English Language Arts, Grade 6

Unit 1: Speaking and Listening

Listening to summarize, identify point of view, and compare and defend views; using specialized vocabulary, varied tenses, organizational patterns, and levels of language; and preparing and delivering presentations with a process approach.

• Using active listening strategies
• Setting a purpose for listening and viewing
• Summarizing and identifying point of view
• Contributing, comparing, and defending opinions
• Comparing your views to a message's views

• Using specialized vocabulary for purpose and audience
• Using varied sentences, tenses, and connectives
• Using organizational patterns to communicate
• Using strategies of effective speaking
• Using the appropriate level of language
• Reading aloud with fluency and expression

• Planning and delivering a presentation
• Using strategies to clarify the message
• Using visual and multimedia aids
• Reflecting and setting presentation goals

Unit 2: Reading and Viewing

Using comprehension strategies to understand unfamiliar words and important ideas; identifying the form, structure, and elements of fantasy novels, poems, persuasive paragraphs, magazines, event summaries, biographies, and pamphlets; and demonstrating critical literacy.

• Activating prior knowledge before reading
• Setting a purpose and choosing a reading speed
• Predicting content from text clues
• Using text features to locate information
• Applying French language knowledge to reading
• Using word-solving strategies for words and phrases
• Using visualization to understand texts
• Monitoring and revising comprehension
• Reading at an appropriate rate and expression

• Identifying elements of fantasy and short fiction
• Identifying the form and elements of poems
• Identifying the structure of persuasive paragraphs
• Describing how magazine contents address their audience
• Identifying elements of event summaries
• Identifying characteristics of biographies
• Identifying the purpose and elements of pamphlets

• Justifying opinions across texts
• Analysing how ad placement targets audiences
• Assessing techniques that create mood and images
• Inferring purpose and offering alternatives

Unit 3: Writing and Representing

Generating, planning, and choosing devices to write for a purpose and audience; writing fiction, poems, persuasive paragraphs, event summaries, biographies, and pamphlets; revising and editing with conventions; and using publishing and production skills to present work.

• Determining purpose and audience
• Using pre-writing strategies to generate ideas
• Planning writing with outlines
• Choosing literary and media devices

• Writing fiction and personal narratives
• Writing free-verse and diamante poems
• Writing persuasive or argumentative paragraphs
• Writing an event summary
• Writing a short biography
• Producing a promotional pamphlet

• Revising for content, sentence variety, and word choice
• Editing and proofreading with conventions

• Producing a clean, legible final draft
• Reflecting on writing and setting goals