Scope and sequence · Science
Grade 6 Earth Science: The Dynamic Earth
A year of true stories about a restless planet, from Inge Lehmann listening to earthquake waves bend around the core and Alfred Wegener matching the coastlines of Africa and South America to Vesuvius, Krakatoa, the Lisbon earthquake, the island of Surtsey rising from the sea, Niagara Falls walking upstream and J Harlen Bretz reading the flood-scoured scablands of Washington, each one taken apart to see how it works and then measured, modeled and recorded at the kitchen table.
School Launch is a free helpful tool, not an accredited school or curriculum provider. It does not issue credits, transcripts, diplomas or grades of record. Parents and schools are responsible for meeting their own state or local requirements. More
What to cover
32 of 36 lessons are MUST COVER. They are tested on the unit tests and exams, or are skills the SAT/ACT relies on. OPTIONAL lessons are enrichment. Do them if time allows. The course is complete when the MUST COVER lessons are done.
Unit 1: Inside the Earth
- MUST COVER 1.1 Seismic Waves Reveal the Core: Inge Lehmann, 1936 ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 1.2 Crust, Mantle and Core: A Model of the Earth · unit test
- MUST COVER 1.3 Magnetism and the Compass · unit test
- MUST COVER 1.4 Earth’s Magnetic Field Is Getting Weaker · unit test
Unit 2: Plates
- MUST COVER 2.1 Snider-Pellegrini’s Map (1858) and Wegener’s Idea (1912) ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 2.2 Puzzle Continents: Fitting the Pieces and Reading the Clues · unit test
- MUST COVER 2.3 Plate Boundaries: Where the Earth Moves · unit test
- MUST COVER 2.4 Catastrophic Plate Tectonics: John Baumgardner’s Flood Model · unit test
Unit 3: Volcanoes
- MUST COVER 3.1 Vesuvius and Pompeii, A.D. 79: Pliny Watches the Mountain ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 3.2 Krakatoa, 1883: The Loudest Sound in Recorded History ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 3.3 Volcano Types: The Mountain That Grew in a Cornfield · unit test
- MUST COVER 3.4 New Rock in Days: Surtsey, 1963 · unit test
Unit 4: Earthquakes
- MUST COVER 4.1 Lisbon (1755): The Earthquake That Started a Science ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 4.2 Richter and Moment Magnitude: Measuring the Size of an Earthquake · unit test
- MUST COVER 4.3 Seismographs: Catching the Earth’s Trembling on Paper · unit test
- MUST COVER 4.4 Tsunamis: The Harbor Wave · unit test
Unit 5: Mountains
- MUST COVER 5.1 Folding and Faulting: How Rock Bends and Breaks ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 5.2 Bent Rock Layers Without Cracking: The Sideling Hill Syncline ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 5.3 The Himalaya: Where India Pushes into Asia · unit test
- MUST COVER 5.4 Fossil Seashells on Mountaintops (Psalm 104:8) · unit test
Unit 6: Erosion and Deposition
- MUST COVER 6.1 Niagara Falls Retreats: Lyell and Hall Measure a Waterfall, 1841–1842 ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 6.2 Deltas: Herodotus Reads the Nile, about 450 B.C. · unit test
- MUST COVER 6.3 Wind and Sand: Ralph Bagnold in the Libyan Desert, 1929–1941 · unit test
- MUST COVER 6.4 Rapid Canyon Carving: Mount St. Helens (1982) and Canyon Lake Gorge, Texas (2002) · unit test
Unit 7: Catastrophes
- MUST COVER 7.1 The Channeled Scablands and J Harlen Bretz ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 7.2 Fossil Graveyards: Earl Douglass at Dinosaur National Monument · unit test
- MUST COVER 7.3 Catastrophism versus Uniformitarianism: Hutton, Cuvier and Lyell · unit test
- MUST COVER 7.4 Genesis 7–8 as a Catastrophe: The Flood Year, Day by Day · unit test
Unit 8: Hazards and Engineering
- MUST COVER 8.1 Earthquake-Proof Buildings: The Steel Ball in Taipei 101 ★ · unit test
- MUST COVER 8.2 Volcano Monitoring: Reading Pinatubo’s Signs, 1991 · unit test
- MUST COVER 8.3 Landslides: The Mountain That Moved at Frank, 1903 · unit test
- MUST COVER 8.4 Family Preparedness: The Children of Kamaishi, 2011 · unit test
Unit 9: Bonus: Field Lab OPTIONAL unit
- OPTIONAL 9.1 Erosion Watch: Measuring Soil Loss in Your Own Yard
- OPTIONAL 9.2 Digging a Soil Pit: Reading the Horizons
- OPTIONAL 9.3 Local Hazard Map: Charting Where Water, Ground and Trees Could Go Wrong
- OPTIONAL 9.4 Visiting a Rock Outcrop: Reading Layers Like William Smith
36-week pacing calendar
From the course’s own 36-week pacing guide, with catch-up and review weeks added to fill a 36-week (180-day) year.
| Week | Plan | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | Session 1: Lesson 1.1 Seismic Waves Reveal the Core: Inge Lehmann, 1936: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 1.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 2 | Session 1: Lesson 1.2 Crust, Mantle and Core: A Model of the Earth: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 1.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 3 | Session 1: Lesson 1.3 Magnetism and the Compass: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 1.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 4 | Session 1: Lesson 1.4 Earth’s Magnetic Field Is Getting Weaker: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 1.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 1 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 5 | Session 1: Lesson 2.1 Snider-Pellegrini’s Map (1858) and Wegener’s Idea (1912): warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 2.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 6 | Session 1: Lesson 2.2 Puzzle Continents: Fitting the Pieces and Reading the Clues: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 2.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 7 | Session 1: Lesson 2.3 Plate Boundaries: Where the Earth Moves: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 2.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 8 | Session 1: Lesson 2.4 Catastrophic Plate Tectonics: John Baumgardner’s Flood Model: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 2.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 2 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 9 | Session 1: Lesson 3.1 Vesuvius and Pompeii, A.D. 79: Pliny Watches the Mountain: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 3.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 10 | Session 1: Lesson 3.2 Krakatoa, 1883: The Loudest Sound in Recorded History: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 3.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 11 | Session 1: Lesson 3.3 Volcano Types: The Mountain That Grew in a Cornfield: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 3.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 12 | Session 1: Lesson 3.4 New Rock in Days: Surtsey, 1963: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 3.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 3 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 13 | Session 1: Lesson 4.1 Lisbon (1755): The Earthquake That Started a Science: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 4.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 14 | Session 1: Lesson 4.2 Richter and Moment Magnitude: Measuring the Size of an Earthquake: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 4.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 15 | Session 1: Lesson 4.3 Seismographs: Catching the Earth’s Trembling on Paper: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 4.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 16 | Session 1: Lesson 4.4 Tsunamis: The Harbor Wave: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 4.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 4 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 17 | Session 1: Lesson 5.1 Folding and Faulting: How Rock Bends and Breaks: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 5.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 18 | Session 1: Lesson 5.2 Bent Rock Layers Without Cracking: The Sideling Hill Syncline: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 5.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 19 | Session 1: Lesson 5.3 The Himalaya: Where India Pushes into Asia: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 5.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 20 | Session 1: Lesson 5.4 Fossil Seashells on Mountaintops (Psalm 104:8): warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 5.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 5 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 21 | Session 1: Lesson 6.1 Niagara Falls Retreats: Lyell and Hall Measure a Waterfall, 1841–1842: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 6.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 22 | Session 1: Lesson 6.2 Deltas: Herodotus Reads the Nile, about 450 B.C.: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 6.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 23 | Session 1: Lesson 6.3 Wind and Sand: Ralph Bagnold in the Libyan Desert, 1929–1941: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 6.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 24 | Session 1: Lesson 6.4 Rapid Canyon Carving: Mount St. Helens (1982) and Canyon Lake Gorge, Texas (2002): warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 6.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 6 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 25 | Session 1: Lesson 7.1 The Channeled Scablands and J Harlen Bretz: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 7.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 26 | Session 1: Lesson 7.2 Fossil Graveyards: Earl Douglass at Dinosaur National Monument: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 7.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 27 | Session 1: Lesson 7.3 Catastrophism versus Uniformitarianism: Hutton, Cuvier and Lyell: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 7.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 28 | Session 1: Lesson 7.4 Genesis 7–8 as a Catastrophe: The Flood Year, Day by Day: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 7.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 7 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 29 | Session 1: Lesson 8.1 Earthquake-Proof Buildings: The Steel Ball in Taipei 101: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 8.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 30 | Session 1: Lesson 8.2 Volcano Monitoring: Reading Pinatubo’s Signs, 1991: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 8.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 31 | Session 1: Lesson 8.3 Landslides: The Mountain That Moved at Frank, 1903: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 8.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 32 | Session 1: Lesson 8.4 Family Preparedness: The Children of Kamaishi, 2011: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 8.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 8 review and unit project | ||
| Wk 33 | Session 1: Lesson 9.1 Erosion Watch: Measuring Soil Loss in Your Own Yard: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 9.1 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 34 | Session 1: Lesson 9.2 Digging a Soil Pit: Reading the Horizons: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 9.2 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 35 | Session 1: Lesson 9.3 Local Hazard Map: Charting Where Water, Ground and Trees Could Go Wrong: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 9.3 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook | ||
| Wk 36 | Session 1: Lesson 9.4 Visiting a Rock Outcrop: Reading Layers Like William Smith: warm-up, video, teaching and picture study Session 2: Lesson 9.4 experiment, worked examples, practice and notebook Session 3: Unit 9 review and unit project |
Grading: Unit tests (eight tests, 60 points each) 35%, Experiments (prediction, careful measurement, honest record and the improve-it step) 25%, Field notebook (dated pages, labeled units, graphs and diagrams) 20%, Unit projects 20%. Scale: A 90–100, B 80–89, C 70–79, D 60–69. Below 60: review the unit with help and retake the test or redo the project.