Dear Parents,
Welcome to Prairieville Middle School! My name is Emily Maples, and this year, I will be your child’s 6th grade English Language Arts teacher. I am looking forward to working with your child to ensure a successful learning experience this year. The 6th grade ELA curriculum will focus on the Common Core standards. During each unit, the students will experience reading and analyzing texts from genres such as nonfiction, realistic fiction, historical fiction, poetry, mythology, and drama. Students will be taught comprehension strategies to improve their reading abilities and strategies to improve their writing. The following is important information for my class. If you need to contact me, my email address is Emily.Maples@apsb.org.
Google Calendar and Classroom: Classroom assignments, announcements, reminders, and other information will be updated on my board and Google Calendar.
Daily Tasks
Each day the students will go through a routine that begins with a Weekly Wisdom (bellwork) activity. These tasks vary from day to day and will focus on either a writing, grammar, comprehension, or vocabulary skill.
The daily lesson will consist of learning and practicing skills and concepts for grammar, comprehension and reading strategies, writing, and/or vocabulary. Throughout the week, there will be checkpoints and assessments for these tasks.
Tests
ELA assessments are given in Illuminate. Students can see their scores through the Illuminate student portal.
Tests will be in LEAP 2025 format and will include comprehension and writing skills covered during the week (2-3 tests each quarter). Tests will not be the only form of assessment used.
Common assessments for all sixth-grade ELA students will also include 1-2 embedded assessments (essays) and a benchmark exam each quarter.
Independent Reading: (Changes may occur throughout the year.)
Students will be required to read one or two novels per nine weeks, take the Accelerated Reader quiz, and complete a writing assignment about each novel.
Students should begin reading their books in advance and pace themselves. They do not want to wait until the last minute to begin these assignments.
Students will read and analyze grade level fiction texts and write a literary analysis task (LAT). The LAT provides students an opportunity to show their understanding of literature. It asks students to read two literary texts, answer a set of selected-response questions about the texts, and write an extended response that compares and/or explains key ideas or elements in the texts (e.g., the contribution of a section to the theme, setting, plot; central idea; comparison of themes).
Students will study and mimic the author's craft and style through the completion of a narrative writing task (NWT). The NWT asks students to read a literary text, answer a set of selected-response questions about the text, and then create a narrative related to the text (e.g., finish the story; retell the story in another narrative form, such as a journal entry). Students should make sure that they create a narrative, not expository, responses.
For this unit, the students will learn reading strategies to break down a nonfiction text and write the research simulation task (RST). The RST mirrors the research process by presenting three texts on a given topic. Students answer a set of selected-response questions about the texts and then write an extended response about some aspect of the related texts (e.g., how each text presents the topic, point of view or purpose of texts, analysis of argument/claims).
In this unit, students will explore drama and poetry through speaking and listening learning targets. Instead of a writing task, students will work on their speaking and listening skills.