6th Grade Curriculum

Interactions Between Living Things and Their Environment - 6.2.1, 6.2.2

• Forest Ecology (action of lichens; predators and prey in the forest; why we don’t have large predators; competition between bear, deer, turkey, and hogs)
• Stream Survey (aquatic food pyramids; sources and affects of pollution)
• Amphibians and Reptiles (importance of amphibian life cycle as a vector for nutrient transportation from water to land; importance of reptiles in nutrient cycles and pest control)

Food Production and Energy for Life - 6.3.1

• Forest Ecology (mast production, and use by wildlife; process of decay; importance of producers and how they produce their food)
• Stream Survey (cycle of nutrients between terrestrial and aquatic systems; food pyramid; diet of aquatic insects; photosynthesis and nutrient absorption by terrestrial and aquatic plants)

Diversity and Adaptation Among Living Things - 6.5.1

• Forest Ecology (camouflage and warning coloration for defense)
• Amphibians and Reptiles (characteristics of different families of salamanders, frogs, lizards, snakes, etc.; feeding adaptations of hognose snakes, pine snakes, and various venomous snakes)

Biological Change - 6.6.1a, 6.6.2, 6.6.3

• Cave Trip(examples of fossils found in limestone)
• Stream Survey (indicator species; pollution sources)
• Amphibians and Reptiles (salamander similarities in the Appalachians)