New Jersey English Language Arts — Grade 6
Comprehensive Course Syllabus
Course Overview
Our New Jersey Grade 6 English Language Arts (ELA) course is designed around the 2023 New Jersey Student Learning Standards for English Language Arts (NJSLS-ELA). Grade 6 marks the transition to middle-school ELA, with stronger emphasis on close reading, literary and informational text analysis, evidence-based reasoning, vocabulary, grammar, argument writing, research, speaking, listening, and multimedia communication.
Students develop greater independence in analyzing complex texts, constructing evidence-based arguments, conducting research, communicating ideas, and adapting language to different audiences and purposes.
Advanced Reading & Close Reading
Close Reading
Students read literary and informational texts carefully to identify important details, ideas, relationships, and evidence.
Textual Evidence
Students locate and cite specific evidence from a text to support interpretations, conclusions, and responses.
Making Inferences
Students combine information explicitly stated in a text with their own reasoning to make supported inferences.
Connecting Ideas
Students make connections between ideas, events, characters, topics, and information within and across texts.
Summarizing Texts
Students create objective summaries that identify important ideas and events without adding personal opinions.
Literary Text Analysis
Theme
Students determine the theme of stories, poems, plays, and other literary texts and explain how details support the theme.
Character Development
Students analyze characters’ traits, motivations, actions, relationships, conflicts, and changes throughout a story.
Plot Structure
Students examine how events develop from the beginning of a story through conflicts, turning points, and resolution.
Setting
Students analyze how time, place, environment, and circumstances influence characters and events.
Point of View
Students examine how a narrator or speaker’s perspective affects the way a story or event is presented.
Informational Text Analysis
Central Idea
Students determine the central idea of an informational text and explain how key details support it.
Supporting Details
Students identify relevant facts, examples, explanations, and evidence that develop an informational topic.
Text Structure
Students analyze structures such as cause and effect, comparison and contrast, problem and solution, and sequence.
Author’s Purpose
Students identify why an author wrote a text and examine how purpose influences the presentation of information.
Author’s Perspective
Students analyze an author’s perspective and identify potential bias or assumptions that may influence a text.
Comparing Texts & Media
Comparing Literary Texts
Students compare stories, poems, dramas, and other literary works that explore similar themes or topics.
Comparing Informational Texts
Students compare articles, biographies, reports, primary sources, and other informational texts addressing similar subjects.
Text-to-Text Connections
Students analyze how different authors or texts approach similar ideas, events, themes, or issues.
Multiple Formats
Students integrate information presented through written text, images, graphs, charts, audio, and video.
Adaptations
Students compare a written work with an audio, video, dramatic, or other adaptation and analyze differences in presentation.
Vocabulary & Word Study
Context Clues
Students use surrounding words, sentences, and paragraphs to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.
Greek & Latin Roots
Students use common Greek and Latin roots, prefixes, and suffixes to understand unfamiliar academic vocabulary.
Figurative Language
Students interpret similes, metaphors, personification, idioms, and other forms of figurative language in context.
Connotation & Denotation
Students distinguish between a word’s literal meaning and the feelings or associations connected with it.
Word Relationships
Students analyze relationships such as cause/effect, part/whole, category/example, synonym/antonym, and other semantic connections.
Grammar & Language
Pronouns
Students correctly use subject, object, possessive, and intensive pronouns and maintain clear pronoun references.
Pronoun Agreement
Students identify and correct errors involving pronoun number, person, and unclear or vague references.
Verb Usage
Students use appropriate verb forms and maintain consistency in tense and meaning.
Sentence Structure
Students analyze and construct clear sentences using different sentence patterns and structures.
Sentence Variety
Students vary sentence patterns and lengths to improve meaning, style, flow, and reader interest.
Argument & Opinion Writing
Developing Claims
Students introduce clear claims about topics or issues and establish a focused position.
Reasons & Evidence
Students support claims using logical reasoning, relevant facts, examples, data, and credible evidence.
Organizing Arguments
Students organize claims, reasons, evidence, and explanations in a logical sequence.
Linking Ideas
Students use appropriate words, phrases, and clauses to show relationships between claims, reasons, and evidence.
Formal Academic Style
Students develop an appropriate formal style and tone for academic argument writing.
Informative & Explanatory Writing
Introducing a Topic
Students introduce a topic clearly and provide relevant background information.
Organizing Information
Students organize ideas using structures such as definition, classification, comparison, cause and effect, and problem and solution.
Developing Ideas
Students develop topics using facts, definitions, examples, details, quotations, and other relevant information.
Transitions
Students use transitions to clarify relationships between ideas, concepts, events, and paragraphs.
Precise Language
Students use precise vocabulary and domain-specific terminology to explain information accurately.
Narrative & Creative Writing
Narrative Structure
Students write narratives with clear contexts, characters, settings, logically organized events, and meaningful conclusions.
Character Development
Students develop characters through dialogue, actions, thoughts, feelings, descriptions, and motivations.
Dialogue
Students use dialogue effectively to develop characters and move the story forward.
Pacing
Students control the pace of a narrative by varying descriptions, dialogue, actions, and event sequences.
Descriptive & Sensory Language
Students use precise words, sensory details, and descriptive language to make experiences and settings vivid.
Research & Information Literacy
Research Questions
Students develop focused questions and use them to guide short research projects.
Finding Multiple Sources
Students gather information from books, articles, websites, databases, reference materials, and other appropriate sources.
Evaluating Source Credibility
Students examine sources for relevance, reliability, credibility, and usefulness.
Note-Taking
Students organize information from multiple sources and distinguish important information from supporting details.
Quoting & Paraphrasing
Students accurately quote or restate information from sources while preserving the original meaning.
Speaking, Listening & Presentation
Collaborative Discussions
Students participate effectively in individual, small-group, and teacher-led discussions about texts, topics, and issues.
Active Listening
Students listen carefully, identify key ideas, ask clarifying questions, and respond appropriately to others.
Supporting Discussion Ideas
Students refer to evidence and prepared materials when contributing ideas to academic discussions.
Multiple Perspectives
Students demonstrate understanding of different viewpoints by listening, paraphrasing, comparing, and responding respectfully.
Oral Presentations
Students present claims, findings, explanations, and research using logical organization and appropriate supporting details.
Multimedia, Critical Thinking & ELA Applications
Multimedia Communication
Students use images, graphics, charts, audio, video, and other media to strengthen presentations and communicate information.
Media Analysis
Students interpret information presented in visual, quantitative, oral, and digital formats.
Evaluating Arguments
Students analyze claims and determine whether arguments are supported by relevant reasons and evidence.
Information Literacy
Students learn to locate, evaluate, compare, and responsibly use information from different sources.
Critical Thinking
Students analyze evidence, compare perspectives, make connections, draw conclusions, and explain their reasoning.
Teaching Methodology
Our Grade 6 English classes focus on close reading, literary analysis, informational reading, vocabulary, grammar, evidence-based writing, research, speaking, listening, and critical thinking. Students learn through:
Learning Outcomes
By the end of Grade 6, students will be able to:
Assessment & Progress Tracking
Student progress is evaluated through: