6th Grade
“There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island.”
-Walt Disney
This language arts class is designed to build on your previous knowledge and increase communications skills through reading, writing, speaking, and the study of the English language. Our primary focus in language arts class will be mastery of different writing styles, demonstration of the rules of grammar, and the ability to understand and connect to messages and themes from our readings.
We will read a variety of fiction and non-fiction including novels, short stories, dramas, poetry, and essays. We will often make connections to what we are reading in our writing exercises. Writing assignments will include timed responses, essays, critiques, and creative pieces. Vocabulary, spelling, and grammar will be graded through our writing assignments, but we will also work on these areas through workbooks(Vocabulary Workshop) and bell work. Because we are a community of learners, please also expect to work periodically in group situations and to present information to your peers in groups or individually.
Please understand that at-home reading is expected and is a component of our course. You should be reading every night.
Class Description
At the End of This Course, Students Should:
- Analyze how chapters of a book, scenes of a play, or stanzas of a poem fit into the overall structure of the piece and contribute to the development of ideas or themes.
- Evaluate the argument and specific claims in written materials or a speech, and distinguish claims that are supported by reasons and evidence.
- Write arguments that provide clear reasons and relevant evidence.
- Write brief essays that examine a topic, have a clear focus, and include relevant facts and details.
- Conduct short research projects to answer a question. Draw on several sources, and sharpen the focus based on the research findings.
- Review and paraphrase key ideas and multiple perspectives of a speaker.
- Recognize variations from standard English in his or her own and others’ writing and speaking, and use this knowledge to improve language use.
- Begin to determine the correct meaning of a word based on the context in which it is used.
Assigned Reading (With Book Summaries)
Aside from numerous short stories and independent reading books, we will also plan to read the following novels together as a class in 2024-2025: The Outsiders by SE Hinton, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Nothing but the Truth by Avi, The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy, The Adventures of Ulysses by Bernard Evslin, and The Giver by Lois Lowry.
Please note that this is the plan, but it may change as the year progresses. Any changes are at the teacher's discretion.
WAAS has a copy of each text for the students to borrow, but I encourage each student and their family to consider buying their own copy of the books. It is much easier to be a strong, active reader when you are able to mark in the book. This tremendously aids in building reading comprehension skills. Additionally, students will read some of these books again in high school and college. Having your own copy is not mandatory, just suggested. Keep in mind, though, that if you use WAAS's copy, you must take care of it, or you will have to replace it.
These reading selections will ask us to take a good look at our world and culture (past and present) and at ourselves. I stand by my choice in selecting all of the novels, short stories, poems, and/or plays that we will read this year, but if you are honestly uncomfortable reading a text, please come to me immediately so that we can discuss it. I am including a brief summary of the texts listed above for families to have an understanding of what we will be gaining through reading and studying these texts.
Summaries are thanks to Amazon.com and Goodreads.com
The Outsiders
This novel is set in the 1960s and describes the conflict between two teenaged gangs, the Socs and the Greasers, or more appropriately described as the haves and the have nots. Pony Boy Curtis is the main character, and despite the fact that he spends most of the novel fighting against the Socs, he also realizes that the two groups have a lot more in common than they would prefer to admit.
The Scarlet Pimpernel
A timeless novel of adventure, intrigue, and romance is sparked by one man's defiance in the face of authority...
The year is 1792. The French Revolution, driven to excess by its own triumph, has turned into a reign of terror. Daily, tumbrels bearing new victims to the guillotine roll over the cobbled streets of Paris.… Thus the stage is set for one of the most enthralling novels of historical adventure ever written.
The mysterious figure known as the Scarlet Pimpernel, sworn to rescue helpless men, women, and children from their doom; his implacable foe, the French agent Chauvelin, relentlessly hunting him down; and lovely Marguerite Blakeney, a beautiful French exile married to an English lord and caught in a terrible conflict of loyalties—all play their parts in a suspenseful tale that ranges from the squalid slums of Paris to the aristocratic salons of London, from intrigue on a great English country estate to the final denouement on the cliffs of the French coast.
There have been many imitations of The Scarlet Pimpernel, but none has ever equaled its superb sense of color and drama and its irresistible gift of wonderfully romantic escape. (summary from Amazon.com)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
"You don't know about me, without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but that ain't no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth."
With these words, Huckleberry Finn draws us into the narrative that forever changed the course of American literature. Huck's view of Southern life in the years leading up to the Civil War, delivered with a country boy's accent, sparked a new realism in storytelling.
Huck's voice is that of an outsider, fleeing the authority figures attempting to "sivilize" him. His companion, Jim, is a runaway slave whose bid for freedom is even more desperate. Their story — raising issues of prejudice and racism, slavery and freedom — faces questions no American novel had ever addressed. Loaded with hilarious escapades and unforgettable characters, this tale of adventures along the Mississippi River provides thought-provoking entertainment. (summary from Amazon.com)
The Adventures of Ulysses
The legendary adventures of the Greek king’s epic journey come to life in a modern retelling of The Odyssey that’s “an unmitigated delight” (School Library Journal).
In their ten-year siege of Troy, the Greeks claim victory thanks to the cunning wit of Ulysses, King of Ithaca, who devised the infamous Trojan Horse. Now, with the epic war finally finished, Ulysses sets sail for home—but his journey will be long and arduous. Having angered Poseidon, god of the sea, Ulysses and his men are thrown off course by a raging storm and forced to wander the perilous world for another ten years.
On his epic trek, Ulysses must match wits and strength with man-eating Sirens, a towering Cyclops, the witch-goddess Circe, and a slew of other deadly foes. Meanwhile, in Ithaca, his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, contend with a rowdy mob of suitors who have taken over their home in an attempt to usurp the absent ruler’s place. (Summary from Amazon.com)
The Giver
In Lois Lowry’s Newbery Medal–winning classic, twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a seemingly ideal world. Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver does he begin to understand the dark secrets behind his fragile community.
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Life in the community where Jonas lives is idyllic. Designated birthmothers produce newchildren, who are assigned to appropriate family units. Citizens are assigned their partners and their jobs. No one thinks to ask questions. Everyone obeys. Everyone is the same. Except Jonas.
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Not until he is given his life assignment as the Receiver of Memory does he begin to understand the dark, complex secrets behind his fragile community. Gradually Jonas learns that power lies in feelings. But when his own power is put to the test—when he must try to save someone he loves—he may not be ready. Is it too soon? Or too late?
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Told with deceptive simplicity, this is the provocative story of a boy who experiences something incredible and undertakes something impossible. In the telling it questions every value we have taken for granted and reexamines our most deeply held beliefs.
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The Giver has become one of the most influential novels of our time
Long Term Assignments
1. Independent Reading Project- this will be due the last Monday of each quarter. Specific details will be given during the first week of each quarter.
2. Grammar Notebook Organization and Completion- using the spiral notebook, we will create a personalized grammar textbook. Each quarter, you will turn this book in for a grade. The bulk of the notebook will be completed in class. If you pay attention to directions and put in effort, your grade will reflect that.
3. Root Words- On Mondays, you will receive an interactive root word assignment. Complete it and organize it alphabetically in your binder's vocabulary section. You will submit this for grading every quarter.
Nothing but the Truth
In this thought-provoking examination of freedom, patriotism, and respect, ninth grader Philip Malloy is kept from joining the track team by his failing grades in English class. Convinced that the teacher just doesn't like him, Philip concocts a plan to get transferred out of her class. Breaking the school's policy of silence during the national anthem, he hums along, and ends up in a crisis at the center of the nation's attention. (summary from Amazon.com)
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