Virginia State Standards for Language Arts: Grade 6
6.1. The student will analyze oral participation in small-group activities.
6.1.a) Communicate as leader and contributor.
6.1.b) Evaluate own contributions to discussions.
6.1.c) Summarize and evaluate group activities.
6.1.d) Analyze the effectiveness of participant interactions.
6.2. The student will listen critically and express opinions in oral presentations.
6.2.a) Distinguish between fact and opinion.
6.2.b) Compare and contrast viewpoints.
6.2.c) Present a convincing argument.
6.2.d) Paraphrase what is heard.
6.2.e) Summarize what is heard.
6.2.f) Use grammatically correct language and vocabulary appropriate to audience, topic, and purpose.
6.3. The student will read and learn the meanings of unfamiliar words and phrases.
6.3.a) Identify word origins, derivations, and inflections.
6.3.b) Identify analogies and figurative language.
6.3.c) Use context and sentence structure to determine meanings and differentiate among multiple meanings of words.
6.3.d) Use word-reference materials.
6.4. The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of fiction, narrative nonfiction, and poetry.
6.4.a) Identify the elements of narrative structure, including setting, character, plot, conflict, and theme.
6.4.b) Use knowledge of narrative and poetic structures to aid comprehension and predict outcomes.
6.4.c) Describe the images created by language.
6.4.d) Describe how word choice and imagery contribute to the meaning of a text.
6.4.e) Describe cause-effect relationships and their impact on plot.
6.4.f) Use information stated explicitly in the text to draw conclusions and make inferences.
6.4.g) Explain how character and plot development are used in a selection to support a central conflict or story line.
6.4.h) Paraphrase and summarize the main points in the text.
6.5. The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of informational selections.
6.5.a) Identify questions to be answered.
6.5.b) Make, confirm, or revise predictions.
6.5.c) Use context to determine meanings of unfamiliar words and technical vocabulary.
6.5.d) Draw conclusions and make inferences based on explicit and implied information.
6.5.e) Organize the main idea and details to form a summary.
6.5.f) Compare and contrast information about one topic contained in different selections.
6.5.g) Select informational sources appropriate for a given purpose.
6.6. The student will write narratives, descriptions, and explanations.
6.6.a) Use a variety of planning strategies to generate and organize ideas.
6.6.b) Establish central idea, organization, elaboration, and unity.
6.6.c) Select vocabulary and information to enhance the central idea, tone, and voice.
6.6.d) Expand and embed ideas by using modifiers, standard coordination, and subordination in complete sentences.
6.6.e) Revise writing for clarity.
6.7. The student will edit writing for correct grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and sentence structure.
6.7.a) Use a variety of graphic organizers, including sentence diagrams, to analyze and improve sentence formation and paragraph structure.
6.7.b) Use subject-verb agreement with intervening phrases and clauses.
6.7.c) Use pronoun-antecedent agreement to include indefinite pronouns.
6.7.d) Maintain consistent tense inflections across paragraphs.
6.7.e) Choose adverbs to describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.
6.7.f) Use correct spelling for frequently used words.