Standard Course of Study :: English Language Arts — Grade 6

LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Goal 5

The learner will respond to various literary genres using interpretive and evaluative processes.

Objective 5.02

Study the characteristics of literary genres (fiction, nonfiction, drama, and poetry) through:

  • reading a variety of literature and other text (e.g., novels, autobiographies, myths, essays, magazines, plays, pattern poems, blank verse).
  • interpreting what impact genre-specific characteristics have on the meaning of the work.
  • exploring how the author's choice and use of a genre shapes the meaning of the literary work.
  • exploring what impact literary elements have on the meaning of the text such as the influence of setting or the problem and its resolution.

Resources aligned to this objective

Ancient World
This is a powerpoint jeopardy game. This can be used as a test or as a way to review information. We used this as a culminating test for our unit on Ancient Worlds. The jeopardy game is based on goals in math (geometry), language arts (myths, gods & goddesses), and social studies (Ancient Greece, Rome, Renaissance and Reformation).
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Mathematics)
By Danielle Pickard.
Feel In The Blanks
The following lesson is designed to function as a review of beginning, middle, and end and an introduction to individualized imagination, creativity, and perspective as it relates to the development of dialogue (i.e. improvisation).
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
By Lei Knight.
Figurative Language: Metaphor
This lesson is a part of a unit on poetry and figurative language. It is designed to teach students the characteristics of metaphor within the context of poetry.
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 English Language Arts)
By Nancy Meyers.
An Integrated Poetry Unit
My students have always disliked poetry. The different ways in which this lesson approaches poetry and the connection it makes to their "March Madness" studies seems to make poetry more enjoyable, fun, and relevant for my students. In order to integrate with the sixth grade math and social studies teachers, I teach this unit during the ACC tournament to coincide with the "March Madness" unit that is covered in the math classes.
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 English Language Arts)
By Nancy Guthrie.
Poetry From Prose: A Different Kind of "Book Report"
Students use a word-processing program to write a poem that summarizes important themes or events central to the plot of a novel. Once the poem is proofread, students type the poem according to specific directions. They then print their work and illustrate over or around the writing for an illustrated "book report." Students incorporate details from the novel in their writing and in their illustrations of their poems. In this way, students focus on the themes or events in the novel that appeal to them most -- the ones they feel are most important to the novel's meaning.
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
By Sally Watts.

Lesson plans on the web

Alliteration in Headline Poems
Introduces students to the term alliteration. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 English Language Arts)
Provider: IRA/NCTE
Alphabiography project: Totally you
In this lesson, students write alphabiographies recording an event, person, object, or feeling associated with each letter of the alphabet after reading Totally Joe by James Howe. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 English Language Arts)
Provider: IRA/NCTE
Biography project: Research and class presentation
Students brainstorm about famous people and each selects one to research by reading a biography and doing Internet research. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 English Language Arts)
Provider: IRA/NCTE
Blending fiction and nonfiction to improve comprehension and writing skills
Introduces text sets to increase student interest in and understanding of content area material and to develop critical writing skills. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 3–6 English Language Arts)
Provider: IRA/NCTE
Book report alternative: A character's letter to the editor
In this lesson, students choose a character from a novel they have read and consider the significant beliefs and feelings of that character to identify an issue or situation that would encourage that character to try to persuade the audience of other characters in the novel to take a specific action or change their position on an issue. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 English Language Arts)
Provider: IRA/NCTE
Book report alternative: Character and author business cards
Students make business cards for characters and authors. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 English Language Arts)
Provider: IRA/NCTE
Book report alternative: Comic strips and cartoon squares
This lesson incorporates student handouts and a comic creator interactive to encourage student creativity and expression. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 English Language Arts)
Provider: IRA/NCTE
Book report alternative: Creating a childhood for a character
In this lesson, students examine the character traits of an adult character in a book they have read, create a childhood for the character, and describe that childhood in the form of a short story, journal entry, or time capsule letter. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provider: IRA/NCTE
Choose your own adventure: A Hypertext writing experience
In this lesson that focuses on reading and writing, students discuss various stories and plan their own adventure story. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts and Computer Technology Skills)
Provider: IRA/NCTE
Cinderella folk tales: Variations in plot and setting
Students compare and contrast several versions of Cinderella stories told around the world to find differences and similarities in plot and setting. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts)
Provider: National Endowment for the Humanities
Cooking up descriptive language: Designing restaurant menus
In this lesson students explore the genre of menus by analyzing existing menus from local restaurants and creating their own original menus. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provider: IRA/NCTE
Cosmic oranges: Observation and inquiry through descriptive writing and art
This lesson employs scientific observation, descriptive writing, sketching, reading, investigation, and poetry writing to train students to use their senses and focus their attention. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 English Language Arts)
Provider: IRA/NCTE
Critical literacy: Point of view
Students learn to look at texts from different viewpoints. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–7 English Language Arts)
Provider: IRA/NCTE
A directed listening-thinking activity for The Tell-Tale Heart
Students participate in a Directed Listening-Thinking Activity (DLTA), in which they listen to the story “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 English Language Arts)
Provider: IRA/NCTE
Doodle splash: Using graphics to discuss literature
Students keep a doodle journal while reading short stories by a common author. In small groups, students combine their doodles into a graphic representation of the text that they present to the class while discussing their story. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 English Language Arts)
Provider: IRA/NCTE