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Rutherford County Schools – Grade 6 ELA Individual Learning Modules

Grade Course6 ELA

Unit FocusEssential Question – Where can imagination lead?Students will read “The Importance of Imagination” and explore how point of view/perspective helps to develop the central idea and claims within a text.

Standard(s)6.RI.KID.2Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through details; provide an objective summary.6.RI.CS.6Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in a text.6.RI.IKI.8Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.

Resource(s)Text(s): “The Importance of Imagination” by Esha Chhabra

Task(s)Day One: Read the text & complete comprehension questions.Day Two: Central Idea ChartDay Three: Analyze Craft and Structure/ VocabularyDay Four: Close Read /Grammar Challenge & Point of View ChartDay Five: Writing Task

Expected OutcomesStudents will identify a problem or issue (in school, society, community, globally) and propose an innovative solution. Be creative in how you present your problem/issue and solution OR research an individual who has developed an innovative solution to a problem faced by his/her community or society as a whole.

Additional Instructional Resourcesi-ReadyAll Rutherford County 6-8 grade students now have access to I-Ready ELA lessons. These lessons can be accessed via Clever. All available lessons have been assigned.

PBS Lessonshttps://www.tn.gov/education/pbsteaching.html

https://www.tn.gov/education/pbsteaching.html



Listen to the text here: https://youtu.be/L2mO4ouwIf0

Day 1 - The Importance of Imagination - Comprehension

By Esha Chhabra

Step One – Read Text

BACKGROUND A curriculum vitae, or CV, is a short account of a person’s background, skills, education, and work experience. In the United States, a CV is similar to a resume. Resumes are usually no longer than one page. Many employers require these documents for job applications and look at them carefully to decide who they should hire.

1 While growing up, I’d never really considered how important it is to be imaginative. It’s a childhood profession, you could say. It comes naturally. Then we hit an age when we’re presented with a scantron of bubble-in options, a template for a CV that we need to create, and Excel. At that point, our learning has to fit into certain parameters: within that little bubble, within the one-page limit, and within a tiny digital graph. So, what happens to our imagination?

2 It seems to fade.

3 Being Asian (as I am) doesn’t help. The assumption that you’re more apt for engineering or medicine is like a nagging tail. We have a so-called fondness for numbers apparently. If you’re Asian, you must be good at math—of course.

3 Well, then I turned out to be an oddball. I developed an affinity for words and images instead. At the age of 12, my dream was to be a professional doodler, which could turn into a career as a cartoonist, if it went well. And my parents indulged me in that dream. Unlike others, who may have thought that was ridiculous, they got me drawing books. When my mother saw me sitting idle, or falling asleep among a pile of schoolbooks, she’d suggest, “Why don’t you draw for a bit?” Over a decade later, little has changed. She still chuckles at my drawings, tells me to draw more often, and has preserved that notebook.

4 As I grew older, as the reading list of books grew longer, the assignments tougher, and jobs took up any spare time as a student in college, that ability to just sit down and pour your imagination onto a blank canvas began to disappear. Rather, that creative side had to reinvent itself.

5 My high school history teacher once told me that history is not a timeline; it’s a story. She threw out the linearity of history. She made what was dry and ancient, charming, engaging, and at times, even humorous. That was her imagination at work. And it helped me develop a love for the social sciences. Our imaginations can be quite contagious, I learned.

6 But can this love for the imaginative ever find a place in the real world? Certainly.

7 Imagination creates not just fairy tales and children’s books but a new vision for the way we conduct our lives. Imaginations challenge the norm, push boundaries, and help us progress.

https://youtu.be/L2mO4ouwIf0


8 We need to encourage more creativity. Forget the CV (curriculum vitae) for a bit.

9 If we encourage that brilliant math student to be imaginative as well, he could use those algorithms to innovate. If we encourage the biology student to be imaginative as well, she could design a new sustainable fuel source for us. If we encourage that economics buff to be imaginative as well, he could build a new people-friendly business model. The tools are there. You just need to reorient them towards the unexpected. That’s where creativity—at home, in the classroom, and in the workplace—is so essential.

10 That’s why, last week I found myself, sitting with my mom late at night, rereading Shel Silverstein’s poems for children. Turns out, they’re just as good for adults, maybe even better.


Step Two – Answer the following questions to establish a timeline of events in the author’s life according to the author’s own curriculum vitae, or CV. Be sure to cite evidence from the story.

1. According to the author, what happens to our imagination when we grow up? (paragraph 4)

2. What was the author’s dream at age 12? (paragraph 3)

3. What did the author’s history teacher say about history? (paragraph 5)

4. What path did the author take in college? (paragraph 5)

5. Does the author have any conclusions about limits of imagination or creativity? (paragraph 9)

Step Three - Write an objective summary of “The Importance of Imagination” to confirm your understanding of the text. Use your responses to the questions in step two.


Day 2 – Central Idea

Step one- “The Importance of Imagination” Central Idea Sort

Directions – Match the paragraph to its central idea; no central ideas will be repeated.

Paragraph Options Write the letter of the Central Idea that matches the paragraphs.

Paragraphs 1-2 Paragraph 3 Paragraph 4 Paragraph 5 Paragraphs 6-7 Paragraphs 8-9 Paragraph 10 Irrelevant (not important) Detail 1

Irrelevant (not important) Detail 2

a. Chhabra’s history teacher’s passion for teaching assisted him in finding his imagination in adulthood.

b. Chhabra enjoys the poetry of Shel Silverstein.

c. Chhabra had a fantastic history teacher in high school.

d. Chhabra argues that imagination follows us into adulthood and increases in importance.

e. Chhabra noticed that with age, the gift of imagination grew lost in academics and job requirements.

f. The author explains that imagination can provide advancements across a variety of fields.

g. Chhabra’s parents supported her dream of becoming a cartoonist.

h. The author doesn’t realize the importance of imagination until she is grown.

i. Racial stereotypes consistently agitated Chhabra.


Day 3 – Analyze Craft and Structure/ Vocabulary

Step one – Analyze Craft and Structure Author’s Influences

A reflective essay, such as “The Importance of Imagination,” presents the author’s thoughts, beliefs, and reflections on an idea or experience—in this case, the topic of imagination. The author’s thoughts and beliefs about a topic are affected by the author’s influences, or the factors that affect his or her writing. These influences may include historical factors, such as important or newsworthy events that happened during the author’s lifetime. Authors are also influenced by cultural factors. Cultural factors may include:

• the places an author has lived

• the author’s upbringing and education

• the way in which an author lives his or her life

• an author’s personal experiences

An author’s influences affect the issues he or she thinks are important. It is important to consider how an author’s influences may have shaped the central idea about which he or she is writing. For example, an author may choose to focus on promoting environmental awareness because of a pollution problem in his or her own town.

As you read a reflective essay, use key details in the text to make inferences, or educated guesses, about the effect of the author’s influences on the central ideas in his or her writing.

Use this chart to identify three of the author’s influences and explain how each influence affects the central idea of the essay.

AUTHOR’S INFLUENCES EFFECT ON CENTRAL IDEA


Step Two-Vocabulary: Use context clues to help determine the meaning of each word.

1. What is the definition of "parameter"?

a) a wide area

b) a boundary or line to not cross

c) a problem

2. What is the definition of "template"?

a) identical

b) different

c) a problem to solve

d) a pattern to follow

3. What is the definition of "model" as used in our text?

a) to address a problem

b) an example to imitate

c) a limit

d) a person walking a catwalk

Day 4 – Close Read /Grammar Challenge & Point of View Chart

Step one- Close read. Answer the following questions by analyzing the text

1. In “The Importance of Imagination,” what does the author believe often happens to natural creativity as we grow up?

a) it begins to fade

b) it grows more productive

c) it becomes less complicated

d) It appears less troublesome


2.In which of the following fields did the author of “The Importance of Imagination” most clearly show an interest as she grew up? Choose two options.

a) math

b) engineering

c) medicine

d) literature

e) art

3.According to “The Importance of Imagination,” how did the author’s high school history teacher teach her subject?

a) she emphasized social studies standards that had to met

b) she emphasized her students' cultural backgrounds

c) she emphasized history has a timeline

d) she emphasized that history has a story

4. At the end of “The Importance of Imagination,” what main point does the author make when she describes rereading Shel Silverstein’s poetry with her mother?

a) The bond between parent and child can overcome great change and hardship.

b) Few writers are as imaginative as those who write for an audience of children

c) People take comfort in their childhood activities even after they have outgrown them

d) Adults can recapture and appreciate some of the imaginative experiences of childhood.

5.In which of these situations is a person most clearly giving others parameters?

a) A teacher tells students the rules of good behavior

b) A salesclerk handles several customers’ purchases.

c) A camp counselor tells campers a ghost story.

d) A singer performs before a live audience


6. According to “The Importance of Imagination,” which period of life is most strongly associated with being imaginative?

a) youth

b) old age

c) adulthood

d) middle aged

7.Which quotation from “The Importance of Imagination” best supports the answer to question 6?

a) While growing up, I’d never really considered how important it is to be imaginative. It’s a childhood profession, you could say.

b) Then we hit an age when we’re presented with a scantron of bubble-in options, a template for a CV that we need to create.…

c) At the age of 12, my dream was to be a professional doodler, which could turn into a career as a cartoonist, if it went well.

d) That’s why, last week I found myself, sitting with my mom late at night, rereading Shel Silverstein’s poems for children.

8. In “The Importance of Imagination,” which of these activities most clearly represents the practical aspects of life that can stifle creativity?

a) being a professional doodler

b) using algorithms in mathematics

c) designing a sustainable fuel source

d) working on a curriculum vitae, or CV

9.Which quotation from “The Importance of Imagination” best supports the answer to question 8?

a) At the age of 12, my dream was to be a professional doodler, which could turn into a career as a cartoonist, if all went well.

b) We need to encourage more creativity. Forget the CV for a bit.

c) If we encourage the brilliant math student to be imaginative as well, he could use those algorithms to innovate.

d) If we encourage the brilliant math student to be imaginative as well, he could use those algorithms to innovate.


Step two- Grammar Challenge

A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun or another pronoun. The word that the pronoun refers to is its antecedent. For example, notice how the pronoun his refers to the antecedent Gary in the following sentence: Gary walked out of his house.

Pronouns should always agree in number with their antecedents.

1. What is the antecedent of the pronoun her in this sentence?

The author reread a book by Shel Silverstein with her mother.

a) author

b) book

c) Shel Silverstein

d) mother

2. In which way, if any, should the following sentence be changed to correct errors in pronoun-antecedent agreement?

From an early age I wanted to be an artist, but her doodles were not very good.

a) make no change

b) change HER to MY

c) change HER to OUR

d) change HER to YOUR

3.Which sentence illustrates correct pronoun-antecedent agreement?

a) People who are creative need to use your imagination all the time.

b) People who are creative need to use their imagination all the time

c) People who are creative need to use our imagination all the time

d) People who are creative need to use his imagination all the time.


Step 3-Point of View Chart. How does the author’s description of herself differ from the way others view her? List ways the author feels she is viewed by others compared to her identity.

Author’s View of Herself Views of others

Day 5 – Writing Task

Informational essay? (organizer provided on next page)

Research an individual who has developed an innovative solution to a problem faced by

his/her community or society as a whole.

Some ideas:

World hunger and poverty: Names of 30 innovators.

https://www.topmastersinhealthcare.com/30-innovators-fighting-world-hunger-and-poverty/

Ocean pollution: Boyan Slat.

https://boyanslat.com/

Education in South Africa: Oprah Winfrey.

https://owlag.co.za/academy

https://owlag.co.za/academy

https://boyanslat.com/

https://www.topmastersinhealthcare.com/30-innovators-fighting-world-hunger-and-poverty/


Informational Writing Graphic Organizer

Topic Sentence/ Introduction:

Paragraph 1 Introduction:

Facts, Definitions, Details, Examples, Quotations:

1.

2.

3.



1.

2.

3.



1.

2.

3.

Closing Sentence:

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