This month we continue to consider the English Home Language milestones and teaching objectives for Grade 6. We have already looked at listening and speaking – the oral component of the subject. Next, we looked at reading and viewing, which covered the visual aspect of becoming proficient with the language.
This month we will consider writing and presenting. This is the creative and imaginative part of English, where learners can convey their thoughts in written words. The ability to express oneself in words on a page is a skill which has lifelong benefits. It can personally help students navigate the emotional and physical changes of adolescence. It is also a valuable skill in adulthood, with so much communication happening via writing in today’s business landscape.
The skills developed during the Sixth-Grade year for writing a variety of texts and genres
In the sixth grade, clear structure starts to be used by students. They will learn to write with the beginning, middle and end of a piece in mind. Throughout the year, learners will continue to hone their planning and drafting for their writing. Their knowledge of how to refine their work will advance. They will also learn to edit their own writing and proofread it. This is all done before presenting their work to the teacher or class.
They will brainstorm and develop ideas for the topics given. Students will also reflect on what they have written. They will be able to evaluate their compositions.
All of this is done with the expectation of neat and legible handwriting. Students will also engage in reflecting on what they written.
Breaking down the Grade 6 Year for Writing and Presenting
Newspaper articles
Early in the year, these pupils will read and write their own newspaper articles.
These articles will address the who, what, where, when, why and how of the story they are relating. The sixth grader will answer the six questions by making use of headlines. They will also include a by-line and lead paragraph. They will be required to develop paragraphs which are coherent, and to understand and use topic sentences.
Different sources will be used in writing the article. Learners will classify, select and categorise relevant information for the pieces they are producing.
Folklore
Grade 6s will write a myth or legend as they engage with folklore.
They will write for many purposes. These will include creative, imaginative, and playful reasons. They will also write with personal and exploratory intentions.
Their folklore stories will try and teach moral lessons using appropriate vocabulary and superhuman characters. An awareness of the central idea will be apparent from their first draft.
Persuasive texts
Persuasive texts will also be written. These can be speeches or adverts.
These will aim to elicit an emotional response from the hearers, stirring the audience. Students will learn about what promises to include in these pieces, and will be able to invent and describe preferred results and endings.
Conclusions will be drawn, and recommendations will be made on how to improve their work.
Dialogue and play scripts
Sixth graders will be able to use dialogue to reveal characters and their motivations. Used effectively, this helps to establish mood and tone. They will also learn that dialogue can create conflict, or add to it, within the stories they tell.
They will be able learn to make dialogue appropriate to the character they are writing.
In the third term the Grade 6s will write a script for a short play or an extended dialogue. The correct layout will be used. Students will need to demonstrate an understanding of mood, tone and style. Characterisation will be front and centre.
Poems
Poems are explored towards the beginning and end of the Grade 6 curriculum.
In the first term descriptive language is used and explored. The figures of speech expected are metaphors and similes. Consonance and assonance, along with alliteration, are also implemented. Style and register are understood. They can both be recognised and created.
In the fourth term, learners will write a poem, using the figures of speech that have been explored and learnt throughout the year. This will include symbolism, alliteration, onomatopoeia and others. Symbolism and theme are also expected to be explored in the poetry.
Instructional Texts
Sixth graders will interact with and produce an instructional text. This will develop and showcase their abilities in a few areas. The students will be able to order their instructions logically. The items needed, such as ingredients, will be given in a clear and complete list.
The pupils will make proper use of appropriate organisational methods. Linking phrases will be used to order and make the text flow. Procedures will be clearly defined using appropriate sentences which are well organised.
The scholars will readily use dictionaries. Grade 6 students will display a firm grasp of imperatives.
Descriptive, narrative and character sketches
Descriptive paragraphs and stories are produced during the academic year. The descriptive writing focuses on evoking vivid imagery and mood. The stories will show that the students know how to structure a narrative. This will involve theme, plot and climax. They will create characters that are believable. Correct tenses will be employed in the writing of these passages and tales. Ideas will be clearly expressed in a logical manner. The message of the story will also be lucid in the writing.
Students will be able to display their narrative plots on a flow chart. They will follow the trajectory of a story. This will start with the beginning, which provides exposition. Then comes the middle, which shows rising action and builds towards the climax. The ending of the story will provide the denouement.
The sixth grader will think about characterisation. They will learn to compare characters to each other. Adjectives will be used to give a vivid picture of different fictitious characters. These will be of their own creation and in stories read.
Other texts
Book reviews are written over the course of the year. Grade 6 students will also write a summary that accurately communicates the plot of a given story in a logical order.
Grade 6s will write a cartoon and/or comic strip. This will be both a story and a visual text for an advert or television.
Diary entries and friendly letters will be explored in sixth grade. The correct layout for each will be taught and followed. The appropriate tone, suited to the correct audience, will be used in both.
Information text such as weather charts will be produced in Grade 6. Appropriate visuals and content will be utilised in the correct manner. Graphs and diagrams, as appropriate, will also be on display.
Japari turns remedial Sixth Grade woes into joys
Grade 6 is the most challenging school year these pupils will have faced up to this point. For remedial learners, it is even more daunting.
Japari is passionate about seeing children who struggle in mainstream learning environments thriving. We are equipped to meet the needs of children with barriers to learning. We also have the support team to ensure that our remedial learners receive a holistic schooling experience.
Japari has a long track record of preparing the majority of our pupils to thrive in a mainstream high school education environment.
If these are concerns you currently have with your child, and you desire him or her to achieve the best they can achieve, contact us today to arrange a meeting. We offer year-round enrolment and would love to meet with your family. Let us show you how we can help in your child reach their best results.
Bibliography/Further Reading:
https://www.education.com/slideshow/developmental-milestones-11-12-years-old/
