ELA Class Overview
Sixth grade English Language Arts (ELA) is all about interacting with diverse texts and responding critically, interpreting messages, and analyzing author’s purpose. Writing skills are taught through the use of mentor texts, lessons on organization, strategies, and conventions (grammar!), and writing workshops. Process, collaboration, authentic experiences, and celebration are emphasized throughout each unit.
Unit Themes:
(units are flexible and may be subject to change due student or class needs. Units will address all common core standards in 6th grade ELA.)
Unit 1: Turning PointsEssential Questions:
1. How much of what happens in our lives do we actually control? 2. How do fictional characters and real people adapt and succeed when life suddenly changes direction? In this Grade 6 unit, your students will explore life-changing events from a variety of perspectives, as they read fiction, memoirs, nonfiction narratives, articles, autobiographies, and poetry. The unit begins with an excerpt from the Newbery-award-winning novel Hatchet, which gives insight into a 13-year-old boy’s state of mind when he is stranded in the wilderness with only a tattered windbreaker and the hatchet his mother had given him as a gift. Other selections include accounts of the struggles real people have faced, including Melba Pattillo Beals’ experience as a key figure in the fight for school integration, and Jackie Robinson’s rise to baseball fame when he enters the Major Leagues and becomes the first African American player to break through the color barrier. Throughout this unit, students will explore how fictional characters and real people adapt and succeed when life suddenly changes direction. |
Skills:
Reading: *Central or Main Idea *Textual Evidence *Figurative Language *Theme *Story Elements *Informational Text Structure & Elements *Compare and Contrast Writing: *Thesis Statement *Audience and Purpose *Organization *Introductions *Body Paragraphs and Transitions *Conclusions *Narrative Writing |
Unit 2: Ancient Realms |
Skills: |
Essential Questions:
1. What can we take away from history? 2. How can history inspire and inform people? In this Grade 6 unit, your students will explore how history informs and inspires us from a variety of perspectives, through fiction, myths, nonfiction narratives, and poetry. The unit begins with an excerpt from Hatshepsut: His Majesty, Herself, which sheds light on what life was like in ancient Egypt, how society was governed, and what happened when a female pharaoh came to power. Other selections share stories of history, including Philip Isaacson’s critique on the Egyptian pyramids, the Greek myth of Perseus, and morals learned through Aesop’s Fables. Throughout this unit, students will explore the different ways that history can inspire and inform people. The novel to accompany this unit is Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. |
Reading:
*Point of View *Theme *Word Meanings *Textual Evidence *Media *Poetic Structure *Arguments and Claims *Author’s Purpose and Point of View Writing: *Relevant Information *Organize Informative Writing *Introductions *Transitions *Conclusions *Audience and Purpose *Narrative Writing |
Unit 3: Facing ChallengesEssential Questions:
1. Have you ever felt that you or someone else was treated unfairly? 2. When you experienced an injustice, did you feel the need to stand up for yourself or someone else? 3. What motivated you to take a stance? Did your actions result in a positive outcome? In this Grade 6 unit, your students will explore through a variety of texts what motivates people to stand up for others and themselves, how they take a stand, and the outcomes of their actions. The unit begins with an excerpt from the novel A Wrinkle in Time, which showcases the bravery of two siblings who set out on a dangerous journey to find their father. Other selections share stories, past and present, of people who take a stance against injustice, including a selection that focuses on educator Leo Hart who stood up for “Okie” children during the Great Depression, an account of the efforts of Japanese Americans to prove their loyalty to the United States during World War II, and two sides of an argument about whether schools are doing enough to prevent bullying. Throughout this unit, students will explore the different reasons and ways in which people take a stance and, despite challenges, work hard to make a change for the better. The novel for this unit is Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor. |
Skills:Reading:
*Informational Text Elements & Structure *Technical Language *Theme *Poetic Structure & Elements *Figurative Language *Connotation and Denotation *Textual Evidence *Media *Central or Main Idea *Author’s Purpose and Point of View Writing: *Audience and Purpose *Organize a Literary Analysis *Style *Sources and Citations *Revision Strategies |
Unit 4: Our HeroesEssential Questions: 1. What are the qualities of a hero?
2. Can heroes only be people in positions of power or the characters were see in comics, in movies and on TV, or can they be ordinary citizens who do extraordinary things? In this Grade 6 unit, your students will explore a variety of texts that celebrate real-life heroes. The unit begins with an excerpt from Rosa Parks: My Story in which Parks recalls the courage and strength it took for her to defy the laws of segregation and take a stand against injustice. Other selections tell more stories of courageous individuals—both ordinary citizens and historical figures. These include Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, an informational text profiling teenage African Americans who also took a brave stand against segregation laws; Eleanor Roosevelt and Marian Anderson, an article about Eleanor Roosevelt’s fight for social justice; and “My Father is a Simple Man, ”a poem in which the speaker honors the life led by his one true hero, his father. Throughout this unit, students will read the stories of other heroes, like Doctor Benjamin Rush and Baron von Steuben, whose whose bravery, fearlessness, and strong-will inspired others. |
Skills:Reading:
*Textual Evidence *Point of View *Theme *Dramatic Elements *Story Structure and Elements *Setting *Arguments and Claims *Author’s Purpose and Point of View *Character *Media *Poetic Elements Writing: *Audience, Purpose, and Style *Research and Note-Taking *Thesis Statement *Organize Argumentative Writing *Supporting Details *Introductions and Conclusions *Body Paragraphs and Transitions *Sources and Citations |