Sorting by NYSLS ELA & Grade Level 6
 

Title
Synopsis
  Run, Run As Fast As You Can! This learning unit is a 4-6 week unit. It is primarily a language arts unit based on the novel, Maniac Magee, by Jerry Spinelli. Maniac was a legend and also a homeless child searching for both a family and an address. This unit includes a variety of learning experiences including legends, vocabulary, figurative language (onomatopoeias), literary elements (character traits), poetry (cinquains), and process writing.
  Interpreting Fables Students will identify the three main characteristics of a fable, identify the moral of a fable, and relate a moral of a fable to real-life experiences.
  Student-made Web Pages...Show Off Their Work! Designed to teach students how to create a web page using Netscape Communicator's Composer and can be used by students in grades 3-12 to present their projects or research on their school's web page. Designed to be taught in a lab setting and will be used by the technology teacher in coordination with the classroom teacher.
  The World Beyond My Back Yard To broaden the student's general global knowledge to the fact that a whole world exists outside their door -- not just their immediate community or country.
  You Gotta Read This: A Favorite Author Study This unit is written as a way to encourage students to focus on the written works of an author whom they most enjoy reading. It is hoped that by researching this author, reading & reviewing some of their stories, and presenting a PowerPoint demonstration to a grade level appropriate for this author, the students will be encouraged to read even more of this author's works. It may also spark an interest in this author for the grade/class seeing the PowerPoint presentation.
  Friendship and Belonging Literature based unit that incorporates the theme freindship and belonging. It incorporates the ELA standards and the health standards.
  My Side of the Mountain Students will be reading, writing, discussing and presenting around the main theme of what it takes to survive.
  Cooperative Learning How well can First and Sixth Graders work cooperatively to collaborate on reading, writing and art-related activities? How can Sixth Graders self-esteem be improved? How well can Sixth Graders recognize and appreciate differences in First Graders?
  Exploring the Fundamental Themes of Geography Thro Provide students with the unique opportunity to explore the five fundamental themes of geography. Five themes will be introduced using examples from rainforests, students will be encouraged to draw conclusions based on research and knowledge of rainforest. Technology will be utilized as an integral element to aid students in discovering five fundamental themes of geography are pertinent to every civilization,display and demonstrate their understanding of these concepts using charts, graphs, and written text. Incorporates formal and informal assessments; each formal assessment has a rubric (40 days in length.)
  Gaining Knowledge Through Reading A Newspaper Students will learn that there is a wealth of information in a newspaper article. At the end of this unit they will be able to summarize an article including the main idea, supporting details, the point of view from which the article was written. They will also write an article for a school newspaper.
  Number the Stars by Lois Lowry Students will read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and look at how courage, resourcefulness and discrimination played a role during WWII.
  Once Upon A Fairytale This is a primary English/Language Arts unit on Fairytales. The unit will take about 4 weeks to complete. This unit will stress the elements of a fairytale. In this unit students will read for the understanding of the character, setting, and plot points of specific fairytales. The children will create their own fairytales through the writing process. With the use of technology, the children will produce a fairytale book complete with illustrations.
  A New Age in Europe This is an intermediate social studies unit on the Renaissance and the Reformation. The unit will take approximately four weeks to complete. The students will understand the meaning of key terms, events and ideas. They will also meet the important figures of this time period. They will use technology to explore and discover these items as well as to create a news broadcast on the important figures
  Medieval Times Reading Unit This unit presents students with a view of life in the Middle Ages through novels, poems and shortstories. In addition to reading, students will be completing activities such as accessing the internet for information, creating a new book cover, creating a crowwsword puzzle, and working with vocabulary words.
  Greek Mythology Students will read various myths and investigate role of mythology in Greek life.
  Inventions: Natural & Man-made What is evolution? How did Native Americans use legends to explain natural discoveries/adaptations? How did inventions/inventors in Industrial Age impact on the growth/development of the US? Are processes/procedures that can contribute to creation of an invention? What is the Information Age? What invention(s) have been critical to arrival of the Information Age? How do you imagine it will impact on the growth and development of the US? Can the computer assist with inventive processes?
  Fairy Tails : A Classic Form of Literature Essential Questions: Why do we study classic examples of literature? What is the relevance to today's society? Why are there different versions of the same fairy tales? How did different versions of the same tale evolve? What are common elements of all fairy tales? Why do we enjoy and tell these stories again and again?
  Beyond "Ranger Rick" Where is the best information found for research papers? When is the best time to use periodicals vs. books? How do I search for information in thousands of periodicals? How do I acquire the periodical I need to look at? Does the information I've found satisfy the questions I have to answer?
  How Spring Comes Each Year - The Sotry of Persepho Students will be able to accurately paraphrase what they have heard, follow directions that involve a few steps. Learning Standard - ELA 4. Students will be able to listen attentively and participate in discussions and present information to classmates.
  Writing Stories Writing Stories is a unit on developing students to become better writers, listeners,and story tellers.
  Millenium Moments After researching, reading, interpreting, and synthesizing, students will construct and present a well-developed analysis of their topic.
  Women in the Civil War Grade 5-8 ELA women of the Civil War
  How to DO Just About Anything This unit will incorporate technology and ELA in various subject areas on writing "How To's", and then presenting the finished product. The lesson will be first done with a small group of Consultant Students, who will then become group leaders to the full classroom.
  Solar Unit 299. This unit incorporates many curricula areas, by joining them with a common theme, solar energy. Each aspect of the lessons is designed to use the students' own knowledge and then explore beyond it. The unit uses both individual and team building lessons. The students learn from these experiences their strengths and weaknesses within themselves. This in turn can also direct a student to different career choices.
  Food Pyramid The lesson was developed for the learning standards because of the need to integrate as many curricula areas as possible for both academic and motivational rigor. I learned a great deal in preparing this unit.
  Healthy Eating Students will evaluate their own diets and electronically log their daily entries. During daily lessons students will learn about the food pyramid and different types of diets and how they relate to long term health. Students will research various diets and report out both verbally and in writing. Power Point will be used as a way for students to demonstrate their knowledge of what constitutes a proper diet.
  Literary Interaction with the novel Lyddie Engaging students in personal interaction iwht the character, Lyddie, who struggles with hardships of life in the factories in Lowell, Massachusettes.
  Cinderella Really Gets Around! Create meaningful lessons for Upper Elementary students that integrate Language Arts lessons with lessons in world geography and culture. Some of the 3000 + variants of the Cinderella stories that exist from around the world provide an interesting way to teach language arts skills, as well as world geography and culture. Activities will be interactive and student centered where the students will have opportunities to apply their knowledge in a variety of interdisciplinary tasks that are appealing and definitive.
  The War With Grandpa: Solutions to Family Problem This unit is based on the book The War With Grandpa by Robert Kimmell Smith. The activities correlate closely with the New York State ELA 4th grade test and the standards.
  The Fall of Rome: PowerPoint Presentation "The Fall of Rome" PowerPoint presentation provides a visual, audio and organizational approach to summarize and clarify material taught during the unit. It is used to prepare students to complete a document-based essay, similar to the type they will find on standardized exams.
  On a Pilgrimage Teaching students the importance of European history from ancient to modern times.
  The Roman Empire Essential Questions: How does a civilization become an empire? What factors lead to the decline of an empire?
  The Ten Towns Students explore and write about local history, landmarks, landforms, and localities.
  Family Tree Essential Questions: How is Christmas celebrated in your country? How do customs evolve? Which customs are still in use today? What conclusions can you draw about people around the world from your research?
  I Don't Pay Attention To Advertisements? Making students aware of how TV,Internet and billboard advertising influences them.
  I Don't Pay Attention to Advertisement? Making students aware of how TV, Internet and billboard advertising influences them.
  Top Ten Facts Research project.
  History: Fact or Fiction? The students will use the online public access library catalog (Mandarin) to find an historical novel. The teachers and librarian will limit the novel to pre-1865. Students will distinguish between fiction and nonfiction books using the online public access catalog. They will practice looking up books using the three subjects given to them by their Social Studies teacher.
  Author Study This experience fits into the sixth grade curriculum mid-year when the students have a wealth of authors to choose from. This experience could easily be adapted for different grade levels focusing on different authors. In order to succeed with this experience students need to have read a minimum of two or more books by the same author.
  Yoko and the Sushi Party Students will read Yoko by Rosemary Wells. The story is about a Japanese cat. The story will be used to initiate a discussion of Japanese culture, customs, and foods. The experience can be done in conjunction with a social studies unit on Japan, Culture, or Foods of the World.
  It's (almost) ShowTime! Students discover, validate, and grow within each of the Arts/Theatre Standards while creating a live theatrical production.
  Presto! Poetry This four-week unit incorporates web page design into a unique poetry unit. Students will be exposed to twenty different types of poems, required to create a poetry anthology and participate in a poetry reading. Students will learn about alliteration, simile and metaphor, personification and descriptive language.
  Magazine Mania This three-week unit will let students experience what it is like to create a magazine. Students will be required to write position pieces, create surveys, design cartoons, analyze data and produce a classroom magazine. Students will be involved in building consensus and be required to make decisions that will influence a group.
  Real Life 101 Real Life 101 is an interdisciplinary unit that will take approximately four weeks to complete. This unit introduces elementary students to real life situations, such as applying for jobs, and buying cars. Students are put into situations where they must make decisions and follow through with their choices. This unit is both challenging and exciting but allows all students to succeed.
  Tell Me How This mini-unit will allow children to explore the genre of nonfiction. Students will read a variety of texts and then publish their own How-To Power Point Presentation. Students will be invited to listen to a variety of community members and parents share something that they know how to do, and use this as a basis for their own oral presentation.
  Civil War: A Living Museum Students research famous people and battles during Civil War Era, sharing information learned by portraying that person or battle in a "Living Museum". Meant to be used within a larger Learning Unit on the Civil War; would be a great culminating activity for a Civil War Learning Unit. Is written for classrooms that utilize the push-in model from support services (special education teachers, reading teachers) and use a team-teaching model; helps to organize and assist students in writing and with their final presentations.
  Literature Study of the Civil War Era The Civil War era is one of the most critical and fascinating periods in our nation's history. The many books about this period, written for young audiences provides a rich context in which to learn about the Civil War itself and to explore more basic issues about the nature of human life and society. The following upper elementary unit on historical fiction about the Civil War era contains valuable experiences that incorporate the Internet, Literature Circles, and Grand Conversations.
  The Blood Flow through the Heart and Body Initiate prior knowledge by having an open ended discussion about the importance of the circulatory system and how things we put into our body, such as drugs and alcohol, can affect our body's performance and function
  The Write Byte The Write Byte is part of a writing workshop unit, which is an in-depth plan that teaches students the writing process. The purpose of the Write Byte is to get students excited about writing, learn about authors they have read, and become familiar with the writing process.
  Environmental Awareness The purpose of this unit is to educate students about the environment. The focus is on science, technology and english language arts.
  Research Report on Immigration A research project.
  Library Media Center Research Learning Unit for Provide 6th grade students with Research experience in Library Media Center class as follows: Focus on Research Process (not subject matter) as a learning experience of value; calls for commitment, responsibility, independent effort and a variety of skills and prior knowledge; provide a transitional experience with Research Process in 6th grade, to ensure readiness for similar requirements in Middle School; to use prior knowledge of note taking, collecting data, documentation, summarization, making generalizations; discovering relationships from oral, written and electronic resources; provide an opportunity for each student to utilize available technology for research integrate acquired information into written format; provide an opportunity for students to use written language, in Part A, transmit information and discover concepts, in Part B, show understanding of diverse social and historical events from another person's point of view and, in Part C, interpret and analyze information gathered during research process.
  The Midwife's Apprentice Students will read the novel while studying the Middle Ages in social studies. The unit will culminate with a Medieval Festival.
  Walk a Mile In My Shoes The Iditarod, One’s Will to Survive fits into a sixth grade English Language Arts curriculum, in February and March, when covering reading and writing for information, critical analysis, literary response, and social interaction. It also incorporates the Social Studies curriculum of having students demonstrating their understanding of the geography of the world including the elements of the environment.
  Research Detectives Library and information research.
  Organize Your Thoughts Essential Question: How does the organization and outlining of a topic increase the understanding and awareness of the concepts and information involved?
  SHAKE, RATTLE, AND ROLL The topic of this unit is the movement of the earth's crust as it relates to earthquakes and volcanoes. It encompasses the layers of the earth, plate tectonics, as well as earthquakes and volcanoes. Students will explore the relationships between these concepts and will understand how and why earthquakes and volcanoes occur.
  Newbery Books: Guaranteed Good Reading Each February the American Library Association selects one book that is considered the outstanding example of children's literature published in the previous year. Students gain the understanding that by reading this literature they are reading the best of the best books. They have a chance to react to the books as critics and readers. As a library media specialist I prepare book talks throughout the year for classes. These talks can center on a particular genre or theme. For this learning experience we decided to concentrate on the Newbery Medal books. The timing of the experience coincides with the announcement of the new Newbery Award.
  Ancient Egypt Students analyze important ideas, social/cultural values, beliefs, traditions, and geographical features of Ancient Egypt. Students will plan and present an Egyptian Festival, will use technology to create different portions of the festival such as the play, brochure, game boards, research, and coloring books. Students also will paint a mural depicting different aspects of the Ancient Egyptian culture and build a pyramid during the unit after school or during art time about 6 weeks/5 days a week for 45 minutes per session.
  Make It Snow Snow has been depicted in art and literature in many ways. Using a variety of Caldecott Award and Honor books depicting snow and images photographed by Wilson Bentley, students will examine snow from the viewpoint of art, geometry, and literary expression.
  What a Wonderful World - Unit of Study Essential Questions: What influence does geography have on a country's economy and the well-being of its people? How have the interactions of social/cultural, political and religious systems in different regions of the world affected our lifestyles? How do international affairs (current events) affect various people? What influence have international authors, poets, and artists had on our view of foreign lands? How does daily life in various countries compare to our daily life?
  Caring Topic of caring develops and explores different ways that we care for and are cared by other people, animals, peer groups or 'collectives'. Self-knowledge and self-respect for your own individuality enhances the ability to open the self to caring for others-people, places, things or ideas. Two reading assignments, one a selection from Rascal by Sterling North and the other a novel, Lottery Rose by Irene Hunt explore dynamics of caring….and not caring. Students will also explore their own self through learning about Gardner's Seven Intelligences, completing an inventory to learn their own Intelligence. Culminating experience: utilize Gardner's theory as students explore concepts within the novel Lottery Rose through exercises using different intelligences. Issues relating to child abuse will also be explored in this context.
  No, Dorothy, this isn't Kansas! Students will learn about hurricanes and tornadoes and read the novel Night of the Twisters. They will make journal entries and write a research report to follow up.
  The Tread of the Iron Horse Exposes 4th graders to issues, conditions adn events in their community during the mid-19th century.
  Attic Hunting Use a variety of media to gain an understanding and appreciation of journal usage in the past. (Goes with unit, preserving the past, present and future with journals.
  Heroes of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Heroes are not born; they are people who are shaped by experiences in their lives. This unit will provide students with an opportunity to reflect on what makes a hero. It will also provide students with an opportunity to research heroes of yesterday and today, as well as encourage them to think about heroes for tomorrow.
  Preserving the Past, Present, and Future with Jour Create an awareness of the uniques contributions journals and journal writing can provide in preserving past, present, and future history.
  Recycling Recycling: Is our present recycling process as effective as it could be? How can we use graphing techniques to analyze both present recycling in our elementary school and recycling after our class information sessions? How can we promote better recycling in our school? How can we reduce, reuse, and recycle paper products in our classroom?
  Focusing on Famous People Begin by asking students if they have ever heard of George Washington (or other famous person). Read a story to the class on the famous person you have chosen. In small groups, students discuss and write answers to questions given on a worksheet.
  Let's Learn About Ancient Egypt! The students were introduced to some of the history of ancient Egypt in their social studies classes. Now, in their library class, students will expand their knowledge of one aspect of Egyptian culture.
  Hope for the Hard Times This unit is based on the Newbery award-winning novel, Bud, Not Buddy. Integrating both social studies and English content, the unit will enable students to begin to understand the underlying causes and profound effects of the Great Depression on American history, and especially its effects on individuals. Analyzing first person narratives and primary source material will guide students to an awareness of how much we can learn from the stories of the past. In the fictional story, the setting, the conflicts the main character faced, and the decisions he made can teach students important lessons for their own lives.
  HOLES Students will develop an understanding of how the author Louis Sachar uses setting to reveal character through the reading of the novel HOLES.
  Wild, Wild Weather This learning unit is designed to give students a deeper understanding of weather concepts, components and how weather interacts with our everyday lives. Through the course of this unit, students will work cooperatively to gain weather information through Internet use, written expression and graphic organizers. Students will work cooperatively to compile information to create a final PowerPoint presentation demonstrating their newly acquired knowledge from this learning unit.
  The Middle Ages This is a unit on the Middle Ages for sixth graders. The unit will cover what life was like for the different groups of people during 500 - 1500 AD. This unit takes about 3 weeks to complete. Students will be given a teacher created booklet that will be used throughout the unit. Booklet is available upon request.
  Integer's Brochure Create a brochure about integers using Microsoft Publisher. You and your partner need to write a learning brochure that will help others in the study of integers
  All About Ice Cream This unit is a fun way to reinforce concepts and skills taught in regular classes. Some topics include; writing from an outline to a paragraph, using Inspiration to create an outline, historical researching, letter writing, real world math problem solving, analyzing and writing short anecdotes, creating a persuasive poster, and answering questions in complete sentences using supporting details from a variety of sources





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