Grade 6

Other Florida English Language Arts sets

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For the purposes of this benchmark, theme is not a one- or two-word topic, but a complete thought that communicates the author’s message. See Theme in Glossary. 

Students should be introduced to the concept of universal themes, although mastery isn’t expected until 9th grade. A universal theme is an idea that applies to anyone, anywhere, regardless of cultural differences. Examples include, but are not limited to, an individual’s or a community’s confrontation with nature; an individual’s struggle toward understanding, awareness, and/or spiritual enlightenment; the tension between the ideal and the real; the conflict between human beings and advancements in technology/science; the impact of the past on the present; the inevitability of fate; the struggle for equality; and the loss of innocence. 

When referring to the person of the narrator, the term point of view is used. Students focused on perspective in 5th grade, so they should differentiate between point of view and perspective when working on this benchmark.  

Poetic forms used for this benchmark are sonnet and villanelle. 

Various types of support could include an author’s use of facts, definitions, concrete details, and/or quotations to develop the central idea(s) in a text. 

For more information on types of reasoning, see Types of Logical Reasoning.  

Instruction in types of reasoning will include an introduction to fallacies in reasoning. Fallacies that are related to content, informal fallacies, will be the focus. See Fallacies in Reasoning (Informal). 

Figurative language use that students will analyze are metaphor, simile, alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification, hyperbole, and idiom. Other examples can be used in instruction.  

See Secondary Figurative Language. 

Most grade-level texts are appropriate for this benchmark. 

Texts for this benchmark should be selected from the following literary periods: 

Colonial and Early National Period (1600–1830) American Literature

Romantic Period (1790–1870)

Realism and Naturalism Period (1870–1930)

Modernist Period (1910–1945)

Contemporary Period (1945–present)

Students will identify the appeals of logos, ethos, and pathos. 

See Rhetorical Appeals. 

Communicating Through Writing ELA.6.C.1

Communicating Orally ELA.6.C.2

Following Conventions ELA.6.C.3

ResearchingELA.6.C.4

Creating and Collaborating ELA.6.C.5

See Writing Types and Narrative Techniques.

Figurative language at this grade level should include any on which students have received instruction in this or previous grades. See Figurative Language Standard. 

See Writing Types and Elaborative Techniques.  

See Writing Types and Elaborative Techniques. 

Nonverbal cues appropriate to this grade level are posture, tone, expressive delivery, focus on the audience, and facial expression. Clear pronunciation should be interpreted to mean an understanding and application of phonics rules and sight words as well as care taken in delivery. A student’s speech impediment should not be considered as impeding clear pronunciation. Appropriate pacing is adhering to the pauses dictated by punctuation and speaking at a rate that best facilitates comprehension by the audience. Too fast a pace will lose listeners and too slow can become monotonous. This element will also help students address the nervousness that may make them speak too fast during presentations. 

For further guidance, see the Secondary Oral Communication Rubric. 

Skills to be mastered at this grade level are as follows: 

Use verbals including gerunds, infinitives, and participial phrases.

Use comparative and superlative forms of adjectives.

Use pronouns correctly with regard to case, number, and person, correcting for vague pronoun reference.

Skills to be implemented but not yet mastered are as follows: 

Appropriately use colons.

Appropriately use dangling modifiers.

Appropriately use ellipses.

Appropriately use hyphens.

Vary sentence structure.

See Conventions Progression by Grade Level for more information. 

While the benchmark does require that students consult multiple sources, there is no requirement that they use every source they consult. Part of the skill in researching is discernment—being able to tell which information is relevant and which sources are trustworthy enough to include.  

Multimedia elements may include, but are not limited to, drawings, pictures, artifacts, and audio or digital representation. At this grade level, students are using more than one element. The elements may be of the same type (for example, two pictures or a picture and an audio recording). The elements should relate directly to the task and complement the information being shared, meaning that the multimedia elements should add information to the presentation, not restate or reinforce it. The elements should be smoothly integrated into the presentation.  

Finding Meaning  ELA.6.V.1

To integrate vocabulary, students will apply the vocabulary they have learned to authentic speaking and writing tasks independently. This use should be intentional, beyond responding to a prompt to use a word in a sentence. 

Academic vocabulary appropriate to grade level refers to words that are likely to appear across subject areas for the current grade level and beyond, vital to comprehension, critical for academic discussions and writing, and usually require explicit instruction. 

See Common Greek and Latin Roots 6-8 and Affixes.

Review of words learned in this way is critical to building background knowledge and related vocabulary. 

See Context Clues and Word Relationships. 

See 6.R.3.1 and Secondary Figurative Language.