6th Grade Math Lesson Plan with Template

Fall is here and it’s time to plan the school year! 

This means everything from name charts to lesson plans. Having a great classroom setup and classroom management system can make all the difference in how your school year goes. 

When putting together your middle school math lesson plans for the year, it’s important to consider what skills and concepts your students are expected to learn.

You will need to consult the standards that your school adheres to when planning what skills to teach. You may need to make 6th grade math common core lesson plans. Or you may need to use a different set of standards when making 6th grade math lesson plans.

Though standards vary slightly, here are the key skills and concepts that 6th grade math students are expected to master:

Geometry

• Triangle Area: Calculate the area of triangles using base and height.
• Trapezoid Area: Determine the area of trapezoids by breaking them down into simpler shapes.
• Quadrilaterals: Understand the properties and classification of quadrilaterals.
• Prism: Recognize and calculate the volume of prisms, including those with fractional edge lengths.

Numbers and Operations

• Fractional Edge Length: Apply understanding of fractional dimensions in the context of geometry and volume calculations.
• Greatest Common Factor: Find the greatest common factor (GCF) of two whole numbers.
• Positive and Negative Numbers: Understand and use positive and negative numbers in various contexts, including temperature and financial transactions.
• Rational Numbers: Comprehend and operate with rational numbers, including performing arithmetic operations.
• Absolute Value: Interpret the absolute value of a number as its distance from zero on the number line.

Ratios and Proportional Relationships

• Ratio: Understand and use ratios to describe the relationship between two quantities.
• Unit Rate: Calculate and interpret unit rates in the context of real-world problems.

Expressions and Equations

• Variables: Use variables to represent numbers and write expressions when solving real-world problems.
• Properties of Operations: Apply properties of operations (e.g., distributive property) to generate equivalent expressions.
• Solving Equations: Solve one-step and multi-step equations and inequalities.
• Inequalities: Understand and solve inequalities and graph them on a number line.

Statistics and Probability

• Statistics: Understand statistical variability and use measures of central tendency (mean, median, mode) to summarize data.
• Probability: Develop an understanding of probability and use it to predict the likelihood of events.
• Sample Size: Understand how sample size can affect the results of a statistical investigation.
• Distribution: Analyze data distributions and interpret various data displays, such as histograms and box plots.

We wanted to create this 6th grade math lesson plan example to get your year started the right way. 

Working from an example can help if you’re feeling stuck or aren’t quite sure what to include. It also prevents you from missing important details. 

This free lesson plan can be modified to fit the standards you teach to or your students’ unique needs. Feel free to use only certain parts or activities if that’s what’s best for you and your classroom!

Looking for a different grade level? Check out our other math lesson plans!

• 1st Grade Math Lesson Plan
• 2nd Grade Math Lesson Plan
• 3rd Grade Math Lesson Plan
• 4th Grade Math Lesson Plan
• 5th Grade Math Lesson Plan
• 7th Grade Math Lesson Plan
• 8th Grade Math Lesson Plan
• Generic Math Lesson Plan (great for multi-grade classroom or homeschool students!)

Now without further ado, here’s the lesson plan!

Learning Objectives or Goals:

1. Knowledge: Students will identify and describe the properties of various quadrilaterals (parallelogram, rectangle, rhombus, square, trapezoid).
2. Application: Students will classify quadrilaterals based on their properties.
3. Analysis: Students will compare and contrast different quadrilaterals.
4. Synthesis: Students will create their own quadrilateral using specified properties.

Teaching Strategies:

1. Direct Instruction: Introduce the properties of each type of quadrilateral.
2. Interactive Discussion: Engage students in discussions about the similarities and differences between quadrilaterals.
3. Collaborative Learning: Students work in small groups to classify shapes and solve problems.
4. Hands-On Activities: Use manipulatives and drawing exercises to reinforce learning.
5. Technology Integration: Utilize educational software or online tools for interactive geometry exploration.

Materials Needed:

• Whiteboard and markers
• Chart paper and markers
• Rulers and protractors
• Pre-cut shapes of various quadrilaterals
• Graph paper
• Computers or tablets with internet access (for online activities)
• Handouts with properties of quadrilaterals and classification charts
• Exit tickets

Specific Procedures and Activities:

1. Introduction (10 minutes):
2. Begin with a brief review of polygons and their properties.
3. Introduce quadrilaterals, explaining that they are four-sided polygons.
4. List and briefly describe the types of quadrilaterals (parallelogram, rectangle, rhombus, square, trapezoid) on the whiteboard.
5. Direct Instruction (15 minutes):
6. Detail the properties of each quadrilateral, emphasizing aspects like parallel sides, equal angles and symmetry.
7. Use diagrams on chart paper to visually represent each quadrilateral.
8. Highlight key differences and similarities among them.
9. Interactive Discussion (10 minutes):
10. Pose questions to the class to encourage discussion. For example, ask how a square is similar to and different from a rectangle.
11. Record student responses on the whiteboard to create a comparison chart.
12. Collaborative Learning Activity (20 minutes):
13. Divide students into small groups and provide each group with a set of pre-cut quadrilateral shapes.
14. Give each group a classification chart to fill out based on the properties of their shapes.
15. Have groups present their findings to the class, explaining their reasoning.
16. Hands-On Activity (20 minutes):
17. Distribute graph paper, rulers and protractors.
18. Assign students to draw their own quadrilateral that meets specific property requirements (e.g., a quadrilateral with one pair of parallel sides).
19. Allow students to share their drawings and explain which type of quadrilateral they created and why.
20. Technology Integration (15 minutes):
21. Use computers or tablets for an interactive online geometry tool (such as GeoGebra) where students can explore and manipulate different quadrilaterals.
22. Alternatively, allow students an allotted amount of time to play an online math game like Prodigy Math.
23. Conclusion and Assessment (10 minutes):
24. Recap the main points of the lesson.
25. Distribute exit tickets asking students to name and describe the properties of one type of quadrilateral.
26. Collect exit tickets to assess understanding and address any misconceptions in the next class.

Assessment:

• Formative: Participation in discussions, group activities, and hands-on drawing exercises.
• Summative: Exit tickets and a short quiz at the end of the week covering quadrilateral properties and classification.

Goals for the End of the Lesson or Unit:

• Short-Term: Students will confidently identify and classify quadrilaterals based on their properties.
• Long-Term: Students will apply their understanding of quadrilaterals to more complex geometry problems and real-world contexts.

Prodigy Math is an online, math game that is a great tool for individual or group math work.

The engaging storyline includes monsters and magic and keeps students excited about playing while interactive elements keep students learning.

Special care has been taken to ensure that Prodigy Math aligns with curricula across various regions. This includes alignment with Common Core, TEKS, and other standards.

There is also adaptive learning technology built into the game that assesses and adapts to each student's skill level, catering to their individual needs.

And it does all of this without extra work for you. It also grades all student works and displays the information in an easy-to-understand teacher dashboard. 

All of this will give you so much time back in your day for whatever needs your attention.