Academy Award - Winning (6th Grade Reading Course Description)
Course Description:
The sixth grade reading program offers a balanced approach in order to ensure success. This approach includes teaching, demonstrating, and practicing reading skills, vocabulary skills, and comprehension strategies. The students will master these skills and strategies. Lessons will be provided to practice weekly comprehension skills and strategies/skills. I will provide them with opportunities to analyze and understand what they've read. Students will read authentic literature for meaningful purposes, which include whole class novels and short stories. They will demonstrate application of skills and strategies though activities that enable them to use their knowledge. Students will have opportunities to independently read in and outside of class. Direct instruction/practice (min-lessons) of specific skills and strategies will be accomplished through teacher modeling and whole group/small group practice. Vocabulary will be introduced and reinforced through independent, paired, and group activities. The students will keep a vocabulary glossary/log of their words.
Students will maintain a reading journal (composition book) throughout the year to respond in.
Expectations and Goals
The goal of the sixth grade reading program is to provide instruction that will enable students to become strategic readers and independent learners. Based on the Common Core Standards, after completing this course successfully, students will be able to do the following:
Students will read, summarize, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate a variety of texts to build an understanding and make connections to themselves and the world. In sixth grade, students demonstrate an understanding of critical reading as they begin to read between the lines and gain understanding beyond the text. They will compare and contrast novels by analyzing the characters, setting, and plot structure. The program hones in on these essential skills and strategies by providing explicit instruction and opportunities for students to develop, practice, and master a specific comprehension skill. Students will be taught the literary elements and techniques.
The literacy selection will include shared (whole class) novels, literature circles, and book chats/shares. In addition, the students have many opportunities for enrichment through independent reading and book projects.
Students will continually build their fluency skills and word-level knowledge. Like fluency, word-level knowledge is essential for comprehension. Students will be given academic vocabulary lists in class comprised of useful words they will in encounter in College Board’s SpringBoard, the sixth grade student language arts textbook.