Grade 6 Reading Literary Texts
Assessment Targets
1. KEY DETAILS: Use explicit
details and implicit information to
support answers or inferences
about texts
Standards: RL-1, RL-3
(DOK 1, DOK 2)
2. CENTRAL IDEAS: Identify or
summarize central ideas/ key
events
Standards: RL-2, RL-3
(DOK 2)
3. WORD MEANINGS: Determine
word meanings, multiple meanings,
or shades of meaning based on
word relationships (e.g.,
synonyms), word structure (e.g.,
common Greek or Latin roots,
affixes), context, or use of
resources (e.g., dictionary)
Standards: RL-4; L-4, L-5c (DOK
1, DOK 2)
What content items/tasks for this target could assess
RL-1 Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the
text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
RL-3 Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot
unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters
respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
RL-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.
RL-3 Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot
unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters
respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
RL-4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they
are used in a text, including figurative and connotative
meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on
meaning and tone.
L-4 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and
multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 6
reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of
strategies.
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4. REASONING & EVIDENCE: Use
supporting evidence to justify/
explain inferences (character
development/ traits, first or third
person point of view,
theme/author’s message)
Standards: RL-2, RL-3, RL-6
(DOK 3, DOK 41)
5. ANALYZE RELATIONSHIPS:
Specify or explain relationships
within or across texts
(e.g.,compare/contrast,
problem/solution, cause/effect)
Standards: RL-6, RL-7, RL-9
(DOK 2, DOK 3, DOK 4)
6.STRUCTURES/FEATURES:
Relate knowledge of text structure
or features (visual information) to
gain, interpret, or explain
information Standards: RL-5, RL-7
(DOK 2, DOK 3)
7. LANGUAGE USE: Determine or
interpret figurative meanings of
words and phrases used in context
Standards: RL-4; L-5a, L-5b (DOK
2, DOK 3)
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Text(s): “Eleven” & “Salvador”
Sample questions/tasks
Use context (e.g., the overall meaning of a sentence or paragraph; a
word’s position or function in a sentence) as a clue to the meaning of a
word or phrase. (CCSS: L.6.4a)
Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots
as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., audience, auditory,
audible). (CCSS: L.6.4b)
Consult reference materials (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. (CCSS: L.6.4c)
L-5c Distinguish among the connotations (associations) of
words with similar denotations (definitions) (e.g., stingy,
scrimping, economical, unwasteful, thrifty). (CCSS: L.6.5c)
RL-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..
RL-3 Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot
unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters
respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
RL-62 Compare and contrast the point of view from which
different stories are narrated, including the difference between
first- and third-person narrations.
RL-6 Compare and contrast the point of view from which
different stories are narrated, including the difference between
first- and third-person narrations.
RL-7 Compare and contrast the experience of reading a
story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio,
video, or live version of the text including contrasting what
they ―see‖ and ―hear‖ when reading the text to what they
perceive when they listen or watch..
RL-9 Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes
and topics (e.g., opposition of good and evil) and patterns of
events (e.g., the quest) in stories, myths, and traditional
literature from different cultures.
RL-5 Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or
stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes
to the development of the theme, setting, or plot..
RL-7 Compare and contrast the experience of reading a
story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio,
video, or live version of the text, including contrasting what
they ―see‖ and ―hear‖ when reading the text to what they
perceive when they listen or watch..
RL-4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they
are used in a text, including figurative and connotative
meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on
meaning and tone.
L-5a Demonstrate understanding of figurative language,
word relationships, and nuances in word meanings; e.g.
Interpret figures of speech (e.g., personification) in context.
L-5b Use the relationship between particular words (e.g.,
cause/effect,part/whole, item/category) to better understand
each of the words.
In many cases, but NOT ALL, when students analyze deeply and draw information from multiple texts for supporting evidence, the DOK level
becomes level 4, whereas the same task with a single text would be DOK level 3.
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CC Standards that are underlined indicate that more than one text or text format is required for assessment items.