixed sampler of the different activities we have in 6th grade. Give one a try!
Mixed Sampler
A custom sampler pulling one card or skill from each subject — Math, Language, Projects, and SEL — each keeping its own subject color.
M6Math
Negative Numbers & Absolute Value — Ordering Numbers
I can order rational numbers, including negatives, and use absolute value as distance from zero.
6.NS.C.5 · 6.NS.C.6a · 6.NS.C.7
Prompt 3 — Ordering Numbers
Put these in order from least to greatest: -3, 5, -8, 0, 2 -> -8, -3, 0, 2, 5
Is -10 greater or less than -3? -> Less, since -10 sits further left on the number line
M7Math
The Coordinate Plane — Finding Distance Between Points
I can graph points in all four quadrants and find horizontal or vertical distances between them.
6.NS.C.6b · 6.NS.C.6c · 6.NS.C.8
Skill 2 — Finding Distance Between Points
Points (2,3) and (2,-4) share the same x-coordinate, so find the vertical distance: |3 - (-4)| = 7
Points (-3,5) and (6,5) share the same y-coordinate. Find the horizontal distance: |6 - (-3)| = 9
Math GeneratorClick to generate more problems like this.
L5Language
Citing Evidence & Drawing Inferences — Precision Text Quotation
I can cite specific textual evidence to support answers about a text.
RL.6.1 · RI.6.1
Skill 1 — Precision Text Quotation
• When reading your next chapter book, practice answering questions only with the direct quotations from the story or text.
When (plot point) happened, what did (main character) do? Find your answer in the book and read it back to me.
• The Information Text Generator is a great place to practice this together or as they answer the questions independently.
It's good to use sentences starters like "According to the text" and "In chapter 7"
Informational Text GeneratorUse our Informational Text Generator to create a grade-level nonfiction passage on a topic they like.
L10Language
Exploring Sentence Variety — Recognizing Fragments
I can recognize and revise sentence fragments to write complete thoughts.
L.6.1 · L.6.3a
Skill 1 — Recognizing Fragments
A fragment is missing a subject, a verb, or a complete thought.
Running down the street. -> "She was running down the street."
• Use Listen and Write Generator to have them identify correct and incorrect sentences.
• After they write something for school or for this notebook, always have them look for fragments.
Use our Listen & Write Generator for grade-level dictation words, sentences, and paragraphs read aloud.
P3Projects
Weather Station
Track daily temperature and precipitation data, plot readings on a negative-number coordinate grid, calculate measures of center and variability, and apply fraction division to precipitation totals.
6.NS.C.5 · 6.NS.C.6 · 6.NS.C.8 · 6.NS.A.1 · 6.SP.A.2 · 6.SP.A.3 · 6.SP.B.5
Card A — Tracking Negative Numbers on a Coordinate Grid
Look up a real record low temperature for your region (or a cold-climate city) and model recording it as a negative number (e.g., -8°F). Plot the day number (x-axis) against the temperature (y-axis, including negative values) on a 4-quadrant coordinate grid.
Have your child record the daily high temperature for 10 consecutive days (real data from a weather app, or historical data for a chosen city), plotting each day’s temperature as a coordinate point. Ask them to identify the two days farthest apart in temperature using absolute value.
Card B — Measures of Center & Variability
Using the 10-day temperature data set, model calculating the mean, median, and range. Explain what the range tells us about how much the temperature varied across the ten days.
Have your child calculate the mean and median of their own data set, then write one sentence comparing the two grades of the week that were “most typical” and one that was an outlier, using their statistics as evidence.
SEL 1SEL
Social Dynamics & Rumor Spreading
I know how to navigate gossip and rumors responsibly.
Look at the image. Marcus overhears two classmates sharing a rumor about a friend in the hallway between periods. They turn to Marcus and ask, "Did you hear about that?"
What are the social risks Marcus faces whether he agrees, stays quiet, or counters the rumor?
Why do rumors spread so quickly in middle school, and what damage do they cause to individuals and school culture?
How can Marcus redirect the conversation or walk away without creating unnecessary conflict?
How do you decide when to step in vs. when to distance yourself from gossip?
How the Learning Targets Connect Long Term
As you get more comfortable with where your student sits in their grade level’s learning targets, you may want to explore the grade above or below. It’s good to see what they have learned so far, and where they are going. Try our Learning Target Maps below:
Coherence map, kindergarten through 6th grade
Math: how skills connect
Pick a domain and a grade to see the year before, this year, and next year side by side. Tap one or more standards to light up how they connect.
Domain
Grade
Standards are the Common Core State Standards, K–6 (© 2010 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers). Plain-language wording is a family-friendly summary; the code with each one points to the official text.
Coherence map, kindergarten through 6th grade
Reading & Language: how skills connect
Pick a domain and a grade to see the year before, this year, and next year side by side. Tap one or more standards to light up how they connect.
Domain
Grade
Standards are the Common Core State Standards, K–6 (© 2010 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers). Plain-language wording is a family-friendly summary; the code with each one points to the official text.
Reading progresses at different levels for every kid. If you try our Literacy Screener using our Listen and Write Habit, you can place where they are along this journey and start having a real impact!