6th Grade Language Arts and Literature

Mrs. Festa


Sixth grade is an important transition from elementary school into middle school. I pledge to create a Christian environment where children can prosper in mind, heart, and spirit. I will assist
with the organization of their time, lockers, binders, and planners. Our Boystown Social Skills, Tribes Community Agreements, Study Skills, and Commandments will be the basis that teaches
them about making choices and allows me to “catch them doing right”.

There will be a correlation between my language and literature classes that builds effective lifelong communication skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing, thinking, and comprehending).
SQUIRT (Sustained Quiet Uninterrupted Independent Reading Time) will provide my sixth graders with ample opportunities to read to learn.

And finally, I will accompany my students to Camp Allen, in Navasota, Texas, where we will bond and build lasting memories of Sixth Grade at John Paul II Catholic School.


1st Quarter Curriculum

  • Review and apply capitalization and punctuation in the writing of four types of well-developed sentences
  • Introduce guided practice in Writing and Grammar, Communication in Action (Prentice Hall) beginning with the basics of nouns, pronouns, verbs, and conjunctions
  • Practice neat, legible cursive/script handwriting
  • Introduce Vocabulary Workshop (Sadlier-Oxford) with spellings, pronunciations, parts of speech, definitions, synonyms, antonyms, and sentence usage (Units 1-4)
  • Discuss the characters, settings, plots, and conflicts in Stargirl and Loser by the Newbery Medal author, Jerry Spinelli (required summer reading)
  • Introduce stories and poems related to “Growing and Changing” in Literature – Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes (Prentice Hall)
  • Assign independent reading of approved books from John Paul II Library and classroom library (SQUIRT); present oral book reports using an exact format

2nd Quarter Curriculum

  • Build on the parts of speech foundation including adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and interjections
  • Recognize subject (noun/pronoun) and predicate (action/condition) in sentences; learn how to diagram basic sentences
  • Continue the writing of well-developed sentences, applying all capitalization and punctuation rules  (including legible cursive writing)
  • Expand Vocabulary Units 5-8 (spellings, pronunciations, parts of speech, multiple definitions, synonyms, antonyms, usage in phrases and sentences, analogies, and word families)
  • Discuss and comprehend literary elements applying reading strategies (using prose and poetry from literature book)
  • Encourage independent reading of historical fiction, fantasy, biographies, and classics (SQUIRT); prepare oral presentations that summarize reading
3rd Quarter Curriculum
  • Celebrate National Catholic Schools Week
  • Recognize compound subjects and predicates in sentences; diagram parts
  • Identify direct and indirect objects receiving the action of verbs; diagram parts
  • Connect predicate nouns and predicate adjectives with linking verbs of condition; diagram parts
  • Use prepositional phrases, adjective phrases, adverb phrases, and appositive phrases in sentence structure
  • Understand independent and subordinate clauses; distinguish between simple, compound, or complex sentences
  • Compose paragraphs with related facts and details
  • Continue expanding Vocabulary Units 9-12, building a cumulative foundation of words and their usage
  • Encourage more independent reading of a greater variety of books
  • Introduce a research project utilizing different resources and references
  • Expect more from each student, and tolerate less

4th Quarter Curriculum

  • Complete the grammar development (subject, object, and possessive pronouns; regular or irregular verbs; antecedents; and positive, comparative, and superlative adjectives)
  • Prepare for standardized testing using guided practice in Writing and Grammar
  • Finish Vocabulary Workshop Units 13-15, enhancing reading comprehension
  • Explain cause and effect essay as a research topic (search for data, write “factlets”, create bibliography, compose topic paragraphs, edit the work of peers, draft final copy)

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