LEARN NC

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

English Language Arts — Grade 6

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.

Additional related resources

We’re in the process of aligning our content for students to the Standard Course of Study. As we do, you’ll find it here.

General resources

Aligned lesson plans

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.
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.
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.
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 English Language Arts)
By Lei Knight.

Resources on the web

Writing free verse in the "voice" of Cesar Chavez
In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students familiarize themselves with the characteristics of free verse and write a free verse poem using written material about labor activist Cesar Chavez. Students take notes about experiences that helped shape the life... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
A world of myths
In this lesson from ARTSEDGE, students explore how myths help to explain nature and science. Students read, discuss, and respond in writing to a variety of myths. They then create a graphic representation of one of those myths. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts)
Provided by: ArtsEdge
Traveling the road to freedom through research and historical fiction
Students learn about and discuss slavery and the Underground Railroad in this lesson that explores historical fiction and webquests. Once students have brainstormed characteristics of historical fiction, the teacher reviews characterization and explains... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Slipping, sliding, tumbling: Reinforcing cause and effect through diamante poems
This lesson introduces the concept of cause and effect through an activity where students construct their own diamante poems. After introducing the concept of cause and effect, the teacher engages students in a brainstorming activity to compile a list of... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Set a poem to music
In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students choose a favorite poem, set it to a rhythmic meter, and assign an original melody to the rhythm. Students will: apply prior knowledge of note values and assign meter to each syllable of their poem and... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 5–8 English Language Arts and Music Education)
Provided by: ArtsEdge
Reading and analyzing multigenre texts
Teachers use Black and White by David Macaulay or another similar text to introduce multigenre literature. Afer reading the text, students work in small groups to consider all the connections Macaulay makes in the book and... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Press conference for "Bud, Not Buddy"
This ReadWriteThink lesson can be used after the reading of Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis. The lesson encourages students to use higher-level thinking skills, and asks them to examine different character perspectives. Students... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Postmodern picture books in the middle school
Students learn to analyze plot and critique the author's intent in this lesson that focuses on Black and White by David Macaulay, a picture book that presents four story lines. Students will also explore multi-literacies and... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Memories matter: "The Giver" and descriptive writing memoirs
In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students will combine reading with descriptive writing. Students read The Giver by Lois Lowry, as well as short biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs in order to understand the differences between them.... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Imagine that! Playing with genre through newspapers and short stories
This ReadWriteThink lesson uses narrative structures to introduce students to one form of expository writing-news briefs and articles. By condensing a short story into a newspaper article and expanding an article into a short story, students will explore... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Found poems/Parallel poems
In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students will write found poems using a descriptive passage from a piece of literature they are reading. Then they will underline key words, and using these key words, and following the format in their found poems, they... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Folktale frenzy: WebQuest writing
In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students design WebQuests in order to teach their peers about the subgenres that fall under the heading of “folktale.” Each group writes tasks that focus on answering an essential question, detailed processes... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6 English Language Arts)
Provided by: IRA/NCTE
Finding the science behind science fiction through paired readings
Students explore the science fiction genre in this lesson that challenges them to evaluate the accuracy of the scientific elements included in the plot. After activating prior knowledge about the science fiction genre, students compare this genre with others... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Fighting injustice by studying lessons of the past
Using an online Venn Diagram tool, students study the experience of European Jews during the Holocaust, and then compare their experience to those of the Cherokees during the Trail of Tears and the Japanese–Americans during World War II. Students write... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Fairy tale autobiographies
In this lesson from ReadWriteThink, students will work in groups to read and analyze fairy tales, brainstorm for events in their lives that could be changed into fairy tales, and develop setting, characters, and plot for their fairy tale. Students will... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Expository escapade-Detective's handbook
This lesson that combines the reading of detective fiction with written expository analysis also provides students with a scaffold for analyzing the elements that comprise the genre, while strengthening students’ critical thinking skills through the practices... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink