Grade 6 ELA Curriculum Maps/Pacing Guide
OVERVIEW
These maps provide a detailed look at the specific features, workshops, skills, and standards covered in each unit. Use them to guide you through planning your instruction for a daily lesson, an extended unit, or the entire semester. The units are:
Intro: Common Core Grade 6
Unit 1: Is Conflict Always Bad?
Unit 2: What Is Important to Know?
Unit 3: Do We Need Words to Communicate?
Unit 4: How Do We Decide Who We Are?
Unit 5: How Much Do Our Communities Shape Us?
Introductory Unit:
The Introductory Unit can be used at any time through the year to teach essential skills and standards including units at a glance, and overview of the Pearson Instructional Model, CCSS Standards, and the Skills Navigator for each unit.
6th Grade English Unit Overview
 Each unit is divided into “Parts” (up to 3 or 4 parts in each unit)
 Each “Part” is comprised of texts or text sets (multiple texts intrinsically connected by theme, genre, or period)
 Part 1 of each unit is an “Inquiry Based Question” (IBQ)/Close Read Workshop. In the IBQ/Close Read Workshop, students will practice close reading strategies within the context of a particular genre.
 Part 2 of each unit deals with text analysis and guided exploration focusing on the big question.
 Part 3 of each unit develops insight and includes an “Anchor Text” for the text sets. Anchor Texts exemplify the theme or genre of each “part” of a unit.
 Part 4 of each unit encourages independent reading of extended texts. This also features access to the Online Text Sets.
 NOTE: The maps are designed to give teachers a unit overview for standards, planning, and pacing. This is not a rigid framework, and should not be viewed as such. Teachers should exercise and integrate creative choice in text choice
for novels, other fiction and nonfiction texts, and in choosing informational text.
Big Questions
The information in all five 6th Grade English units is examined through the lens of five Big Questions (which are also the unit titles):
1. Is conflict always bad?
2. What is important to know?
3. Do we need words to communicate?
4. How do we decide who we are?
5. How much do our communities shape us?
At the end of each text selection, the Big Question is revisited through “Literary Analysis Questions” to help teachers guide discussion and build content knowledge.
Units at a Glance:
The Grade 7 ELA Units at a Glance on the next page highlights, among other elements, close reading, language study, speaking and listening, writing, independent reading, and assessment.
NRMS Writing Plan
 In addition to the built in writing assignments via the PH Lit text, the far right column of each unit map (labeled NRMS Writing Plan) indicates writing assignments aligning with the
NRMS Writing Plan/District Writing Portfolio by grade levels.
 To review the Writing Plan and grade level portfolios, visit the NRMS Live binder at: http://www.livebinders.com/play/play/938417.
 The LiveBinder password is nrmps. Go to the “District Writing Plan” tab, and select “Writing Portfolio Components”. Scroll down to find your grade level.
 The “Research Project/ Oral Presentation” section of the Grade 6 Portfolio outlines a “Mini-Graduation Project” assignment with a suggested outline. Consult the current Graduation Project Rubrics for details and assessment.
 Students in a NRMS English class should write on a daily basis.
Pacing
The maps have suggested pacing for each part of the unit. In addition, you can find a Lesson pacing Guide for each selection in the “Time and Resource Manger” at the beginning of each text selection.
This guide will also help you manage differentiation and one-on-one, group work, whole class instruction, assessment, and digital resources.
NRMS Literacy Plan
Please align your planning and instruction to the NRMS Literacy plan. The Literacy Plan, thorough alignment with a literacy cycle, uses text as the tool for accessing the comprehensive reading, writing, speaking, listening, thinking,
and creating experiences that should occur throughout lessons and units. To access an abridged version of the literacy plan, please visit: http://secondary.nrms.wikispaces.net/Links+to+Learning+and+Literacy#
To access NRMS Literacy Plan Exemplar Lessons, please visit http://secondary.nrms.wikispaces.net/Links+to+Learning+and+Literacy and download the Middle School Exemplars.
1
Grade 6 ELA Curriculum Maps/Pacing Guide
OVERVIEW
UNITS AT A GLANCE
The chart below provides an overview of the features and assessments for each unit. A more detailed listing each unit’s skills begins on the next page.
Unit Close Reading
Workshop
1
Focus on Short Story
Language Study
Using a Dictionary
and Thesaurus
Speaking and Listening
Writing Process
Following Oral Directions
Narrative: Short Story
Reading, Writing, Speaking,
Research Models
Independent Practice
2
Focus on Nonfiction
Word Origins
Reading, Writing, Speaking,
Research Models
Evaluating Media
Messages and
Advertisements
Informative Text:
Comparison-andContrast Essay
Independent Practice
3
Focus on Poetry
Words with Multiple
Meanings
Problem-and-Solution
Proposal
Argumentative Essay
Reading, Writing, Speaking,
Research Models
Independent Practice
4
Focus on Drama
Connotation and
Denotation
Delivering a Persuasive
Speech
Reading, Writing, Speaking,
Research Models
Independent Practice
5
Focus on Folk Literature
Reading, Writing, Speaking,
Research Models
Independent Practice
2
Idioms
Oral Response to
Literature
Argument: Problem-andSolution Essay
Independent Reading
Assessment
Titles for Extended Reading
Online Text Set
Eleven
Sandra Cisneros
A Backwoods Boy
Russell Freedman
Letter to Scottie
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Assessment: Skills
Selected Response
Constructed Response
Titles for Extended Reading
Online Text Set
Why Monkeys Live in Trees
Julius Lester
Jake Wood Baseball Is the Start of Something
Special
Reginald T. Dogan
Wilbur Wright and Orville Wright
Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benét
Assessment: Skills
Selected Response
Constructed Response
Titles for Extended Reading
Online Text Set
The Lady and the Spider
Robert Fulghum
Dragon, Dragon
John Gardner
Ankylosaurus
Jack Prelutsky
Assessment: Skills
Selected Response
Constructed Response
Titles for Extended Reading
Online Text Set
My Heart Is in the Highlands
Jane Yolen
from Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Mildred D. Taylor
Alphabet
Naomi Shihab Nye
Assessment: Skills
Selected Response
Constructed Response
Explanatory Text: Cause- Titles for Extended Reading
and-Effect Essay
Online Text Set
The Market Square Dog
James Herriot
Aaron’s Gift
Myron Levoy
Childhood and Poetry
Pablo Neruda
Assessment: Synthesis
Speaking and Listening: Group Discussion
Writing: Short Story
Writing to Sources: Argument
Assessment: Synthesis
Speaking and Listening: Group Discussion
Writing: Narrative
Writing to Sources: Explanatory Text
Assessment: Synthesis
Speaking and Listening: Group Discussion
Writing: Narrative
Writing to Sources: Argument
Assessment: Synthesis
Speaking and Listening: Group Discussion
Writing: Narrative
Writing to Sources: Informative Text
Assessment: Skills
Selected Response
Constructed Response
Assessment: Synthesis
Speaking and Listening: Small Group Discussion
Writing: Narrative
Writing to Sources: Explanatory Text
Grade 6 ELA Curriculum Maps/Pacing Guide
Unit 1: Is Conflict Always Bad?
PART 1
Selection/Feature
IBQ/CLOSE
READING
WORKSHOP
PART 2
CHARACTERS
AND CONFLICT
COMPARING
TEXTS
Pacing
Standards Covered
Close Reading
Focus
Conventions
The Old Grandfather and
His Little Grandson
Leo Tolstoy
The Wounded Wolf
Jean Craighead George
4 days
RL1, RL2, RL3, RL4,
RL5, W2, W4, W7, W8,
W9, SL1, L6
Close Reading:
Short Story
Stray
Cynthia Rylant
4–16 days
RL3, W2b, W2e, W4, W7,
SL3, L2, L4b
Make Predictions
Plot
Common, Proper, and
Possessive Nouns
The Tail
Joyce Hansen
RL1, RL3, W4, SL2, L1,
L1a, L6
Make Inferences
Characterization
Zlateh the Goat
Isaac Bashevis Singer
RL1, RL3, W1, SL4, SL5,
L1b, L4
The Circuit
Francisco Jiménez
Language Study**
Speaking and
Listening
Writing
Explanation: Wolf Behavior
Writing Model: Argument
Writing: Explanatory Essay
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Brochure
List of Reasons
Personal and Possessive
Pronouns
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Compare-and-Contrast
Chart
Letter of Recommendation
Make Inferences
Conflict and
Resolution
Interrogative, Indefinite,
Reflexive, and Intensive
Pronouns
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Seminar
Compare-and-Contrast
Chart
Persuasive Speech
RL2, W4, SL1c, L1a, L4b
Draw Conclusions
Theme
Pronoun Case
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Interview
Foreshadowing and
Flashback
Lob’s Girl
Joan Aiken
Jeremiah’s Song
Walter Dean Myers
2 days
RL5, W2a
Language Study
1 day
L4c, L4d, L5c
Speaking and Listening
1 day
SL1c, SL1d
Writing Process
3 days
W3, W3a, W3b, W3c,
W3d, W3e, L1c, L1d, L2b
Anchor: The King of
Mazy May
Jack London
5 days
RL1, RL2, RL3, RL4,
RL5, W2, W4, W5, W7,
W8, W9, W9a, W10, SL1,
SL4, L1, L2, L3, L4, L4a,
L5, L6
Setting
To Klondyke We’ve Paid
Our Fare
H.J. Dunham
2–3 days
RL1, RL2, RL4, RL5, W3,
W4, W7, W8, W9, W9a,
W10, SL1, SL4, L1
Alliteration
Gold Rush: The Journey
by Land
from The Sacramento Bee
1 day
RI1, RI7, W3, W4, SL1,
L1, L2, L3, L4, L6
A Woman’s View of the
Gold Rush
Mary B. Ballou
2–3 days
RL1, RL2, RL4, RL5, W2,
W4, W7, W8, W9, W9a,
W10, SL1, SL4, L1, L3,
L4, L6
Chinese and African Americans in
the
Gold Rush
Johns Hopkins University
2–3 days
Birds Struggle to Recover from
Egg Thefts of 1800s
Edie Lau
2–3 days
Small-Group Discussion
Research
Description
Timed Writing: Explanatory
Essay
Using a Dictionary and
Thesaurus
Following Oral Directions
PART 3
WORKSHOPS
3
TEXT SET: THE
GOLD RUSH
Pronoun-Antecedent
Agreement
Pronoun Types and Case
Voice
Focus on Research:
Narrative
Narrative: Short Story
Nouns
Verb Tense
Diction and Style
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Group Discussion
Investigate the Topic: Gold
Rush Struggles
Informative Text: Cause-andEffect Essay
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Group Discussion
Investigate the Topic:
Striking It Rich
Narrative: Short Story
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Class Discussion
Tone
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Partner Discussion
Investigate the Topic: Gold
Rush Housing
Informative Text
RI1, RI2, RI4, RI5, RI6,
W1, W2, W4, W7, W8,
W9, W9b, W10, SL1, SL4,
L1, L2, L3, L4, L6
Author’s Purpose
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Seminar
Investigate the Topic: Labor
During the
Gold Rush
Editorial
RI1, RI2, RI3, RI4, RI5,
RI6, RI7, W1, W4, W7,
W8, W9, W9b, W10, SL1,
SL4, L1, L2, L3, L4, L6
Imagery
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Group Discussion
Investigate the Topic: The
Gold Rush and Food
Argument
Narrative: Journal Entry
NRMS Writing Plan
NRMS Writing Portfolio: Evaluative Argument essay via
writing process
Grade 6 ELA Curriculum Maps/Pacing Guide
Unit 2: What Is Important to Know?
PART 1
Selection/Feature
IBQ/CLOSE
READING
WORKSHOP
Pacing
Standards Covered
Close Reading
Focus
Conventions
Language Study**
Speaking and
Listening
Research
Writing
from Rambling ‘Round
Elizabeth Partridge
from Zlata’s Diary
Zlata Filipovic´
4 days
RI1, RI2, RI3, RI4, RI5,
RI6, W2, W4, W7, W9b,
SL1, L4d, L6
Close Reading:
Nonfiction
The Drive-In Movies
Gary Soto
4–16 days
RI6, W3, SL6, L1, L6
Make Predictions
Narrator and
Point of View
Principal Parts of Verbs
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Conversation
Autobiographical Narrative
Names/Nombres
Julia Alvarez
RL4, RI8, W3d, SL6, L1,
L6
Fact and Opinion
Tone
Action and Linking Verbs
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Monologue
Personal Anecdote
Langston Terrace
Eloise Greenfield
RI1, RI2, W3, W3b, W8,
SL5, L1, L6
Main Idea
Author’s Influences
Simple Verb Tenses
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
from The Pigman & Me
Paul Zindel
RI2, W2a, W2b, SL1a,
SL1b, SL1d, L1, L4b, L6
Main Idea
Mood
Perfect Tenses of Verbs
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Use Text Aids
and Features
Small-Group Discussion
Explanation: Historical
Events
NRMS Writing Plan
Writing Model: Informative
Text
Writing: Explanatory Essay
NRMS Writing Portfolio: Autobiographical Account via
writing process.
PART 2
LIFE STORIES
COMPARING
TEXTS
The Seven Wonders of the Word
Infoplease™
Art, Architecture, and Learning in
Egypt
Prentice Hall Ancient Civilizations
2 days
RI5, RI7, W1, L6
Language Study
1 day
L4b, L4c
Speaking and Listening
1 day
SL2, SL3
Writing Process
3 days
W2, W2a, W2b, W2c, L1,
L2b
Correcting Errors with
Verbs
Principal Parts of Verbs
Verb Tenses
Organizing a Comparisonand-Contrast Essay
Anchor: Jackie Robinson: Justice
at Last
Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns
5 days
RI1, RI2, RI3, RI4, RI5, RI6, Author’s Viewpoint
W1a, W1b, W1c, W2a, W2b,
W2c, W4, W5, W7, W8, SL1,
SL4, L1c
Verb Tenses
Past Tense Verbs
Past Perfect Tense Verbs
Diction and Style
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Memories of an All-American Girl
Carmen Pauls
2–3 days
RI1, RI2, RI3, RI4, RI5,
W3, W4, SL1, SL4, L4
Narrative Time Shifts
Preserving a Great American
Symbol
Richard Durbin
2–3 days
RI1, RI2, RI3, RI4, RI5,
RI8, W2, W4, W7, SL1
The Southpaw
Judith Viorst
2–3 days
Red Sox Get Ready to Celebrate
100 Years at Fenway
Larry Fine
Informative Presentation
Seminar
Journal Entry
Problem-and-Solution Essay
Timed Writing: Position
Statement
Word Origins
Evaluating Media Messages
and Advertisements
PART 3
WORKSHOPS
4
TEXT SET:
BASEBALL
Focus on Research:
Informative Text
Informative Text: Comparisonand-Contrast Essay
Seminar
Investigate the
Topic: Segregation
in Sports
Informative Text: Comparisonand-Contrast Essay
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Partner Discussion
Investigate the
Topic: Women and
Baseball
Autobiographical Narrative
Hyperbole
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Panel Discussion
Investigate the
Topic: Baseball Traditions
Argument: Persuasive
Speech
RL1, RL2, RL3, RL4, RL5,
W2, W4, SL1, SL4
Characterization
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Group Discussion
Investigate the
Topic: Teams and
Clubs
Persuasive Letter
2–3 days
RI1, RI2, RI3, RI4, RI5,
W1, W4, SL1, SL4, L4, L5
Figurative Language
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Group Discussion
Investigate the
Topic: Popular Stadiums
Argument
Why We Love Baseball
Mark Newman/MLB.com
2–3 days
RI1, RI2, RI4, W2, W4, W7,
W10, SL1, L4, L5
Word Choice
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Group Discussion
Investigate the
Topic: Baseball in
Literature
Explanatory Text
Ted Williams Baseball Card
1 day
RI1, RI6, RI7, W3, W4
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Seminar
Narrative: Journal Entry
NRMS Writing Portfolio: Problem-Solution via writing
process
Grade 6 ELA Curriculum Maps/Pacing Guide
Unit 3: Do We Need Words to Communicate?
PART 1
Selection/Feature
IBQ/CLOSE
READING
WORKSHOP
PART 2
RHYTHM AND
RHYME
COMPARING
TEXTS
Pacing
Standards
Covered
Close Reading
Focus
Conventions
Language Study**
Twelfth Song of Thunder
Navajo
Oranges
Gary Soto
Ode to Family Photographs
Gary Soto
4 days
RL1, RL2, RL4, RL5,
RL6, W2, W7, W9a,
SL1, L6
Close Reading: Poetry
Poetry Collection 1
Poe • Nash • Angelou • Carroll
4–16 days
RL4, W2, W2b, W2e,
W2f, W9, L1, L4a, L6
Context Clues Rhythm
and Rhyme
Adjectives and Adverbs
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Poetry Collection 2
Cisneros • Hughes • Giovanni •
Dickinson
RL4, RL7, W3d, SL6,
L1, L4a, L4c
Context Clues
Figurative Language
Comparisons with
Adjectives and Adverbs
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Poetry Collection 3
Bashò • Morrison • Charles •
Anonymous
RL5, W4, W6, L1, L3,
L6
Paraphrasing
Forms of Poetry
Conjunctions and
Interjections
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Poetry Collection 4
Paz • Silverstein • Shakespeare •
Brooks
RL4, W4, W6, L1, L3a,
L4c
Paraphrasing
Sound Devices
and Tone
Sentence Parts and Types
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Imagery
who knows if the moon’s
E.E. cummings
Dust of Snow
Robert Frost
2 days
RL4, W2a, W2b
Language Study
1 day
L4, L4a, L4c, L4d
Speaking and Listening
1 day
SL4, SL5, L1e
Writing Process
3 days
W1, W1a, W1b, W1c,
W1d, W1e, W5, L1,
L1e, L2b, L3
Anchor: Simile: Willow
and Ginkgo
Eve Merriam
5 days
RL1, RL2, RL4, RL5, RL6,
W2, W4, W7, W8, W9,
W9b, W10, SL1, SL4, L3,
L4, L5
Simile
Angela Duckworth and the
Research on “Grit”
Emily Hanford
2–3 days
RI1, RI2, RI3, RI5, W3,
W4, W5, W7, W8, SL1,
SL4, SL6
Race to the End of the Earth
William G. Scheller
2–3 days
The Sound of Summer Running
Ray Bradbury
Speaking and
Listening
Research
Small-Group Discussion or
Seminar
Explanation: Importance of
Setting
Writing Model: Argument
Writing: Explanatory Essay
Illustrated Booklet
Letter to an Author
Dramatic Poetry Reading
Seminar
Writing
Presentation of a Poem
Poem
Résumé
Prose Description
NRMS Writing Portfolio: Critical Response to
Literature
Timed Writing: Explanatory
Essay
NRMS Writing Portfolio: Problem/Solution on-demand
Problem-and-Solution
Proposal
PART 3
WORKSHOPS
5
TEXT SET:
DETERMINA-TION
Word Choice
Adjectives
Present Tense Verbs
Past Tense Verbs
Diction and Style
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Direct Quotation
RI1, RI2, RI3, RI5, RI6,
W3, W4, W7, W8, SL1,
SL4, L1a
2–3 days
from Letter on Thomas Jefferson
John Adams
Focus on Research:
Argument
Argumentative Essay
Seminar
Investigate the Topic:
Survival Skills
Informative Text: Expository
Essay
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Partner Discussion
Investigate the Topic:
College Challenges
Narrative
Foreshadowing
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Group Discussion
Investigate the Topic:
Expedition to the South
Pole
Narrative
RL1, RL2, RL3, RL4,
RL5, W3, W4, W5, W7,
W8, SL1, SL4, L1
Symbols
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Group Discussion
Investigate the Topic:
Financial Skills
Narrative
2–3 days
RI1, RI2, RI3, RI5, W1,
W2, W4, W5, W7, W8,
W9, SL1, SL4
Central Idea
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Group Discussion
Investigate the Topic:
Determination and the
Declaration of
Independence
Argument: Comparison-andContrast Essay
Water
Helen Keller
2–3 days
RI1, RI2, RI3, RI4, RI5,
RI6, W1, W4, W5, W7,
W8, SL1, SL4
Author’s Purpose
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Small Group Discussion
Investigate the Topic:
Learning to Communicate
Argument
Determination
1 day
RI1, RI2, RI3, RI5, RI6,
RI7, W2, W4, W7, W8
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
NRMS Writing Portfolio: Friendly Letter
Poem
Words with Multiple
Meanings
Using Coordinating
Conjunctions
Adjectives and Adverbs
Comparisons with
Adjectives
NRMS Writing Plan
Investigate the Topic:
Politics and Determination
Grade 6 ELA Curriculum Maps/Pacing Guide
Unit 4: How Do We Decide Who We Are?
PART 1
Selection/Feature
IBQ/CLOSE
READING
WORKSHOP
PART 2
ADVENTURE
AND
IMAGINATION
COMPARING
TEXTS
PART 3
WORKSHOPS
6
TEXT SET:
MARK TWAIN
Pacin
g
Standards
Covered
Close Reading
Focus
Conventions
Language Study**
from Brighton Beach Memoirs
Neil Simon
Gluskabe and Old Man Winter
Joseph Bruchac
4 days
RL1, RL2, RL3,
RL5, W2, W4, W7,
W9a, SL1, L6
Close Reading: Drama
The Phantom Tollbooth Act I
Susan Nanus
4 days
RL2, RL3, RL5,
RL6, W4, W6, W8,
SL5, L1, L2a
Summary
Dialogue in Drama
Prepositions and
Appositives
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
The Phantom Tollbooth
Act II
Susan Nanus
4 days
RL5, RL7, W1,
W1a, SL1c, SL3,
L1, L3, L3a, L6
Compare and Contrast
Stage Directions
Participles and Gerunds
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
from You’re a Good Man, Charlie
Brown
Clark Gesner
Happiness is a Charming Charlie
Brown at Orlando Rep
Matthew MacDermid
2 days
RL9, RI6, RI9
Author’s Purpose
Language Study
1 day
L4c, L5, L5c
Speaking and Listening
1 day
SL3, SL4, SL5
Writing Process
3 days
W1, W1a, W1b,
W1c, W1d, W1e,
L2b, L3, L3a
Anchor: The Prince and the Pauper
Mark Twain
5 days
RL1, RL2, RL4,
W2a, W2b, W2c,
W2d, W2f, W4,
SL1a, SL1b, SL1c,
SL1d, L1d, L4a, L5c,
L6
Theme
Stage Fright
Mark Twain
2–3 days
RI1, RI2, RI4, RI5,
W2, SL1, L3b, L4,
L5, L6
My Papa, Mark Twain
Susy Clemens
2–3 days
Mark Twain’s First “Vacation”
The New York World
Speaking and
Listening
Small-Group Discussion
Research
Writing
Explanation: Similarities in
Different Texts
Writing Model: Informative
Essay
Writing: Explanatory Essay
Multimedia Presentation
Summary
Group Discussion
Review
Timed Writing: Explanatory
Essay
Connotation and Denotation
Delivering a Persuasive
Speech
Combining Sentences for
Variety
Prepositions and
Appositives
Participles and Gerunds
Support Your Ideas
Appositive Phrases
Adverbs
Diction and Style
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Humor
RI1, RI2, RI5, RI6,
RI8, RI9, W1,
W1d, SL1, L4, L6
2–3 days
RI1, RI2, RI3, RI4,
RI5, W3a, SL1,
SL2, SL5, L4, L6
According to Mark Twain
Mark Twain
1 day
RI1, RI4, W1a
Focus on Research:
Argument
Argument: Problem-andSolution Essay
Partner Discussion
Investigate the Topic: The
Palace of Westminster
Informative Text: Comparisonand-Contrast Essay
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Panel Discussion
Investigate the Topic: Stage
Fright
Informative Text:
How-To Essay
Point of View
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Partner Discussion
Investigate the Topic: Twain
According to Others
Argument
Plot
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Seminar
Investigate the Topic:
Twain’s First Riverboat
Journey
Narrative
Investigate the Topic:
Twain’s Quotations
Argument
An Encounter With An Interviewer
Mark Twain
2–3 days
RL1, RL2, RL5,
RL6, W1, SL1,
L4, L6
Investigate the Topic: Real
Twain Interviews
Argument
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Tone
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Small Group Discussion
NRMS Writing Plan
NRMS Writing Portfolio:
Research Project/Oral Presentation
(Mini-Graduation Project)

Utilize 1:1 Devices and other technology

Select and narrow topics

Research with primary and secondary sources.

Create Product

Oral Presentation
Grade 6 ELA Curriculum Maps/Pacing Guide
Unit 5: How Much Do Our Communities Shape Us?
PART 1
Selection/Feature
IBQ/CLOSE
READING
WORKSHOP
PART 2
SHARED
LESSONS
COMPARING
TEXTS
Standards
Covered
Pacing
Close Reading
Focus
Conventions
Language Study**
from Black Ships Before Troy
Rosemary Sutcliff
Black Cowboy, Wild Horses
Julius Lester
4 days
RL1, RL2, W2b, W7,
W9a, SL1, L6
Close Reading: Folk
Literature
The Tiger Who Would
Be King
James Thurber
The Ant and the Dove
Leo Tolstoy
4–16 days
RL2, W3b, W3e, W6,
W7, SL5, L1, L4b
Cause and Effect
Fables and Folk Tales
Subject Complements
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Arachne
Olivia E. Coolidge
RL2, RL5, W2, W2a,
W2d, W2e, W8, L3, L4b
Cause and Effect
Myths
Direct and Indirect Objects
The Stone
Lloyd Alexander
RL2, W4, W6, W8, SL1,
L1, L2a, L6
Setting a Purpose
Universal Theme
Why the Tortoise’s Shell Is Not
Smooth
Chinua Achebe
RL4, W4, SL6, L1, L3a,
L5a, L5b
Purpose for Reading
Personification
Fantasy
Mowgli’s Brothers
Rudyard Kipling
from James and the Giant Peach
Roald Dahl
2 days
RL2, W2a
Language Study
1 day
L5a
Speaking and Listening
1 day
SL1c, SL1d, SL4
Writing Process
3 days
W2, W2a, W2b, W2c,
W2f, W5, L2, L2a, L2b,
L3
Anchor: Prologue
from The Whale Rider
Witi Ihimaera
5 days
RL1, RL2, RL4, W2a,
W2b, W2c, W7, W8,
W9a, SL1, SL4, L2, L3,
L4, L5, L6
Myth
The Case of the Monkeys That Fell
from the Trees
Susan E. Quinlan
2–3 days
RI1, RI2, RI6, W2, W7,
SL1, SL4, L6
Rescuers to Carry Oxygen Masks
for Pets
Associated Press
2–3 days
RI1, RI2, RI5, W3, W7,
SL1, L4, L5, L6
2012 Pet Ownership Statistics
American Pet Products Association
1 day
RI1, RI7, W1, W1b,
SL1, SL2
The Old Woman Who Lived With
the Wolves
Chief Luther Standing Bear
2–3 days
RL1, RL2, RL3, RL4,
W2, W7, W8, SL1, SL4,
L1, L4
Satellites and Sea Lions
NASA
2–3 days
Turkeys
Bailey White
2–3 days
Speaking and
Listening
Research
Writing
Small-Group Discussion
Explanation: Legendary
Character
Writing Model: Explanatory
Text
Writing: Explanatory
Essay
Seminar
Oral Report
Fable
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Annotated Bibliography
Entry
Compare-and-Contrast Essay
Independent and
Dependent Clauses
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Written and Visual Report
Plot Proposal
Simple, Compound, and
Complex Sentences
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Dramatic Reading
Invitation
Timed Writing: Explanatory
Essay
Idioms
Oral Response to Literature
PART 3
WORKSHOPS
7
TEXT SET:
PEOPLE AND
ANIMALS
Commas, Parentheses, and
Dashes
Subject Complements
Object Complements
Revising Choppy
Sentences
Independent and
Dependent Clauses
Diction and Style
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Expository Writing
Text Features
NRMS Writing Plan
Focus on Research:
Explanatory Text
Explanatory Text:
Cause-and-Effect Essay
Partner Discussion
Investigate the Topic: The
Role of Myths
Informative Text:
Cause-and-Effect Essay
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Panel Discussion
Investigate the Topic: The
Scientific Method
Informative Text: Explanation
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Partner Discussion
Investigate the Topic:
Oxygen Masks
Narrative
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Seminar
Conflict and Resolution
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Group Discussion
Investigate the Topic:
Humans and Animals
Informative Text
RI1, RI2, RI5, W1, W7,
W8, SL1, L4, L6
Expository Writing
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Seminar
Investigate the Topic:
Oceanographers
Argument: Persuasive Letter
RL1, RL2, RL3, W1, W4,
SL1, L4, L6
Author’s Influences
Academic Vocabulary
Selection Vocabulary
Class Discussion
Investigate the Topic: Wild
Turkeys
Argument: Persuasive Essay
Argument
NRMS Writing Portfolio: Learning Log—reflections
describing personal growth and change.