Michigan State Standards for Language Arts: Grade 6

MI.R. Reading

R.1. Word Recognition and Word Study - Word Recognition

R.WS.06.01. Students will explain and use word structure, sentence structure, and prediction to aid in decoding and understanding the meanings of words encountered in context.

R.WS.06.02. Students will use structural, syntactic, and semantic analysis to recognize unfamiliar words in context including origins and meanings of foreign words, words with multiple meanings, and knowledge of major word chunks/rimes, and syllabication.

R.WS.06.03. Students will automatically recognize frequently encountered words in print with the number of words that can be read fluently increasing steadily across the school year.

R.WS.06.04. Students will know the meanings of words encountered frequently in grade-level reading and oral language contexts.

R.WS.06.05. Students will acquire and apply strategies to identify unknown words and construct meaning.

R.2. Word Recognition and Word Study - Fluency

R.WS.06.06. Students will fluently read beginning grade-level text and increasingly demanding texts as the year proceeds.

R.3. Word Recognition and Word Study - Vocabulary

R.WS.06.07. Students will in context, determine the meaning of words and phrases including regional idioms, literary and technical terms, and content vocabulary using strategies including connotation, denotation, and authentic content-related resources.

R.4. Narrative Text

R.NT.06.01. Students will describe how characters form opinions about one another in ways that can be fair and unfair in classic, multicultural, and contemporary literature recognized for quality and literary merit.

R.NT.06.02. Students will analyze the structure, elements, style, and purpose of narrative genre including folktales, fantasy, adventure, and action stories.

R.NT.06.03. Students will analyze how dialogue enhances the plot, characters, and themes; differentiates major and minor characters; and builds climax.

R.NT.06.04. Students will analyze how authors use literary devices including dialogue, imagery, mood, and understatement to develop the plot, characters, point of view, and theme.

R.5. Informational Text

R.IT.06.01. Students will analyze the structure, elements, features, style, and purpose of informational genre, including research reports, 'how-to' articles, and essays.

R.IT.06.02. Students will analyze organizational text patterns including descriptive, chronological sequence, and problem/solution.

R.IT.06.03. Students will explain how authors use text features including footnotes, bibliographies, introductions, summaries, conclusions, and appendices to enhance the understanding of central, key, and supporting ideas.

R.6. Comprehension

R.CM.06.01. Students will connect personal knowledge, experiences, and understanding of the world to themes and perspectives in text through oral and written responses.

R.CM.06.02. Students will retell through concise summarization grade-level narrative and informational text.

R.CM.06.03. Students will analyze global themes, universal truths and principles within and across texts to create a deeper understanding by drawing conclusions, making inferences, and synthesizing.

R.CM.06.04. Students will apply significant knowledge from grade-level science, social studies, and mathematics texts.

R.7. Metacognition

R.MT.06.01. Students will self-monitor comprehension when reading or listening to text by automatically applying and discussing the strategies used by mature readers to increase comprehension including: predicting, constructing mental images, visually representing ideas in text, questioning, rereading or listening again if uncertain about meaning, inferring, summarizing, and engaging in interpretive discussions.

R.MT.06.02. Students will plan, monitor, regulate, and evaluate skills, strategies, and processes for their own reading comprehension by applying appropriate metacognitive skills such as SQP3R and pattern guides.

R.8. Critical Standards

R.CS.06.01. Students will compare the appropriateness of shared, individual and expert standards based on purpose, context, and audience in order to assess their own writing and the writing of others.

R.9. Reading Attitude

R.AT.06.01. Students will be enthusiastic about reading and do substantial reading and writing on their own.

MI.W. Writing

W.1. Writing Genre

W.GN.06.01. Students will write a cohesive narrative piece such as a personal narrative, adventure, tall tale, folktale, fantasy, or poetry that includes appropriate conventions to the genre, employing elements of characterization for major and minor characters; internal and/or external conflict; and issues of plot, theme, and imagery.

W.GN.06.02. Students will write a personal, persuasive, or comparative essay that includes organizational patterns supporting key ideas.

W.GN.06.03. Students will formulate research questions using multiple resources and perspectives that allow them to organize, analyze, and explore problems and pose solutions that culminate in a final presented project using the writing process.

W.2. Writing Process

W.PR.06.01. Students will set a purpose, consider audience, and replicate authors' styles and patterns when writing a narrative or informational piece.

W.PR.06.02. Students will apply a variety of pre-writing strategies for both narrative (e.g., graphic organizers designed to develop a plot that includes major and minor characters, builds climax, and uses dialogue to enhance a theme) and informational writing (e.g., problem/ solution or sequence).

W.PR.06.03. Students will revise drafts for clarity, coherence, and consistency in content, voice, and genre characteristics with audience and purpose in mind.

W.PR.06.04. Students will draft focused ideas for a specific purpose using multiple paragraphs, sentence variety, and voice to meet the needs of an audience (e.g., word choice, level of formality, and use of example) when writing compositions.

W.PR.06.05. Students will proofread and edit writing using grade-level checklists and other appropriate resources both individually and in groups.

W.3. Personal Style

W.PS.06.01. Students will exhibit personal style and voice to enhance the written message in both narrative (e.g., personification, humor, element of surprise) and informational writing (e.g., emotional appeal, strong opinion, credible support).

W.4. Grammar and Usage

W.GR.06.01. Students will in the context of writing, correctly use style conventions (e.g., Modern Language Association Handbook) and a variety of grammatical structures in writing including indefinite and predicate pronouns; transitive and intransitive verbs; adjective and adverbial phrases; adjective and adverbial subordinate clauses; comparative adverbs and adjectives; superlatives, conjunctions; compound sentences; appositives; independent and dependent clauses; introductory phrases; periods; commas; quotation marks; and use of underlining and italics for specific purposes.

W.5. Spelling

W.SP.06.01. Students will in the context of writing, correctly spell frequently encountered and frequently misspelled words.

W.6. Handwriting

W.HW.06.01. Students will write neat and legible compositions.

W.7. Writing Attitude

W.AT.06.01. Students will be enthusiastic about writing and learning to write.

MI.S. Speaking

S.1. Conventions

S.CN.06.01. Students will adjust their use of language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes by asking and responding to questions and remarks to engage the audience when presenting.

S.CN.06.02. Students will speak effectively using rhyme, rhythm, cadence, and word play for effect in narrative and informational presentations.

S.CN.06.03. Students will present in standard American English if it is their first language. (Students whose first language is not English will present in their developing version of standard American English.)

S.2. Discourse

S.DS.06.01. Students will engage in interactive, extended discourse to socially construct meaning in book clubs, literature circles, partnerships, or other conversation protocols.

S.DS.06.02. Students will respond to multiple text types in order to compare/contrast ideas, form, and style; to evaluate quality; take a stand and support an issue; and to identify personally with a universal theme.

S.DS.06.03. Students will discuss written narratives that include a variety of literary and plot devices (e.g., established context plot, point of view, sensory details, dialogue, and suspense).

S.DS.06.04. Students will plan a focused and coherent informational presentation using an informational organizational pattern (e.g., problem/solution, sequence); select a focus question to address and organize the message to ensure that it matches the intent and the audience to which it will be delivered.

MI.L. Listening and Viewing

L.1. Conventions

L.CN.06.01. Students will respond to, evaluate, and analyze the speaker's effectiveness and content when listening to or viewing a variety of speeches and presentations.

L.CN.06.02. Students will listen to or view critically while demonstrating appropriate social skills of audience behaviors (e.g., eye contact, attentive, supportive); critically examine the verbal and non-verbal strategies during speeches and presentations.

L.2. Response

L.RP.06.01. Students will listen to or view knowledgeably a variety of genre to summarize, take notes on key points, and ask clarifying questions.

L.RP.06.02. Students will select, listen to or view knowledgeably, and respond thoughtfully to both classic and contemporary texts recognized for quality and literary merit.

L.RP.06.03. Students will identify a speaker's affective communication expressed through tone, mood, and emotional cues.

L.RP.06.04. Students will relate a speaker's verbal communications (e.g., tone of voice) to the non-verbal message communicated (e.g., eye contact, posture, and gestures).

L.RP.06.05. Students will respond to multiple text types when listened to or viewed knowledgeably, by discussing, illustrating, and/or writing in order to compare/contrast similarities and differences in idea, form, and style to evaluate quality and to identify personal and universal themes.

L.RP.06.06. Students will respond to, evaluate, and analyze the credibility of a speaker who uses persuasion to affirm his/her point of view in a speech or presentation.

L.RP.06.07. Students will identify persuasive and propaganda techniques used in television, and identify false and misleading information.