Grade 6

The student develops oral language through listening, speaking, and discussion.6.1

  • A.

    listen actively to interpret a message, ask clarifying questions, and respond appropriately;6.1.A

  • B.

    follow and give oral instructions that include multiple action steps;6.1.B

  • C.

    give an organized presentation with a specific stance and position, employing eye contact, speaking rate, volume, enunciation, natural gestures, and conventions of language to communicate ideas effectively; and6.1.C

  • D.

    participate in student-led discussions by eliciting and considering suggestions from other group members, taking notes, and identifying points of agreement and disagreement.6.1.D

The student uses newly acquired vocabulary expressively.6.2

  • A.

    use print or digital resources to determine the meaning, syllabication, pronunciation, word origin, and part of speech;6.2.A

  • B.

    use context such as definition, analogy, and examples to clarify the meaning of words; and6.2.B

  • C.

    determine the meaning and usage of grade-level academic English words derived from Greek and Latin roots such as mis/mit, bene, man, vac, scrib/script, and jur/jus.6.2.C

The student reads grade-level text with fluency and comprehension. The student is expected to adjust fluency when reading grade-level text based on the reading purpose.6.3

  • 3.

    The student reads grade-level text with fluency and comprehension. The student is expected to adjust fluency when reading grade-level text based on the reading purpose.6.3

The student reads grade-appropriate texts independently. The student is expected to self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.6.4

  • 4.

    The student reads grade-appropriate texts independently. The student is expected to self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.6.4

The student uses metacognitive skills to both develop and deepen comprehension of increasingly complex texts.6.5

  • A.

    establish purpose for reading assigned and self-selected text;6.5.A

  • B.

    generate questions about text before, during, and after reading to deepen understanding and gain information;6.5.B

  • C.

    make, correct, or confirm predictions using text features, characteristics of genre, and structures;6.5.C

  • D.

    create mental images to deepen understanding;6.5.D

  • E.

    make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society;6.5.E

  • F.

    make inferences and use evidence to support understanding;6.5.F

  • G.

    evaluate details read to determine key ideas;6.5.G

  • H.

    synthesize information to create new understanding; and6.5.H

  • I.

    monitor comprehension and make adjustments such as re-reading, using background knowledge, asking questions, and annotating when understanding breaks down.6.5.I

The student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of sources that are read, heard, or viewed.6.6

  • A.

    describe personal connections to a variety of sources, including self-selected texts;6.6.A

  • B.

    write responses that demonstrate understanding of texts, including comparing sources within and across genres;6.6.B

  • C.

    use text evidence to support an appropriate response;6.6.C

  • D.

    paraphrase and summarize texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical order;6.6.D

  • E.

    interact with sources in meaningful ways such as notetaking, annotating, freewriting, or illustrating;6.6.E

  • F.

    respond using newly acquired vocabulary as appropriate;6.6.F

  • G.

    discuss and write about the explicit or implicit meanings of text;6.6.G

  • H.

    respond orally or in writing with appropriate register, vocabulary, tone, and voice; and6.6.H

  • I.

    reflect on and adjust responses as new evidence is presented.6.6.I

The student recognizes and analyzes literary elements within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse literary texts.6.7

  • A.

    infer multiple themes within and across texts using text evidence;6.7.A

  • B.

    analyze how the characters' internal and external responses develop the plot;6.7.B

  • C.

    analyze plot elements, including rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, and non-linear elements such as flashback; and6.7.C

  • D.

    analyze how the setting, including historical and cultural settings, influences character and plot development.6.7.D

The student recognizes and analyzes genre-specific characteristics, structures, and purposes within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts.6.8

  • A.

    demonstrate knowledge of literary genres such as realistic fiction, adventure stories, historical fiction, mysteries, humor, and myths;6.8.A

  • B.

    analyze the effect of meter and structural elements such as line breaks in poems across a variety of poetic forms;6.8.B

  • C.

    analyze how playwrights develop characters through dialogue and staging;6.8.C

  • D.

    analyze characteristics and structural elements of informational text, including:6.8.D

    1. i.

      the controlling idea or thesis with supporting evidence;6.8.D.i

    2. ii.

      features such as introduction, foreword, preface, references, or acknowledgements to gain background information; and6.8.D.ii

    3. iii.

      organizational patterns such as definition, classification, advantage, and disadvantage;6.8.D.iii

  • E.

    analyze characteristics and structures of argumentative text by:6.8.E

    1. i.

      identifying the claim;6.8.E.i

    2. ii.

      explaining how the author uses various types of evidence to support the argument;6.8.E.ii

    3. iii.

      identifying the intended audience or reader; and6.8.E.iii

  • F.

    analyze characteristics of multimodal and digital texts.6.8.F

The student uses critical inquiry to analyze the authors' choices and how they influence and communicate meaning within a variety of texts. The student analyzes and applies author's craft purposefully in order to develop his or her own products and performances.6.9

  • A.

    explain the author's purpose and message within a text;6.9.A

  • B.

    analyze how the use of text structure contributes to the author's purpose;6.9.B

  • C.

    analyze the author's use of print and graphic features to achieve specific purposes;6.9.C

  • D.

    describe how the author's use of figurative language such as metaphor and personification achieves specific purposes;6.9.D

  • E.

    identify the use of literary devices, including omniscient and limited point of view, to achieve a specific purpose;6.9.E

  • F.

    analyze how the author's use of language contributes to mood and voice; and6.9.F

  • G.

    explain the differences between rhetorical devices and logical fallacies.6.9.G

The student uses the writing process recursively to compose multiple texts that are legible and uses appropriate conventions.6.10

  • A.

    plan a first draft by selecting a genre appropriate for a particular topic, purpose, and audience using a range of strategies such as discussion, background reading, and personal interests;6.10.A

  • B.

    develop drafts into a focused, structured, and coherent piece of writing by:6.10.B

    1. i.

      organizing with purposeful structure, including an introduction, transitions, coherence within and across paragraphs, and a conclusion; and6.10.B.i

    2. ii.

      developing an engaging idea reflecting depth of thought with specific facts and details;6.10.B.ii

  • C.

    revise drafts for clarity, development, organization, style, word choice, and sentence variety;6.10.C

  • D.

    edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:6.10.D

    1. i.

      complete complex sentences with subject-verb agreement and avoidance of splices, run-ons, and fragments;6.10.D.i

    2. ii.

      consistent, appropriate use of verb tenses;6.10.D.ii

    3. iii.

      conjunctive adverbs;6.10.D.iii

    4. iv.

      prepositions and prepositional phrases and their influence on subject-verb agreement;6.10.D.iv

    5. v.

      pronouns, including relative;6.10.D.v

    6. vi.

      subordinating conjunctions to form complex sentences and correlative conjunctions such as either/or and neither/nor;6.10.D.vi

    7. vii.

      capitalization of proper nouns, including abbreviations, initials, acronyms, and organizations;6.10.D.vii

    8. viii.

      punctuation marks, including commas in complex sentences, transitions, and introductory elements; and6.10.D.viii

    9. ix.

      correct spelling, including commonly confused terms such as its/it's, affect/effect, there/their/they're, and to/two/too; and6.10.D.ix

  • E.

    publish written work for appropriate audiences.6.10.E

The student uses genre characteristics and craft to compose multiple texts that are meaningful.6.11

  • A.

    compose literary texts such as personal narratives, fiction, and poetry using genre characteristics and craft;6.11.A

  • B.

    compose informational texts, including multi-paragraph essays that convey information about a topic, using a clear controlling idea or thesis statement and genre characteristics and craft;6.11.B

  • C.

    compose multi-paragraph argumentative texts using genre characteristics and craft; and6.11.C

  • D.

    compose correspondence that reflects an opinion, registers a complaint, or requests information in a business or friendly structure.6.11.D

The student engages in both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry processes for a variety of purposes.6.12

  • A.

    generate student-selected and teacher-guided questions for formal and informal inquiry;6.12.A

  • B.

    develop and revise a plan;6.12.B

  • C.

    refine the major research question, if necessary, guided by the answers to a secondary set of questions;6.12.C

  • D.

    identify and gather relevant information from a variety of sources;6.12.D

  • E.

    differentiate between primary and secondary sources;6.12.E

  • F.

    synthesize information from a variety of sources;6.12.F

  • G.

    differentiate between paraphrasing and plagiarism when using source materials;6.12.G

  • H.

    examine sources for:6.12.H

    1. i.

      reliability, credibility, and bias; and6.12.H.i

    2. ii.

      faulty reasoning such as hyperbole, emotional appeals, and stereotype;6.12.H.ii

  • I.

    display academic citations and use source materials ethically; and6.12.I

  • J.

    use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results.6.12.J

Frequently asked questions

What grade levels do these standards cover?
Grade 6
When were these standards adopted?
2017