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Language Arts- 6th Grade Lesson Plan - Introduction

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Language Arts- 6th Grade Lesson Plan - Overview

The sixth grade language arts program is made up of 269 learning activities organized in three sections. The sections are alternative teaching approaches which overlap in their teaching of language arts mechanics, reading skills, writing skills, spelling, and vocabulary. Many parents follow the sequence exactly as it is presented. Many rotate doing one exercise from each section.

The sixth grade materials begin with four chapters built in a highly engaging game show format that build vocabulary skills (28 learning activities), processing/reading strategies (8 learning activities), reading comprehension skills (30 learning activities),and test-taking skills (3 learning activities). These activities provide explanations not only of the principles but they will also explain to the children what they did wrong.

For instance, in the synonym section, the program will ask students to identify the synonym of “provoke”. If you pick “calm”, the program will explain that you’ve made a mistake by selecting the opposite, not the synonym. This helps students understand the errors that they are making while also teaching them more about the relationships of words. If you pick “scream” for the synonym of “provoke”, the program will explain that while there is a relationship between the words (i.e. while provoked, you might scream), scream is not the synonym, it is just a possible result of being provoked. An unrelated word or two is also provided as choices as well as “make angry,” the closest synonym. These exercises combine:

• Multimedia instruction explaining the meaning of antonyms and synonyms, the meaning of the hundreds of words covered, and the nature of the mistake made
• Multimedia practice to learn and reinforce the correct answer where definitions are read and heard multiple times in an educationally effective structure.

The next five chapters are integrated language art units constructed around Authentic Literature. These units build reading and language skills providing materials for before, during, and after each reading. The unit before reading helps build the interest in the story, invokes prior knowledge, and is usually a high amusing multimedia introduction These units integrate vocabulary, reading comprehension, grammar skills building, critical analysis, and writing skills. To teach writing , Odyssey Writer is provided as a way to organize thoughts in outlines or other graphical organizers, to write and self-edit writing assignments, and to save them for review. Themes of cultural and generational differences, survival, friendship, hard work, and determination are explored through literature. The reading assignments (the text is provided online) are excerpted from:

• The Lost Garden by Lawrence Yep (12 learning activities)
• Far North by Will Hobbs (14 activities)
• Growing Up in Coal Country. by Susan Campbell (14 activities)
• Lupita Manana by Patricia Beatty (14 activities)
• Poems By Langston Hughes (13 activities)

Note: Many parents have contactd us with interest in gathering materials in addition to the excerpted portions of the stories studied within the Language Arts section of the program. These materials DO NOT need to be purchased but if you are interested in doing so the links above will take you to the apropriate pages on Amazon.

The last nine chapters provide in depth exercises in all of the key language arts areas. They provide text-based online explanations of principles followed by online worksheets to reinforce the skills. The areas covered:

• Grammar – 26 learning activities covering the mechanics of sentence structure (subject/predicate, sentence fragments, dependent and independent clauses), punctuation, parts of speech, pronouns, noun-verb agreement, adverbs and verbs (transitive, intransitive, tenses), and punctuation (commas, capitalization)
• Accurate Reading - 6 learning activities focusing on the pronunciation of letter combinations, multisyllabic words, and affixes (prefixes, suffixes).
• Reading and Vocabulary Skills-18 activities covering figures of speech, comprehension skills, main idea and details, various reading styles (poetry, novels, textbooks, manuals, newspapers), and content/origin specific vocabulary highlighting on Latin parts of words and acronyms.
• Literature- 11 activities highlighting point of view, elements of mood and tone, writing (flashbacks, foreshadowing), literal and figurative language, and propaganda techniques used in media.
• Genres of Literature- 22 lesson activities focusing on prereading skills (making inferences, drawing conclusions, making generalizations, rereading) and characteristics of various genres (fiction, non-fiction, biography, essay, newspaper, folklore, poetry, play)
• The Writing Process-14 activities following the plan-draft-write-revise-edit-print-and share format within various genres of writing (paragraphs fiction, response to literature, autobiography, poetry, letter writing, and plays.)
• Speaking and Listening- 8 activities highlighting the purposes of listening for information, solutions, enjoyment, and appreciation, organizing notes, paraphrasing, and summarizing speeches.
• Careers in Language Arts- 1 research and report activity focusing on careers in journalism, library science, publishing, advertising, theater, television, game-creation, movies, and video.
• Spelling Conventions- 27 activities featuring spelling rules, irregular plurals, variant spellings, word endings, commonly misspelled words, and grade level appropriate sight words