How to learn Grade 6: English language arts

Louisiana academic standards: English language arts, Grade 6

0 of 63 concepts ready to learn · Markdown, for your AI

1. Language Standards

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
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
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
Advanced Figurative Language: Understand and interpret figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meaning — including allusion, irony, pun, oxymoron, and extended metaphor — and distinguish between connotation and denotation when analysing or choosing words
Standard English: Know and understand the differences between spoken and written language — including differences in formality, register, grammar, and vocabulary — and between Standard English and other varieties of English, using Standard English confidently in writing and speech

2. Speaking and Listening Standards

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
Multimedia Presentations: Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes
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
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 Spoken and Media Presentations: Summarise a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats including visually, quantitatively, and orally
Group discussions: Participate actively in collaborative conversations staying on topic; continue a conversation through multiple exchanges; maintain attention in discussions

3. Writing Standards

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
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
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
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
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
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
Narrative Writing: Write narratives with developed settings, characters and plot, using dialogue and description to develop experiences and show character responses to situations
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
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

4. Reading Standards for Informational Text

Wide Independent Reading Across Genres: Read widely and independently across fiction and non-fiction — including whole novels, short stories, plays, poetry, and non-fiction from different genres, periods, and cultures — building stamina, breadth, and personal taste as a reader
Comparing Books: Make comparisons within and across books, identifying similarities and differences in themes, characters, settings, and authorial choices across multiple texts
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
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
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
Combining information from texts: Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably, combining and comparing what each source contributes
Why the author wrote it: Distinguish one's own point of view from that of the author of an informational text and identify the author's purpose
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
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
Explaining Events & Ideas: Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in an informational text, including what happened and why, by citing specific textual evidence about causes, effects, and steps in a process
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

5. Reading Standards for Literature

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
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
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
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
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

6. Language

Discussing and Questioning New Words: Ask and answer questions about unknown words in texts; discuss word meanings and link new vocabulary to words already known
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
Using a Thesaurus to Choose Words: Use a thesaurus to find synonyms and extend vocabulary choices, selecting the most appropriate word based on context, connotation, and register
Using a Dictionary to Check Spellings: Use the first two or three letters of a word to check its spelling in a dictionary; consult reference materials including beginning dictionaries to verify and correct spellings
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
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
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

7. Speaking & Listening

Reporting & Recounting: Report on a topic or recount an experience with organised facts and descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace
Drawing Conclusions from Discussion: Review the key ideas expressed in discussions and draw conclusions in light of information and knowledge gained from the discussion
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

8. Writing

Planning Narratives: Plan narrative writing by considering how authors have developed characters and settings, drawing on techniques observed in texts read, heard, or performed
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
Writing Character & Dialogue: Write narratives that develop real or imagined experiences using effective technique — including establishing context and point of view, developing characters through dialogue, pacing, and description, using varied transitions, and providing a reflective conclusion
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
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

9. Reading: Informational Text

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
Structure of information texts: Describe the overall structure of an informational text (chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) and explain how the author's chosen structure helps convey information and ideas
Comparing Structure in Information Texts: Compare and contrast the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more informational texts, identifying patterns such as chronology, comparison, cause/effect, or problem/solution
Main Topic & Key Details: Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph informational text, determine the focus of specific paragraphs, and explain how key details support the main idea

10. Reading: Literature

Narrative Perspective and Unreliable Narrators: Analyse point of view and narrative perspective — including first person, third person limited and omniscient, and unreliable narrator — and how the author's or narrator's perspective shapes the reader's understanding and creates effects such as suspense, irony, or humour
Comparing Characters, Settings and Events: Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details about how characters interact, settings influence action, or events connect
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
Inferring Characters' Feelings and Motives: Draw inferences from independently-read texts, such as inferring characters' feelings, thoughts and motives from their actions, and justifying inferences with evidence from the text