Common Core Standards

Grade 6

Reading RL.6.1

Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

This Common Core standard introduces the idea of textual analysis to students, who up until this point have only have described works at a surface level. Because of that, they are only required to provide one or two specific quotes when they are making an argument about what the text is saying, much less than the multiple pieces of evidence required from a seventh grader or more full-blown analysis from an eighth grader. Be wary of students simply plopping down a quote without any explanation of why they included it in the analysis; that's the trait of a fifth grader.

Example 1

Here's an example lesson to use when students are reading "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street."

Have students use a graphic organizer to chart things that happen in the neighborhood of Maple Street and the resulting reactions of the neighbors. They must find support in the text to explain their findings.

Aligned Resources

Video

Teacher Guides

Aristotle

The observed gravitational effect between Common Core activities results from their warping of Shmooptime.