Grade 6 Science: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 6 science in the Ontario Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- A1 STEM Investigation and Communication Skills: Use a scientific research process, a scientific experimentation process, and an engineering design process to conduct investigations, following appropriate health and safety procedures
- A2 Coding and Emerging Technologies: Use coding in investigations and to model concepts, and assess the impact of coding and of emerging technologies on everyday life and in STEM-related fields
- A3 Applications, Connections, and Contributions: Demonstrate an understanding of the practical applications of science and technology, and of contributions to science and technology from people with diverse lived experiences
- B1 Relating Science and Technology to Our Changing World: Assess the importance of biodiversity, and describe ways of protecting biodiversity
- B2 Exploring and Understanding Concepts: Demonstrate an understanding of biodiversity, its contributions to the stability of natural systems, and its benefits to humans
- C1 Relating Science and Technology to Our Changing World: Evaluate the impact of the use and generation of electrical energy on society and the environment, and suggest ways to use electrical energy responsibly
- C2 Exploring and Understanding Concepts: Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of electrical energy and its transformation into and from other forms of energy
- D1 Relating Science and Technology to Our Changing World: Assess the environmental impacts of flying machines
- D2 Exploring and Understanding Concepts: Demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which properties of air can be applied to the principles of flight and flying machines
- E1 Relating Science and Technology to Our Changing World: Assess the impact of space exploration on humans, society, and the environment
- E2 Exploring and Understanding Concepts: Demonstrate an understanding of the solar system, the phenomena that result from the movement of different bodies within it, and the technologies used in space exploration
Easy ways to practise science at home
- Turn everyday questions into investigations: “Which paper towel holds the most water?”
- Read a science news story together and ask what evidence it gives.
- Look up how a household machine works, such as a bike gear, a lamp or a fridge.
- Have your child draw and label a diagram of something they just learned.
What each unit covers
Sorting Living Things
Telling mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish apart, vertebrates from invertebrates, the kingdoms, and the levels of classification.
Biodiversity
Why a variety of life makes species and communities more resilient, how species depend on each other, and why biodiversity matters to people.
Protecting Biodiversity
How invasive species, habitat loss and climate change reduce biodiversity, why farmers rely on crop diversity, and what people can do to protect it.
Static Electricity
How rubbing moves electrons, why like charges repel and opposite charges attract, static sparks and lightning, and how static differs from current electricity.
Circuits
Conductors and insulators, what each part of a circuit does, and how series and parallel circuits behave and where each is used.
Making and Using Electricity
How electrical energy is made from other energy forms and changed back, the impacts of different ways of making it in Canada, and ways to use less.
Flight
The four forces of flight and how balanced and unbalanced forces change motion, how air makes flight possible, how birds, bats and insects fly, and the impacts of aviation.
Earth, Moon and Sun
Why we have day and night, seasons, Moon phases, eclipses and tides, and which bodies give off light and which reflect it.
Our Solar System
The planets in order, rocky versus giant planets, reading a table of planet data, moons, dwarf planets, comets and the asteroid belt.
Gravity and Space Tech
The difference between mass and weight, how gravity changes weight, how astronauts meet their needs in space, and how space technology helps us understand Earth and space.
Think Like a Scientist
Planning a fair test, working safely, design criteria and constraints, simple coding ideas such as conditions and variables, and how science and technology connect to careers and communities.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Level 1
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Level 2
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Level 3
- Has it! Level 3 is the provincial standard. Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Level 4
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Ontario report card guide.
Common questions
How can I help my Grade 6 child with science?
Turn everyday questions into investigations: “Which paper towel holds the most water?” Read a science news story together and ask what evidence it gives. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
What does my child learn in Grade 6 science in Ontario?
The Ontario Curriculum Grade 6 science units include sorting living things, biodiversity, protecting biodiversity, static electricity, circuits, making and using electricity.
Free printable Grade 6 science practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.