Ms. Moss 6th Grade August 22 - September 30 Unit Title: Exploring Literary Nonfiction and Poetry TEKS: (1) Reading/Fluency. Students read grade-level text with fluency and comprehension. Students are expected to adjust fluency when reading aloud grade-level text based on the reading purpose and the nature of the text. (2) Reading/Vocabulary Development. Students understand new vocabulary and use it when reading and writing. Students are expected to: (A) determine the meaning of grade-level academic English words derived from Latin, Greek, or other linguistic roots and affixes; (B) use context (e.g., cause and effect or compare and contrast organizational text structures) to determine or clarify the meaning of unfamiliar or multiple meaning words; (E) use a dictionary, a glossary, or a thesaurus (printed or electronic) to determine the meanings, syllabication, pronunciations, alternate word choices, and parts of speech of words. (4) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Poetry. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of poetry and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to explain how figurative language (e.g., personification, metaphors, similes, hyperbole) contributes to the meaning of a poem. (7) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Literary Nonfiction. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the varied structural patterns and features of literary nonfiction and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to identify the literary language and devices used in memoirs and personal narratives and compare their characteristics with those of an autobiography. (8) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Sensory Language. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about how an author's sensory language creates imagery in literary text and provide evidence from text to support their understanding. Students are expected to explain how authors create meaning through stylistic elements and figurative language emphasizing the use of personification, hyperbole, and refrains. (13) Reading/Media Literacy. Students use comprehension skills to analyze how words, images, graphics, and sounds work together in various forms to impact meaning. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater depth in increasingly more complex texts. Students are expected to: (A) explain messages conveyed in various forms of media; (B) recognize how various techniques influence viewers' emotions; (14) Writing/Writing Process. Students use elements of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing) to compose text. Students are expected to: (A) plan a first draft by selecting a genre appropriate for conveying the intended meaning to an audience, determining appropriate topics through a range of strategies (e.g., discussion, background reading, personal interests, interviews), and developing a thesis or controlling idea; (B) develop drafts by choosing an appropriate organizational strategy (e.g., sequence of events, cause-effect, compare-contrast) and building on ideas to create a focused, organized, and coherent piece of writing; (C) revise drafts to clarify meaning, enhance style, include simple and compound sentences, and
improve transitions by adding, deleting, combining, and rearranging sentences or larger units of text after rethinking how well questions of purpose, audience, and genre have been addressed; (D) edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling; and (E) revise final draft in response to feedback from peers and teacher and publish written work for appropriate audiences. (15) Writing/Literary Texts. Students write literary texts to express their ideas and feelings about real or imagined people, events, and ideas. Students are expected to: (B) write poems using: (i) poetic techniques (e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia); (ii) figurative language (e.g., similes, metaphors); and (iii) graphic elements (e.g., capital letters, line length). (16) Writing. Students write about their own experiences. Students are expected to write a personal narrative that has a clearly defined focus and communicates the importance of or reasons for actions and/or consequences. (17) Writing/Expository and Procedural Texts. Students write expository and procedural or work-related texts to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for specific purposes. Students are expected to: (C) write responses to literary or expository texts and provide evidence from the text to demonstrate understanding; and (19) Oral and Written Conventions/Conventions. Students understand the function of and use the conventions of academic language when speaking and writing. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to: (A) use and understand the function of the following parts of speech in the context of reading, writing, and speaking: (i) verbs (irregular verbs and active and passive voice); (iii) predicate adjectives (She is intelligent.) and their comparative and superlative forms (e.g., many, more, most); (v) prepositions and prepositional phrases to convey location, time, direction, or to provide details; (vi) indefinite pronouns (e.g., all, both, nothing, anything); (vii) subordinating conjunctions (e.g., while, because, although, if); and (C) use complete simple and compound sentences with correct subject-verb agreement. (20) Oral and Written Conventions/Handwriting, Capitalization, and Punctuation. Students write legibly and use appropriate capitalization and punctuation conventions in their compositions. Students are expected to: (B) recognize and use punctuation marks including: (i) commas in compound sentences;
(C) use proper mechanics including italics and underlining for titles of books. (21) Oral and Written Conventions/Spelling. Students spell correctly. Students are expected to: (B) use spelling patterns and rules and print and electronic resources to determine and check correct spellings; and (C) know how to use the spell-check function in word processing while understanding its limitations. (28) Listening and Speaking/Teamwork. Students work productively with others in teams. Students will continue to apply earlier standards with greater complexity. Students are expected to participate in student-led discussions by eliciting and considering suggestions from other group members and by identifying points of agreement and disagreement. Guiding Questions Related to Key Understandings: How do authors choose what to write about? What techniques do authors use to help their audience connect with the text? Why do authors use graphic elements when writing poetry? How do authors help readers create meaning through their use of literary techniques? What techniques do authors use when writing poetry? Why do poets use certain techniques in writing? How can understanding word parts help you understand what words mean? How do readers figure out the meaning of unknown words? Why do readers and writers use dictionaries and other resources? Students Need the Following Supplies: Writer's/Vocabulary Notebook 1 set of 5 dividers (teacher will supply these) wide-ruled notebook paper pencil Performance Indicators: Write an epitaph about a real person or a fictional character using poetic technique, figurative language, and graphic elements. Write a one-page personal narrative about a time you made a personal sacrifice to help someone. Write multiple entries including thoughts, connections, and/or strategies that deepen understanding of fictional texts, poetry, and media. Provide evidence from the text to support ideas. Record multiple entries in a vocabulary notebook that demonstrate knowledge of new words and their meanings. Materials: Teacher Writer's/Vocabulary Notebook chart paper class set of 3 different color highlighters class set of colored pencils class set of dictionaries blue, pink, and green index cards permanent marker blue student handouts with prefix organizer pink student handouts with root organizer
green student handouts with suffix organizer note cards - assorted colors 5-10 grade-appropriate diamante poems 5-10 grade-appropriate shape poems set of plastic alphabet letters and bag or container collection of grade-appropriate poems from reading teacher-selected text with 4-5 words that should be unfamiliar to students grade-appropriate poems from reading with examples of similes, metaphors, 5-10 grade-appropriate epitaphs collection of grade-appropriate texts for students Resources: Elements of Language textbooks and workbooks Quack Literary Devices dvd Schoolhouse Rock Grammar Rock (parts of speech video) Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins A Dictionary of American Idioms Write Source textbooks & workbooks Lesson Activity 1: August 22 - September 2 Engage or Explore or Explain or Elaborate or Evaluate Student use a variety of comprehension strategies to read and analyze poetry and create their own poetry including an epitaph. Students explain how authors use poetic techniques to convey meaning in poetry. Students write connections, thoughts, and responses to texts read as a class and to texts read independently. Students acquire new vocabulary skills in the areas of root word and affixes, commonly used in English and use a dictionary, glossary, and thesaurus to support their understanding and usage. Student Responsibility, 8/22/11: Bell Ringer: Be prepared for class. Listen and discuss class procedures and rules. Discuss basic supplies (notebook, dividers, pencils, paper). Follow along, participate, and complete guided/group practice on GUM (grammar, usage, and mechanics) usage review handout, pages 200-204. This section covers common errors in English usage.
Student Responsibility, 8/23/11: Bell Ringer: Respond to journal topic #88, "The beginning is always today." - Mary Wollstonecraft Class continues with GUM 200-204. Student Responsibility, 8/24/11: Bell Ringer: Respond to journal topic #160, "We must become the change we want to see." - Mohandas Gandhi Class finishes GUM 200-204. Student Responsibility, 8/25/11: Bell Ringer: Analogies #48 (part : whole) Complete GUM 205, Review A: Common Usage Problems. Grade in class. Complete GUM 206, Review B: Common Usage Problems. Grade in class. Quiz on usage on 8/26/11. Student Responsibility, 8/26/11: Bell Ringer: Analogies #49 (word : synonym) QUIZ: GUM 207, Review C: Common Usage Problems. Student Responsibility, 8/29/11: Bell Ringer: Respond to journal topic #29, "Friendship with oneself is all important, because without it one cannot be friends with anyone else in the world." - Eleanor Roosevelt (6B only QUIZ: GUM 207, Review C: Common Usage Problems.) Look over quotes about being a writer. Free-write about what writing means to you. Discuss what writers write and why they write. Record ideas in notebook. Begin list of personal ideas for writing. Student Responsibility, 8/30/11: Bell Ringer: Vocabulary #91 Onomatopoeia Create a list of best and worst moments, choose one, and free-write about it. Work on yesterday's list of personal ideas for writing. Student Responsibility, 8/31/11: Bell Ringer: Writing #63 Alliteration Discuss line length and graphic elements in poems. Read sample diamante poems and write one of their own. Student Responsibility, 9/1/11: Bell Ringer: Vocabulary 34 Metaphor Copy diamante poem neatly and put on construction paper background. Student Responsibility, 9/2/11: Bell Ringer: GUM 2 - Sentences and Sentence Fragments Begin setting up dividers in notebooks. Student Responsibility, 9/5/11:
Bell Ringer: Respond to journal topic #71, "Use what talents you have; the woods would have little music if no birds sang their song except those who sang best." - Rev. Oliver G. Wilson Finish setting up dividers in notebooks. Share diamante poems as time allows. (Teacher keeps poems for later project.) Student Responsibility, 9/6/11: Bell Ringer: Writing #72 Epitaph Read and examine sample shape poems. Create a shape poem. Student Responsibility, 9/7/11: Bell Ringer: Vocabulary #35 simile or metaphor Review prefix (pre-), fill out table, complete vocabulary worksheet, and add prefix to pocket chart. Review root (ped), fill out table, complete vocabulary worksheet, and add root to pocket chart. Review suffix (-able), fill out table, complete vocabulary worksheet, and add suffix to pocket chart. Finish shape poems. Student Responsibility, 9/8/11: Bell Ringer: Action Verbs - teacher created Review verbs and irregular verbs. Student Responsibility, 9/9/11: Bell Ringer: No Glamour Literature Idioms #8 Review verbs and irregular verbs. Student Responsibility, 9/12/11: Bell Ringer: Glencoe Literature DLP #1 Capitalization Finish verb handout. Fill in verb table with missing verbs. Student Responsibility, 9/13/11: Bell Ringer: Glencoe Literature DLP #2 Pronoun Usage Transfer affixes, definitions, and example sentence to vocabulary charts in Vocabulary section of notebook. Student Responsibility, 9/14/11: Bell Ringer: Glencoe Literature DLP #3 Comparatives and Superlatives Review complete subjects, simple subjects, complete predicates, and simple predicates (verbs) using overhead projector and worksheets. Students follow along, participate, and mark correct answers. Student Responsibility, 9/15/11: Bell Ringer: Glencoe Literature DLP #4 Capitalization Review complete subjects, simple subjects, complete predicates, and simple predicates (verbs) using overhead projector and worksheets. Students follow along, participate, and mark correct answers.
Student Responsibility, 9/16/11: Bell Ringer: Glencoe Literature DLP #5 Comparatives and Superlatives Students complete worksheet on simple subjects and simple predicates (verbs). Students share shape poems. Student Responsibility, 9/19/11: Bell Ringer: Journal Writing #157 (Substitute) Students complete three vocabulary sheets, one each on a prefix, root, and suffix. Students transfer a portion of the information to the tables in the Vocabulary section of their notebooks. Student Responsibility, 9/20/11: Bell Ringer: Analogies #57 Review subjects, predicates, and verbs. Follow along on screen and note information on handout. Students complete worksheet on simple subjects and simple predicates (verbs). Student Responsibility, 9/21/11: Bell Ringer: Add writing ideas to Writing section of notebook. Students create a timeline and then write a personal narrative rough draft. Student Responsibility, 9/22/11: Bell Ringer: Write one paragraph about favorite school subject and one paragraph about least favorite school subject. Students grade the previous worksheet on simple subjects and simple predicates (verbs). Students review the notes they have taken and complete a second worksheet for a grade. Student Responsibility, 9/23/11: Bell Ringer: none Students finish transferring vocabulary information to the Vocabulary section of their notebooks. Students finish incomplete work. Student Responsibility, 9/26/11-9/30/11: Bell Ringer 1: Analogy Bell Ringer 2: Journal Writing Bell Ringer 3: Sentence or Fragment Bell Ringer 4: Phrase or Clause Bell Ringer 5: Independent or Subordinate Clause Review phrases and clauses, independent and subordinate clauses, and conjunctions using overhead projector and worksheets. Students follow along, participate, and mark correct answers.