Grade 6 English Language Arts
11 units matched to the New Brunswick Curriculum. Kids see this subject as “Language Arts”.
Learning focus
- Interactions: Expression. Describe and contribute thoughts, feelings, and experiences, and compare to those of their peers.
- Interactions: Exchanges. Ask and respond to questions to clarify information, explore possibilities, and identify solutions to a problem.
- Interactions: Reception. Critically reflect on the contributions of others.
- Reading: Word Study. Begin to explain how advanced word structure can be used as a word-solving strategy.
- Reading: Fluency. Read an increasing variety of texts with accuracy and expression, both silently and aloud.
- Reading: Vocabulary. Recognize how different strategies are used to determine the meanings of words.
- Reading: Reading Comprehension. Construct meaning from a variety of text considering the source, intended audience, and purpose.
- Reading: Text Analysis and Criticality. Independently select, read, and examine critically a variety of texts representing diverse voices and perspectives.
- Representing: Process. Develop strategies to enhance clarity in multi-modal works.
- Representing: Craft. Create a variety of texts with purpose and understand the influence of the writer/creator.
Units
Unit 1
Roots & Analogies
Using Greek and Latin roots (like “geo,” “aud” and “port”) to work out unfamiliar words, and completing analogies that compare word relationships.
Skill descriptor: Reading: Word Study · word roots and analogies
Unit 2
Agreement
Making verbs agree with their subjects (even with tricky phrases, “each,” “everyone” and “either…or”) and choosing pronouns that clearly match the nouns they replace.
Skill descriptor: Representing: Craft · subject-verb and pronoun agreement
Unit 3
Sentence Repair
Spotting sentence fragments, run-on sentences and comma splices, and choosing correct ways to fix them with periods, semicolons, joining words or dependent clauses.
Skill descriptor: Representing: Craft · fixing run-ons, fragments and awkward sentences
Unit 4
Commas & Clauses
Finding dependent clauses, telling simple, compound and complex sentences apart, and using commas in lists, compound sentences, introductions and appositives.
Skill descriptor: Representing: Craft · commas and clauses
Unit 5
Text Forms & Features
Recognizing problem-and-solution reports, scripts, and web features like menus, and explaining how pictures and graphics add to a text.
Skill descriptor: Reading: Text Analysis and Criticality · text forms and features
Unit 6
Close Reading
Reading original stories and information texts, then finding the theme or main idea, making inferences, explaining why characters act as they do and choosing the sentence that best supports an answer.
Skill descriptor: Reading: Reading Comprehension · reading closely for meaning
Unit 7
Connotation & Tone
Words can share a dictionary meaning (denotation) but carry different feelings (connotation), like “cozy” and “cramped.” Students choose words for effect and identify a writer's tone.
Skill descriptor: Reading: Reading Comprehension · connotation and tone
Unit 8
Point of View
Telling first person, third person limited and third person omniscient apart, and thinking about what each narrator can and can't know.
Skill descriptor: Reading: Text Analysis and Criticality · point of view and perspective
Unit 9
Figurative Language
Naming similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, alliteration and idioms, explaining what they mean, finding the sense an image appeals to and working out what a symbol stands for.
Skill descriptor: Representing: Craft · figurative language
Unit 10
Sources & Bias
Separating fact from opinion, judging whether a source is reliable, spotting loaded words and one-sided reporting, and asking who made a message and why.
Skill descriptor: Reading: Text Analysis and Criticality · sources, bias and reliability
Unit 11
Make Your Case
Building an argument: stating a claim, choosing the strongest evidence, recognizing counterarguments and rebuttals, spotting persuasive techniques and ordering a persuasive paragraph.
Skill descriptor: Representing: Craft · writing to persuade
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