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Waldorf Curriculum Sixth Grade

Leo Migdal
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waldorf curriculum sixth grade

Awakening critical thinking through logic and discovery In Waldorf sixth grade, students stand at the threshold of early adolescence. At this age, their thinking becomes more logical and analytical, yet their moral view of the world is still largely shaped by clear definitions of right and wrong. This developmental stage craves structure, fairness, and clarity—making it an ideal time to introduce subjects that offer both intellectual challenge and ethical reflection. The sixth grade Waldorf curriculum is designed to meet these needs with a strong emphasis on logic, lawfulness, and order. Students engage with business math, geometric drawing, and the introduction of algebraic equations—subjects that satisfy their growing ability to reason and appreciate structure.

In the sciences, students explore physics, geology, and botany through hands-on experiments and observation, laying the groundwork for scientific thinking rooted in experience. The humanities curriculum spans a wide arc of history—from ancient Rome to medieval Europe, the Crusades, and the rise of Islam—offering rich cultural context while engaging their strong sense of justice and inquiry into... Writing becomes more advanced with a focus on expository, descriptive, and narrative forms, strengthening students' ability to articulate their ideas with clarity and purpose. Geography expands to include the continents of North and South America, helping students develop a global perspective and deeper understanding of their place in the world. I've been sharing my notes since 2005. Click on my picture to help support my work.

Thank you! If you can only afford the essentials, these are the two things -- and the only 2 things -- that you need to develop your homeschool curriculum. Both of these resources cover grades 1 through 12. (And, don't worry, you can still do a FANTASTIC job!) The Educational Tasks & Content of the Steiner Waldorf Curriculum The harmonious balanced Greek period is ending a willful, muscular Roman period beginning.

At this time, there is a false dawn of intellectual consciousness as the child's feeling perception passes over to the world of ideas. This is not the same as the critical, independent thinking and judging that will come after the age of fourteen: it is instead a feeling approach to thinking. The work with whole numbers and fractions and decimals from the previous year continues, but now it is expanded to include percentage. Business math creates a practical context for these mathematical concepts and provides a transition into an introduction to algebra. The geometrical constructions which were done free-hand last year, are now made with a compass and a ruler. Students learn the importance of precision and some basic geometrical constructions, like bisecting a line and an angle, as they create beautiful artistic geometrical forms.

"A new phase in the structure and methodology of instruction begins with the sixth grade. From now on the child needs to be focused on the outer world in a very different manner. In conversation one can connect interest calculation with the monetary system, today's credit system and questions of the social threefold order. . . .

Against this social background the interest formula ceases to be purely mathematical and becomes a social matter. The essence of an algebraic formula, of "letter calculation," is the articulation of a concept of connections conforming to some law. This lays the foundation for conceptual thinking." Ernst Schuberth, Mathematics Lessons for the Sixth Grade "As the children approach puberty their feeling life expands in all ways. Mathematics can offer an important support in this stage of life.

Their own subjective opinions and ideas are not required! Mathematics attracts their attention not only to the numerical material but especially to their own thinking. If the pupils manage to become confident and secure with mathematical laws, they learn self-confidence. When this is achieved the young people are on the way to the most important aim in mathematics teaching: that of gaining trust in thinking." In 6th Grade students are on the threshold of a new developmental phase. The children say goodbye to a younger stage of childhood and greet a new paradigm, a decisive moment in their development.

They now take initial steps toward regulating the swings of emotion that accompany the approach of adolescence. Structure and form in 6th Grade curriculum provide much-needed balance for the students’ polarities of feeling, e.g. joy and sorrow, calm and frustration, etc. Students begin the journey of forging their own path in life. This requires an adept discerning capacity that will eventually, from the age of about fourteen onwards, yield a strengthened capacity for thinking. At this time, however, the students’ evolving capacity for critical thinking is in the initial stages — the dawning intellect can be noted in their insightful answers and ability to truly understand cause and...

6th Grade students are often interested in establishing structure and order, and in finding lawful relationships; the study of Rome and the medieval times are the perfect backdrop to explore these themes. The mood of the Middle Ages, with a focus on cloistered monks and chivalry, satisfies the 6th Grader’s quest for beauty, contemplation, and justice. They look for lawfulness in the heavens through a study of astronomy, and then delve into the structure and make-up of the earth as they study mineralogy. In physics, the 6th Graders study acoustics, heat, and optics. The dynamics of light, dark, and color are further explored through painting and charcoal drawing. The study of physical world geography help students see patterns in the geographic distribution of biomes and how the natural forces such as climate, ocean and wind currents, plate tectonics, erosion, etc.

influence the physical environment. Language arts focuses on the rules and laws of grammar, while math focuses on business math and percentages. Artistic Expressions of Academic Learning Parts of sentences (subject, predicate, direct object, indirect object) In sixth grade, the 11/12 year-old is usually beginning to experience the onset of puberty. Growth happens at an increasingly rapid rate and the child often goes through a time of alarm, not recognizing who he or she is anymore.

Just as a single example, somewhere during the time of puberty a girl’s larynx grows to three times its original size and a boy’s, seven times its original size. This growth rate will never be repeated in the life span of human development. Along with this physical growth comes a wonderful burst of new capacities of judgement. Sixth graders can be very fine company, capable of interesting insight and discussion. However, it is important to keep in mind that they are still children. Rome is the literary/cultural focus of the curriculum in grade 6.

Lawfulness becomes an important anchor for the sixth grader. Clear structure, consequences for law breaking, and contracts for increasing responsibility are the best for helping a child through the difficult range of feelings that burst forth at this age. Keeping the child energetically concentrated on the work of learning is therapeutic and teaches the child that work helps tangled feelings move forward and lighten. To listen sympathetically to the upsets inevitable at this time, and then to re-focus on work to be done constitutes good practice for these youngsters. They are relying on adults for this. “Contracts toward increasing responsibility,” is a good “slogan” for sixth graders: once work is completed, negotiations and privileges can begin!Download a PDF of Grade 6 Book Recommendations

A Handbook for Waldorf Class Teachers Kevin Avison Awakening Intelligence Magda Lisseau Evaluation, Homework, and Teacher’s Support David Mitchell, ed. Finding Your Self Torin Finser From Images to Thinking David Mitchell, ed.Growing Up Healthy in a World of Digital Media Michaela Glöckler Immersion Learning: A Travelogue Frans Lutters Leaving Room for the Angels Reg... MüllerThe Temperaments and the Arts Magda Lissau Working with Anxious, Nervous, and Depressed Children Henning Koehler and Joseph Baily Developing the Observing Eye Cynthia Lange Difficult Children: There Is No Such Thing Henning Koehler and Joseph BaileyEducating the Will Michael HowardHelping Children on Their Way Elizabeth AuerLearning about the World through Modeling Arthur... Raphael: The Mysteries of Illness and Healing Michaela Glöckler, M.D. The Four Temperaments Helmut EllerWill-Developed Intelligence Patricia Livingston and David MitchellWorking with Anxious, Nervous, and Depressed Children Henning Koehler and Joseph Baily

Adventures in Parenting Rachel Ross Assessment for Learning in Waldorf Classrooms Sara Ciborski & Helen-Ann Ireland Child Development at a Glance Christian Breme Into the World: How Waldorf Graduates Fare after High School, Douglas... 6th Grade A Polar Experience Student Essay 6th Grade Acoustic Demonstration Student Page 6th Grade Active and Passive Voice Lesson 6th Grade All That Glitters Guide: The Splendor of Gems and Minerals 6th Grade Ancient Asia Main Lesson Book Hidden China Essay

Join us for an exciting year of Waldorf sixth-grade with Earthschooling complete curriculum packages and/or Living Lessons with Waldorf Teacher Nicholas Andrea. We provide everything you need to teach sixth-grade! There will be no need to purchase additional books or resources. <img decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-112311 size-thumbnail" src="https://earthschooling.info/thebearthinstitute/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2025-Award-Seal-150x150.png" alt="" width="150" height="150" srcset="https://earthschooling.info/thebearthinstitute/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2025-Award-Seal-150x150.png 150w, https://earthschooling.info/thebearthinstitute/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2025-Award-Seal-300x300.png 300w, https://earthschooling.info/thebearthinstitute/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2025-Award-Seal-75x75.png 75w, https://earthschooling.info/thebearthinstitute/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2025-Award-Seal-180x180.png 180w, https://earthschooling.info/thebearthinstitute/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2025-Award-Seal.png 500w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> <img decoding="async" src="https://earthschooling.info/thebearthinstitute/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2024-WINNER-PNG-250w-150x150.png" alt="" width="150" height="150" class="alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-112714" srcset="https://earthschooling.info/thebearthinstitute/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2024-WINNER-PNG-250w-150x150.png... Your purchase of Live Education! curriculum includes basic telephone and email support, a more in-depth consultation later in the year, and access to the on-line Community Center, where members can connect in the real world through the community directory...

Introduction to the Sixth Grade Year Description This overview book provides the teacher with the daily schedule as well as the block rotation for the entire year. There is a section devoted to understanding the adolescent years that the student is now entering, as well as reading lists for independent study and lists of the… Heat, Light and Sound – Introduction to Physics Description This teacher manual introduces the student to the first physics principles within the realm of acoustics, light, and warmth. It is cast into a phenomenological approach, where one witnesses simple phenomena in physics without the prejudice of a preformed hypothesis. Did you know that light is… Nature, Number, and Geometry Description In this fascinating study the student learns of the intrinsic geometrical structure in many of nature’s forms.

Throughout the centuries this discipline has been known as the study of sacred geometry. The student will gain facility with compass, triangle, and straight edge as he/she learns the structure and properties of… Astronomy Description The Live Education book on astronomy is divided into two parts: the first part is presented in the sixth grade and familiarizes the students with naked eye observations of the principal constellations... The second part is useful for the seventh grade in… I'm so pleased to begin offering my sixth grade materials! It all starts with my collection of essential sixth grade documents.In this packet you’ll find my most essential Waldorf Grade Six documents.

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In the sciences, students explore physics, geology, and botany through hands-on experiments and observation, laying the groundwork for scientific thinking rooted in experience. The humanities curriculum spans a wide arc of history—from ancient Rome to medieval Europe, the Crusades, and the rise of Islam—offering rich cultural context while engaging their strong sense of justice and inquiry into......

Thank You! If You Can Only Afford The Essentials, These

Thank you! If you can only afford the essentials, these are the two things -- and the only 2 things -- that you need to develop your homeschool curriculum. Both of these resources cover grades 1 through 12. (And, don't worry, you can still do a FANTASTIC job!) The Educational Tasks & Content of the Steiner Waldorf Curriculum The harmonious balanced Greek period is ending a willful, muscular Roman ...

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"A new phase in the structure and methodology of instruction begins with the sixth grade. From now on the child needs to be focused on the outer world in a very different manner. In conversation one can connect interest calculation with the monetary system, today's credit system and questions of the social threefold order. . . .