Language Arts Highlights
Name
: Mrs. Onyx
Course Title: 6th Grade Language Arts
Enduring Understandings Related to Course:
- The more time spent reading, the better your reading, writing, and
vocabulary become.
- People communicate to explain themselves and their ideas.
- Organization of student learning is key to gathering information,
synthesizing, analyzing and communicating.
- Humans communicate their stories, beliefs and values in various ways.
- Through time, language continues to evolve.
Essential Questions Related to the Course:
- What patterns help us to build understandings of ourselves and our
learning?
- How do we communicate with our world?
- How do we know when we know something?
- What do we have to do to become smarter?
- What are the habits of good readers and writers?
- How does synthesizing help us to understand the "big ideas" of life?
Assessment: Projects, tests, quizzes, oral assessments, performance-based
assessments, self-assessments, peer-assessments, group-assessments, reflections,
and kinesthetic interpretations.
Reassessment:
- All homework must be completed.
- The original grade must show a lack of understanding and be below a 70(C-). Portions of larger
projects may also be reassessed to show understanding of specific concepts.
- The student must correct the original assessment and come in for at least
1 extra-help session prior to reassessment.
Content Overview: still working on this!
- Writing Genre Studies: Feature Article,
Editorial, Literary Essay
- Literature Genre Studies: Narrative-mythology, novels, short stories (,
Non-fiction- Feature Article
- Poetry
- Literacy Test Prep- NJASK
- Independent Reading
Skills to be Taught:
- Reading strategies for fiction and non-fiction (novels and trade books, textbooks,
newspapers and magazine articles, websites, and other research materials)
- Writing strategies for various purposes and audiences (feature articles,
persuasive essay, literary essay, and some story writings, newspapers, reviews, scripts,
group writing projects)
- Techniques to expand and integrate vocabulary
- Techniques to visualize material (graphic organizers, outlines,
note-taking strategies, simulations, presentations)
- Techniques to advance research skills (note-taking, analyzing primary and
secondary sources, questioning authenticity of sources, evaluating value of
information, interpreting cause and effect, effective use of technology,
attributing the work of others)
- Techniques to analyze non-print material
- Strategies for effective listening, viewing, and speaking
- Practice in following directions
Meeting Different Needs:
- Using techniques to increase the child’s metacognition -(a child’s
ability to understand how he/she learns)
- Using techniques that present material in a variety of formats (learning
styles, multiple intelligences, using varied groupings of individuals,
partners, small groups, whole class, whole house) with a variety of ways for
the student to respond
- Using fair and credible evaluations that assess the child in a myriad of
formats
- Using timing of assessments to the advantage of the child
- Offering extra help after school to enable all students to meet the
standards (re-teaching, re-testing, alternate assessments, modified
assessments)
- Providing parents with the tools to help their children ( house web site,
extensive use of homework planner as a communication device)
Student Materials required: see main page for supply list
Resources Used:
- Literature appropriate to unit of study
- Sample writings and exemplars
taken from authentic sources
- Beyond the Reef
(Houghton Mifflin)
- WriteSource 2000 (Houghton Mifflin)
- Internet and House Links
- Media Center Resources
- New Jersey and Cherry Hill Standards
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to House 6-1