6th+Grade+Language+Arts


 * ~ Unit ||~ Start Date (duration) ||~ Essential Questions ||~ Big Ideas ||~ Skills ||~ Texts ||~ Supporting / Supplementary Materials/project ||~ Assessments ||
 * The Westing Game || August- September || What is a mystery? || * Elements of a fiction mystery


 * How writers create memorable characters || * critical reading
 * creating believeable characters
 * identify suspence in rading
 * use suspense in writing
 * Vocab to know: mystery, plot, character, setting, red herrings, suspense || Novel: The Westing Game || Internet: Mystery website (can't find link must add later), scholastic.com- writing a mystery.

Novel Ties unit activities || Project: write a mystery

Novel: standardized test || Laura Candler Literature circle Packet
 * Freak the Mighty || September- November || What makes a friendship? || * **Literature circles: Collaboration**, meeting goals, independent work, sharing information, creating "fat" questions,
 * What is realistic fiction? || * critical reading
 * analyzing plot, characters, sequence.
 * summarization
 * finding vocabulary in a text
 * Allusion || Novel- Freak the Mighty || Website:

Novel Ties: Novel Activities || Project: Facebook profile ||
 * Poetry || November- January || How is poetry different from other types of writing? || * Elements of Figurative Language
 * Importance of word choice || * Figurative language: similie, metaphor, hyperbole, personification, onomatopoeia, alliteration, oxymoron
 * Types of poems: limericks, haiku, free verse, "I Am" poems || No text || Internet, Smart Board, teacher resources || Project: Poetry collection ||
 * The Giver || January-February || What causes problems in our society? || Utopia- what is a utopia and can they be good or bad?

How is fantasy different from other types of fiction?

How symbolism adds depth to a story || Vocab to know: society, utopia, dystopia,foreshadowing, static/dynamic character || Novel: The Giver || Internet Novel Ties Unit activities

Dystopia Lesson plan || Project: Create a Utopia with the required elements ||
 * Short stories || February- March ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Holocaust Fiction || April || Why should we study the Holocaust? || Historical Fiction- elements

Point of view- fist, third and omnipotent

Experiencing the Holocaust from a child's point of view || Critical reading of non fiction.

Classify artifacts for importance

Identifying a memoir

Determine connections between history and historical fiction

Writing to a Holocaust victim (from the past) || Novels: Island on Bird Street, Devil's Arithmetic, Mlkweed, Goodnight, Maimon, Non-fiction book?? || "One survivor remembers" Artifact kit.

Internet

Children in the Holocaust Website

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website || Project: Holocaust Literature- project collection for students to choose from ||
 * Novel:Wrinkle In Time or Tuck Everlasting || May-June || Wrinkle: What ways can people resist evil?

Tuck: What would be the benefits/disadvantages of living forever? || Tackling difficult literature: How to deal with unfamiliar vocab, unfamiliar topics. Elements of science fiction || Critical Thinking

Breaking large tasks into more managable pieces

Oral Reading Fluency

Identifying vocab in a novel

Chosing what to include in a summary || Novel- Wrinkle in Time

Tuck Everlasting || Novel Ties Unit

Internet

Audio Text || Wrinkle (independent readers)- create a learning guide for the supported readers.

(supported reader)- "Sparky Notes" paragraph summaries of each chapter.

Tuck: Create a diary of one who is going to live forever ||
 * GRAMMAR and VOCAB ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Grammar is addressed through writing. || Yearlong || Can you have good writing without good grammar?

or "Grammar: What's the point?" :) || Having an understanding of grammar structure will help you be a more dynamic writer.

Grammar=building blocks. Writing=framework || Editing Specialists: Students study four different areas of grammar (sentence structure/variety, punctuation, spelling, dead words) one at a time. Students edit each others' work for only that area they are studying at that time. After four quarters students are "specialists" in the four parts of grammar.


 * C21 Skill: cooperative learning, critical thinking**

Daily Oral Language:

Editing sentences for errors. || Teacher created folders for editing specialists

DOL book || Grammar textbook, Everyday Edits, Internet resources ||  ||
 * Vocab/ Spelling || Yearlong || What would happen if there were no structure to spelling?

How do words create pictures? || Increase vocab/spelling skills to use in writing || Identify commonly confused words (their, there, they're etc). Identify overused, tired, "dead words" and find strong alternatives || Wordly Wise and Spelling Book || Internet, thesaurus || Dead Word Funeral ||