UNIT 1 - "Testing Our Limits"

Essential Question: What do we do when life gets hard?

Genre Focus: Fiction

Writing Focus: Expository

What do we do when life gets hard? How do we respond in a difficult situation? What do we do when our limits are tested? How do we face a challenge? What actions can we take to solve a problem? How can we overcome feelings of sadness, stress, or fear?

These are the questions you will explore in this Grade 6 unit, which focuses on the genre of fiction.

Life is full of challenges, and some are harder than others. What we choose to do or say in the face of these challenges often varies based on the challenge itself. Sometimes we choose to respond to challenges by attempting something that we have never done before, something that might even scare us a little. Climbing a mountain or running a marathon are challenges that people can choose to face. Often, however, life presents us with difficulties when people least expect it, such as an emergency or a crisis. Throughout this unit, students will explore the different reasons and ways in which people make decisions and take action when life turns out to be tougher than expected.

A Long Walk to Water

by Linda Sue Park

A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about two eleven-year-olds in Sudan, a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the “lost boys” of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay.

Enduring every hardship from loneliness to attack by armed rebels to contact with killer lions and crocodiles, Salva is a survivor, and his story goes on to intersect with Nya’s in an astonishing and moving way.

UNIT 2 - "You and Me"

Essential Question: How do relationships shape us?

Genre Focus: Fiction

Writing Focus: Narrative

Can you even count the number of relationships you have had in your life? Some relationships are close and others more distant, but the relationships in our lives teach us about the people and even the animals around us. Even more important, our relationships can teach us a lot about ourselves.

What kinds of relationships do people have? Why are they important? Relationships with family, friends, and those around us can bring much joy, but they can also cause pain and frustration. What do readers learn when they study and analyze the relationships depicted in literary works? How can this help us with some of our own relationships?

Walk Two Moons

by Sharon Creech

Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle, proud of her country roots and the "Indian-ness in her blood," travels from Ohio to Idaho with her eccentric grandparents. Along the way, she tells them of the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, who met a "potential lunatic," and whose mother disappeared.

As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold—the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.

UNIT 3 - "In the Dark"

Essential Question: How do you know what to do when there are no instructions?

Genre Focus: Fiction

Writing Focus: Compare & Contrast

Darkness is associated with the unknown and the unknowable. It can be real, like an unexplored cave, or something like the unknown events that the future may bring. Darkness inspires fear and encourages uncertainty, yet some people find it safer to remain there. They would rather be “in the dark” than to take steps to try and “see the light.”

Is darkness a place to live in, run from, or explore? What qualities does a person need in order to “face the darkness”? How does facing the darkness affect or change a person? How does one finally reach the decision to take action in the face of uncertainty?

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school . . . again. And that’s the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking

straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them: Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed in his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

UNIT 4 - "Personal best"

Essential Question: Which qualities of character matter most?

Genre Focus: Non-Fiction

Writing Focus: Informative

In sports, the phrase “personal best” refers to an athlete’s greatest achievement—the fastest race, the highest jump, the perfect score. For most of us, however, “personal best” refers to those moments when we act in a noble or just way. They are moments when we can feel proud of ourselves for having done the right thing—like standing up for our principles or sticking up for people in need.

What qualities of character do people need in order to achieve their personal best? Must one make sacrifices or face big challenges in order to reach it? Once a personal best is attained, does that moment define a person for the rest of his or her life? When people become known for their personal best, how does fame affect them and their character?