Science and Technology

In this unit you will explore biodiversity, the amazing variety of life on Earth. You will see biodiversity at three levels: within species, among species in a community, and among communities and habitats. You will learn how scientists classify living things from kingdom to species, and use distinguishing characteristics to sort animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms. You will discover why variety helps species survive and keeps communities resilient, and how interrelationships like pollination, predation and partnerships sustain biodiversity. You will investigate how invasive species and climate change reduce biodiversity, and how biodiversity supports agriculture, including Indigenous agriculture in Canada and around the world. Finally, you will assess the benefits of biodiversity and the consequences of losing it, and plan and take action on a local issue.

Remember from earlier grades: in Grade 4 you learned about habitats, communities, food chains and food webs, adaptations and the impact of people on habitats. Grade 6 builds on that to look at the whole variety of life and how to protect it.

Along the way you will work like a scientist, engineer and coder: running a bioblitz, measuring variation, testing mould growth and ice melting with fair tests, coding a dichotomous key and a predator–prey model, designing a boot-cleaning station to stop invasive seeds, researching with reliable sources, and taking real action in your community.

Curriculum expectations covered: B1.1, B1.2, B2.1, B2.2, B2.3, B2.4, B2.5, B2.6, B2.7, B2.8, A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A1.4, A1.5, A2.1, A2.2, A3.1, A3.2, A3.3 (Ontario Science and Technology, Grade 6, 2022).

In this unit you will explore electricity. You will explain static electricity using tiny charged particles called electrons, and find out why you get zapped by a doorknob in January and how lightning works. You will compare static electricity with current electricity, the steady flow that powers flashlights and fridges. You will build a safe tester to sort conductors and insulators, learn the job of each part of a circuit, read and draw circuit diagrams, and compare series and parallel circuits.

Then you will follow the energy: how hydroelectric dams, wind turbines, nuclear and natural gas stations, solar panels and batteries make electrical energy, and how devices transform it into light, heat, sound and motion. Finally, you will assess the impacts of making electricity in Canada, on society, the environment, First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities and the climate, and find ways to use less electricity and advocate for change at school.

Remember from Grade 3: static electricity can push and pull without touching. Remember from Grade 5: the forms of energy, energy chains, and renewable and non-renewable sources. Safety first: every experiment uses only small AA, AAA or 9 V batteries, never wall outlets. Never short-circuit a battery (connecting its two ends without a bulb in the path): the wire and battery get hot.

Curriculum expectations covered: C1.1, C1.2, C2.1, C2.2, C2.3, C2.4, C2.5, C2.6, C2.7 (Ontario Science and Technology, Grade 6, 2022, Strand C: Matter and Energy: Electrical Phenomena, Energy, and Devices), with STEM skills and connections from Strand A (A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A1.4, A1.5, A2.1, A2.2, A3.1, A3.2, A3.3).

In this unit you will find out how things fly, from a maple key spinning to the ground to a jumbo jet crossing the ocean. You will start with air itself: it takes up space, has mass, can be compressed, expands when heated, pushes in all directions and resists things moving through it. You will see how hot-air balloons, parachutes, kites and planes use these properties of air.

Then you will learn the four forces of flight (lift, weight, thrust and drag) and how they work together. You will find out how a wing really makes lift, by turning air downward, and why the popular "equal transit time" explanation is a myth. You will see how pilots, birds and insects use balanced and unbalanced forces to take off, cruise, turn, hover and land, and how designers change the forces with wing size, engines, materials and streamlining. You will study the adaptations of birds, bats, insects, gliding squirrels and wind-borne seeds.

Finally, you will assess how aviation affects people near and far (including fly-in First Nations communities in Northern Ontario) and the environment, meet Canadian aircraft engineer Elsie MacGill, and use the engineering design process to build and improve your own glider.

Remember from earlier grades: In Grade 2 you learned that air takes up space, has mass and moves as wind. In Grade 3 you learned about forces, gravity and balanced and unbalanced forces. In Grade 5 you learned that gases can be compressed. Grade 6 puts these ideas together to explain flight.

Every lesson has a hands-on activity using things from home, lots of practice and a short quiz.

Curriculum expectations covered: D1, D1.1, D2.1 to D2.5 (Ontario Science and Technology, Grade 6, 2022, Strand D: Structures and Mechanisms, topic: Flight), with STEM skills and connections from Strand A (A1.1 to A1.5, A2.1, A2.2, A3.1, A3.2, A3.3).

In this unit you will travel through the solar system. You will meet the Sun and the eight planets, then the smaller members: moons, asteroids, comets and meteoroids. You will sort bodies that emit light (stars) from those that reflect it (planets, moons and more), and learn the difference between mass and weight, and how gravity changes your weight on the Moon, Mars and Jupiter (you will even code a weight calculator).

Next you will use the motions of Earth, the Moon and the Sun to explain day and night, years, seasons, Moon phases, eclipses and tides, and see how the Ojibwe read the seasons in the stars. You will explore the technology that lets us explore space, including Canada's contributions from Alouette 1 and the Canadarm to Jeremy Hansen's 2026 trip around the Moon, and find out how astronauts meet their physical, social and emotional needs while living in space. Finally, you will see how satellites help us understand our changing planet and climate, and evaluate the benefits and costs of space exploration from different perspectives, including Inuit and Ojibwe sky knowledge.

Remember from Grade 1: Earth's spinning gives us day and night. Remember from Grade 4: the Moon reflects light from the Sun. Every lesson has a hands-on activity using things from home, safety notes, practice questions and a short quiz. Safety first: never look at the Sun, directly or through binoculars, a telescope, a camera or sunglasses.

Curriculum expectations covered: E1.1, E1.2, E1.3, E2.1, E2.2, E2.3, E2.4, E2.5, E2.6 (Ontario Science and Technology, Grade 6, 2022, Strand E: Earth and Space Systems, Space), with STEM skills and connections from Strand A (A1.1, A1.2, A1.3, A1.4, A1.5, A2.1, A2.2, A3.1, A3.2, A3.3).