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Sixth Grade ELA Curriculum

Reimaging ELA Instruction at the Middle School Level


Sixth grade students all receive two periods of ELA instruction during the course of their nine periods of daily instruction. For students who are reading and writing at or above grade level, we offer one period of Sixth Grade ELA and one period of Critical Literacy. Students read and write in both classes, but there is a heavier emphasis on writing in the three genres of narrative, expository, and persuasive in the ELA classes. The critical literacy class includes close reading of short stories, longer novels, and non-fiction texts, with shared inquiry discussions among students and many opportunities to write in response to reading.

 Read 180 and System 44 are available for students who require additional support in reading based on the score on the NYS ELA exam (level 1 or 2) and also score below level on other local measures of reading achievement. This class takes the place of ELA 6 and Critical Literacy, and is a double block (2 consecutive periods) of instruction. Read 180 focuses on developing reading comprehension skills. System 44 focuses on improving foundational reading skills and reading fluency.

 

ELA 

Critical Literacy

Curriculum Resource: College Board Springboard Sixth Grade ELA Program

Thematic Connection: “Change”

Unit 1: Forces of Change: Reading Walk Two Moons and writing a literary essay.

Unit 2: Reading non-fiction text and learning about people’s relationships with animals. Writing an expository essay.

Unit 3: Introduction to essays and personal opinions. Writing an argumentative essay and participating in a debate.

Unit 4: Introduction to Shakespeare. Reading and performing scenes from several of Shakespeare’s plays.

Unit 1: What does it mean to read critically? Reading short stories and participating in shared inquiry discussions.

 Unit 2: Reading and responding to fiction. Reading the novel, Flipped, and understanding how characters develop and change over time.

 Unit 3: How does literature allow us to view societies different from our own? Book clubs using dystopian novels.

 Unit 4: Understanding Perspectives: Sustaining the Oceans. Students will read the novel, Flushed, and the non-fiction text: A World without Fish.

    •  Maximum of 18 students per class.
    • Small and whole group instruction.
    • All students use instructional software for a minimum of 20 min. per day.
    • All students use i-pads in this class.
    • Independent reading practice using paper books and digital library occurs daily.
    • Read 180 students also participate in the Shakespeare unit at the end of sixth grade.
  • HMH Read 180
  • HMH System 44