Colorado State Standards for Language Arts: Grade 6

CO.1. Oral Expression and Listening

1.1. Successful group discussions require planning and participation by all. Students can:

1.1.a. Frame and deliver messages that take into account the group purpose, values, prior knowledge, and experience

1.1.b. Use evidence to develop credibility (such as citing textual evidence to support opinions)

1.1.c. Recognize the difference between informal and formal language and make choices appropriate for group purposes

1.1.d. Use active listening strategies (paraphrase, ask clarifying questions, give appropriate nonverbal cues)

1.1.e. Plan for and participate in group discussion

CO.2. Reading for All Purposes

2.1. Understanding the meaning within different types of literature depends on properly analyzing literary components. Students can:

2.1.a. Use different kinds of questions to clarify and extend comprehension

2.1.b. Identify how the author uses dialogue and specific word choice to achieve an effect

2.1.c. Explain how the author's use of word choice, sentence structure and length, and figurative language contributes to imagery and mood

2.1.d. Relate a literary text to information about its setting

2.1.e. Draw a conclusion from text and provide details to support the answer

2.1.f. Summarize texts to identify relevant and important information, main ideas, and the theme

2.2. Organizing structure to understand and analyze factual information. Students can:

2.2.a. Generate questions, make/confirm/adjust predictions, make inferences, and draw conclusions based on text structures

2.2.b. Organize the main idea and details to paraphrase key ideas or form a summary

2.2.c. Use signal words and text features to identify common organizational structures (logical order, cause/effect, compare/contrast, classification schemes)

2.2.d. Use information from text and text features (such as timeline, diagram, captions) to answer questions or perform specific tasks

2.2.e. Determine author's purpose based on organizational structures, text features, and content

2.3. Word meanings are determined by how they are designed and how they are used in context. Students can:

2.3.a. Use close reading (examine the meaning of words, sentences, and paragraphs) to interpret texts

2.3.b. Separate known word parts to predict the meaning of unfamiliar words (extrapolating meaning from suffixes such as -phobia and -ology)

2.3.c. Explain relationships among words in the same word families

2.3.d. Employ synonyms or antonyms gleaned from a passage to provide an approximate meaning of a word

2.3.e. Make connections back to previous sentences and ideas to resolve problems in comprehension

2.3.f. Investigate other sources, such as dictionaries, glossaries, or electronic resources, to determine the meaning of a word

CO.3. Writing and Composition

3.1. Writing literary genres for intended audiences and purposes requires ideas, organization, and voice. Students can:

3.1.a. Employ a range of planning strategies to generate descriptive and sensory details (webbing, free writing, graphic organizers)

3.1.b. Use a range of poetic techniques (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme scheme); figurative language (simile, metaphor, personification); and graphic elements (capital letters, line length, word position) to express personal or narrative voice in texts

3.1.c. Organize literary and narrative texts using conventional organizational patterns of the chosen genre

3.1.d. Use literary elements of a text (well-developed characters, setting, dialogue, conflict) to present ideas in a text

3.1.e. Use word choice, sentence structure, and sentence length to create voice and tone in writing

3.2. Writing informational and persuasive genres for intended audiences and purposes require ideas, organization, and voice develop. Students can:

3.2.a. Write multi-paragraph compositions that have clear topic development, logical organization, effective use of detail, and variety in sentence structure

3.2.b. Organize information into a coherent essay or report with a thesis statement in the introduction and transition sentences to link paragraphs

3.2.c. Write to pursue a personal interest, to explain, or to persuade

3.2.d. Write to analyze informational texts (explains the steps in a scientific investigation)

3.2.e. Analyze and improve clarity of paragraphs and transitions

3.2.f. Select vocabulary and information to enhance the central idea

3.2.g. Identify persuasive elements in a peer's writing and critique the effectiveness

3.3. Specific editing for grammar, usage, mechanics, and clarity gives writing its precision and legitimacy. Students can:

3.3.a. Use punctuation correctly (apostrophes, commas after introductory words, phrases, and clauses; and commas to punctuate a compound sentence)

3.3.b. Identify fragments and run-ons and revise sentences to eliminate them

3.3.c. Use coordinating conjunctions in compound sentences

3.3.d. Maintain consistent verb tense within paragraphs

3.3.e. Choose adverbs to describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs

3.3.f. Use correct spelling for frequently used words

3.3.g. Use resources (print and electronic) and feedback to edit and enhance writing for purpose and audience

CO.4. Research and Reasoning

4.1. Individual and group research projects require obtaining information on a topic from a variety of sources and organizing it for presentation. Students can:

4.1.a. Identify a topic for research, developing the central idea or focus and potential research question(s)

4.1.b. Use a range of print and nonprint sources (atlases, data bases, reference materials, online and electronic resources, interviews, direct observation) to locate information to answer research questions

4.1.c. Locate specific information within resources using indexes, tables of contents, electronic search key words, etc.

4.1.d. Follow established criteria for evaluating accuracy, validity, and usefulness of information

4.1.e. Select and organize information, evidence, details, or quotations that support the central idea or focus

4.2. Assumptions can be concealed, and require identification and evaluation. Students can:

4.2.a. Accurately identify own assumptions, as well as those of others

4.2.b. Make assumptions that are consistent with one another

4.2.c. Identify the natural tendency in humans to use stereotypes, prejudices, biases, and distortions

4.2.d. Identify stereotypes, prejudices, biases, and distortions in self and thinking of others

4.2.e. Accurately state the assumptions underlying the inferences they or others make, and then accurately assess those assumptions for justifiability

4.3. Monitoring the thinking of self and others is a disciplined way to maintain awareness. Students can:

4.3.a. Determine strengths and weaknesses of their thinking and thinking of others by using criteria including relevance, clarity, accuracy, fairness, significance, depth, breadth, logic, and precision

4.3.b. Take control over their thinking to determine when thinking should be questioned and when it should be accepted. (intellectual autonomy)

CO.5. Prepared Graduate Competencies in Reading, Writing, and Communicating: The preschool through twelfth-grade concepts and skills that all students who complete the Colorado education system must master to ensure their success in a postsecondary and workforce setting.

5.1. Collaborate effectively as group members or leaders who listen actively and respectfully pose thoughtful questions, acknowledge the ideas of others, and contribute ideas to further the group's attainment of an objective

5.2. Deliver organized and effective oral presentations for diverse audiences and varied purposes

5.3. Use language appropriate for purpose and audience

5.4. Demonstrate skill in inferential and evaluative listening

5.5. Interpret how the structure of written English contributes to the pronunciation and meaning of complex vocabulary

5.6. Demonstrate comprehension of a variety of informational, literary, and persuasive texts

5.7. Evaluate how an author uses words to create mental imagery, suggest mood, and set tone

5.8. Read a wide range of literature (American and world literature) to understand important universal themes and the human experience

5.9. Seek feedback, self-assess, and reflect on personal learning while engaging with increasingly more difficult texts

5.10. Engage in a wide range of nonfiction and real-life reading experiences to solve problems, judge the quality of ideas, or complete daily tasks

5.11. Write with a clear focus, coherent organization, sufficient elaboration, and detail

5.12. Effectively use content-specific language, style, tone, and text structure to compose or adapt writing for different audiences and purposes

5.13. Apply standard English conventions to effectively communicate with written language

5.14. Implement the writing process successfully to plan, revise, and edit written work

5.15. Master the techniques of effective informational, literary, and persuasive writing

5.16. Discriminate and justify a position using traditional lines of rhetorical argument and reasoning

5.17. Articulate the position of self and others using experiential and material logic

5.18. Gather information from a variety of sources; analyze and evaluate the quality and relevance of the source; and use it to answer complex questions

5.19. Use primary, secondary, and tertiary written sources to generate and answer research questions

5.20. Evaluate explicit and implicit viewpoints, values, attitudes, and assumptions concealed in speech, writing, and illustration

5.21. Demonstrate the use of a range of strategies, research techniques, and persistence when engaging with difficult texts or examining complex problems or issues

5.22. Exercise ethical conduct when writing, researching, and documenting sources