Highlands Middle School

6th Grade Reading Class Syllabus

2013-2014

Instructors:

Sally Brewer

Dianne

Overview:

Sixth Grade Reading is a one quarter encore class designed to enhance students’ reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. The chosen standards for learning in Sixth Grade Reading have been carefully selected to serve as a complement to the students’ Language Arts classes. Proficiency in reading is linked to success in one’s school career, which leads to success in life. Therefore, the goals of the sixth grade reading class are as follows:

  • To spark an increased interest in reading, helping students develop a lifelong love of reading by providing the chance for students to explore interesting ideas.
  • To introduce and practice specific reading strategies for both fiction and nonfiction texts.
  • To provide opportunities for reading, writing, speaking, and listening related to class readings.
  • To help students become purposeful readers who think about how to generate and answer self-generated questions related to the text.
  • To increase academic vocabulary and knowledge of prefixes, suffixes, and Greek and Latin root words.

Resources:

Reader’s Handbook – Great Source Education Group, 2002

Junior Great Books– The Great Books Foundation, 1992

SCOPE Magazine – Scholastic publication

500 Key Words for the SAT and How to Remember Them Forever! By Charles Gulotta

Supplemental resources to enhance the program

Covered Content:

  • Kentucky Core Academic Standards
  • Explore College Readiness Standards

Kentucky Core Academic Standards:

Literature

  • Theme 6.2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
  • Compare/Contrast 6.9: Compare and contrast texts in different forms or genres (e.g., stories and poems; historical novels and fantasy stories) in terms of their approaches to similar themes and topics.

Informational Reading

  • Main Idea and Summary 6.2: Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
  • Text Organization/Structure 6.5: Analyze how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas.
  • Compare/Contrast Multiple Versions/Formats on Same Topic 6.7 & 6.9 (SL 6.2): Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue;

Compare and contrast one author’s presentation of events with that of another (e.g., a memoir written by and a biography on the same person);

Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.

  • Arguments/Claims and Evidence 6.8 (SL 6.3): Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.

Delineate a speaker’s argument and specific claims, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.

Speaking and Listening

  • See Informational Reading (SL 6.2 & SL 6.3).

Language- Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

  • Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word 6.4b (e.g., audience, auditory, audible).(Roots/Affixes Designated Word List)
  • Consult reference materials6.4c (e.g. dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation of a word or determine or clarify its precise meaning or its part of speech.
  • Verify the preliminary determination of the meaning of a word or phrase 6.4d (e.g., by checking the inferred meaning in context or in a dictionary).
  • Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression 6.6.(SAT Vocabulary Designated Word List)

Student Requirements:

  • Materials:

Students are required to have a composition notebook, index cards, 1 2-pocket folder, writing materials (pens, pencils, loose-leaf paper),and a silent reading book.

  • Participation:

Students are expected to fully participate in class discussions and in-class work. These activities will contribute to their overall reading grade.

  • Behavior:

Students are expected to be respectful of each other’s opinions and comments during class discussions.

  • Responsibilities:

Students are expected to arrive on time, come prepared with all necessary materials/assignments, study for quizzes, and make up any work missed due to absences.

Grading:

Students will be evaluated in the following categories: Assessments, Homework, and Classwork. Point values will be assigned to each assignment and will be reported as a letter grade according to the middle school grading scale.