Disciplinary Core Ideas
Disciplinary Core Ideas are the science content itself. Grade 6 focuses on physical science, life science, Earth and space science, and engineering design.
What to master
Physical science: matter is made of particles too small to see; properties of matter; energy transfer and conservation; forces and motion (balanced vs. unbalanced forces). Life science: cells as the basic unit of life; body systems; ecosystems - producers, consumers, decomposers, food webs, and energy flow; inheritance and traits. Earth and space science: Earth's layers, plate tectonics, the rock cycle, water cycle, weather and climate, and the solar system with Earth's rotation and revolution. Engineering design: define a problem, design a solution, test it, and improve it.
Traps to watch for
- Confusing weather (short-term) with climate (long-term).
- Thinking energy is "used up" - it transfers and is conserved.
- Mixing up rotation (spin, causes day and night) and revolution (orbit, causes years).
- Reversing food-web arrows - arrows show the direction energy flows.
- Believing traits come only from one parent; traits come from both.
Rule of thumb
For food webs, follow the arrows toward the eater - energy moves from the organism being eaten to the one that eats it.
Worked example
In a food web, grass → rabbit → fox, energy flows from grass to rabbit to fox. If the rabbit population drops, the fox has less food and may decline, while the grass may increase - a chain of effects within the ecosystem.