Massachusetts State Standards for Language Arts: Grade 6

MA.1. Language: Discussion: Students will use agreed-upon rules for informal and formal discussions in small and large groups.

1.1. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussion (raising one's hand, waiting one's turn, speaking one at a time).

1.2. Follow agreed-upon rules for class discussion and carry out assigned roles in self-run small group discussions.

1.3. Apply understanding of agreed-upon rules and individual roles in order to make decisions.

MA.2. Language: Questioning, Listening, and Contributing: Students will pose questions, listen to the ideas of others, and contribute their own information or ideas in group discussions or interviews in order to acquire new knowledge.

2.1. Contribute knowledge to class discussion in order to develop a topic for a class project.

2.2. Contribute knowledge to class discussion in order to develop ideas for a class project and generate interview questions to be used as part of the project.

2.3. Gather relevant information for a research project or composition through interviews.

MA.3. Language: Oral Presentation: Students will make oral presentations that demonstrate appropriate consideration of audience, purpose, and the information to be conveyed.

3.1. Give oral presentations about personal experiences or interests, using clear enunciation and adequate volume.

3.2. Maintain focus on the topic.

3.3. Adapt language to persuade, to explain, or to seek information.

3.4. Give oral presentations about experiences or interests using eye contact, proper place, adequate volume, and clear pronunciation.

3.5. Make informal presentations that have a recognizable organization (sequencing, summarizing).

3.6. Express an opinion of a literary work or film in an organized way, with supporting detail.

3.7. Use teacher-developed assessment criteria to prepare their presentations.

3.8. Give oral presentations for various purposes, showing appropriate changes in delivery (gestures, vocabulary, pace, visuals) and using language for dramatic effect.

3.9. Use teacher-developed assessment criteria to prepare their presentations.

MA.4. Language: Vocabulary and Concept Development: Students will understand and acquire new vocabulary and use it correctly in reading and writing.

4.1. Identify and sort common words into various classifications (colors, shapes, textures).

4.2. Describe common objects and events in general and specific language.

4.3. Identify and sort common words into conceptual categories (opposites, living things).

4.4. Identify base words (look) and their inflectional forms (looks, looked, looking).

4.5. Identify the relevant meaning for a word with multiple meanings using its context (saw/saw).

4.6. Identify common antonyms and synonyms.

4.7. Use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict the meaning of unknown compound words (lunchtime, daydream, everyday).

4.8. Determine meanings of words by using a beginning dictionary.

4.9. Identify the meaning of common prefixes (un-, re-, dis-).

4.10. Identify the meaning of common Greek and Latin roots to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.

4.11. Identify the meaning of common idioms and figurative phrases.

4.12. Identify playful uses of language (puns, jokes, palindromes).

4.13. Determine the meaning of unknown words using their context.

4.14. Recognize and use words with multiple meanings (sentence, school, hard) and be able to determine which meaning is intended from the context of the sentence.

4.15. Determine meanings of words and alternate word choices using a dictionary or thesaurus.

4.16. Identify and apply the meaning of the terms antonym, synonym, and homophone.

4.17. Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words using context clues (definition, example).

4.18. Determine the meaning of unfamiliar words using knowledge of common Greek and Latin roots, suffixes, and prefixes.

4.19. Determine pronunciations, meanings, alternate word choices, and parts of speech of words using dictionaries and thesauruses.

MA.5. Language: Structure and Origins of Modern English: Students will analyze standard English grammar and usage and recognize how its vocabulary has developed and been influenced by other languages.

5.1. Use language to express spatial and temporal relationships (up, down, before, after).

5.2. Recognize that the names of things can also be the names of actions (fish, dream, run).

5.3. Identify correct capitalization for names and places (Janet, I, George Washington, Springfield), and correct capitalization and commas in dates (February 24, 2001).

5.4. Identify appropriate end marks (periods, question marks).

5.6. Identify the four basic parts of speech (adjective, noun, verb, adverb).

5.7. Identify correct mechanics (end marks, commas for series, capitalization), correct usage (subject and verb agreement in a simple sentence), and correct sentence structure (elimination of sentence fragments).

5.8. Identify words or word parts from other languages that have been adopted into the English language.

5.9. Identify the eight basic parts of speech (noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, conjunction, preposition, interjection).

5.10. Expand or reduce sentences (adding or deleting modifiers, combining or de-combining sentences).

5.11. Identify verb phrases and verb tenses.

5.12. Recognize that a word performs different functions according to its position in the sentence.

5.13. Identify simple and compound sentences.

5.14. Identify correct mechanics (apostrophes, quotation marks, comma use in compound sentences, paragraph indentations) and correct sentence structure (elimination of sentence fragments and run-ons).

MA.6. Language: Formal and Informal English: Students will describe, analyze, and use appropriately formal and informal English.

6.1. Identify formal and informal language in stories, poems, and plays.

6.2. Recognize dialect in the conversational voices in American folk tales.

6.3. Identify formal and informal language use in advertisements read, heard, and/or seen.

6.4. Demonstrate through role-playing appropriate use of formal and informal language.

6.5. Write stories using a mix of formal and informal language.

6.6. Identify differences between oral and written language patterns.

MA.7. Reading and Literature: Beginning Reading: Students will understand the nature of written English and the relationship of letters and spelling patterns to the sounds of speech.

7.1. Demonstrate understanding of the forms and functions of written English: recognize that printed materials provide information or entertaining stories; know how to handle a book and turn the pages; identify the covers and title page of a book; recognize that, in English, print moves left to right across the page and from top to bottom; identify upper- and lower-case letters; recognize that written words are separated by spaces; recognize that sentences in print are made up of separate words. The majority of students will have met these standards by the end of Grade 4, although teachers may need to continue addressing earlier standards.

7.2. Demonstrate orally that phonemes exist and that they can be isolated and manipulated: understand that a sound is a phoneme, or one distinct sound; understand that words are made up of one or more syllables; recognize and produce rhyming words; identify the initial, medial, and final sounds of a word; blend sounds to make words. The majority of students will have met these standards by the end of Grade 4, although teachers may need to continue addressing earlier standards.

7.3. Use letter-sound knowledge to identify unfamiliar words in print and gain meaning: know that there is a link between letters and sounds; recognize letter-sound matches by naming and identifying each letter of the alphabet; understand that written words are composed of letters that represent sounds; use letter-sound matches to decode simple words. The majority of students will have met these standards by the end of Grade 4, although teachers may need to continue addressing earlier standards.

7.4. Demonstrate understanding of the various features of written English: know the order of the letters in the alphabet; understand that spoken words are represented in written English by sequences of letters; match oral words to printed words; recognize that there are correct spellings for words; use correct spelling of appropriate high-frequency words, whether irregularly or regularly spelled; recognize the distinguishing features of a sentence (capitalization, end punctuation) and a paragraph (indentation, spacing); identify the author and title of a book, and use a table of contents. The majority of students will have met these standards by the end of Grade 4, although teachers may need to continue addressing earlier standards.

7.5. Demonstrate orally that phonemes exist: generate the sounds from all the letters and letter patterns, including consonant blends, long- and short-vowel patterns, and onsets and rimes and combine these sounds into recognizable words; use knowledge of vowel digraphs, vowel diphthongs, and r-controlled letter-sound associations (as in star) to read words. The majority of students will have met these standards by the end of Grade 4, although teachers may need to continue addressing earlier standards.

7.6. Recognize common irregularly spelled words by sight (have, said, where). The majority of students will have met these standards by the end of Grade 4, although teachers may need to continue addressing earlier standards.

7.7. Use letter-sound knowledge to decode written English: decode accurately phonetically regular one-syllable and multi-syllable real words and nonsense words; read accurately many irregularly spelled words, special vowel spellings, and common word endings; apply knowledge of letter patterns to identify syllables; apply independently the most common letter-sound correspondences, including the sounds represented by single letters, consonant blends, consonant digraphs, and vowel digraphs and diphthongs; know and use more difficult word families (-ought) and known words to decode unknown words; read words with several syllables; read aloud with fluency and comprehension at grade level. The majority of students will have met these standards by the end of Grade 4, although teachers may need to continue addressing earlier standards.

7.8. Use letter-sound knowledge to decode written English. The majority of students will have met these standards by the end of Grade 4, although teachers may need to continue addressing earlier standards.

7.9. Read grade-appropriate imaginative/literary and informational/expository text with comprehension (see General Standard 8). The majority of students will have met these standards by the end of Grade 4, although teachers may need to continue addressing earlier standards.

7.10. Read aloud grade-appropriate imaginative/literary and informational/ expository text fluently, accurately, and with comprehension, using appropriate timing, change in voice, and expression. The majority of students will have met these standards by the end of Grade 4, although teachers may need to continue addressing earlier standards.

MA.8. Reading and Literature: Understanding a Text: Students will identify the basic facts and main ideas in a text and use them as the basis for interpretation.

8.1. For imaginative/literary texts: Make predictions using prior knowledge, pictures, and text.

8.2. For imaginative/literary texts: Retell a main event from a story heard or read.

8.3. For imaginative/literary texts: Ask questions about the important characters, settings, and events.

8.4. For informational/expository texts: Make predictions about the content of the text using prior knowledge and text features (title, captions, illustrations).

8.5. For informational/expository texts: Retell important facts from a text heard or read.

8.6. For imaginative/literary texts: Make predictions about what will happen next in a story, and explain whether they were confirmed or disconfirmed and why.

8.7. For imaginative/literary texts: Retell a story's beginning, middle, and end.

8.8. For imaginative/literary texts: Distinguish cause from effect.

8.9. For informational/expository texts: Make predictions about the content of a text using prior knowledge and text features (headings, table of contents, key words), and explain whether they were confirmed or disconfirmed and why.

8.10. For informational/expository texts: Restate main ideas.

8.11. For imaginative/literary texts: Identify and show the relevance of foreshadowing clues.

8.12. For imaginative/literary texts: Identify sensory details and figurative language.

8.13. For imaginative/literary texts: Identify the speaker of a poem or story.

8.14. For imaginative/literary texts: Make judgments about setting, characters, and events and support them with evidence from the text.

8.15. For informational/expository texts: Locate facts that answer the reader's questions.

8.16. For informational/expository texts: Distinguish cause from effect.

8.17. For informational/expository texts: Distinguish fact from opinion or fiction.

8.18. For informational/expository texts: Summarize main ideas and supporting details.

8.19. For imaginative/literary texts: Identify and analyze sensory details and figurative language.

8.20. For imaginative/literary texts: Identify and analyze the author's use of dialogue and description.

8.21. For informational/expository texts: Recognize organizational structures (chronological order, logical order, cause and effect, classification schemes).

8.22. For informational/expository texts: Identify and analyze main ideas, supporting ideas, and supporting details.

MA.9. Reading and Literature: Making Connections: Students will deepen their understanding of a literary or non-literary work by relating it to its contemporary context or historical background.

9.1. Identify similarities in plot, setting, and character among the works of an author or illustrator.

9.2. Identify different interpretations of plot, setting, and character in the same work by different illustrators (alphabet books, nursery rhymes, counting books).

9.3. Identify similarities and differences between the characters or events in a literary work and the actual experiences in an author's life.

9.4. Relate a literary work to information about its setting.

MA.10. Reading and Literature: Genre: Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the characteristics of different genres.

10.1. Identify differences among the common forms of literature: poetry, prose, fiction, nonfiction (informational and expository), and dramatic literature.

10.2. Distinguish among forms of literature such as poetry, prose, fiction, nonfiction, and drama and apply this knowledge as a strategy for reading and writing.

10.3. Identify and analyze the characteristics of various genres (poetry, fiction, nonfiction, short story, dramatic literature) as forms with distinct characteristics and purposes.

MA.11. Reading and Literature: Theme: Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of theme in a literary work and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.

11.1. Relate themes in works of fiction and nonfiction to personal experience.

11.2. Identify themes as lessons in folktales, fables, and Greek myths for children.

11.3. Apply knowledge of the concept that theme refers to the main idea and meaning of a selection, whether it is implied or stated.

MA.12. Reading and Literature: Fiction: Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the structure and elements of fiction and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.

12.1. Identify the elements of plot, character, and setting in a favorite story.

12.2. Identify and analyze the elements of plot, character, and setting in the stories they read and write.

12.3. Identify and analyze the elements of setting, characterization, and plot (including conflict).

MA.13. Reading and Literature: Nonfiction: Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the purpose, structure, and elements of nonfiction or informational materials and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.

13.1. Identify and use knowledge of common textual features (title, headings, captions, key words, table of contents).

13.2. Identify and use knowledge of common graphic features (illustrations, type size).

13.3. Make predictions about the content of a text using prior knowledge and text and graphic features.

13.4. Explain whether predictions about the content of a text were confirmed or disconfirmed and why.

13.5. Restate main ideas and important facts from a text heard or read.

13.6. Identify and use knowledge of common textual features (paragraphs, topic sentences, concluding sentences, glossary).

13.7. Identify and use knowledge of common graphic features (charts, maps, diagrams, illustrations).

13.8. Identify and use knowledge of common organizational structures (chronological order).

13.9. Locate facts that answer the reader's questions.

13.10. Distinguish cause from effect.

13.11. Distinguish fact from opinion or fiction.

13.12. Summarize main ideas and supporting details.

13.13. Identify and use knowledge of common textual features (paragraphs, topic sentences, concluding sentences, glossary, index).

13.14. Identify and use knowledge of common graphic features (charts, maps, diagrams, captions, illustrations).

13.15. Identify and use knowledge of common organizational structures (chronological order, logical order, cause and effect, classification schemes).

13.17. Identify and analyze main ideas, and supporting details.

MA.14. Reading and Literature: Poetry: Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the theme, structure, and elements of poetry and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.

14.1. Identify a regular beat and similarities of sounds in words in responding to rhythm and rhyme in poetry.

14.2. Identify rhyme and rhythm, repetition, similes, and sensory images in poems.

14.3. Respond to and analyze the effects of sound, figurative language, and graphics in order to uncover meaning in poetry: sound (alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme scheme); figurative language (personification, metaphor, simile, hyperbole); and graphics (capital letters, line length).

MA.15. Reading and Literature: Style and Language: Students will identify and analyze how an author's words appeal to the senses, create imagery, suggest mood, and set tone and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.

15.1. Identify the senses implied in words appealing to the senses in literature and spoken language.

15.2. Identify words appealing to the senses or involving direct comparisons in literature and spoken language.

15.3. Identify imagery, figurative language, rhythm, or flow when responding to literature.

15.4. Identify and analyze the importance of shades of meaning in determining word choice in a piece of literature.

MA.16. Reading and Literature: Myth, Traditional Narrative, and Classical Literature: Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the themes, structure, and elements of myths, traditional narratives, and classical literature and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.

16.1. Identify familiar forms of traditional literature (Mother Goose rhymes, fairy tales, lullabies) read aloud.

16.2. Retell or dramatize traditional literature.

16.3. Identify and predict recurring phrases (Once upon a time) in traditional literature.

16.4. Identify phenomena explained in origin myths (Prometheus/fire; Pandora/evils).

16.5. Identify the adventures or exploits of a character type in traditional literature.

16.6. Acquire knowledge of culturally significant characters and events in Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology and other traditional literature (See Appendix A).

16.7. Compare traditional literature from different cultures.

16.8. Identify common structures (magic helper, rule of three, transformation) and stylistic elements (hyperbole, refrain, simile) in traditional literature.

MA.17. Reading and Literature: Dramatic Literature: Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the themes, structure, and elements of drama and provide evidence from the text to support their understanding.

17.1. Identify the elements of dialogue and use them in informal plays.

17.2. Identify and analyze the elements of plot and character, as presented through dialogue in scripts that are read, viewed, written, or performed.

17.3. Identify and analyze structural elements particular to dramatic literature (scenes, acts, cast of characters, stage directions) in the plays they read, view, write, and perform.

17.4. Identify and analyze the similarities and differences between a narrative text and its film or play version.

MA.18. Reading and Literature: Dramatic Reading and Performance: Students will plan and present dramatic readings, recitations, and performances that demonstrate appropriate consideration of audience and purpose.

18.1. Rehearse and perform stories, plays, and poems for an audience using eye contact, volume, and clear enunciation appropriate to the selection.

18.2. Plan and perform readings of selected texts for an audience, using clear diction and voice quality (volume, tempo, pitch, tone) appropriate to the selection, and use teacher-developed assessment criteria to prepare presentations.

18.3. Develop characters through the use of basic acting skills (memorization, sensory recall, concentration, diction, body alignment, expressive detail) and self-assess using teacher-developed criteria before performing.

MA.19. Composition: Writing: Students will write with a clear focus, coherent organization, and sufficient detail.

19.1. For imaginative/literary writing: Draw pictures and/or use letters or phonetically spelled words to tell a story.

19.2. For imaginative/literary writing: Dictate sentences for a story and collaborate to put the sentences in chronological sequence.

19.3. For informational/expository writing: Draw pictures and/or use letters or phonetically spelled words to give others information.

19.4. For informational/expository writing: Dictate sentences for a letter or directions and collaborate to put the sentences in order.

19.5. For imaginative/literary writing: Write or dictate stories that have a beginning, middle, and end.

19.6. For imaginative/literary writing: Write or dictate short poems.

19.7. For informational/expository writing: Write or dictate letters, directions, or short accounts of personal experiences that follow a logical order.

19.8. For informational/expository writing: Write or dictate research questions.

19.9. For imaginative/literary writing: Write stories that have a beginning, middle, and end and contain details of setting.

19.10. For imaginative/literary writing: Write short poems that contain simple sense details.

19.11. For informational/expository writing: Write brief summaries of information gathered through research.

19.12. For informational/expository writing: Write a brief interpretation or explanation of a literary or informational text using evidence from the text as support.

19.13. For informational/expository writing: Write an account based on personal experience that has a clear focus and sufficient supporting detail.

19.14. For imaginative/literary writing: Write stories or scripts containing the basic elements of fiction (characters, dialogue, setting, plot with a clear resolution).

19.15. For imaginative/literary writing: Write poems using poetic techniques (alliteration, onomatopoeia), figurative language (simile, metaphor), and graphic elements (capital letters, line length).

19.16. For informational/expository writing: Write brief research reports with clear focus and supporting detail.

19.17. For informational/expository writing: Write a short explanation of a process that includes a topic statement, supporting details, and a conclusion.

19.18. For informational/expository writing: Write formal letters to correspondents such as authors, newspapers, businesses, or government officials.

MA.20. Composition: Consideration of Audience and Purpose: Students will write for different audiences and purposes.

20.1. Use a variety of forms or genres when writing for different purposes.

20.2. Use appropriate language for different audiences (other students, parents) and purposes (letter to a friend, thank you note, invitation).

20.3. Make distinctions among fiction, nonfiction, dramatic literature, and poetry, and use these genres selectively when writing for different purposes.

MA.21. Composition: Revising: Students will demonstrate improvement in organization, content, paragraph development, level of detail, style, tone, and word choice (diction) in their compositions after revising them.

21.1. After writing or dictating a composition, identify words and phrases that could be added to make the thought clearer, more logical, or more expressive.

21.2. Revise writing to improve level of detail after determining what could be added or deleted.

21.3. Improve word choice by using dictionaries.

21.4. Revise writing to improve level of detail and precision of language after determining where to add images and sensory detail, combine sentences, vary sentences, and rearrange text.

21.5. Improve word choice by using dictionaries or thesauruses.

MA.22. Composition: Standard English Conventions: Students will use knowledge of standard English conventions in their writing, revising, and editing.

22.1. Print upper- and lower-case letters of the alphabet.

22.2. Use correct standard English mechanics such as: printing upper- and lower-case letters legibly and using them to make words; separating words with spaces; understanding and applying rules for capitalization at the beginning of a sentence, for names and places ('Janet,' 'I,' 'George Washington,' 'Springfield'), and capitalization and commas in dates ('February 24, 2001'); using correct spelling of sight and/or spelling words; and using appropriate end marks such as periods and question marks.

22.3. Write legibly in cursive, leaving space between letters in a word and between words in a sentence.

22.4. Use knowledge of correct mechanics (end marks, commas for series, capitalization), usage (subject and verb agreement in a simple sentence), and sentence structure (elimination of fragments) when writing and editing.

22.5. Use knowledge of letter sounds, word parts, word segmentation, and syllabication to monitor and correct spelling.

22.6. Spell most commonly used homophones correctly in their writing (there, they're, their; two, too, to).

22.7. Use additional knowledge of correct mechanics (apostrophes, quotation marks, comma use in compound sentences, paragraph indentations), correct sentence structure (elimination of fragments and run-ons), and correct standard English spelling (commonly used homophones) when writing, revising, and editing.

23.1. Arrange events in order when writing or dictating.

23.2. Arrange ideas in a way that makes sense.

23.3. Organize plot events of a story in an order that leads to a climax.

23.4. Organize ideas for a brief response to a reading.

23.5. Organize ideas for an account of personal experience in a way that makes sense.

23.6. Decide on the placement of descriptive details about setting, characters, and events in stories.

23.7. Group related ideas and place them in logical order when writing summaries or reports.

23.8. Organize information about a topic into a coherent paragraph with a topic sentence, sufficient supporting detail, and a concluding sentence.

MA.24. Composition: Research: Students will gather information from a variety of sources, analyze and evaluate the quality of the information they obtain, and use it to answer their own questions.

24.1. Generate questions and gather information from several sources in a classroom, school, or public library.

24.2. Identify and apply steps in conducting and reporting research: Define the need for information and formulate open-ended research questions; Initiate a plan for searching for information; Locate resources; Evaluate the relevance of the information; Interpret, use, and communicate the information; Evaluate the research project as a whole.

24.3. Apply steps for obtaining information from a variety of sources, organizing information, documenting sources, and presenting research in individual and group projects: use an expanded range of print and non-print sources (atlases, data bases, electronic, on-line resources); follow established criteria for evaluating information; locate specific information within resources by using indexes, tables of contents, electronic search key words; organize and present research using the grades 5-6 Learning Standards in the Composition Strand as a guide for writing; and provide appropriate documentation in a consistent format.

MA.25. Composition: Evaluating Writing and Presentations: Students will develop and use appropriate rhetorical, logical, and stylistic criteria for assessing final versions of their compositions or research projects before presenting them to varied audiences.

25.1. Support judgments about classroom activities or presentations.

25.2. Form and explain personal standards or judgments of quality, display them in the classroom, and present them to family members.

25.3. Use prescribed criteria from a scoring rubric to evaluate compositions, recitations, or performances before presenting them to an audience.

MA.26. Media: Analysis of Media: Students will identify, analyze, and apply knowledge of the conventions, elements, and techniques of film, radio, video, television, multimedia productions, the Internet, and emerging technologies, and provide evidence from the works to support their understanding.

26.1. Identify techniques used in television (animation, close-ups, wide-angle shots, sound effects, music, graphics) and use knowledge of these techniques to distinguish between facts and misleading information.

26.2. Compare stories in print with their filmed adaptations, describing the similarities and differences in the portrayal of characters, plot, and settings.

26.3. Identify techniques used in educational reference software and websites and describe how these techniques are the same as or different from the techniques used by authors and illustrators of print materials.

MA.27. Media: Media Production: Students will design and create coherent media productions (audio, video, television, multimedia, Internet, emerging technologies) with a clear controlling idea, adequate detail, and appropriate consideration of audience, purpose, and medium.

27.1. Create radio scripts, audiotapes, or videotapes for display or transmission.

27.2. Create presentations using computer technology.

27.3. Create a media production using effective images, text, music, sound effects, or graphics.