Sixth Grade Language Arts Course Syllabus  

Description:

Sixth Grade Language Arts will enable students to write and speak clearly and coherently.  We achieve this by learning the eight parts of speech, diagramming sentences, and applying the rules of grammar and punctuation.  Paragraphs, essays, and reports will be written throughout the year.  The skills learned will provide each student a foundation for effective communication.

Standards:

Upon completing the Sixth Grade Language Arts course students should be able to:

• Understand denotation and connotation of words.
• Understand content area vocabulary.
• Use complex structural analysis to determine meaning in context.
• Vary sentence structure and length in paragraphs.
• Write clear and complete simple, compound, and complex sentences.
• Use correct agreement between pronouns and antecedents.
• Use correct nominative, objective, and possessive forms of pronouns.
• Distinguish between adjectives and adverbs.
• Use correct agreement between subjects and verbs.
• Use strong verbs and nouns.
• Use concrete and sensory details.
• Use language appropriate to content, purpose, and audience.
• Apply the writing process for a variety of authentic purposes and audiences.
• Evaluate the content and organization of one’s own and others’ writing.
• Narrow the topic to establish a focus with audience and purpose in mind.
• Write pieces with effective introduction, body, and conclusion.
• Organize writing logically in paragraphs and use transition words and elements to move from one paragraph to another.
• Respond to reading, listening, observing, and inquiry through applying writing-to-learn strategies in situations such as graphic organizers, note taking, journals, and logs and writing-to-demonstrate learning strategies in situations such as graphic organizers, open-response questions, and summaries.

Grading:

Students will be evaluated on class assignments and activities including but not limited to the following:

• Notebook ( open response questions, entrance and exit questions)
• Projects (Speeches, Writing pieces)
• Tests/Quizzes
• Homework/ Participation

Course Content:

FIRST QUARTER

Introduction to LA class (syllabus, DOL, entrance/exit questions, portfolios, setup of week-writing day, grammar day, etc.), Introduction to components of a good paragraph and writing process.

Unit 3 Grammar: Nouns

·        Recognizing Nouns, Common and Proper Nouns, Singular and Plural Nouns

·        Unit 1 of Vocabulary Book                                              1 week

·        Unit 1 of Vocabulary Book, Possessive Nouns, Plural and Possessive Nouns, Appositives, Reflection of Paragraph.                              1 week

·        Unit 2 of Vocabulary Book, Review of Nouns and Test, Introduction to Fictional Narrative (brainstorm).                                                      1 week

Unit 5 Grammar: Verbs

·        Action verbs, main Verbs and helping Verbs, quiz on helping verbs, Unit 2 of Vocabulary unit, fictional writing narrative prompts and story glove, write a rough draft.                                                                 1 week

·        Make a folded book of fictional narrative, practice staying in first or third person, Unit 3 of Vocabulary book, direct objects, transitive and intransitive verbs. 1 week

·        Being and linking verbs, quiz on being and linking verbs, verb tenses, principal parts of verbs, Unit 3 of Vocabulary book, introduction to personal narrative.      1 week

·        Practice personal narratives with writing prompts, brainstorm and write first copy of narrative, Review of Units 1-3 Vocabulary book, irregular verbs, subject-verb agreement                                                                            1 week

·        Revise personal narrative, peer conferencing, contractions, verb usage, Unit 4 of Vocabulary book, review of verbs, quiz on DOL.              1 week

·        Test on verbs, student conferencing for narratives, write final draft of narrative, word connotations, and idioms, unit 4 of Vocabulary book.           1 week

SECOND QUARTER

Unit 1 Grammar:  The Sentence

·        Complete Subjects and Complete Predicates, Simple Subjects and Simple Predicates, Diagramming Simple Subjects and Simple Predicates, Unit 5 of Vocabulary book, Paragraph a week.                                                   1 week

·        Unit 5 of Vocabulary book, Subjects in Imperative Sentences, Diagramming Compound Subjects, Diagramming Compound Predicates, Reflection of Paragraph a week.                                                               1 week

·        Unit 6 of Vocabulary book, Compound Sentences, look at real world pieces with compound sentences, Conjunctions, quiz on DOL, Compound sentences. 1 week

·        Unit 6 of Vocabulary book, Fragments and Run-ons, review portfolio pieces for fragments and run-ons, review of Unit 1, review writing requirements for science fair report.                                                                 1 week

·        Review of Units 4-6 in Vocabulary book, introduction to speeches and requirements, note-taking and outline skills, begin Unit 7 Modifiers, diagramming adjectives, articles and demonstratives, quiz on adjectives and articles.                  1 week

·        Unit 7 of Vocabulary book, 10 questions for speech, comparing with adjectives, comparing with more and most, write a paragraph using comparative and superlative adjectives, proper adjectives.                                              1 week

·        Unit 7 of Vocabulary book, research for speeches, discuss introduction for speeches, adverbs that modify verbs, adverbs that modify adjectives and adverbs, comparing with adverbs, write a paragraph using comparative forms of adverbs (critique misuse of comparative forms- Goldstar commercial).                   1 week

·        Unit 8 of Vocabulary book, discuss conclusion and rough draft of speech, negatives, adjective or adverb, combining sentences: expanding with modifiers.     1 week

·        Unit 8 of Vocabulary book, practice introduction and conclusion of speech in class, review of Unit 7, test on Unit 7.                              1 week

THIRD QUARTER

·        Revise first draft of speech, student conferencing for speeches, Unit 9 of Vocabulary book, discuss expository writing, begin Unit 11 Pronouns, pronouns and antecedents, pronouns as subjects and objects, possessive pronouns.      1 week

·        Peer Conferencing of speeches, write final draft of speech, continue practicing introduction and conclusion, Unit 9 of Vocabulary book, pronouns after linking verbs, pronouns in compound subjects and objects, using who, whom, whose.  1 week

·        Practice speeches in class with partners, Review of Vocabulary units 7-9, using we and us with nouns, indefinite pronouns.                              1 week

·        Practice speeches in class with partners, Unit 10 of Vocabulary book, review of Unit 11, test on Unit 11, creative writing with pronouns.            1 week

·        Practice speeches in class with partners, Unit 10 of Vocabulary book, Begin Unit 13 Prepositional phrases, bingo game with prepositions, quiz on prepositions and phrases, diagramming prepositional phrases.             1 week

·        Practice speeches in class with partners, Unit 11 of Vocabulary book, prepositional phrases as adjectives, prepositional phrases as adverbs, write using prepositional phrases.                                                             1 week

·        Speeches delivered in class, review of units completed in English book, DOL quiz.

      1 week

·        Unit 11 of Vocabulary book, preposition or adverb, expanding sentences with prepositional phrases, using prepositions correctly.             1 week

·        Review of Unit 13, test on Unit 13, Vocabulary unit 12, creative writing activity.

      1 week

FOURTH QUARTER

·        Vocabulary unit 12, introduction to feature articles, examine examples in class, examine leads, guest speaker from newspaper of magazine company, begin Unit 9 Capitalization and Punctuation, Reviewing end punctuation. 1 week

·        Review of Vocabulary units 10-12, begin writing rough draft of feature article, proper nouns and proper adjectives, interjections.                        1 week

·        Vocabulary unit 13, commas in a series, more uses for commas, revise first draft of feature article, student conferences.                              1 week

·        Vocabulary unit 13, abbreviations, punctuating dialogue, titles, peer conferencing of feature articles.                                                        1 week

·        Vocabulary unit 14, review of Unit 9, test on Unit 9, finalize feature article. 1 week

·        Vocabulary unit 14, reflection of feature article, introduction to five-paragraph essay, DOL quiz.                                                                     1 week

·        Vocabulary unit 15, start review for finals, rough draft of five-paragraph essay, revise five-paragraph essay.                                                              1 week

·        Vocabulary unit 15, review for finals, final draft of five-paragraph essay, reflection of essay.                                                                      1 week

·        Take final for English and Vocabulary, sort through portfolio. 1 week