Grade 6
English
Oak Meadow
Coursebook
Oak Meadow, Inc.
Post Office Box 1346
Brattleboro, Vermont 05302-1346
oakmeadow.com
Item #b062010
Grade
6
Contents
Introduction
For the Student................................................................. vii
Course Materials and Organization................................ ix
For the Parent.....................................................................x
Assessment Measures in Home Learning........................ xi
Information for Students Enrolled in
Oak Meadow School................................................... xii
Lessons
Lesson 1: Sentence Structures.......................................... 1
Sentence types; subjects and predicates; sentence structures;
paragraph forms; working with vocabulary words
Lesson 2: Nouns................................................................ 9
Common and proper nouns; possessive nouns; pronouns; concrete
and abstract nouns; collective nouns
Lesson 3: Note Taking and Citations............................ 15
Note-taking skills; outlining; citing your source; in-text citations;
creating a works cited page; plagiarism
Lesson 4: The Writing Process....................................... 21
Adjectives and adverbs; descriptive writing; the writing process;
revisions; editing and proofreading
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Contents
Grade 6 English
Lesson 5: Capitalization................................................. 27
Capitalization rules; using variants of a word
Lesson 6: Direct and Indirect Quotations.................... 33
Vocabulary review; direct quotations; indirect quotations;
descriptive writing; learning reflection
Lesson 7: Poetry.............................................................. 43
Poetry; writing dialogue; adverbs of manner, time, and place
Lesson 8: Report Writing................................................ 49
Writing a report; letter writing
Lesson 9: Short-Story Writing........................................ 55
Writing a short story; writing in present tense; character, setting,
and plot
Lesson 10: Clauses and Conjunctions........................... 61
Independent and dependent clauses; coordinating and subordinating
conjunctions; writing a story summary
Lesson 11: Expository Essay........................................... 67
Writing an expository essay; verbs of being and action verbs; verb tenses
Lesson 12: Descriptive Writing...................................... 73
Vocabulary review; descriptive writing; story summary; subjects and
predicates
Lesson 13: Organizing Information............................... 81
Organizing notes in chart form; Greek myths and character attributes;
nouns and possessives
Lesson 14: Commonly Misused Words........................ 87
Commonly misused word pairs; letter writing; first person-point of
view; possessive pronouns
Lesson 15: Comparative Essay....................................... 93
Sentence fragments; repairing run-on sentences; comparative essay
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Contents
Lesson 16: Punctuation.................................................. 99
Punctuation rules; poetry memorization and recitation; third-person
point of view
Lesson 17: Compound and Complex Sentences........ 105
Four sentence types; compound subjects and predicates; simple,
compound, and complex sentences; coordinating and
subordinating conjunctions
Lesson 18: Vocabulary Review..................................... 111
Vocabulary review; writing a story summary; descriptive writing;
writing process
Lesson 19: Opinion Essay............................................. 117
Contractions; contraction/possessive word pairs; writing an opinion
piece
Lesson 20: Persuasive Essay......................................... 125
Rhetoric and the persuasive essay; note taking; punctuating dialogue
Lesson 21: Sentence Building....................................... 133
Connecting word pairs in context; dependent and independent
clauses; subordinating conjunctions; learning reflection
Lesson 22: Supporting Details..................................... 139
Concise writing; using contextual details to support ideas
Lesson 23: Prepositions................................................ 145
Prepositions and prepositional phrases; commonly misused words
Lesson 24: Creative Writing......................................... 151
Vocabulary review; creative writing; writing with historical detail
Lesson 25: Prepositional Phrases................................ 157
Identifying and creating prepositional phrases; correcting a faulty
paragraph
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Grade 6 English
Lesson 26: Verb Tenses................................................. 163
Prefixes and base words; prepositional phrases; past, present, future,
and perfect verb tenses
Lesson 27: Homophones.............................................. 169
Expository writing; homophones; parts of speech
Lesson 28: Synonyms and Antonyms.......................... 175
Synonyms and antonyms; prefixes
Lesson 29: Writing Dialogue........................................ 181
Writing dialogue; dialogue punctuation; character study; playwriting
Lesson 30: Suffixes and Base Words........................... 187
Vocabulary review; suffixes and base words
Lesson 31: Vocabulary Exercises.................................. 195
Using vocabulary words in varied writing; prepositional phrases
Lesson 32: Prefixes, Suffixes, and Parts of Speech.... 203
Prefixes and suffixes; subjects and predicates; parts of speech
Lesson 33: Writing a Book Review.............................. 209
Book review; homophones; synonyms and antonyms
Lesson 34: Vocabulary and Grammar Review............ 215
Vocabulary review; creative writing; grammar review
Lesson 35: Grammar Final Exam................................. 225
Final grammar exam
Lesson 36: Learning Reflection.................................... 235
Learning reflection
Appendix.....................................................239
Works Cited................................................................... 241
English Manual.............................................................. 255
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Social Studies
Science
Math
Extras
Date__________
STUDENT PLANNER
English
Student Planner—Lesson 3
Grade
6
STUDENT PLANNER
Student Planner—Lesson 3
ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY
■
Read Note-Taking Skills,
Outlining, Citing your Source,
and “Plagiarism.”
■
Alphabetize, define, and use
the vocabulary words in a paragraph or story scene.
■
■
■
■
Take a spelling quiz.
Materials Still Needed
Cite sources using MLA format.
Create a detailed outline.
Write about what you have
learned using the four types of
sentences.
Notes
Grade
6
Date__________
Grade 6
3
Note Taking and
Citations
For the next two weeks, you will be conducting research for a report in
social studies. Before you begin locating and reading resource materials,
complete the reading assignments in this lesson. This will give you helpful
information regarding note taking, outlining, and citing your sources. Pay
particular attention to the section on plagiarism so you can learn how to
avoid it.
Reading
Read the following sections in the English manual:
• Note-Taking Skills
• Outlining
• Citing Your Source
• Plagiarism
Assignments
1. This week, after you alphabetize and define the following vocabulary words, write a simple paragraph or story scene that uses all the
words. Find ways to use a variety of sentence types to make your writing more interesting. Underline vocabulary words.
pyramid
sphinxmummy
pharaoh
papyrusNile
hieroglyphicsibis
Add any misspelled words from the previous spelling tests to this
week’s list when you practice spelling your words this week and using
them in conversation.
2.At the end of the week, take a spelling quiz.
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Lesson 3
Grade 6 English
Note Taking
and Citations
(continued)
3.Throughout the week, make a list of the resources used for your social
studies report. Follow the rules for writing a citation, and put each
citation into MLA format. You should have at least three sources.
Carefully check your citations to make sure they match the MLA format, especially in regard to punctuation and capitalization. Title the
page Works Cited and include it at the end of your report.
4.Using your notes, create an outline for your social studies report. Include at least one detail under each section of the outline.
5.Based on what you have learned from your social studies reading
this week, write one sentence for each of the four types of sentences
(declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, and imperative). Your sentences should convey your own ideas about what you have learned.
Further Study
Here are some book suggestions related to ancient Egypt:
• His Majesty, Queen Hatshepsut, by Dorothy Sharp Carter
• Mara, Daughter of the Nile, by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
• The Golden Goblet, by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
• Ancient Egypt, “Eyewitness Books” series, by George Hart
• The Ancient Egyptians, by Viviane Koenig and Veronique Ageorges
• Pyramid, by David Macauley
• Ancient Egypt, “See Through History” series by Judith Crosher
• The Egyptians “Look into the Past” series, by Roger Coote
• Ancient Egypt, by Daniel Cohen
• Egyptians “CraftTopics” series, by Rachel Wright
• Into the Mummy’s Tomb, by Nicholas Reeves
• Mummies, Tombs, and Treasure, Lila Perl
• An Egyptian Pyramid, by Jacqueline Morley
• Egyptian Farmers, by Jim Kerr
• Ancient Egypt “Make It Work!” series, by Andrew Haslam and Alexandra
Parsons
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Grade 6 English
• The Mummy of Ramose; The Life and Death of an Ancient Egyptian Nobleman,
by Shirley Glubock and Alfred Tamarin
• Focus on Ancient Egyptians, Anita Ganeri
• Discovering Tut-ankh-Amen’s Tomb, edited by Shirley Glubock
Lesson 3
Note Taking
and Citations
(continued)
For Enrolled Students
At the end of the next lesson, you will be submitting work to your Oak
Meadow teacher. Continue documenting your student’s process with the
assignment summary checklist, weekly planner, and the learning assessment form. Feel free to contact your teacher if you have any questions
about the assignments or the learning process.
Learning Assessment
These assessment rubrics are intended to help track student progress
throughout the year. Please remember that these skills continue to develop
over time. Parents and teachers can use this space to make notes about
the learning the student demonstrates or skills that need work.
Oak Meadow
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Lesson 3
Grade 6 English
Learning Assessment
ENGLISH
Not Yet
Evident
Developing
In Progress
Completed
Consistent
Notes
Identifies key ideas and demonstrates
good note-taking skills
Uses notes to create a detailed outline
Compiles a list of sources
Cites sources using MLA citation format
Alphabetizes a list of words
Composes original sentences to
demonstrate grammar concepts
Uses vocabulary words in sentences that
convey the word meaning
Uses a variety of sentences in writing
Composes paragraphs with topic
sentences, supporting details, and
concluding sentences
Uses paragraphs to organize ideas into
topics
LITERATURE
Notes
Free-choice book:
Free-choice book:
Free-choice book:
SPELLING QUIZ
Score
# Correct/Total #
Notes
3
20
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Social Studies
Science
Math
Extras
Date__________
STUDENT PLANNER
English
Student Planner—Lesson 4
Grade
6
STUDENT PLANNER
Student Planner—Lesson 4
ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY
■
Read Adjectives and Adverbs,
and The Writing Process.
■
Alphabetize and define words,
and take a spelling quiz.
■
Use the vocabulary words in a
descriptive journal entry.
■
■
Identify adjectives and adverbs.
Materials Still Needed
Follow the steps of the writing
process.
Notes
Grade
6
Date__________
Grade 6
4
The Writing Process
Writing is a process. Here are the steps that you will follow each time you
write a paper:
• Create an outline to organize your ideas.
• Write a rough draft that includes all the points you want to touch
on, in the right order.
• Revise your paper to make additions, rearrange text, and fix your
wording so you are happy with it.
• Edit your work to correct errors in punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and grammar.
• Proofread your writing to catch any errors in the final version.
In this lesson, you will learn more about each step of the writing process.
Reading
Read Adjectives and Adverbs and The Writing Process in the English manual.
Assignments
1. Alphabetize the following vocabulary words. Define each word, and
then write what kind of noun it is (common, proper, singular, plural,
concrete, or abstract).
scarab
Rosetta Stone
filigree
reverence
attributessarcophagus javelin foreigners
ancestorsdescendants
Practice spelling and using these words. Find a new way to practice them
this week (refer to the list in lesson 1 for ideas or come up with your own).
Take a spelling quiz at the end of the week.
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Lesson 4
Grade 6 English
The Writing
Process
(continued)
2.Using the vocabulary words above, write a descriptive journal entry,
pretending you are someone watching King Hatshepsut at a ceremony, or seeing the royal family at a celebration. Use adjectives and
adverbs to bring your journal entry to life. After you have written it,
go back and underline or shade the adjectives green and adverbs in
orange. Underline each vocabulary word.
3.You will be writing a paper in social studies this week. Use your outline to help you organize your information clearly and write paragraphs that have clear topics. See how interesting you can make your
sentences by adding adjectives and adverbs.
When you have written your rough draft, follow the steps of the writing process to revise your report for clarity and a logical flow of ideas.
Carefully check your punctuation, spelling, and capitalization, and
edit your work to fix all the errors you can find. Then write your final
draft, taking time to do your best work. As the last step, proofread
your final copy and correct any last errors. Remember to include your
works cited page at the end of your report. Keep your rough draft
with your final draft. This helps your parent or teacher see what you
have done to improve your writing during the writing process.
For Enrolled Students
At the end of this lesson, you will be sending your second batch of work to
your Oak Meadow teacher along with your assignment summary checklist,
the weekly planner, and the learning assessment forms, or any alternate
form of documentation. Include any additional notes or questions with
your documentation—your teacher is eager to help. Please make sure your
submission is organized and labeled well, and that complete lessons and
assignments are submitted. Remember to include the rough draft with
your student’s social studies paper.
Learning Assessment
These assessment rubrics are intended to help track student progress
throughout the year. Please remember that these skills continue to develop
over time. Parents and teachers can use this space to make notes about
the learning the student demonstrates or skills that need work.
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Grade 6 English
Lesson 4
Learning Assessment
ENGLISH
Not Yet
Evident
Developing
In Progress
Completed
Consistent
Notes
Uses adjectives and adverbs in
descriptive writing
Shows evidence of revision of rough
draft
Edits and proofreads to correct errors
Alphabetizes a list of words
Composes original sentences to
demonstrate grammar concepts
Uses vocabulary words in sentences that
convey the word meaning
Uses a variety of sentences in writing
Identifies key ideas and demonstrates
good note-taking skills
Uses notes to create a detailed outline
Cites sources using MLA citation format
Composes paragraphs with topic
sentences, supporting details, and
concluding sentences
Uses paragraphs to organize ideas into
topics
LITERATURE
Notes
Free-choice book:
Free-choice book:
Free-choice book:
SPELLING QUIZ
Score
# Correct/Total #
Notes
4
Oak Meadow
25
Lesson 4
Grade 6 English
Notes
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Social Studies
Science
Math
Extras
Date__________
STUDENT PLANNER
English
Student Planner—Lesson 23
Grade
6
STUDENT PLANNER
Student Planner—Lesson 23
ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY
■
Read Prepositions and
Prepositional Phrases.
■
Continue reading Robin Hood of
Sherwood Forest.
■
Define vocabulary words and
use them in sentences.
■
■
Take a spelling quiz.
■
Choose the correct word for
sentences containing commonly
misused words.
Materials Still Needed
Write sentences using
prepositional phrases.
Notes
Grade
6
Date__________
Grade 6
23 Prepositions
Reading
Read Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases in the English manual.
Continue reading Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest.
Assignments
1. Define the following vocabulary words and use them in sentences. Remember to include the part of speech in each definition and to
underline the vocabulary words in each sentence.
pillory logicvice
revival slateguild
commercefortressmorality
2.Work with the vocabulary words throughout the week, and then take
a spelling quiz.
3.Write sentences that use the following prepositions. Underline or
shade the prepositional phrases in purple. Remember, the prepositional phrase starts with the preposition and ends with a noun.
above about along between before
4.Fill in the blanks with the following words:
a.Bring/take: If you __________ lemons to my house, you can
______ some lemon tarts when you leave.
b.Your/you’re: ___________ going to be cold if you don’t wear
_________ hat.
c. Among/between: _________ all the trees on our property, the big
tree ____________ the house and the barn is the best climbing
tree.
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Lesson 23
Grade 6 English
Prepositions
(continued)
d.I/me: Do you want to go with my brother and ____? My brother
and _____ are going swimming.
e. It’s/its: My cat covers ____ nose with a paw whenever _____ cold
outside.
For Enrolled Students
Please contact your teacher if any questions arise.
Learning Assessment
Use assessment rubrics to track student progress and to make notes
about the learning the student demonstrates or skills that need work.
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Grade 6 English
Lesson 23
Learning Assessment
ENGLISH
Not Yet
Evident
Developing
In Progress
Completed
Consistent
Notes
Identifies prepositional phrases
Correctly uses commonly misused words
Uses contextual details to support ideas
Composes original sentences to
demonstrate grammar concepts
Uses vocabulary words in sentences that
convey the word meaning
Uses a variety of sentences in writing
Identifies key ideas and demonstrates
good note-taking skills
Uses notes to create a detailed outline
Cites sources using MLA citation format
Composes paragraphs with topic
sentences, supporting details, and
concluding sentences
Uses paragraphs to organize ideas into
topics
Revises, edits, and proofreads work
LITERATURE
Notes
Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest
Free-choice book:
Free-choice book:
SPELLING QUIZ
Score
# Correct/Total #
Notes
23
Oak Meadow
149
Lesson 23
Grade 6 English
Notes
150
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Social Studies
Science
Math
Extras
Date__________
STUDENT PLANNER
English
Student Planner—Lesson 24
Grade
6
STUDENT PLANNER
Student Planner—Lesson 24
ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY
■
Continue reading Robin Hood of
Sherwood Forest.
■
Review vocabulary words and
choose two activities.
■
■
Take a spelling quiz.
Materials Still Needed
Create a new adventure for Robin Hood and his merry men.
Notes
Grade
6
Date__________
Grade 6
24 Creative Writing
Reading
You will complete your assignment about Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest this
week. You don’t have to finish the book before completing the assignment,
but feel free to continue reading the book if you’d like.
Assignments
1. It is time for another vocabulary review. Look over the words below.
Cross out the ones that you know really well and circle the ones that
are left. Create a new vocabulary review list with these words.
Vocabulary Words from Lessons 19–23
abbey
feudalism
manor
sacrament
aisle
fortress
monastery
salvation
armor
gospel
morality
self-sufficient
brooch
guild
parliament
serf
characterize
heraldry
pillory
slate
commerce
illuminate
province
tenant
conscience
legendary
proxy
thatch
diocese
liturgical
renounce
ungodly
divination
liturgy
represent
vassal
expiation
logic
revival
vice
Choose two of the following activities to complete this week (try at
least one activity you haven’t tried yet).
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Lesson 24
Grade 6 English
English
(continued)
a.Mix and Match: Write the vocabulary words on a set of index
cards and the corresponding definitions on a separate set of cards.
Put the word cards on the table in a row, face up. Put the definition
cards in a pile, face down. Draw one definition card at a time and
match it to a word card. Mix up the cards and then try to match
the word to its definition. You can play this game with a partner
and take turns.
b.Flash Cards: Write the vocabulary word on one side of an index
card and the definition on the other side. Test yourself by reading
the definition and guessing at the correct word. See if you can
spell the word correctly before you flip the card over to look at the
word.
c. Crossword Puzzle: Make a crossword puzzle with your words. You
can use graph paper to make this easier. Find a way to hook each
word to another, and then come up with clues that provide the
definition of the word. (If you don’t know how to number the clues,
have a parent show you or look at a crossword puzzle in the newspaper to see how it’s done.) Give a blank version of your puzzle to a
sibling or a parent and see if they can fill in the words.
d.Create a Test: Write fill-in-the-blank sentences for each vocabulary
word, putting a blank where the word belongs. Feel free to write
funny sentences that include the names of your family members,
friends, pets, local landmarks, favorite hobbies, etc. Write the list
of vocabulary words above or next to the sentences. Have a parent,
a sibling, or a friend see if they can choose the correct words to fill
in the blanks. If they have trouble, you can give additional clues to
help them.
e. Story Time: Write a story that uses all of the review words in
ontext. In order for the words to work in context, you may have
to choose ancient times as the setting of your story. When you
are through, rewrite the story, leaving blank spaces where the
vocabulary words should go. Give your list of words to a parent,
a sibling, or a friend and see if they can fill in the blanks based on
the clues you’ve provided.
f. Charades: Play charades with your vocabulary words. If you’ve never played charades before, charades is a game where you act out a
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Grade 6 English
word or a phrase, and try to get other people to guess what it is.
You are not allowed to speak so you have to act out your word using body movements and hand gestures.
Lesson 24
English
(continued)
g. Picture This: Draw a picture or sketch several scenes that show as
many words as possible. Give your list of words to a parent, a
sibling, or a friend and see if they can find the words in the picture.
h.Words in the World: Write your vocabulary words, without using
pencil or paper, from materials you find in your everyday life. For
example, you might write a word with spaghetti noodles at dinner,
on the steamed up mirror in the bathroom, or in the dirt using
sticks or pebbles or acorns. Or you might make letters out of bread
dough and bake them, then make words, or you could place dough
letters on a baking sheet, just barely touching, and bake entire
words. Getting all of your senses involved is a really great study
trick! It might be fun to post a list of your words on the refrigerator
and challenge family members to find the words around the house
and yard. Each time a word is found, it gets crossed off the list. You
can spread this activity throughout the week, forming two or three
words per day for others to find.
2.At the end of the week, take a spelling quiz of the review words you
worked on this week.
3.Based on what you have read about Robin Hood, create a new adventure for Robin Hood and his band of merry men. Use your imagination to come up with a story that fits in with the rest of the book.
Add lots of historical detail and lively action!
As always, use the writing process (rough draft, revise, edit, and
proofread) to help you create a strong piece of creative writing.
For Enrolled Students
When lesson 24 is complete, please send your student’s work to your
Oak Meadow teacher. Include your weekly planner, assignment checklists,
and learning assessment form from each lesson.
Learning Assessment
Use this assessment form to track your student’s progress over time.
Oak Meadow
155
Lesson 24
Grade 6 English
Learning Assessment
ENGLISH
Not Yet
Evident
Developing
In Progress
Completed
Consistent
Notes
Demonstrates creative writing skills
Includes specific details about historical
setting
Uses contextual details to support ideas
Composes original sentences to
demonstrate grammar concepts
Uses vocabulary words in sentences that
convey the word meaning
Uses a variety of sentences in writing
Identifies key ideas and demonstrates
good note-taking skills
Uses notes to create a detailed outline
Cites sources using MLA citation format
Composes paragraphs with topic
sentences, supporting details, and
concluding sentences
Uses paragraphs to organize ideas into
topics
Revises, edits, and proofreads work
LITERATURE
Notes
Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest
Free-choice book:
Free-choice book:
SPELLING QUIZ
Score
# Correct/Total #
Notes
24
156
Oak Meadow