District 11 Educational Support Services
Literacy & Language Arts

Grade 6 Language Arts: Yearly Overview
Course Number: LAM.61

Overview

Sixth grade units focus on learning critical reading skills and include lessons that teach how to read different kinds of information including narrative short stories, novels, poetry, research information, and technical manuals. Good readers know how to use the best reading strategies with different kinds of written information. You will have opportunities to look beyond the words an author writes on the page. Authors think very carefully about the words they choose and the meanings and emotions the words create. The authors think carefully about how to physically put the words on paper. Do they need a long sentence? A short sentence? A question? Over the course of the year, you will become an author yourself and write stories, essays, and poetry. Also, you will work on basic grammar skills such as complete sentences, parts of speech, and apostrophes. These are very important because no matter how great your story is, if it is not put together well, no one will understand it! You will end the year with a project that will allow you to apply the skills you’ve learned throughout the year.
Prerequisite: None
Course Length: 1   Period Length: 1   Grade Level:  6-8   Credit per Semester: 0

For Teachers
Quarter 1  2
Quarter 3  4
Prior Grade
Next Grade

Semester 1

Quarter 1:  Pacing guide

Quarter 1: August - September Unit:  Nonfiction
Quarter 1: September Unit:  Nonfiction
Quarter 1: October Unit:  Nonfiction

Quarter 2:  Pacing guide

Quarter 2: October Unit:  Fiction and Poetry
Quarter 2: November Unit:  Fiction and Poetry
Quarter 2: December Unit:  Fiction and Poetry

Semester 2

Quarter 3:  Pacing guide

Quarter 3: January Unit:  Persuasive
Quarter 3: February Unit: Persuasive / Review of Nonfiction
Quarter 3: March Unit
: Persuasive / Review of Nonfiction

Quarter 4:  Pacing guide
Quarter 4: April - May Unit Fiction / Poetry Application of skills

Enduring Understandings - important ideas that students should carry with them years beyond the instruction received this year.

  • Effective readers use different strategies and skills to understand a variety of texts.

  • Effective readers are independent learners who use critical thinking skills.

  • Effective readers are able to select and use relevant information that requires evaluating a variety of sources.

  • Effective readers know that literature provides an understanding of human experience.

  • Effective writers utilize the writing process to organize and strengthen all modes of writing.

  • Effective writers practice and use editing skills for self and peer writing evaluation.

  • Effective writers use conventions correctly.

  • Effective writers write in complete sentences varying sentence structure and length using appropriately punctuated, dependent clauses.

  • Effective writers identify and use the parts of speech correctly.

  • Effective writers know their audience and purpose.

Essential Questions - most important “big picture” questions students should be able to answer after completing learning activities.

  • What is text? How do we apply different strategies and skills to understand a variety of texts
  • How do we communicate? What is effective communication? Why does effective communication require a process?
  • What is standard English? Why do we need to know and use standard English rules?
  • How do we apply stylistic elements and appropriate formats?
  • What is critical thinking? How do we think critically in our lives?
  • What is responsible research? What makes information relevant?
  • How do I use information?
  • What is literature?
  • How can we make personal connections through literature?
  • What makes us human?

  Highest Frequency Standards

Reading:

1c. Locate and paraphrase the key/main ideas and supporting details in fiction and poetry
1g. Identify the meaning of unfamiliar words in context using word recognition skills and context clues
4a. Determine author's purpose
4d. Make predictions and draw conclusions from text in various genre
5a. Use organizational features of text
5c. Summarize and organize info about a topic in a variety of ways (graphic organizers, etc.) from various sources
6a. Read and respond to a variety of literature
6b. Identify characters, setting, problem/conflict, plot, resolution, theme, sequence

Writing:

    2a. Write in a variety of modes - narrative and descriptive
    2b. Organize writing using a logical arrangement of ideas
    2g. Develop ideas and content with relevant details, examples, and/or reasons
    3a. Identify subject, verb, pronouns, and adjectives.
    3c. Write in complete sentences.
    3d. Use conventions correctly (end-marks and apostrophes in contractions and singular possessives).
    3e. Identify and use conventional spelling

High Frequency Standards

Reading:

1d. Infer using a variety of texts and genre
4b. Use reading to solve a variety of problems and answer questions
4c. Differentiate fact from opinion in a variety of texts
5e. Locate other's ideas, image, or information in a bibliography
5f. Locate meanings and pronunciations of unfamiliar words
6c. Use knowledge of literary techniques and terminology (dialogue, scene, flashback, figurative language)

Writing:

2c. Use language which supports and enriches the idea.
2d. Plan, draft, revise, and edit for a final copy.
2e. Use transitions to link ideas.
2f. Use a variety of sentence structures.
3b. Use subject/verb agreement, nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, homonyms, and homophones.

Other Standards & E-skills

1a. Compare/contrast different texts with similar themes and ideas
1b. Summarize and synthesize fiction and poetry
1e. Identify sequential order in fiction and poetry
1f. Locate and recall information in text with different structures
4e. Explain the text's main point and use relevant details
5b. Use organizational features of electronic information
5d. Select info to support ideas and justify

Sample Units

District 11 Diamond Units/Lessons Overview - includes information about the purpose, goals and structure of these sample instructional units.

Integrated Technology Lessons
Each student will save this sample of first quarter writing to his or her Electronic Portfolio. See a Sample Student Portfolio of technology skills.

Pop-Up Book Report - Use a word processor to complete a book report.

Label Design Book Report - Use Microsoft Publisher to create a label for a book you have read. Wrap the label around a canned food and bring it in for display in the library. At the end of the display period, the canned food items will be given to needy families.

Parents

Your sixth grader will be writing several major compositions during the quarter. He or she will be revising original drafts while learning to apply conventions of effective writing. Each student will be writing a variety of compositions from explanatory to descriptive and narrative texts. Share with your child the type of writing you use in for your business, career, or recreational life. Help him or her understand the value of clear, written communications.

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