Language Arts

Grade Six

Foundational Learnings

Oral Communication

SL1.3 - I can defend and/or support my opinions with evidence.

SL2.4 - I can engage in, respond to, and evaluate a variety of oral presentations and other texts.

Reading

II2 - I can interpret relationships among several ideas to draw conclusions or make comparisons. I can support responses with relevant details.

PCE3 - I can recognize some aspects of an author's style/technique. I can explain how this influences the reader's experiences. I can evaluate authors effectiveness by providing relevant examples.

Writing

WTI3 - I can support ideas with relevant details.

WTWC1 - I can include precise/interesting words and/or technical language.

Reading Achievement Standards

Students

  • monitor reading and self-correct; adjust strategies (e.g. reread, read on, skim/scan, make connections) according to form, purpose, and specific text challenges

  • use meaning, structure, and visual cues (e.g., word order, roots, affixes, syllables) to solve unknown words; make reasonable attempts at multi-syllabic and content-specific words

  • read a wide variety of words with automaticity, including subject-specific terminology and words from oral language

  • read familiar passages fluently, with appropriate pacing, phrasing and expression, to convey sense of text to audience; may hesitate occasionally with unfamiliar words

  • use context clues, prior knowledge/experiences and knowledge of text forms/features to verify and adjust predictions while reading

  • use text features (e.g. table of contents, glossary, headings/subheadings, index, sidebars, charts/diagrams, maps, font) to preview, interpret and locate information

  • reflect on personal use of reading strategies to construct meaning (discussion/teacher prompts/journals)

Comprehension Responses

Literal Response - Reading “the lines”

Students recall explicitly stated facts and/or ideas.



Inferential/Interpretive Response - Reading “between the lines”

Students connect ideas within the text, demonstrating an ability to identify and understand messages that are implied, but not explicitly stated.



Personal/Critical/Evaluative Response - Reading “beyond the lines”

Students make judgments about textual content.

Writing Achievement Standards


Students

  • select and develop a topic within a chosen form demonstrating an awareness of audience

  • write with purpose and understand the influence of the writer

  • gather ideas from a variety of sources and use a framework (e.g. web, graphic organizer) to sort and classify the information/ideas and make new connections; apply knowledge of copyright/plagiarism

  • draft a piece of writing making critical choices about ideas/content based on purpose and intended audience

  • independently re-read to add to, delete from, or reorganize the text to strengthen content

  • request, obtain, and make decisions about, constructive criticism

  • understand revision supports clarification and strengthens communication

  • reread writing aloud for fluency; begin to make changes to sentence structures

  • use appropriate tools (e.g., dictionary, thesaurus, grammar checker, and text models) to edit conventions and strengthen word choice; may require teacher support for split dialogue

  • use a variety of publishing formats (e.g. books, pamphlets, posters, web sites) with appropriate text and text features

  • able to identify personal use of strategies before, during, and after writing

Writing Achievement Standards

The writing achievement standards include three components:

  • Text Forms – characteristics of narrative, poetry and information texts

  • Writing Strategies and Behaviours – learning behaviours students should exhibit when writing texts independently

  • Writing Traits – describe what students should be able to demonstrate independently with respect to the six common traits when completing a piece of writing. The six traits are:

Content/Ideas – overall topic, degree of focus, and related details.

Organization – structure and form, dependent on purpose and audience

Word Choice – vocabulary, language, and phrasing

Voice – evidence of author’s style, personality, and experience

Sentence Structure – variety and complexity of sentences

Conventions – spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and usage (grammar)