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6th grade · English Language Arts · Unit 17 of 17

Stories, Responses and Evidence

Narrative technique, creative responses and using evidence to analyze and reflect.

What your child practices

Your child chooses narrative techniques (openings, dialogue, pacing, transitions, sensory details, reflective endings), creative responses to texts, and evidence that supports analysis, reflection and research.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 6W3; 6W4; 6W5 · narrative technique, creative responses to texts, and drawing evidence for analysis, reflection and research

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Start with an opening that hooks the reader and shows the narrator’s point of view.
  2. Use dialogue, pacing, transitions and sensory details.
  3. A reflective ending shows what the narrator learned. Introduce quotations with your own words.

Example: Which ending reflects on what the narrator learned: “Then I went home.” or “Looking back, I saw the race was about not quitting.”? Reflecting means thinking back on meaning. The second ending names a lesson. Answer: Looking back, I saw the race was about not quitting.

Stories, Responses and Evidence in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 17 of 17 in 6th grade English Language Arts, after Read Closely: Evidence, Theme and Change.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    You turn a short story into a graphic novel page. What must you decide?

    • the price of the story
    • the author's birthday
    • the page numbers of the original
    • which moments to show in panels and what words go in speech bubbles

  2. Question 2

    A prompt asks, “How does the author show that Kira is brave?” Which response uses evidence well?

    • Kira steps forward to speak when others stay silent, which shows her courage.
    • I am brave too.
    • Bravery is good.
    • Kira is brave because I think so.

  3. Question 3

    Which detail uses precise, sensory language?

    • We went to a bakery.
    • The bakery smelled of warm cinnamon, and the floor was dusted with flour.
    • The bakery was nice.
    • It was a good place.

  4. Question 4

    Which is the best evidence for a reflection on how a novel connects to your life?

    • a list of the novel's chapter titles
    • the color of the book cover
    • a specific scene that matches something you experienced, and an explanation of why
    • the number of characters

  5. Question 5

    Which revision shows the character's feelings through action?

    • Theo was very sad.
    • Theo felt bad.
    • Theo had a letter.
    • Theo crumpled the letter and stared out the window for a long time.

  6. Question 6

    Which is the strongest reason to include a quotation in a reflection?

    • It makes the reflection longer.
    • It shows exactly which words in the text affected your thinking.
    • It replaces your own ideas.
    • It hides your opinion.

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