Sixth grade marks the start of middle school and often a move toward more independence. I look for well-rounded curricula that is academically robust, interesting, and easy to use. Below you will find all of the secular 6th grade homeschool curricula I chose for my own kids and recommend to others.
Subjects to Teach in 6th Grade
What subjects should you teach in sixth grade? In sixth grade, you’ll continue most subjects from previous years.
These are the subjects that most 6th graders need:
- Language Arts
- Literature
- Writing
- Grammar
- Vocabulary
- Math
- History
- Science
- Art
- Music
- PE
If your student does not know how to type, then they should also do a typing course.
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6th Grade Language Arts Curriculum
Language Arts is a multi-pronged subject that often requires multiple curricula to cover all of the pieces of it.
6th Grade Literature Curriculum
For literature we use novel studies that I created and sell at LitHouse Learning. For my kids, we will use three Level 2 novel studies in the fall. Then move up and use three Level 3 novel studies in the spring.
These novel studies include close reading and literary analysis, comprehension questions, vocabulary, discussion questions, and writing activities. Level 2 focuses on writing paragraphs. Level 3 has both paragraph and essay writing.
6th Grade Writing
We do a lot of writing with the LitHouse novel studies. We also use the LitHouse History Writing Workbooks to embed writing instruction in our history study.
We do not use a separate writing curriculum.
6th Grade Independent Reading
It’s important for kids to read every day. Every year we do a reading challenge for our kids to read 100 books. It’s very motivating for my kids. At this age, they are reading both middle grade books and graphic novels. Some kids will be ready for young adult and appropriate adult books. At the end of my oldest’s sixth grade year, he started reading all of the Brandon Sanderson Cosmere novels.
I don’t require them to read anything specific. These are their free choice. Set a goal that works for your kids! 100 might be too many for them. You can do 25 or 50 instead.
Since we want our kids to enjoy reading, it’s important that they get to choose the books they will read independently. I suggest a weekly trip to the library to let them pick chapter books or graphic novels to read. It can also be a good idea to get the Libby app to access ebooks.
My kids really enjoy reading fantasy books, and that’s what they tend to choose. I just ask them to read for at least 30 minutes every day. They often read more than that, though. We also keep track of the books they read with this Book Review Journal and on Storygraph.
See my tips for using your local library here!
6th Grade Vocabulary
The LitHouse Learning novel studies include vocabulary and come with this Vocabulary Journal. You can download it for free on the LitHouse website and we also sell print paperback options on Amazon.
In addition to the vocabulary activities in the LitHouse Novel Studies, my 6th grader will continue using Word Build Online. This only takes about 5-10 minutes a day. It’s been great for both vocabulary and spelling.
6th Grade Math Curriculum
My oldest completed Beast Academy 5 at the end of 5th grade. Once they finish BA5, kids are usually ready for a pre-algebra class. I went around and around trying to choose the curriculum we would start after BA. I prefer outsourcing math, so we chose Thinkwell. He took the 8th grade honors class and really enjoyed it! I definitely recommend Thinkwell for middle school math!
6th Grade History Curriculum
In 6th grade, we restarted the history cycle! We finished modern history at the end of 5th grade, and we went back to do Ancient History in 6th grade! We are used Curiosity Chronicles Ancient Times and the LitHouse Learning Ancient History Writing Workbook – Level 2.
In addition to these, I have put together a plan with videos and additional books to read to dive a little deeper into ancient history. We do history as a family subject with differentiated activities for each age/grade. These plans were perfect for adding depth and challenge to studying ancient history. My oldest learned and retained so much! You can get these Ancient History Plans for grades 4-8 here.
We’ve really enjoyed using Curiosity Chronicles to teach history. If you do not like the format of Curiosity Chronicles, I recommend History Quest or History Odyssey.
6th Grade Science Curriculum
In 6th grade, my student used the Science Mom Biology 1 and 2 courses. I’ve been really impressed by everything I’ve seen from Science Mom. My kids love the classes and retain so much knowledge from them.
6th Grade Art Curriculum
We have come to love the Glitterbombers Art Membership! It’s great for the whole family. It’s so easy to find art projects that relate to history, literature, and even science. And my kids love browsing and finding fun projects that appeal to them.
Usually you can only join certain times of the year, but if you use my link, you can join right now!
6th Grade Music
I recommend having your kids choose an instrument to learn and getting regular lessons. If you can afford private lessons, that’s ideal. Your kids might also be able to take music classes at a co-op or your local public school. Alternatively, there are options for learning music online. Hoffman Academy has online piano lessons. You can also find lessons on Outschool.
6th Grade Homeschool Curriculum
We had a wonderful 6th grade homeschool year! I’m sure I’ll use most of these same things when my younger kids get to 6th grade.
