Grade 6
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Language
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Reading: Informational
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Reading: Literature
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Speaking & Listening
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Writing
CCSS ELA Standard: 6.SL.1
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
Order and Chaos: Recipe or Instinct?
Two cooks make the same dinner. One follows the recipe to the exact gram. The other just throws things in by feel. Whose food turns out better — the ordered cook or the chaotic cook?
Order and Chaos: The Perfect Heartbeat
A heartbeat sounds steady, but a perfectly regular one is a warning sign — healthy hearts speed up and slow down a little. Is a healthy heart ordered or chaotic?
Order and Chaos: The Shuffle
Shuffling follows exact steps to make cards random. Are you creating chaos, or doing something very orderly?
Order and Chaos: No Traffic Lights
One town runs its intersections with signals. Another has no lights at all — drivers just work it out. Which town’s traffic is more orderly?
Order and Chaos: The Snowflake
A snowflake always has six sides, yet no two have ever matched. Is a snowflake order, or chaos?
Systems: Grandpa’s Axe
Grandpa’s axe broke, so he put on a new head. Years later the handle cracked, so he replaced that too. Now no original piece is left. Is it still the same axe, or a new one?
Systems: The Thermostat
A thermostat fights to keep a room the same — open a window and it just cranks the heat to undo you. In a system that pushes back like that, can you ever really change just one thing?
Systems: Watch vs. Forest
A watch stops dead if one tiny gear breaks. A forest can lose a whole species and barely notice. Which is the better-built system — the one where every part matters, or the one where no part is essential?
Systems: The Traffic Jam
Picture a jam where no one crashed and no one even stopped on purpose — everyone crawls for an hour, then it clears for no reason. Did anyone actually cause this traffic jam?
Systems: Pull One Thread
A sweater is really one long thread looped a thousand times. Pull the right loose end and the whole thing unravels in seconds. So is a system like that strong or fragile?
Change: The Caterpillar’s Bargain
To become a butterfly, a caterpillar doesn’t just sprout wings — inside the cocoon it dissolves into liquid first, almost nothing left, then rebuilds. Would you trade everything you are now to become something far greater?
Change: The Sealed Jar
You love a flower so much you seal it in a jar to keep it exactly as it is, forever. A month later it’s brown and crumbling. Did sealing it stop the change, or just hide it?
Change: The Tree’s Scar
A nail got hammered into a young tree. The tree didn’t push it out — it grew around it, sealing the nail inside a knot of new wood. Was that change the tree healing, or the tree getting damaged?
Change: One Domino
You nudge one domino. It tips the next, which tips two more, which tip four, until a thousand have fallen. Did you cause one change, or a thousand?
Change: Canyon vs. Earthquake
It took a river six million years to carve the Grand Canyon. An earthquake can drop a cliff into the sea in ten seconds. Which one changed the land more — the slow river or the fast quake?
What’s In My Brain: Ramp vs Bike
Two columns. One is an example, one isn’t. Can you figure out the hidden rule before the big reveal?
What’s In My Brain: Grass vs Mold
Two columns. One is an example, one isn’t. Can you figure out the hidden rule before the big reveal?
Chaos Can Be Positive or Negative
Sometimes we want order, but sometimes we need chaos!
Power Can Be Fast, Slow, Loud, or Quiet
Power may seem loud and fast, but it can also be slow and quiet.
What’s In My Brain: Inventions vs Discovery
Two columns. One is an example, one isn’t. Can you figure out the hidden rule before the big reveal?
What’s In My Brain: Paperclip vs Straw
Two columns. One is an example, one isn’t. Can you figure out the hidden rule before the big reveal?
What’s In My Brain: Lion vs Bear
Two columns. One is an example, one isn’t. Can you figure out the hidden rule before the big reveal?
What’s In My Brain: Guinea Pig vs Potbelly
What do guinea pigs, shooting stars, and seahorses have in common? They’re all misnomers!
What’s In My Brain: Spain vs Germany
One column is an example. The other isn’t. Can your students figure out the hidden rule before the reveal?
What’s In My Brain: Pentagon vs Pentagon
We’re looking at regular vs irregular polygons.
What’s In My Brain: Austin vs Los Angeles
We’re looking at capital cities.
What’s In My Brain: Italy vs Normandy
We’re looking at countries vs states (and other smaller regions).
What’s In My Brain: Coral vs Water Lilies
Let’s look at saltwater vs freshwater organisms.
What’s In My Brain: Tree vs Tree
Let’s look at deciduous vs coniferous trees.
New Uses For A Cardboard Tube
So, what can a cardboard tube be used for other than holding wrapping paper?
What’s In My Brain: Ball vs Book
Let’s look at Kinetic vs Potential Energy!
What’s In My Brain: Crocodile vs Tree Frog
Is it a reptile or an amphibian?
What’s In My Brain: Narwhal vs Penguin
We’re looking at the arctic vs the antarctic.
Slow Motion Popcorn
What surprises can you spot when a kernel pops in super slow-mo?
New Uses For A Chair
So, what can a chair be used for other than, you know, sitting in?
New Uses For A Pencil
So, what can a pencil be used for other than writing and drawing?
New Uses For An Aluminum Can
So, what CAN a CAN be used for other than storing liquids?
Phrases to Join a Discussion
Want your classroom discussions to go a bit more smoothly? Train students to use a few simple phrases and it’ll make all the difference in the world.
Categorize and Re-Categorize Countries
Put these countries into groups. Then do it again. Then… do it one more time. How does re-re-grouping the same places reveal new patterns and give new insights?
Categorize and Re-Categorize Animals
Put these animals into groups. Then do it again. Then… do it one more time. How does re-re-grouping the same creatures reveal new patterns and give new insights?
What’s In My Brain!? Japan vs Jamaica
Is it an island or an archipelago?
Discussing An Important Decision from History
How would people with two different perspectives discuss a decision from history?
What’s In My Brain!? Gold vs Wood
Some of these examples are conductors and some are insulators!
What’s In My Brain!? Walnut vs Clouds
Let’s look at living vs non-living things.
Concept Attainment: Hornet vs Tiger
Can your class spot the vertebrates vs invertebrates?
What’s In My Brain: Owl vs Eagle
Some of these animals are nocturnal and some are diurnal.
Concept Attainment: Art
Can your students tell the difference between cubism and abstract art?
Paradox: Rebuilding A Ship
What if we completely rebuild something slowly? What if we completely rebuild it all at once? Is it still the same thing?
Order Can Be Natural or Constructed
When is order natural and when is it designed by people?
Invisible Power Can Have Visible Effects
Can you think of times when power is unseen, but we can clearly see its effects?
What’s In My Brain: May vs May
The word “may” can be used for possibility or permission. It’s a modal auxiliary verb!
What’s In My Brain: Cute Baby vs Fast Cheetah
Can students spot similes vs metaphors?
What’s In My Brain – Independent vs Dependent
These clauses are sorted into two groups. What’s the rule? No definitions given — just examples.
Simple or Compound Sentences – What’s In My Brain?
Can your students spot simple sentences vs compound sentences?
Run On or Not? – What’s In My Brain
Can your students spot the run-on sentences?
Paradox: The Barber’s Paradox
The barber shaves everybody who doesn’t themselves. So… does the barber shave himself?
What’s In My Brain: Progressive vs Simple Tenses
Will your students notice progressive tense vs simple tense?
Paradox: Crocodile Dilemma
A crocodile makes a deal. But the deal creates a paradox. Can your students untangle a 2,000-year-old logic puzzle?