Hitch Elementary School - 6th Grade Language Arts Text Overview
Listed below are potential texts used throughout the school year. Students will read some texts whole class, and others in small Literature Circle groups.
Texts change often as we respond to the levels and interests of our students. This is not a definitive list.
Essential Questions
Potential Texts
WHOLE CLASS
The Plot Thickens . . .
How do authors effectively develop characters in a literary
text?
What motivates characters to solve conflicts (either internal or
external)?
How do the plot elements of a literary text work together to
form an effective story?
Eleven by Sandra Cisneros
Scout’s Honor by Avi
Nadia the Willful by Sue Alexander
Tuesday of the Other June by Norma Fox Mazer
Embracing Heritage
WHOLE CLASS
Aaron’s Gift by Myron Levoy
Oh Broom Get to Work by Yoshiko Uchida
The All-American Slurp by Lensey Namioka
SMALL GROUP
Shooting Kabul by N.H. Senzai
Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata
Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos
Maggie’s Door by Patricia Reilly Giff
How does heritage define us individually and as a
nation?
How do authors convey meaning through words and/or
images?
Who Done It?
How is evidence used as a tool to solve a crime?
How can different points of view contribute to detectives work?
Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
SMALL GROUP
Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
Rules by Cynthia Lord
On My Honor by Marion Bauer
WHOLE GROUP
Two-Minute Mysteries by Donald J. Sobol
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet
SMALL GROUP
Students self select from a selection of mystery novels.
WHOLE CLASS
Survival in the Wild
What similarities and differences exist among
characters who survive in the wild?
What character traits are necessary to survive in the
wild?
How does the setting of a story shape the characters in
the story?
Ghost of the Lagoon by Armstrong Sperry
Matthew Henson at the Top of the World by Jim Haskins
Older Run by Gary Paulsen
From For the Fun of It! By Amelia Earhart
SMALL GROUP
Woodsong by Gary Paulsen
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
The River by Gary Paulsen
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craig
Voyage of the Frog by Gary Paulsen
Folklore: A Blast from the Past
What is the purpose of folklore?
What does folklore reveal to us about a culture?
WHOLE CLASS
The Story of Ceres and Proserpina (Mary Pope Osborne)
Arachne (Retold by Olivia E. Coolidge)
Why Monkeys Live in Trees (Retold by Julius Lester)
The Bamboo Beads (Retold by Lynn Joseph)
The Disobedient Child (Retold by Victor Montejo)
King Thrushbeard (Retold by the Brothers Grimm)
In the Land of the Small Dragon (told by Dang Manh Kha)
The Living Kuan-yin (Retold by Carol Kendall)
SMALL GROUP
Students self select folklore that they are interested in researching
6th Grade Grammar Focus
Quarter 1: Introduction to Four Line Grammar
Quarter 2: Parts of Speech
Quarter 3: Prepositions
Quarter 4: Introduction to Phrases