Language Arts 6

Our English Language Arts Curriculum in sixth grade uses thematic units to meet and exceed the expectations of the Minnesota State English Language Arts Standards. Students are supported in developing critical thinking skills through careful reading, textual analysis, discussion and writing activities. The course includes both literature and content-rich informational texts. The texts and themes are found in the 2015 Collections series by Houghton-Mifflin/Harcourt Publishing.

The themes include:

1. "Facing Fear" – Through stories, poetry and scientific articles, students explore how people experience fear and how fear affects the brain and the body.

2. "Dealing with Disaster" – From reading about Hurricane Katrina to the sinking of the Titanic, students discover how people react in the face of disaster. This unit includes articles, short stories and poems related to disasters.

3. "Making Your Voice Heard" – Students explore the many ways people express their ideas – and themselves. They read short stories, poetry and editorials.

In addition, sixth graders read the novel Tangerine. They may read additional novels in literature groups.

Students are taught how to write a personal narrative and a literary essay plus they do research-based informational writing using the Units of Study: Writing, by Heinemann Publishing (2014). These three major writing projects plus smaller pieces of writings fulfill the Minnesota State ELA Standards for writing narratives, arguments and informational texts. Grammar and usage instruction is embedded during writing instruction. In addition, students study Greek and Latin roots to increase their vocabulary.