English Language Arts Grade 6 (2023)
Lesson Plans

Writing (6.W)

Students will learn to write for a variety of tasks, purposes, and audiences using appropriate grammar/conventions, syntax, and style.

Standard 6.W.3:

Write narrative texts to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, well-structured event sequences, and provide a resolution.

• "A Defining Moment" Photo Journal
  This is a lesson plan to end a unit on Narrative.  During the unit, students came up with a time in their lives that was significant ("a defining moment") and will tell their stories digitally -- through a photo journal using Google docs. The lesson is a remix of Google's Applied Digital Skills lesson "Create a Photo in Google Docs".  
• Acting Out Student Stories with Robots
  A brief guide to engaging students in narrative writing by having them program robots to act out their stories.
• Animate that Haiku!
  Following the traditional form of the haiku, students publish their own haikus using Animoto, an online web tool that creates slideshows that blend text and music.
• Balance Action in Your Writing with Thoughts and Emotions
  A story with all action and not enough reflection sounds childish and lacks depth. But a story that is all reflective thoughts and emotions can bore a reader and run the risk of not teling a story at all. Today?s mini move will help us think about the see-sawing effect of balancing actions with thoughts and emotions so that our story has the perfect amount of both!
• Color of Silence: Sensory Imagery in Pat Mora's Poem "Echoes"
  In this lesson, students explore how writers use sensory imagery as a literary device to make text more meaningful for the reader. They begin by using all of their senses to describe known objects such as pasta, chocolate, or grapes. Students first feel and listen to the object, in a bag, before then taking it out of the bag to look at, smell, and taste it. They then use at least three senses to write a poem about the object they've described. Next, they evaluate how this literary device functions in Pat Mora's poem ?Echoes.? As students read this poem, they look for sensory images and write an explanation of how these images contribute to the meaning of Mora's poem. Finally, students think about how sensory images work in their own poems and then make appropriate revisions to their work.
• Discovering Memory: Li-Young Lee's Poem “Mnemonic” and the Brain
  Students learn about memory by doing a memory-writing exercise, studying the brain to understand how it affects memory, reading Li-Young Lee's poem "Mnemonic," and creating projects to demonstrate their understanding.
• How to Paint a Picture with Details in Your Writing
  Often the difference between a drab, lifeless personal narrative and an engaging, lively one is the use of concrete details. In this video, we will learn about how concrete details help us take the guesswork out of reading our narrative while showing our unique voice and perspective.
• Writers' Favorite Way to Start a Personal Essay
  Beginning any piece of writing is a challenge, but it is particularly harrowing to begin a personal essay. Many writers use the same strategy: a scene drop. In this video, we?ll look at three mentor texts in which writers use the strategy of dropping readers directly into the thick of the story with pairs of actions. It?s a no-fail way to engage your reader and kick off your personal statement.

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http://www.uen.org - in partnership with Utah State Board of Education (USBE) and Utah System of Higher Education (USHE).  Send questions or comments to USBE Specialist - Naomi  Watkins and see the Language Arts - Secondary website. For general questions about Utah's Core Standards contact the Director - Jennifer  Throndsen.

These materials have been produced by and for the teachers of the State of Utah. Copies of these materials may be freely reproduced for teacher and classroom use. When distributing these materials, credit should be given to Utah State Board of Education. These materials may not be published, in whole or part, or in any other format, without the written permission of the Utah State Board of Education, 250 East 500 South, PO Box 144200, Salt Lake City, Utah 84114-4200.