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In English This Month... |
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This is a general
plan as to where our LA curriculum will take us throughout 6th grade. Please
understand that schedules are subject to change, and units may be moved
around to take place at different times throughout the year. It is
also possible that time frames may encourage the addition of different
writing pieces and activities for the students. |
September:
Getting to Know You
We will spend some time getting
to know each other and becoming comfortable working together as a new community
of 6th graders.
Becoming familiar with this new building, organizing materials, learning
classroom expectations, following a new 9 period schedule, and meeting a number
of different teachers and people will make our middle school transition a little
confusing.
It is helpful to start this year with a pre-assessment essay called "Why My Best Friend is the Best"...which becomes an easy gage for us to see what writing elements and concepts need to be addressed from the school year's start.
We will also spend some time this month working through our "Me Bag" writing reflection and presentations. This is another great way for our students to better get to know each other and realize how much they might actually have in common with some new faces on their team!
October-November:
Grammar and Mechanics
Throughout this unit we will "get back to the basics" with grammar; studying the
8 parts of speech, types of sentences and sentence structure, punctuation, and
even focus on some other basic writing mechanics that are crucial to becoming a
more successful writer.
**Not always, but this unit
is often taught with the assistance of the Newspaper. By providing
this real life connection, the students are better able to relate grammar
concepts to something more concrete, and there are numerous resources available
to the children in the paper that many are not yet aware of.
When studying the Newspaper, we will also complete some additional writing
pieces that include, but are not limited to, letters to the editor,
advertisements, object obituaries, and classified ads.
We also begin working through our "Words of the Day". These words are ways for us to further expand your student's vocabulary, and are usually taught as 15 minute large group mini-lessons at the beginning of class.
**At the same time we are also doing some personal journal writing and reflecting.
November-December: Children's Book Unit
Throughout this unit the students will have the opportunity to share some of
their favorite childhood picture books with their classmates.
Through those readings, we will study different components of and techniques
used when writing a successful children's book.
We will spend a large amount of time developing our own 10 page book, that will display personal illustrations, self selected characters, and whatever "problem" or lesson they want to teach other children about.
This book will also be another way for the students to display their understanding of the grammar we discussed this far. Each book will have to portray different types of sentences and color coded examples for each of the 8 parts of speech.
December--January: 
We will be working on New York State English Language
Arts Exam Preparation which includes improving reading comprehension
skills, writing & essay development, hi-lighting techniques, & connecting
writing back to the text!
ELA exams
will be held on January 15-17, 2008
Three parts of the ELA exam:
1. Reading Comprehension w/ multiple choice questions
2. Reading and Writing
3. Listening and Writing
**At the same time we are also doing some personal journal
writing and reflecting, completing a "self expression" drawing activity, and
working through a word of the day story with other classmates!
January--February: Poetry Unit
Throughout this unit the students will explore different
types of poetry including, but not limited to: Acrostic, Haikus, Cinquains, Diamantes, Couplets, Quatrains, Limericks, Shape, and Circle/Spiral
poems.
Students will also explore some useful tips on how to better
understand the poetry they read, and even explore the different parts of and
strategies used while writing poetry.
Focusing on the different categories of poetry...Free Verse,
Lyrical, and Narrative, the students will read and analyze a number of different
poems for elements of alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia, rhyme,
rhythm, repetition, and the use of similes and metaphors within the writing.
Students will not only practice writing a variety of
different types of poetry, but will also celebrate their success and share their
personal ideas during our "Poets Cafe" at the end of the unit!
**At the same time we are also doing some personal journal writing and reflecting, and will be working through words of the day.
March: Research Paper/Project
Interdisciplinary LA & Science Unit with
Natural Disasters
Through this unit the students will learn more about how to
conduct research, using a variety of different resources to obtain factual
information. They will become exposed to using online databases and
reference sources, textbooks and periodicals, and even internet sources
to find
the information needed for their natural disaster research paper.
The students will practice making source cards, work cited/
bibliography pages, and internal citations within their written text to prevent
from plagiarism.
Along with an individually written research paper,
the students will also be working with small groups to complete and
present a group selected final project to display their knowledge
learned about their specific natural disaster.
**Specific paper and project requirements, due dates, research guidelines,
and grading rubrics will be discussed and provided to the students at the start
of this unit.
March--April: Business Letters
Throughout this unit, the students will be
writing formal business letters of compliment or complaint
to a company of their choice expressing their likes or dislikes towards a
product they have purchased and used!
**At the same time we are also doing some personal journal writing and reflecting, and will be working through words of the day.
April--May: Greek Mythology
This unit explores the Ancient Greek culture through their highly
valued story telling.
We will learn and discuss the "core" of Greek Gods that "ruled" from Mount
Olympus, and how their stories, adventures, and even mistakes taught the people of Greece life
lessons.
Greek Gods and Goddesses, Mortal Humans, Superhero Beings, and even horrifying
Monsters were all an important part of Greece and its history.
Not only will the students read about, discuss, and watch some of these
interesting myths, but they will also conclude the unit with the development of
their own Greek characters and story!
**At the same time we are also doing some personal journal writing and reflecting, and will be working through words of the day.
May: Expository Writing
As a way to help our future 6th graders make a smooth
transition into the middle school, we are going to create a 6th grade "survival
guide" with our How-To Essays.
After reflecting as a large group, the students will be
responsible for creating a step-by-step guide with the most important "middle
school survival tips" for future 6th grade students to use as a way to make
their first few weeks in this new school a little easier!!
**At the same time we are also doing some personal journal writing and reflecting, and will be working through words of the day.
June: Wrapping Things Up
This month varies completely from year to year!! We will use
most of the time to tie up anything and everything we have left to discuss and
pass back.
If time permits, we try to do some sort of small persuasive writing piece and hold a mini debate (about some sort of current issue or topic).
Final journal responses and personal sharing...goal setting for the summer and 7th grade.
Summer reading lists will be distributed and discussed.
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