6th Grade - Gateway 1

The instructional materials reviewed for Center of Collaborative Classroom Grade 6 meet the criteria for anchor texts being of publishable quality, worthy of especially careful reading, and consider a range of student interests.

Texts are of publishable quality and address numerous topics of interest to Grade 5 students. Text types include survival stories, personal narratives, science and social studies texts. There are award-winning texts worthy of careful reading. Texts include multicultural themes, rich language and characterization, and well-crafted prose. Some of these texts include the following:

• Unit 1 contains a variety of well-crafted texts that represent multiple genres. Verna Aardema’s Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears is a West African tale that contains an engaging cause and effect relationship. Merri Fox’s Feathers and Fools is an allegorical tale of war between swans and peacocks. Gary Soto’s Chato’s Kitchen includes English and Spanish and vibrant illustrations.
• In Unit 2, Weeks 1 and 2, students focus on the text pieces Let’s Think About the Power of Advertising and “Extreme Sports, Plugged In . . . and Checked Out.” These texts engage students by drawing attention to possible topics of interest such as technology and sports. Academic vocabulary is highlighted. A variety of informational articles and books are used.
• In Unit 4, Weeks 1-4, students focus on analyzing text structures in An Elephant in the Garden. This text is highly engaging to Grade 6 students as it is about an orphaned elephant.
• In Unit 7 contains a mix of nonfiction articles about controversial topics this age group would be able to relate to as well as social studies topics that would help build students' knowledge. Article topics include child labor, genetically modified food, and global warming. Social studies topics are in the texts Rosie the Riveter: Women in the Time of War by Penny Colman, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and an ALA Notable Book, and in an excerpt from Slacks and Calluses: Our Summer in a Bomber Factory by Constance Bowman Reid. Each of these texts builds content vocabulary and knowledge.
• In Unit 6, texts center on topics that build knowledge. Paula Yoo’s Twenty-Two Cents: Muhammed Yunus and the Village Bank is a biography describing a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Elizabeth Rusch’s Volcano Rising is an informational text that explains some causes and some creative and destructive effects of volcanic eruptions. Grade 6 students will be highly engaged and interested in these topics.

The instructional materials reviewed for Center for Collaborative Classroom Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials reflecting the distribution of text types and genres required by the standards at each grade level.

In each unit, text selections, for read aloud texts, reflect an appropriate balance of literary and informational texts. The distribution of text types and genres is diverse. Furthermore, a range of genres are covered throughout the entire school year. There is evidence of an assortment of genres in various units. Informational texts include a collection ranging from functional text to social studies and science. In the literary texts, there is a greater emphasis on personal narratives with a limited assortment of poetry, drama, and mythology. There is evidence of placing more weight on informational texts versus literacy.

Literary text examples representing the balance of text types and genres include the following:

• Why Mosquitos Buzz in People’s Ears by Verna Aardema
• An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo
• “As I Grow Older” by Langston Hughes
• Chato’s Kitchen by Gary Soto
• Encounter by Jane Yolen
• “A Tea” by Angela Johnson

Informational text examples representing the balance of text types and genres include the following:

• Whales by Seymour Simon
• Let’s Think about the Power of Advertising by Elizabeth Raum
• “Report Slams Child Labor in Tobacco Fields” by Mariano Castillo
• Twenty-Two Cents: Muhammad Yunus and the Village Bank by Paula Yoo
• Nelson Mandela by Kadir Nelson
• “Excerpt from Long Walk to Freedom” by Nelson Mandela

The instructional materials reviewed for Center for Collaborative Classroom Grade 6 meet the criteria that anchor and supporting texts provide opportunities for students to engage in a broad range of text types and disciplines as well as a volume of reading to achieve grade-level reading proficiency.

The instructional materials provide numerous opportunities for students to engage with a range and volume of texts (through listening and reading) in order to achieve grade-level reading proficiency. In both Making Meaning and Being a Writer, students are introduced to long and short texts and a variety of disciplines and genres. The texts are shared with students and used for several days to an entire unit.

For each unit in Making Meaning, the teacher reads aloud a text followed by students engaging in class discussion and demonstrating their ability to comprehend the text. On subsequent days, students make use of the same text. Teachers utilize the text to teach students a comprehension strategy. Throughout the nine units in Making Meaning, there is a variety of genres and topics, including a mix of fiction and nonfiction (i.e., poetry, fables, personal narratives, and expository text). Students explore topics such as whales, migrant farmers, the Bermuda Triangle, and controversial topics such as electronic games. For example, in Unit 2, Week 1, students engage with Let’s Think About the Power of Advertising, which is a nonfiction text about the different types of advertising. in Unit 6, Week 1, students interact with Twenty-two Cents: Muhammad Yunus and the Village Bank, which is a biography about Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.

Students also hear books in the Being a Writer component, and these texts are used as mentor texts. For example, in the Genre Personal Narrative, students hear an excerpt from I am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World, Rattlesnake Mesa: Stories from a Native American Childhood, and “No Place I’d Rather Be.” In the genre argumentative writing, students hear “Do Not Raise the Driving Age to 18,” "Losing is Good for You,” and “Sleep Deprivation and Teens: ‘Walking Zombies.’”

The instructional materials reviewed for Center of Collaborative Classroom Grade 6 meet the criteria that most questions, tasks, and assignments are text-dependent/specific, requiring students to engage with the text directly (drawing on textual evidence to support both what is explicit as well as valid inferences from the text).

The Grade 6 instructional materials meet expectations for alignment to the standards with tasks and questions grounded in evidence. There are sequences of high-quality, text-dependent questions, activities, and tasks that build scaffolding of student understanding of text and provide opportunities to synthesize key information. Throughout independent reading practice, students apply their knowledge of reading and responding to text-dependent questions, making inferences, and synthesizing information on a day-to-day basis.

Throughout each unit, daily questions and tasks require students to extend strategies acquired during the learning process and apply them to similar texts. Question types are a combination of text-dependent and explicit, requiring students to cite evidence. Text-dependent questions appear before, during, and after reading instruction. Students explore questions in whole group, small group, and independent practice.

Examples of questions, tasks, and assignments that require students to engage with the text directly include:

• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 2, students discuss the text Whales by Seymour Simon and answer: “What did you learn about whales and their young?” In Day 3, students answer, “In what ways are toothed whales different than baleen whales? The author tells us that right whales were once very common in the North Atlantic Ocean but are now quite rare. What is the reason for this?”
• In Unit 4, Week 1, students are asked the following based on the text An Elephant in the Garden: “What happens in the part you just heard?” Students turn to their partners and share. The teacher facilitates a class discussion and asks the following question: “What happens in the plot for this chapter? How does Lizzie feel about Marlene at the end of this chapter? What happens to make her feel this way? A response may include that Lizzie grows to like Marlene. She feels as though Marlene understands her.”
• In Unit 5, Week 1, students are asked text-dependent questions about poetry. For example, students read “As I Grew Older” by Langston Hughes, and respond to questions, such as “What kind of dream do you think the speaker in the poem is describing? What happened to the dream? What in the poem makes you think so?” Another example asks students what specific lines mean and to explain their thinking
• In Unit 7, Week 2, students are introduced to “Wolves: The Effects of Reintroduction on Ranchers.” Students are asked questions on what they remembered from the previous text. They use the Student Response Book, pages 52-53, to follow along and skim the article for the title, headings, and subtitles. As a class, they discuss the article. On Day 2, students complete a double-entry journal about “Wolves: The Effects of Reintroduction on Ranchers” in their Student Response Book, on page 55. They use the left-hand column to write the author’s purpose and the right-hand column to locate evidence from the article. Afterwards, they discuss their rationale with the class. Also, students write about their interpretation of the text after watching the teacher model a persuasive piece.

The instructional materials reviewed for Center for Collaborative Classroom Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials providing frequent opportunities and protocols for evidence-based discussions (small groups, peer-to-peer, whole class) that encourage the modeling and use of academic vocabulary and syntax.

The materials provide daily opportunities and protocols for students to engage in evidence-based discussion in a variety of contexts (i.e., small group, partner, and whole class). Evidence-based discussions promote mastery of grade-level speaking and listening standards. There are opportunities available to assess all students’ speaking and listening abilities. Throughout the program, there is are social development objectives. Weekly objectives encompass listening respectfully to thought processes of peers. Every lesson comprises questions that students can discuss through speaking and listening opportunities.

During class discussions in Making Meaning (including the Vocabulary Teaching Guide), modeling and practice with academic vocabulary is provided. Resources include, but are not limited to, Making Meaning Teacher Manuals, Making Meaning Vocabulary Teaching Guide, and Making Meaning Student Response Book. Cooperative Discussion Structures included the following: Turn to Your Partner, Think-Pair-Share, Think-Pair-Write, and Heads Together (located in the introduction of understanding the program section of the Making Meaning Teacher’s Manual). In the Vocabulary Teaching Guides, vocabulary lessons are present for four days with continuous reviews on the fifth day of instruction. Each lesson makes use of vocabulary from weekly anchor texts and offer fifteen to twenty minutes of instruction.

• In Unit 1, Week 1, the teacher briefly discusses with the class the following: “Why did the peacocks and swans become enemies? What are the themes of this fable? What lessons can we learn from the fable?” Afterwards, student partners engage in discussion, and a few volunteers share their thoughts with the whole class.
• In Unit 1, students are taught the “Turn to Your Partner” strategy. The teacher models the strategy, and students practice with partners. The teacher explains that this strategy will be used to share thoughts of books (read aloud or independently).
• In Unit 1, Week 2, students practice a Think-Pair-Share. The teacher’s manual includes facilitation tips (i.e., Continue to remind students to turn and look at the person who is about to speak.).
• In Unit 2, Week 2, the teacher re-reads aloud “Extreme Sports” from the previous day’s lesson. Following, students Think-Pair-Write” about text features in the article. Students respond to the following, “What expository text features did you notice? Share your thinking with your partner. Then, list the features you noticed in your Making Meaning Student Response Book.”
• In Unit 3, the following discussion prompt chart is displayed to students.
  I agree with __________ because,
  I disagree with __________ because,
  In addition to what __________ said, I think
  The teacher’s manual (page 102) recommends that teachers model and include examples of the aforementioned. "I agree with Natalia that the question, 'How long do baby whales stay with their mothers?' is answered because the book says that baby whales stop nursing at seven months.”
• In Unit 5, student pairs and the whole class discuss Encounter. Using a prompt, the teacher models another individual’s thinking and students practice. At the end of lesson, the teacher facilitates a brief discussion of students’ progress and observations.
• In Unit 5, Week 2, students discuss a poem using Think-Pair-Share. They respond to the following, “What do you know about the speaker (the girl) in this poem? What clues helped you figure that out?” The teacher has a few volunteers share their partner’s thinking.
• In Unit 9, Week 2, as a whole class, students discuss opinions. They respond to the following, “What is your opinion of “The Bermuda Triangle? What did you underline in the story that supports your opinion? Did your opinion of the story change when you re-read it? Why or why not?” Then, students reflect on whether or not they discussed their opinions respectfully.

The Grade 6 vocabulary program consists of 30 weeks of lessons as well as ongoing review activities. Students work with the words from the text.

• In Making Meaning Vocabulary Teaching Guide, Week 4, Day 3, the teacher reviews the word access and models using the word in a sentence. The teacher asks: “What other materials or equipment do you have access to in class? Turn to your partner. Prompt 1: We have access to…”
• In Making Meaning Vocabulary Teaching Guide, Week 8, Day 3, the teacher provides a definition of ravenous and provides examples. The teacher asks: “When have you felt ravenous, or when might you feel ravenous? Turn to your partner. Prompt 1: I felt ravenous when I… If you completed an arduous task, do you think you would feel ravenous? Why or why not? Turn to your partner. Prompt 2: If I completed an arduous task, I think I [would/would not] feel ravenous because…”
  

The instructional materials reviewed for Center for Collaborative Classroom Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials supporting students’ listening and speaking about what they are reading and researching (including presentation opportunities) with relevant follow-up questions and supports.

Throughout the school year, the application of speaking and listening instruction is frequently applied in each program component. Students engage in Turn and Talks, Think-Pair-Shares, and whole group discussions. Students work on elaborating on their understanding of the text throughout Making Meaning. Across the year’s scope of academic materials, teachers receive guidance on leading students in evidence-based discussions. Examples from Making Meaning include:

• In Unit 2, there is an extension activity in which students explore helpful and harmful advertisements. Then, students offer explanations on whether the advertisements are help or harmful and present their ideas.
• In Unit 3, the lesson emphasizes showing respect for differing opinions. Students are prompted to consider the following: “How can you show respect for your variances in your partner’s thinking?” Examples are provided for what partners might say.
• In Unit 3, students research whales and decide on methods for reporting information learned. Examples include creating an online presentation or blog post, write a paragraph, or give an oral presentation.
• In Unit 8, Week 3, students write about the themes in “Twenty-Two Cents” and “Nelson Mandela.” The teacher facilitates a discussion on the following: "What can we learn from the story that we can apply to our own lives?" The teacher models and thinks aloud methods for writing similar themes in biographies. If time permits, students share out their responses.
• In Unit 9, Week 3, students discuss expressing opinions by responding to the following: "How have we been doing discussing our opinions in a respectful way? What can we do to make our class a safe place for everyone to discuss their true opinions?" Students are encouraged to focus on being open to one another’s thinking and give reasons for their opinions. Following, students are asked to read the headings, title, and subtitle of “Finding the Balance with After-school Activities.” They answer three questions related to the text. Student volunteers share their thinking. Afterwards, the teacher reads aloud the text. Student partners answer three questions. Then, the class discusses the article and answers three questions. On the second day, the teacher rereads the article. Following, students discuss their opinions and evidence with partners and the whole class (responding to three additional questions). Afterwards, they briefly reflect on expressing opinions truthfully and respectfully. On the third day, the teacher reads aloud, “Children and Electronic Games: Good or Bad.” Student partners answer two questions. With the whole class, the teacher facilitates a discussion of the article. On the fourth day, the teacher re-reads the article. The students discuss their opinions and evidence with partners. Then, they discuss the opinions as a class.

In addition to having opportunities for speaking and listening in Making Meaning, there are additional opportunities in Being a Writer. Examples include:

• In Unit 1, Week 3, Day 5, students discuss the following read-aloud texts: “The Elves on the Shelves,” “Milk,” “Journey,” and “Mosquito.” During “Think-Pair-Share,” students discuss: “Which book or story did you enjoy the most? What did you like about it?”
• In the Fiction Genre, Week 1, Day 4, students discuss with a partner the following questions based on “The Sneeze”: “What is happening so far in this story? What is happening in the story?”
• In the Expository Nonfiction Genre, Week 1, Day 2, students discuss the following question about The Technology Behind Everyday Appliances using “Think-Pair-Share”: “How does the author organize the information in this book?”
• In the Argumentative Genre, Week 1, Day 5, students browse argumentative and nonfiction texts about topics they have strong opinions about. The students discuss with a partner: “What did you find out from your reading, and what do you have strong opinions about?”
• In the Poetry Genre, Week 1, Day 4, students discuss “Bull snake rattle” after the teacher reads aloud the poem. "What words in the poem sound like what they are describing? Turn to your partner.”

The instructional materials reviewed for Center for Collaborative Classroom Grade 6 meets the criteria for materials including a mix of on-demand and process writing (e.g., multiple drafts, revisions over time) and short, focused projects, incorporating digital resources where appropriate.

The materials include daily, on-demand writing tasks and opportunities for completing multiple drafts and revisions based on writing mini-lessons. Teachers gain support from digital resources and additional commentary describes its use for lessons. Throughout the units, there are project-aligned extension activities. Each day, students write independently. Throughout the course of the school year time spent writing increases. Students write from 10 to 15 minutes in Unit 1 and increase to 30 minutes by Unit 8. As students engage in independent writing activities, they respond to prompts that link prior learning from the previous lesson. Students repeatedly engage in the cycle of prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading, and publishing as they participate in the genre units of Being a Writer. The genre units, focus on personal narrative, fictional narrative, expository (or informative) nonfiction, functional (or explanatory) nonfiction, opinion writing, and poetry. Students hear, read, and discuss good examples of each genre. They learn about elements of a genre as they brainstorm ideas, quick write, and write multiple drafts. Students then select a draft to develop and revise for publication in the class library.

• In Unit 1, Week 2, students learn about intriguing first lines from authors and students their own age. They are encouraged to write intriguing first lines, capture their favorite one, and develop it into a 20 to 25 minute story.
• In Unit 1, Week 3, after listening to Lizards read aloud, students engage in quick writes and in their writing notebooks. Students write about additional animal topics that interest them.
• In Unit 2, Weeks 1 and 2, students review every draft they had written from Unit 1 and select one to develop into a book. These lessons include revising for repetitive sentence patterns, discovering strategies to vary sentences, and providing alternatives for overused words. The teacher models revising for uninteresting words, and sample drafts are included. The process encompasses peer and teacher conferences, revisions based on mini-lessons (i.e., opening sentences), and effective titles and proofreading. Afterwards, students publish their final drafts and present in the “Author’s Chair.” Following, students complete a self-assessment.
• In Unit 4, Week 1, after listening to “Rattlesnake and Mesa,” students respond to the following, “What are some events in which you learned or changed, that you could write about?”
• In Unit 5, Week 3, the teacher creates a class blog. Students reflect on their writing attitudes by responding to reflection questions posted by the teacher.
• In Being a Writer, Personal Narrative Genre, Weeks 1-4, students listen to “Rattlesnake and Mesa" and discuss personal narratives. They have opportunities to quickly write about early memories and events that lead to change. Prior to the drafting, editing, revising, and sharing a personal narrative, this unit allows students to freely write a list of things that interest them, informally explore personal narratives, and gather and add notes. They share their writing with classmates and offer and receive feedback. This process takes approximately 5 days. During Week 1, students explore, draft, and discuss their writing. For Week 2, students continue drafting and conferring. Throughout Week 3, students revise, draft, develop, proofread, and publish their writing sample. The focus of week four includes proofreading, spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
• Opportunities to use technology is also embedded in the curriculum. Students are given opportunities for digital storytelling. It is suggested that the stories be shared online, emailed to parents, or stored for others to view on the computer, tablet, or other device.

The materials reviewed for Grade 6 meets the criteria for materials providing opportunities for students to address different text types of writing that reflect the distribution required by the standards.

As required by Grade 6 writing standards, there is evidence of various prompts that include opinion, argument, narrative, and informative/explanatory writing. Additionally, students have the opportunity to write poetry. Throughout the course of the school year, students engage with multiple genres and modes of writing in both Making Meaning and Being a Writer. In Being a Writer, every writing sample stems from a study of mentor texts as exemplars of the genre studied. Genres include personal, narrative, fiction, expository nonfiction, functional, opinion, and poetry. Performance tasks for narrative, argumentative, and informative/explanatory writing. In the Assessment Sourcebook, teachers and students can access scoring rubrics and record sheets. Examples include:

Narrative

• In Unit 3, Week 1 of Being a Writer students draft a personal narrative about a memorable experience from their life, using the, “Notes About Personal Narratives”, as a guide.
• In Genre Fiction, during Writing Time, students compose fiction stories. In Week 2, Day 3, students are given the option to: “work on a story you started earlier, start a new story, or think about the conflict your main character faces and how that conflict will be resolved.
• In Genre Poetry, during Writing Time, students draft a poem in the Students’ Notebooks after hearing six different poems.

Informational/Expository

• In Unit 3, Week 1, Day 3 of Making Meaning, students listen to the text Whales. During Writing about Reading, students compare and contrast sperm whales and right whales.
• In Unit 5, Week 1 of Being a Writer, students read nonfiction texts and select a topic to research. After an in-depth research of the topic, students write a research report.
• In Unit 6 of Being a Writer students draft how-to directions, after learning/reading/exploring/and thinking about functional texts.

Opinion

• In Unit 2, Week 1, Day 4 of Making Meaning, students write an opinion about advertising in Writing about Reading. Students write opinion paragraphs about where advertising is more harmful or more helpful.
• In Unit 6, Week 2 of Being a Writer students write a persuasive piece explaining the following, “Why is it useful to know how to write directions?”
• In Unit 9, Week 1, Day 4 of Making Meaning, students write opinion paragraphs after learning how to form an opinion. Students start their paragraphs with the following phrase: “I recommend this text because…” or “I do not recommend this text because…”

The materials reviewed for Center for the Collaborative Classroom Grade 6 meet the criteria for materials including explicit instruction of the grammar and conventions standards for grade level as applied in increasingly sophisticated contexts, with opportunities for application both in and out of context.

Over the course of the year, students have opportunities to learn grammar and convention standards both in and out of context. The Grade 6 program has opportunities for whole class instruction aligned to the Grade 6 language standards. Many of the lessons in the Skills Practice Teaching Guide are review lessons from prior grade levels such as Lesson 15: Shifts in Verb Tenses (Grade 5), Lesson 5: Sentence Fragments and Run-on Sentences (Grade 4), and Lesson 27: Punctuating Dialogue (Grade 3).

Lessons for language standards are mainly found in the Skills Practice Teaching Guide, which devotes one lesson to each Grade 6 language standard. The typical lesson plan includes teacher modeling, students helping the teacher to use the language standard correctly, and students working with a partner to practice the language standard. Opportunities for students to practice the language standard independently are limited. While grammar and conventions standards are addressed in the materials, opportunities are missed to vary application styles for learners and to apply skills more frequently to their writing drafts.

Materials include instruction of all grammar and conventions standards for the grade level. Examples of each language standard include:

• L.6.1a:
• In the Skills Practice Teaching Guide, Lesson 8, students learn subject and object pronouns. The teacher displays sentences, and students identify the subject in the sentences, so students can substitute in subject pronouns. With another set of sentences, students identify the object of the verb so students can substitute object pronouns.
• L.6.1b:
• In the Skills Practice Teaching Guide, Lesson 9, students learn possessive and intensive pronouns. The teacher displays “Possessive and Intensive Pronouns” activity and reads aloud “Nathan’s aunt has been to the Everglades many times, but Nathan himself has never gone. To whom does himself refer?” The teacher informs students that the intensive pronoun usually follows the noun or pronoun. During Guided Reading students practice using possessive and intensive pronouns in a paragraph.
• L.6.1c:
• In the Skills Practice Teaching Guide, Lesson 8, the teacher note includes information about the pronoun of I as talking about yourself as the subject, and you can be used a both a subject and an object. During Guided Practice students, practice different pronouns such as I, he, you, we, they, me, him, it, us, them. Explicit instruction in recognizing and correcting inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person are not contained in the Skills Practice Teaching Guide.
• L.6.1d:
• In the Skills Practice Teaching Guide, Lesson 10, students learn more about making sure the pronoun agrees with the noun. During Guided Practice, students read sentences containing incorrect or unclear pronouns.
• L.6.1e:
• In the Skills Practice Teaching Guide, Lesson 22, students learn about formal and informal English. The teacher displays “Formal and Informal English” activity and asks students to identify which sentences are formal and which are informal. The teacher points out that people take you more seriously if you use formal language. During Guided Practice, students edit an informal paragraph to make it more consistent. Students work together to write two versions of the informational paragraph using formal English in one and informal English in the other.
• In Being a Writer, Genre Expository Nonfiction, Week 5, Day 2, students learn how to use informal and formal writing style in their writing. Students analyze a mentor text called Ouch! And the teacher asks: “What do you notice about the way this author writes? Tell us one thing you noticed.” During Writing Time, students draft their report and decide on how to make the language in the draft more formal.
• L.6.2a:
• In the Skills Practice Teaching Guide, Lesson 26, students learn to use commas, parentheses, and dashes to set off extra information. The teacher displays an activity to model commas, parentheses, and dashes. With six different sentences, the teacher shows students how to add those specific conventions. The teacher explains that dashes are lines that are longer than a hyphen, and dashes are used to provide extra emphasis or show interruption of thought. During Guided Practice, students help place punctuation marks in six sentences.
• L.6.2b:
• In Being a Writer, Unit 2, Week 2, Day 2, students learn to proofread their drafts for spelling, punctuation, and capitalization errors. Students learn to use their Student Writing Handbook for spelling words. If the word is not in the Handbook, students learn strategies for figuring out the spelling of words such as: ask a peer, ask the teacher, look for the word in a familiar book, and/or look for the word in a dictionary. As part of the Technology Enhancement, students learn to use an online dictionary.
• L.6.3a:
• In Being a Writer, Unit 2, Week 1, Day 4, students learn to generate interesting words in order to vary starting words in their writing. In Day 5, students learn to write strong opening sentences based on Mentor texts.
• L.6.3b:
• In the Skills Practice Teaching Guide Lesson 23, the teacher models from “Consistency in Style and Tone,” which contains different types of writing for students to identify tone and style. During Guided Practice, students practice revising a piece of writing to make the style and tone more appropriate and consistent throughout.