How to learn Grade 6: English language arts

Arkansas academic standards: English language arts, Grade 6

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1. Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects

Writing for an audience: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organisation are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience, maintaining a consistent style and structure throughout
Literary Evidence in Writing: Draw evidence from literary texts to support analysis, reflection, and research in writing, applying grade-level reading standards to literature
Evidence-Based Writing: Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research in writing, applying grade-level reading standards to non-fiction
Using Multiple Sources: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or solve a problem efficiently
Short Research Projects: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic, gather information from print and digital sources, and take brief organised notes
Sharing and Publishing Your Writing: Read own writing aloud clearly enough to be heard by peers and the teacher; use digital tools to produce and publish writing
Planning, Revising and Editing Writing: Plan, revise, and edit writing to improve coherence and effectiveness — considering how the writing reflects its intended audience and purpose, amending vocabulary, grammar, and structure, and proofreading for accurate spelling, punctuation, and grammar
Basic Informational Writing: Compose informative or explanatory texts that introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section

2. Reading Standards for Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects

Multimedia elements in texts: Analyse how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text such as graphic novels, multimedia presentations, or illustrated editions of fiction and poetry
Fact vs opinion: Distinguish between statements of fact and statements of opinion in texts, recognising how authors blend factual information with subjective viewpoints
Interpreting visual information in texts: Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively in informational texts (e.g., charts, graphs, diagrams, timelines, animations) and explain how it contributes to understanding the text
Supporting ideas with evidence: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which specific points
Analysing Text Structure: Analyse how a text's structure — including its overall organisation, use of chapters, stanzas, scenes, paragraphs, or sections — contributes to its meaning, style, and development of ideas
Domain Vocabulary Across Subject Areas: Acquire and use accurately academic and domain-specific vocabulary relevant to grade-level topics, including words that signal precise meaning in informational texts across subject areas
Tracing Theme Across a Text: Determine and analyse the theme or central idea of a text, trace how it develops across the text through key details and events, and provide an objective summary distinct from personal opinion
Using and Evaluating Textual Evidence: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of what a text says explicitly and what can be inferred, distinguishing between strong and weak evidence and explaining how the evidence supports a point

3. Reading Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies

Justifying Views About Texts: Provide reasoned justifications for views about texts, supporting interpretations and opinions with evidence and logical arguments
Explaining Relationships in Texts: Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in historical, scientific, or technical texts based on specific information

4. English language arts

Speaking Formally and Giving Presentations: Use Standard English confidently in formal and informal spoken contexts — give short speeches and presentations expressing own ideas clearly, keeping to the point, and adapting register and vocabulary to the audience
Figurative Language and Literary Devices: Determine the meaning of figurative and connotative language in context, analyse the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, and identify literary devices such as metaphor, simile, personification, allusion, and irony
Adapting Speech to Context: Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate to task and situation while adjusting tone, vocabulary, and style for different audiences
Evaluating Arguments in Non-Fiction: Evaluate arguments and claims in non-fiction texts — assess whether reasoning is sound, evidence is relevant and sufficient, distinguish between fact and opinion, and recognise bias, propaganda, and rhetorical techniques
Listening and responding: Listen and respond appropriately to adults and peers; follow agreed-upon rules for discussion such as listening to others and taking turns speaking
Asking Questions: Ask relevant questions to extend understanding; ask and answer questions to seek help, get information, or clarify something not understood
Persuasive Writing: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence — including introducing claims, acknowledging counterclaims, organising reasons logically, maintaining a formal style, and providing a concluding statement
Developed Informational and Explanatory Writing: Write informative and explanatory texts that examine a topic and convey ideas clearly — organising information logically with headings and formatting, developing the topic with relevant facts, definitions, details, and quotations, and using precise vocabulary

5. Language

Applying Spelling Rules to Complex Words: Spell correctly and consistently, applying the spelling patterns and rules from KS1-2 to increasingly complex vocabulary encountered in KS3 reading and subject-specific study
Punctuating Titles of Works: Use underlining, quotation marks, or italics to indicate titles of works, applying conventions for different types of works such as books, stories, poems, songs, and articles
Commas with yes, no, and names: Use commas to set off the words yes and no, to set off tag questions, and to indicate direct address in sentences
Advanced Punctuation for Clarity: Use punctuation confidently and accurately for effect and clarity — including semicolons to link related clauses, colons to introduce lists or explanations, dashes and parentheses for parenthetical information, ellipsis for omission or suspense, and commas for coordinate adjectives and nonrestrictive elements
Types of Sentences: Choose among and construct simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences to signal different relationships among ideas, varying sentence patterns deliberately for meaning, interest, and style
Hyphens in Prefixed Words: Use hyphens to avoid ambiguity in compound modifiers and prefixed words, distinguishing between meanings that change based on hyphen placement
Choosing Tenses for Precise Meaning: Use verb tense to convey various times, sequences, states, and conditions, selecting tenses deliberately to express the precise timing and nature of actions and events
Pronouns for clarity: Choose pronouns for clarity and cohesion, avoiding ambiguity and repetition; use reflexive pronouns correctly (e.g., myself, ourselves, himself)

6. Collaborative Communication

Group discussions: Participate actively in collaborative conversations staying on topic; continue a conversation through multiple exchanges; maintain attention in discussions
Multimedia Presentations: Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes
Evaluating a Speaker's Argument: Summarise the points a speaker makes and explain how each claim is supported by reasons and evidence, evaluating the logic and relevance of the support
Summarising Non-Fiction Main Ideas: Determine two or more main ideas of an informational text and explain how they are supported by key details, then summarise the text without personal opinions
Building on Others in Discussions: Pose and respond to specific questions in discussions, making comments that contribute to the discussion and elaborate on the remarks of others
Preparing for and Explaining in Discussions: Come to discussions prepared, draw on preparation and known information, and explain ideas in light of the discussion

7. Writing

How Language Choices Affect the Reader: Evaluate how authors use language including figurative language, considering the impact of word choices, imagery, and literary devices on the reader
Antonyms & Synonyms: Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their antonyms (opposites) and synonyms (words with similar meanings), using synonym and antonym relationships to refine vocabulary and improve precision in writing
Vocabulary Strategies: Determine the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases using a flexible range of strategies — including context clues, Greek and Latin affixes and roots, reference materials, and verification of inferred meaning
Greek and Latin Roots for Word Meaning: Use knowledge of Greek and Latin affixes (prefixes and suffixes) and roots as clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, building a bank of common roots and their meanings
Academic Vocabulary: Acquire and use accurately a broad range of general academic vocabulary and domain-specific words — drawing new vocabulary from reading and listening and deploying it consciously in writing and speech to achieve particular effects
Research & Note-Taking: Gather relevant information from print and digital sources, summarise or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a basic bibliography or list of sources
Research & Source Evaluation: Summarise and organise material from reading and research — gathering relevant information from multiple sources, assessing credibility, integrating evidence without plagiarising, and supporting ideas with factual detail
Layout and Formatting in Informational Writing: Use layout devices including headings, sub-headings, columns, bullets, and tables to structure text and guide the reader through informational and explanatory writing
Narrative Writing: Write narratives with developed settings, characters and plot, using dialogue and description to develop experiences and show character responses to situations
Cohesion and Transitions Across Writing: Use varied transitions, cohesive devices, and paragraph-linking strategies to create coherence across a whole piece of writing — including temporal transitions, causal connectives, and techniques for signalling shifts in argument, time, or setting
Structured Opinion Writing: Compose opinion pieces that introduce a topic, state a clear point of view, provide organised reasons linked with connecting words, and include a concluding statement or section

8. Reading Comprehension

Comparing Books: Make comparisons within and across books, identifying similarities and differences in themes, characters, settings, and authorial choices across multiple texts
Critical comparison across texts: Make critical comparisons across texts — comparing themes, characters, settings, styles, or arguments in two or more works, including texts from different periods, genres, or cultures
Multiple Accounts of Events: Analyse multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent
Summarising Spoken and Media Presentations: Summarise a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats including visually, quantitatively, and orally
How Parts Build a Whole Text: Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a story, drama, or poem, analysing how each part contributes to the whole
Finding Theme and Summarising: Determine the theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, and provide an objective summary that captures the key events without personal opinions
Text & Media Connections: Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions from the text
Different viewpoints in texts: Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described, recognising the difference between limited and omniscient narration and how perspective shapes storytelling
Plot Structure and Character Development: Analyse how plot structure unfolds through episodes or key events, and how characters develop, respond to challenges, and change over the course of a narrative — including the relationship between character, setting, and plot