6th Grade Language Arts
Meredy Smith
mporte@kyrene.org
480*541*5901
A little about me:
• Grew up in Nebraska and went to the University of Nebraska.
• Started teaching in the Midwest and moved to Phoenix in 1994 and
have been at Akimel since.
• I am the Gifted Mentor at Akimel
• Kyrene family- Husband works at Altadena, girls have attended Kyrene
schools.
• I coach the high jump at Desert Vista and my family is involved in the
community.
Curriculum
• Language, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening
• Informational reading & writing
• defending responses with evidence from the text
• Annotation, analyzing text
• Making notes as they read and making connections
• Spelling/vocabulary using Greek and Latin roots, context clues,
academic vocabulary (infer, context, defend, etc.)
• Google docs, student email accounts for collaboration
Organization of text
• Students will use the “stoplight” method
to highlight information in a text.
• They will use the same method to
structure their writing.
• Green- topic
• Yellow- main ideas/points
• Red- examples, evidence
Grading
• Students may receive grades for classwork and homework. This
includes daily “walk-in” work. (30% of grade)
• Larger assignments such as assessments, projects, reader’s
response, research, creative writing work will receive more points
than daily work. These are considered formal and informal
assessments. (70% of grade)
• Use the Parent Vue Portal on Kyrene website to check grade and
work completion status. Students can check grades via Student
Vue with their student number. Contact school office 541-5800
Learning Goal Scale
Homework
– Read 20+ (for enjoyment and book reflections, literary
elements)
– Spelling/vocabulary/grammar
– Unfinished classwork
– Pre-reading of upcoming text
– Additional research/writing time for projects
– Absent/make-up or missing work
Supplies
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2 Composition books
Two pocket folder with three prongs
Highlighters- green, yellow, pink, blue
Sticky notes (little ones)
Toolkit/pencil pouch- with general needs (see
handout from team)
Things to ask your kid…
Can I see your agenda?
Did you reflect on your nightly reading?
Do you need to replenish your supplies?
Are you working on any long term projects?
Have you cleaned out your backpack recently?
Do you have a reading book in your backpack?
Best way to reach me:
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mporte@kyrene.org
480-541-5901
Class website- resource, rubrics, and handouts
Team website- homework
Thanks for coming!
Expectations for Advanced Language Arts Class
•Higher level Lexile reading (novels)
•Vocabulary book (Classic Roots) SAT prep
•Reading Responses with in depth evidence
•Expected to maintain a B average or above
•Quicker pacing
•Higher quality work, discussions, thinking
•Making inferences, Interpretations
•Shakespeare study- continued through 8th grade
•Independent projects