ENGLISH 6

Reading, Writing, Speaking, Thinking

Reading

The Lightning Thief - Fantasy

Jonathan Livingston Seagull – Modern Fable

Reading

Heroes, Gods, and Monsters of the Greek Myths - Mythology Gladiator - History

Reading

The House on Mango Street – Realistic Fiction

Red Scarf Girl - Autobiography

Reading

Free choice 1,000 pages Book Talks Wiki discussions Summer Reading list

for next year’s 6th graders

Poems, articles, essays, creation stories

American Born Chinese – Graphic Novel

Outside Reading & Supplementary Texts

Reading – Burning Questions

What motivates JLS? What are his goals? What happens when your community does

not love what you love? And what happens when it does? What risks does one take in standing apart

from the crowd? What are the benefits (to self and others) of

taking such a risk? What approaches can one take to change a

society that refuses new perspectives? What is the end of learning?

What does it mean to be the perfect student? What does it mean to be perfect?

How can one achieve perfection? Does one need guidance?

Is JLS an ordinary or extraordinary gull? Or both? Or neither?

How is JLS an allegory?

What does human excellence (arête) look like? What do the Greeks feel are the most

important “virtues” to possess or cultivate?

What qualities and behaviors do the Greeks consider reprehensible (worthy of punishment and condemnation)?

What are the “proper” roles of men/women?

“You get what you deserve”: true or false? What purpose(s) do myths serve? Who cares about these dusty, old,

ridiculous tales anyway? What do they reveal about ancient Greek

life, values, beliefs? What do they reveal about the human

condition that is still relevant today? Are these myths “quality” literature?

Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Greek Mythology

Writing To Learn

How do I know what I think until I see what I say.

--E.M. Forester

Writing to Learn

Prewriting Brainstorming Focused Freewrites

Drafting Conferencing Revision Editing Publishing

Journaling Narratives Literary Analysis S.E.E.Paragraphs

Multiparagraph Pieces

Persuasive Pieces

Process Forms

Writing to Learn

Assessment

M P Ac

B PRODUCT

TOPIC: the purpose of the writing is evident throughout the entire piece; a clear tension or argument drives the finished piece.STRUCTURE: the finished piece is organized; has a structure that guides the reader with smooth transitions ANALYSIS: complexity of thoughts in piece show the reader a deeper understanding or insight in the explanations of thoughts.EVIDENCE: specificity; all points are supported by specific textual evidence or paraphrase( ; the finished piece pays attention to details; CONVENTIONS, SYNTAX, & DICTION: the finished piece uses an appropriate tone and diction, uses no passive voice; the language of the finished piece exercises economy; clear, precise, and natural; sentences are complete.VOICE: the piece has an honest, personable, real voice; the reader feels that a real person is speaking to her/him, connecting with her/him

MECHANICS: the finished piece reveals careful attention to: spelling, punctuation, citation, and grammar.

M P Ac B PROCESS

genuine revision; substantive change; commitment to processgenuine, detailed reflection about What surprised you in this assessment? What you learned – challenges you faced, how you

overcame them, what successes you enjoyed, how your thinking changed, what you learned about your strengths and weaknesses as a writer and/or reader?

What you need to learn or do next as a writer and/or reader on similar assignments in the future?

genuine, thoughtful, helpful, detailed response to the work of your writing partner(s); careful attention paid to the response processes assignedcareful attention paid to the expectations of the form or assignment

Categories of AssessmentMastery= shows advanced workProficient = shows competent work Acceptable = shows adequate workBasic = shows little skill level

Grammar & Conventions

Parts of speech Subjects & predicates Recognizing and correcting fragments Capitalization and spelling (e.g. to/too/two,

they’re/there/their, your/you’re, etc.) Types of sentences (e.g. declarative,

interrogative, imperative, exclamatory) Voice and Diction Smooth Transitions Ladder of Abstraction

How You Can Help

Writing Avoid writing on your child’s work. Review rubrics and guidelines with your child. Have your child read the piece aloud with pencil in hand. Ask questions about anything that is unclear or confusing. If you see many mechanical errors, point them out and say

what kind of errors you’re seeing, but do not correct the errors for him/her.

Be aware that your child will revise for content and organization before mechanics.

Encourage your child to seek the teacher’s help after school. Reading

Read the books & talk about them with your child.

Speaking

Discussion Persuasive

speeches & debate Skits Literature

circle/Book Talks Reading aloud Presentations

Forms Is it possible to be perfect?

The Wiki