Grade 6 English Language Arts: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 6 english language arts in the Saskatchewan Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Comprehend and Respond (CR6.1–CR6.8): View, listen to, read, comprehend, and respond to a variety of texts that address identity (e.g., Growing Up)… Select and use appropriate strategies to construct meaning before, during, and after (e.g., drawing conclusions)… Use pragmatic (e.g., function and purpose of texts), textual (e.g., form/genre, sequence of ideas), syntactic… (and 5 more outcomes)
- Compose and Create (CC6.1–CC6.9): Create various visual, multimedia, oral, and written texts that explore identity (e.g., Your Choices), social… Select and use the appropriate strategies to communicate meaning before (e.g., identifying purpose and audience)… Use pragmatic (e.g., function and purpose), textual (e.g., paragraphs), syntactic, semantic/lexical/morphological… (and 6 more outcomes)
- Assess and Reflect on Language Abilities (AR6.1–AR6.3): Consider which viewing, listening, reading, representing, speaking, and writing strategies work best for each task… Appraise own viewing, listening, reading, representing, speaking, and writing skills and strategies, and set goals… Appraise own and others' work for clarity. Units Going the Distance Growing Up Messages Peace And Conflict Taking…
Easy ways to practise english language arts at home
- Read what they are interested in: graphic novels, sports pages, series. Then talk about it.
- Ask for the main idea and one piece of evidence from the text.
- Have them write real messages: a thank-you note, a short review, a note to a relative.
- Read their writing aloud to them; they often spot their own mistakes by ear.
What each unit covers
Close Reading
Reading original stories and information texts, then finding the theme or main idea, making inferences, explaining why characters act as they do and choosing the sentence that best supports an answer.
Point of View
Telling first person, third person limited and third person omniscient apart, and thinking about what each narrator can and can't know.
Figurative Language
Naming similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, alliteration and idioms, explaining what they mean, finding the sense an image appeals to and working out what a symbol stands for.
Connotation & Tone
Words can share a dictionary meaning (denotation) but carry different feelings (connotation), like “cozy” and “cramped.” Students choose words for effect and identify a writer's tone.
Sources & Bias
Separating fact from opinion, judging whether a source is reliable, spotting loaded words and one-sided reporting, and asking who made a message and why.
Roots & Analogies
Using Greek and Latin roots (like “geo,” “aud” and “port”) to work out unfamiliar words, and completing analogies that compare word relationships.
Make Your Case
Building an argument: stating a claim, choosing the strongest evidence, recognizing counterarguments and rebuttals, spotting persuasive techniques and ordering a persuasive paragraph.
Agreement
Making verbs agree with their subjects (even with tricky phrases, “each,” “everyone” and “either…or”) and choosing pronouns that clearly match the nouns they replace.
Sentence Repair
Spotting sentence fragments, run-on sentences and comma splices, and choosing correct ways to fix them with periods, semicolons, joining words or dependent clauses.
Commas & Clauses
Finding dependent clauses, telling simple, compound and complex sentences apart, and using commas in lists, compound sentences, introductions and appositives.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Meeting is the goal for every outcome. Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exemplary
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Saskatchewan report card guide.
Common questions
How can I help my Grade 6 child with english language arts?
Read what they are interested in: graphic novels, sports pages, series. Then talk about it. Ask for the main idea and one piece of evidence from the text. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
What does my child learn in Grade 6 english language arts in Saskatchewan?
The Saskatchewan Curriculum Grade 6 english language arts units include close reading, point of view, figurative language, connotation & tone, sources & bias, roots & analogies.
Free printable Grade 6 english language arts practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.