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6th Grade Take-Home Practice

Ratios, percents, negatives, variables and statistics — plus surviving five teachers at once.

Ages 11–12

What this year is really about

Grade 6 replaces arithmetic with relationships: ratios, rates, variables and distributions. The child who keeps asking "what does this number mean?" wins the year.

Thirty minutes, and increasingly self-directed. Your most useful contribution shifts from teaching to asking them to explain it back to you.

📚 21 topics⏱️ 30 min a day🖨️ No printing needed

🎒 All 21 take-homes 🗓️ The weekly rotation ✅ End-of-year checklist ⬇️ Download the PDF

A week that doesn't become a second school

30 minutes a day, one strand at a time. Skipping a day is fine — skipping the same strand every week is what causes gaps.

Monday
Ratios & percent
Three problems using a table or a bar model.
Tuesday
Reading & argument
One article: find the claim, the evidence, and one weakness.
Wednesday
Expressions & equations
Four problems, plus one written in words.
Thursday
Writing
One argument paragraph with a cited source.
Friday
Science, history & the week ahead
One investigation, then plan next week's deadlines.

Take it off the screen

The whole 6th Grade pack as a PDF — every topic, every check, every activity, with tick boxes and a date line so you can see what you have actually run. Free, no signup, and it works offline once it's saved.

Or just one subject

📖 Reading

Decoding, fluency, and understanding what was actually said.

3 topics this year

Tracing an argument: claim, reasons, evidence
Citing evidence precisely
Word choice, connotation and tone

✏️ Writing

Getting a thought out of the head and onto the page so a stranger understands it.

3 topics this year

The argument essay
Explaining something clearly
Revising for a reader

🔢 Math

Number sense first, then the procedures that ride on top of it.

8 topics this year

Ratios, rates and proportional reasoning
Percent as a ratio out of a hundred
Dividing fractions by fractions
Negative numbers and the number line
Expressions, variables and what a letter means
Solving equations by balancing
Statistics: mean, median, spread and what a graph hides
Area, surface area and nets

🔬 Science

Noticing, predicting, testing — and being willing to be wrong out loud.

3 topics this year

Cells, organs and body systems
Energy, heat transfer and insulation
Earth, moon, sun and the seasons

🌍 Social Studies

Maps, communities, history, and why people who were there disagree.

2 topics this year

Ancient civilisations and why they rose where they did
World geography, resources and trade

🧭 Study & Life Skills

Attention, organisation, and the habits that decide whether the rest lands.

2 topics this year

Tracking work across five teachers
Asking a teacher for help

Every 6th Grade topic, and what to do about it

Run the two-minute check first. If it passes, move on — you have just saved an evening. If it doesn't, the take-home underneath it is the fix.

0 of 21 done

📖 Reading
Tracing an argument: claim, reasons, evidence
Can do: Separates what an author claims, why they say it, and what evidence supports it — and spots when a step is missing.
Why it matters
Every essay they write and every article they read from here runs on this structure. Seeing it in others' writing is what makes it possible in their own.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Treats the whole article as "information" and can't say what it was trying to convince them of.
⏱️ Two-minute check
Give an opinion piece. "What's the claim? What are the two main reasons? Which reason is weakest?"
Solid looks like: Claim and reasons separated, and a judgement about the weak one.
20 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Argument Map
⏱️ 20 minutesAn opinion article or a YouTube videoPaper
1Write the claim in a box at the top.
2Draw branches for each reason given.
3Under each reason, note the evidence — and write "none" where there isn't any.
4Circle the branch with the weakest support and say why.
5Ask what evidence would change their mind. That question is the whole skill.
If it's too hard
One claim, two reasons, no evaluation.
If it's too easy
Map two opposing articles and decide which argument is genuinely stronger.
Say this
"What would have to be true for that argument to work? Did they show it?"
Reading practice
📖 Reading
Citing evidence precisely
Can do: Quotes the exact words that support a point, and explains the inference between quote and claim.
Why it matters
"Use evidence from the text" is the single most common instruction in middle school English, and vague evidence is the commonest reason marks are lost.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Refers to "the bit where he was sad" instead of quoting, or quotes an entire paragraph and hopes.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Prove the narrator doesn't trust her. Quote the shortest possible piece of text."
Solid looks like: A short, precise quote plus an explanation of the inference.
15 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Shortest Possible Quote
⏱️ 15 minutesAny textHighlighter
1Make a claim about the text together.
2They highlight the evidence, then challenge them to cut it shorter and shorter.
3Write it as: point, quote in quotation marks, then "this suggests…".
4Check the explanation adds something the quote doesn't literally say.
5Repeat with a claim they disagree with, so they must argue for a position that isn't theirs.
If it's too hard
You supply the claim and they find the evidence.
If it's too easy
Support a claim with evidence from two different parts of the text.
Say this
"Cut the quote in half. What's the smallest bit that still proves it?"
Reading practice
📖 Reading
Word choice, connotation and tone
Can do: Notices that words with similar meanings carry different feelings, and how that shapes a text.
Why it matters
It's how bias operates in writing. "Crowd" versus "mob" is the entire lesson, and it applies to every news story they'll ever read.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Reads word choice as neutral, so bias only registers when it's stated outright.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"What's the difference between calling a group a crowd, a gathering, or a mob?"
Solid looks like: Same denotation, different feeling, and an account of what each implies.
15 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Swap the Adjective
⏱️ 15 minutesA news articleA thesaurus or a phone
1Find five loaded words in a real article.
2Replace each with a neutral synonym and reread. How does the article feel now?
3Then replace with the opposite-loaded word and read it a third time.
4Discuss what the original word choice tells you about the writer's position.
5Do the same with two headlines about the same event from different outlets.
If it's too hard
Rank three synonyms from most positive to most negative.
If it's too easy
Rewrite a paragraph twice, biased in each direction, changing only word choice.
Say this
"Same event, different word. What did that word do to how you felt about it?"
Reading practice
✏️ Writing
The argument essay
Can do: Writes a thesis, supports it with evidence, addresses a counter-argument, and concludes.
Why it matters
This is the dominant form of assessed writing for the next decade. The counter-argument is what separates a persuasive essay from a rant.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Presents only their own side, or mentions the other side without ever answering it.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"What's the strongest argument against your position, and what's your answer to it?"
Solid looks like: A real opposing argument, fairly stated, then answered.
25 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Steelman First
⏱️ 25 minutesPaperA topic they care about
1Before writing their own side, they write the strongest possible version of the opposite view.
2Then write their thesis and two supporting paragraphs with evidence.
3Add a paragraph that quotes the opposing view and answers it directly.
4Check the conclusion says something new rather than repeating the introduction.
5Read it to someone who disagrees and see whether it holds.
If it's too hard
Thesis plus two reasons; add the counter-argument next time.
If it's too easy
Argue the side they don't hold, convincingly.
Say this
"Make the other side sound smart first. If you can't, you don't understand it yet."
Writing practice
✏️ Writing
Explaining something clearly
Can do: Writes an informative piece with clear organisation, defined terms and relevant examples.
Why it matters
Explaining is the test of understanding. Confused writing is nearly always confused thinking, and it's much easier to spot on paper.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Assumes the reader already knows the topic, so terms go undefined and the piece only makes sense to someone who didn't need it.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Explain how something works to someone who knows nothing about it."
Solid looks like: Terms defined on first use, and a logical order.
20 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Explain It to a Ten-Year-Old
⏱️ 20 minutesPaperA younger sibling or an imaginary one
1Pick something they genuinely understand — a game, a sport, a process from science.
2Write the explanation for someone four years younger.
3Circle every technical term and check each is defined the first time it appears.
4Add one analogy or example.
5Test it on an actual younger person and note exactly where they got lost.
If it's too hard
Explain one step of a process in a single paragraph.
If it's too easy
Explain something abstract — inflation, natural selection — without jargon.
Say this
"You used that word without explaining it. Would your cousin know what it means?"
Writing practice
✏️ Writing
Revising for a reader
Can do: Rereads as a reader rather than the writer, and cuts, reorders and sharpens accordingly.
Why it matters
By Grade 6, first drafts are no longer good enough for the marks available. The gap between draft and final is where the grade lives.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Revision means fixing spelling; the structure and clarity of the draft are treated as fixed.
⏱️ Two-minute check
Hand back their draft. "What are the two biggest changes that would improve this?"
Solid looks like: Two structural or clarity changes, not spelling.
20 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Read It Cold Tomorrow
⏱️ 20 minutesA draft written at least a day ago
1Leave the draft overnight. Distance is what makes revision possible.
2Read it aloud with a pencil and mark every place you stumble — stumbles are reader problems.
3Ask of each paragraph: what is this doing? Cut anything with no answer.
4Check the opening: does it earn the second sentence?
5Rewrite only the weakest paragraph rather than the whole thing.
If it's too hard
Focus only on the opening and closing sentences.
If it's too easy
Cut the piece by 20% without losing content. It always improves it.
Say this
"You stumbled reading your own sentence. That's not a reading problem — fix the sentence."
Writing practice
🔢 Math
Ratios, rates and proportional reasoning
Can do: Uses ratio tables and unit rates to solve problems, and knows when a situation is proportional.
Why it matters
Proportional reasoning is the most important idea in middle school maths — it underpins percent, scale, slope, similarity, density and speed.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Adds instead of scaling: if 3 pens cost $6, they think 5 pens cost $8 by adding 2.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"If 4 tickets cost $30, what do 10 cost?" and "Which is better value: 500 g for $3 or 800 g for $4.60?"
Solid looks like: $75, and the second with a unit rate calculated.
20 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Unit Price at the Shop
⏱️ 20 minutesSupermarket receipts or a shopping tripA calculator
1Take three products with different pack sizes and work out price per 100 g for each.
2Compare and decide which is actually the best value.
3Build a ratio table for one product: 1, 2, 5, 10 units, filling in prices.
4Ask what stays constant — the unit rate — and mark it on the table.
5Try a non-proportional situation, like a taxi with a flat fee, and see why the table breaks.
If it's too hard
Double and halve within a ratio table before jumping to arbitrary values.
If it's too easy
Compare three products in different units, and handle a special offer that breaks proportionality.
Say this
"What's the cost of exactly one? Once you have that, every other quantity is easy."
Math practice
🔢 Math
Percent as a ratio out of a hundred
Can do: Finds percentages, percent increase and decrease, and works backwards from a percentage to the whole.
Why it matters
Percent is the maths a child will actually use most as an adult — discounts, interest, tips, tax, statistics.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Can find 10% but nothing else; thinks a 20% rise followed by a 20% fall returns to the start.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"What's 15% of 60? A $40 coat has 25% off — what's the price? If 30% is 12, what's the whole?"
Solid looks like: 9, $30, and 40.
20 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Ten Percent Is Your Friend
⏱️ 20 minutesShop catalogues or a sale websitePaper
1Teach the anchor: 10% is dividing by ten. Everything else builds from it.
25% is half of that, 15% is 10 plus 5, 20% is 10 doubled.
3Work out real sale prices from a catalogue, mentally, then check with a calculator.
4Do the reverse: the sale price is $30 after 25% off, what was the original?
5Test the intuition trap: 20% up then 20% down, and calculate what actually happens.
If it's too hard
Multiples of 10% only, mentally.
If it's too easy
Compound percentages: two successive discounts, or interest over three years.
Say this
"Start with 10%. Now build the number you actually need out of that."
Grade 6 money lessons
🔢 Math
Dividing fractions by fractions
Can do: Divides fraction by fraction and can explain what the answer means, not just apply the rule.
Why it matters
The flip-and-multiply rule is easy to memorise and impossible to remember correctly if it never meant anything.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Flips the wrong fraction, or flips both, and has no way to tell that the answer is nonsense.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"3/4 ÷ 1/8?" Then: "What question does that answer, in words?"
Solid looks like: 6, and something like "how many eighths fit into three quarters".
20 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
How Many Fit Inside?
⏱️ 20 minutesFraction strips or drawn barsPaper
1Ask the question in words first: how many 1/8s fit inside 3/4?
2Draw it and count. Six. No rule needed.
3Do three more this way until the answers feel predictable.
4Only then introduce flip-and-multiply, and check it against the drawings.
5Estimate first every time: dividing by something less than one makes the answer bigger.
If it's too hard
Whole number divided by a unit fraction, drawn.
If it's too easy
Mixed numbers, and a word problem where the answer must be interpreted in context.
Say this
"Ask it in words: how many of these fit inside that? Now does your answer make sense?"
Math practice
🔢 Math
Negative numbers and the number line
Can do: Orders, adds and subtracts integers, and uses absolute value sensibly.
Why it matters
Negatives are the first numbers with no physical objects behind them, and a shaky grip here breaks algebra permanently.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Thinks −8 is bigger than −3 because 8 is bigger, and treats subtracting a negative as arbitrary.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Which is bigger, −8 or −3? What's −5 + 8? What's 3 − (−4)?"
Solid looks like: −3, 3, and 7 with some reasoning.
20 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Temperature and Bank Balance
⏱️ 20 minutesA drawn number lineWeather data or a bank statement
1Use a vertical number line like a thermometer. Colder is lower, and lower is smaller.
2Ask real questions: it was −5 and rose 8 degrees — what now?
3Use money: a balance of −20 and a deposit of 50.
4For subtracting a negative, use the debt story: removing a $4 debt makes you $4 better off.
5Play a game where moves can be positive or negative and track the running total.
If it's too hard
Ordering and simple addition on the line only.
If it's too easy
Multiplying and dividing negatives, and explaining why two negatives make a positive.
Say this
"Which one is colder? Colder is lower on the line — and lower means smaller."
Math practice
🔢 Math
Expressions, variables and what a letter means
Can do: Writes and evaluates expressions with variables, and knows a letter stands for a number, not a label.
Why it matters
The most damaging misconception in early algebra is that in 3a, a means apples. Fixing it now prevents years of confusion.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Reads 3a as three apples; can't evaluate 2n + 5 when n = 4 without a template.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"What does 3a mean? Evaluate 2n + 5 when n = 4. Write an expression for 'a number doubled then add 7'."
Solid looks like: Three times an unknown number, 13, and 2n + 7.
20 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
The Number in the Box
⏱️ 20 minutesPaperA box or an envelope with a number card inside
1Put a card with a hidden number in an envelope. That envelope is n.
2Write expressions about it: n + 3, 2n, n ÷ 2, and say each in words.
3Reveal the number and evaluate every expression.
4Change the number and re-evaluate. The expression stayed the same — that's the power of a variable.
5Translate word phrases into expressions and back again.
If it's too hard
Substitution into one-operation expressions only.
If it's too easy
Expressions with brackets and exponents, and translating multi-step word descriptions.
Say this
"a isn't apples — it's a number we don't know yet. Say the expression out loud in words."
Math practice
🔢 Math
Solving equations by balancing
Can do: Solves one- and two-step equations by doing the same thing to both sides, and checks the answer.
Why it matters
Balance is the idea that makes all equation solving coherent. Children taught "move it over and change the sign" have a rule that fails as soon as it's applied twice.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Moves terms across the equals sign by memorised rules and can't tell when they've broken the equation.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Solve 3x + 4 = 19. Now check your answer."
Solid looks like: x = 5, and they substitute back to verify.
20 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Keep the Scales Level
⏱️ 20 minutesPaperCoins and a cup as the unknown
1Model the equation with a cup (the unknown) and coins on two sides of a drawn balance.
2Whatever you remove, remove from both sides. Say it every time.
3Then divide both sides equally to find one cup's worth.
4Write the algebra alongside each physical move.
5Always substitute the answer back in. Checking is a habit, not an extra.
If it's too hard
One-step equations only, modelled physically.
If it's too easy
Variables on both sides, and equations with brackets.
Say this
"Whatever you do to one side, you do to the other. Otherwise the scales tip and it's not true any more."
Math practice
🔢 Math
Statistics: mean, median, spread and what a graph hides
Can do: Calculates mean, median and range, and chooses which measure describes a data set honestly.
Why it matters
Averages are the most misused numbers in public life. Knowing when a mean lies is a genuine life skill.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Uses the mean for everything and never notices that one huge value has dragged it away from the typical value.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Six people earn $30k and one earns $500k. What's the mean? The median? Which describes this group better?"
Solid looks like: Median chosen, with an explanation about the outlier.
20 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Whose Average Is It?
⏱️ 20 minutesReal data: family shoe sizes, house prices, sports statsPaper
1Collect a real data set of ten values.
2Calculate mean, median, mode and range.
3Add one enormous outlier and recalculate. Watch which measure moves.
4Draw a dot plot to see the shape of the data.
5Find a real headline using an average and ask which measure they used, and why.
If it's too hard
Five values, mean and range only.
If it's too easy
Compare two data sets with the same mean and different spreads, and describe the difference.
Say this
"The mean says one thing and the median says another. Which one describes a typical person here?"
Math practice
🔢 Math
Area, surface area and nets
Can do: Finds the area of triangles, parallelograms and composite shapes, and surface area from a net.
Why it matters
It moves geometry from a memorised formula list to reasoning about shapes — decomposing, rearranging, unfolding.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Forgets to halve for a triangle, uses a slanted side as the height, and confuses surface area with volume.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Area of a triangle with base 8 and height 5? Surface area of a 2×3×4 box?"
Solid looks like: 20 and 52, with units.
25 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Cut, Unfold, Measure
⏱️ 25 minutesPaperScissorsAn empty cereal boxRuler
1Cut a rectangle diagonally and see the two identical triangles — that's why we halve.
2Cut a parallelogram and rearrange it into a rectangle. Same area, easier shape.
3Unfold a cereal box completely flat. That's a net.
4Measure every face and total them for the surface area, then check for the pairs.
5Split an L-shaped room into rectangles and find its area.
If it's too hard
Rectangles and right triangles only.
If it's too easy
Composite 3-D shapes, and finding a missing dimension from a given area.
Say this
"The height has to be straight up from the base — not the slanted side. Where's the right angle?"
Math practice
🔬 Science
Cells, organs and body systems
Can do: Explains how cells build tissues, organs and systems, and how two systems work together.
Why it matters
Levels of organisation is the mental model all of biology hangs on, and it's the first time scale itself has to be reasoned about.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Knows the organs but not the levels, and treats each system as independent.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Put these in order: organ, cell, tissue, system. How do the lungs and the blood work together?"
Solid looks like: The correct order and one clear link between two systems.
25 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Follow the Oxygen
⏱️ 25 minutesPaperColoured pensA stopwatch
1Draw the journey of one oxygen molecule from air to a muscle cell and back as CO2.
2Label which system handles each stage.
3Measure resting pulse, then run up and down stairs and measure again.
4Explain the increase in terms of the whole chain of systems.
5Predict what happens to breathing rate too, then test it.
If it's too hard
Draw and label just the respiratory system.
If it's too easy
Add the nervous system's role in regulating the rate, and explain the feedback loop.
Say this
"Why did your heart rate go up? Trace it all the way back to what the muscle cells needed."
Science activities
🔬 Science
Energy, heat transfer and insulation
Can do: Distinguishes conduction, convection and radiation, and designs a fair test of insulation.
Why it matters
Heat transfer explains houses, cooking, clothing and climate — and it's genuinely testable with two mugs and a thermometer.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Thinks cold moves into things rather than heat moving out, and calls a jumper "warm" as if it produces heat.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Does a coat make you warm, or do something else? Why does a metal spoon feel colder than a wooden one at the same temperature?"
Solid looks like: The coat slows heat loss; metal conducts heat away from the hand faster.
30 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Keep the Water Hot
⏱️ 30 minutesIdentical mugs or jarsHot waterA thermometerFoil, cloth, paper, bubble wrap
1Fill identical containers with the same volume at the same starting temperature.
2Wrap each in a different material, leaving one bare as the control.
3Record temperature every five minutes for half an hour.
4Graph all the lines on one set of axes.
5Explain the winner in terms of trapped air and conduction, then predict the best combination and test it.
If it's too hard
Two containers, one insulated, four readings.
If it's too easy
Control for surface area and lid, and quantify the rate of cooling per minute.
Say this
"Cold isn't moving in. Heat is moving out. Which wrapping slowed it down most?"
Science practice
🔬 Science
Earth, moon, sun and the seasons
Can do: Explains day and night, moon phases and seasons using a model, not a memorised list.
Why it matters
The seasons are the most confidently misexplained topic in school science — most adults say "we're closer to the sun", which is wrong.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Attributes seasons to distance from the sun, and can't explain why the hemispheres are opposite.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Why is it hotter in summer? Why is it winter in Australia when it's summer here?"
Solid looks like: Axial tilt and the angle of sunlight, not distance.
25 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Torch and Globe
⏱️ 25 minutesA torchA ball or globeA tilted pencil through it if possible
1Tilt the globe and shine a torch from a fixed point. Carry the globe around the torch.
2Watch which hemisphere gets direct light at each position.
3Show the same light spread over a bigger area when it hits at an angle — that's the whole explanation.
4Use a smaller ball as the moon and orbit it to make the phases.
5Check moonrise times for the week and predict the phase, then look up and verify.
If it's too hard
Day and night with the torch and a rotating globe.
If it's too easy
Explain eclipses, and why they don't happen every month.
Say this
"Same torch, same distance. Watch what happens to the light when the surface tilts away."
Science practice
🌍 Social Studies
Ancient civilisations and why they rose where they did
Can do: Explains what early civilisations needed to develop, and compares two of them.
Why it matters
It shows history as a set of conditions and consequences rather than a parade of names and dates.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Remembers isolated facts — pyramids, pharaohs — with no framework connecting them.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Why did the first civilisations grow beside rivers?"
Solid looks like: Reliable water, farming surplus, transport — and the idea that surplus frees people from farming.
25 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Civilisation Checklist
⏱️ 25 minutesPaperA textbook or reliable site
1Build a checklist of what a civilisation needs: food surplus, water, government, writing, specialised jobs, trade.
2Score two civilisations against it using real evidence.
3Find where they differ and ask what geography explains.
4Ask what happened when the water failed — most collapses trace back to it.
5Compare the checklist to a modern city and see what's changed and what hasn't.
If it's too hard
One civilisation, four checklist items.
If it's too easy
Compare three, including one non-river civilisation, and explain the exception.
Say this
"What has to be true before anyone can be a scribe or a priest instead of a farmer?"
Social studies
🌍 Social Studies
World geography, resources and trade
Can do: Explains how resources and location shape a country's economy and its relationships.
Why it matters
It connects geography to news they'll hear all their lives — supply chains, oil, shipping, migration.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Sees countries as isolated units and can't explain why a distant event affects prices at home.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"Why is a chocolate bar cheap here when cocoa doesn't grow here?"
Solid looks like: Some account of trade, shipping and comparative advantage.
25 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Where Is Your Stuff From?
⏱️ 25 minutesClothing labels, food packetsA world mapString or pins
1Collect ten labels from around the house and note the country of origin.
2Mark each on a world map and draw the line to your home.
3Look for patterns: which products come from which regions, and why?
4Pick one item and research the actual journey it took.
5Discuss what would happen to the price if that route were blocked.
If it's too hard
Five labels, marked on a map.
If it's too easy
Trace one product's full supply chain across three countries and identify the risk points.
Say this
"Why is that made there and not here? What does that country have that we don't?"
Social studies practice
🧭 Study & Life Skills
Tracking work across five teachers
Can do: Keeps one system that captures every deadline from every subject, and checks it daily.
Why it matters
Middle school failure is far more often organisational than academic. Nobody is holding the whole picture for them any more.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Deadlines live in their head, work is remembered the night before, and "I didn't know it was due" becomes routine.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"What's due in the next seven days, in every subject?"
Solid looks like: A complete list, from one place rather than from memory.
15 minutes to set up, 5 minutes dailyDone this week
Do this at home
One Place for Everything
⏱️ 15 minutes to set up, 5 minutes dailyA planner, a wall calendar, or a phone app
1Choose exactly one system. Two systems is the same as none.
2Every task goes in with its subject and its due date, the moment it's set.
3Add a fixed daily check — same time, same trigger, like straight after dinner.
4On Sunday, look at the whole week and put big tasks on specific days.
5Review on Friday: what got missed, and what would have caught it?
If it's too hard
A single wall calendar you fill in together each evening.
If it's too easy
They add estimated durations and schedule the work, not just the deadline.
Say this
"Not in your head — in the system. If it isn't written down, it doesn't exist."
Real-world challenges
🧭 Study & Life Skills
Asking a teacher for help
Can do: Emails or speaks to a teacher with a specific question, before the deadline.
Why it matters
The transition to several teachers means nobody notices confusion automatically. Asking is now a skill the child has to own.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Says nothing for three weeks, then it emerges at a parent evening.
⏱️ Two-minute check
"If you didn't understand today's lesson, what exactly would you do?"
Solid looks like: A specific plan, naming when and how they'd ask.
15 minutesDone this week
Do this at home
Write the Email Together
⏱️ 15 minutesEmail or a note
1Identify the specific confusion — not "I don't get algebra" but "I don't know when to divide both sides".
2Draft a short polite message: what they tried, where they got stuck, one clear question.
3They send it themselves. This is the entire point.
4Practise the spoken version for asking in class or after it.
5Debrief afterwards: what did the teacher say, and did it help?
If it's too hard
They script it and you're in the room while they ask in person.
If it's too easy
They handle a harder conversation — a missed deadline, a mark they want explained.
Say this
"What's the exact question? Teachers can't answer 'I don't get it', but they can answer that."
Real-world challenges

When to ask for help instead of practising harder

Home practice fixes most gaps. These are the ones where a conversation with the teacher — or an assessment — is worth more than another month of trying. Raising them early is not an overreaction; waiting a year rarely helps.

Proportional reasoning doesn't develop — they still add when they should scale, all year.
Cannot solve a two-step equation by June, even with the balance model.
Reading is fluent but they cannot identify what an argument is arguing.
Homework is regularly missing or late for organisational rather than academic reasons.
Sudden drop in effort or mood alongside the school transition — worth taking seriously early rather than waiting.

By the end of 6th Grade

Tick these off through the year. Anything still open in the spring is exactly what the summer is for.

Solves ratio and rate problems using unit rates and tables.
Finds percentages, increases, decreases and works backwards to the whole.
Divides fractions and can explain the answer in words.
Adds and subtracts integers using the number line.
Writes, evaluates and solves expressions and two-step equations.
Chooses mean or median appropriately and justifies it.
Finds area of triangles and composite shapes, and surface area from nets.
Writes an argument essay including a counter-argument.
Tracks every deadline in one system and asks teachers specific questions.

Want the written practice as well?

Everything on this page is free and needs nothing printed. If you also want worksheets to work through, the 6th Grade packs cover the same topics on paper.

6th Grade Packs

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Frequently Asked Questions

What topics does a 6th Grade child cover?

21 across 6 strands: Reading (3), Writing (3), Math (8), Science (3), Social Studies (2), Study & Life Skills (2). Every topic on this page names the skill, why it matters, what struggling with it looks like, a two-minute check, and one activity you can run at home tonight.

How much home practice does a 6th Grade child actually need?

About 30 minutes a day at ages 11–12 — and it works better split into two short goes than done as one long session. Thirty minutes, and increasingly self-directed. Your most useful contribution shifts from teaching to asking them to explain it back to you.

How do I know which 6th Grade topic to work on?

Run the two-minute check on each topic rather than guessing. It tells you what a solid answer looks like, so you can tell in a couple of minutes whether a topic needs work or is already done. Start with whichever check fails, not with the first topic on the page.

Can I download or print the 6th Grade take-homes?

Yes — there is a free PDF on this page. Download the full 6th Grade pack (all 21 topics with their checks, activities and tick boxes), the one-page two-minute check sheet, or a single subject on its own. No signup, and the activities themselves still only need things a normal home already has.

When should I be worried rather than just practising?

There is a "when to ask for help" section on this page listing the specific signs that mean a conversation with the teacher is worth more than more home practice. Those are the ones to act on early — waiting a year rarely helps.

6th Grade Take-Home Practice

🗓️ A week that doesn't become a second school

Take it off the screen

Every 6th Grade topic, and what to do about it

Tracing an argument: claim, reasons, evidence

Argument Map

Citing evidence precisely

Shortest Possible Quote

Word choice, connotation and tone

Swap the Adjective

The argument essay

Steelman First

Explaining something clearly

Explain It to a Ten-Year-Old

Revising for a reader

Read It Cold Tomorrow

Ratios, rates and proportional reasoning

Unit Price at the Shop

Percent as a ratio out of a hundred

Ten Percent Is Your Friend

Dividing fractions by fractions

How Many Fit Inside?

Negative numbers and the number line

Temperature and Bank Balance

Expressions, variables and what a letter means

The Number in the Box

Solving equations by balancing

Keep the Scales Level

Statistics: mean, median, spread and what a graph hides

Whose Average Is It?

Area, surface area and nets

Cut, Unfold, Measure

Cells, organs and body systems

Follow the Oxygen

Energy, heat transfer and insulation

Keep the Water Hot

Earth, moon, sun and the seasons

Torch and Globe

Ancient civilisations and why they rose where they did

Civilisation Checklist

World geography, resources and trade

Where Is Your Stuff From?

Tracking work across five teachers

One Place for Everything

Asking a teacher for help

Write the Email Together

🚩 When to ask for help instead of practising harder

✅ By the end of 6th Grade

Want the written practice as well?

Frequently Asked Questions

What topics does a 6th Grade child cover?

How much home practice does a 6th Grade child actually need?

How do I know which 6th Grade topic to work on?

Can I download or print the 6th Grade take-homes?

When should I be worried rather than just practising?

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A week that doesn't become a second school

When to ask for help instead of practising harder

By the end of 6th Grade