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Standard 1 : Text Types and PurposesArchived
Cluster Standards

This cluster includes the following benchmarks.

Visit the specific benchmark webpage to find related instructional resources.

  • LAFS.6.W.1.1 : Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
    1. Introduce claim(s) and organize the reasons and evidence clearly.
    2. Support claim(s) with clear reasons and relevant evidence, using credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
    3. Use words, phrases, and clauses to clarify the relationships among claim(s) and reasons.
    4. Establish and maintain a formal style.
    5. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the argument presented.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.2 : Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content.
    1. Introduce a topic; organize ideas, concepts, and information, using strategies such as definition, classification, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
    2. Develop the topic with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
    3. Use appropriate transitions to clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.
    4. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
    5. Establish and maintain a formal style.
    6. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the information or explanation presented.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.3 : Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
    1. Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
    2. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
    3. Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.
    4. Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to convey experiences and events.
    5. Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.
Cluster Information
Number:
LAFS.6.W.1
Title:
Text Types and Purposes
Type:
Cluster
Subject:
English Language Arts - Archived
Grade:
6
Strand
Writing Standards
Cluster Access Points

This cluster includes the following Access Points.

  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.1a : Write an introduction that introduces the writer’s claim within an argument.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.1b : Create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer’s claim.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.1c : Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence from credible sources.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.1d : Use words, phrases and clauses to link claims and reasons.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.1e : Provide a concluding statement or section that follows the argument presented.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.1f : Distinguish claims presented orally or in writing that are supported by reasons and claims that are not.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.2a : Organize ideas, concepts and information (e.g., using definition, classification, comparison/contrast, cause/effect).
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.2b : Provide an introduction that includes context/background information establishing a central idea or focus about a topic.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.2c : Develop the topic (add additional information related to the topic) with relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations or other information and examples.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.2d : Include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., charts, tables) and multimedia when useful to promote reading understanding.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.2e : Use transitional words, phrases and clauses that connect ideas and create cohesion within writing.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.2f : Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.2g : Maintain a consistent style and voice throughout writing.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.2h : Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and summarizes the information presented.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.3a : Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and introducing a narrator and/or characters.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.3b : Organize ideas and event so that they unfold naturally.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.3c : When appropriate use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.3d : Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.3e : Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to convey experiences and events.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.3f : Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.
  • LAFS.6.W.1.AP.3g : Use figurative language appropriately, including similes and metaphors.
Cluster Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this topic.

Original Student Tutorials
  • Go for the Gold: Writing Claims and Using Evidence: Learn how to define and identify claims being made within a text. This tutorial will also show you how evidence can be used effectively to support the claim being made. Lastly, this tutorial will help you write strong, convincing claims of your own.

  • Explain Yourself: Organizing Your Writing: Learn several different strategies to help organize your writing in this interactive tutorial. You'll practice several different ways to introduce and organize ideas in your informative writing. These strategies include compare and contrast, classification, cause and effect, and definition.

  • Do You Want to Build a Story?: Learn how to set up your story through the elements of exposition. In this interactive tutorial, you'll practice setting up your story idea by establishing the characters, setting, and conflict.

  • State Your Claim: Learn how to state your claim effectively in this interactive tutorial. This argumentative writing lesson will also teach you how to capture readers' attention using "grabbers" before stating your claim.

Lesson Plans
  • Earth's Spheres WebQuest: This WebQuest is designed for 6th grade students. Students will work individually or in pairs to explore interactive websites and answer the questions on their Task Sheet. This is designed as an introduction to Earth's spheres (Hydrosphere, Atmosphere, Cryosphere, Biosphere, Geosphere) and how these spheres interact to support life on our planet.

  • Gr. 6 Lesson 3-Florida’s Limestone–Tums for Our Water and Soil : Students will conduct a controlled experiment to determine the effect Florida's limestone has on the pH levels of Florida's water and soil. Students will compare limestone's effect to that of other rocks and minerals found naturally in Florida. At the end of this investigation, students should be able to articulate the effect limestone has on the pH of water in Florida, the importance of this phenomenon, and a basic understanding of the process by which limestone affects pH levels in water.

  • Climate and Careers!: Students will explore chosen outdoor careers and how the careers connect to certain climates based on temperature and precipitation. The guiding question states "How might you use evidence from weather data and dot plot displays to allow you to identify which location's climate would be best for your career and why?" Students will collect data online and display the data using dot plots on posters with analysis using the mean. Students will engage in collaboration throughout. A power point is included with all necessary resources.

  • Narrative Writing: A Lesson Learned the Hard Way in “Thank You, M’am”: In this lesson, students will read Langston Hughes’ short story “Thank You, M’am,” analyzing the impact of plot and character in developing the story’s theme. After reading the story, students will use details gathered from the text to write a narrative that predicts/portrays what would occur if the characters met again.

  • Conduction, Convection, Radiation! What's the Breeze Now?: In this lesson students will be exploring how radiant energy causes the temperature of different Earth materials to rise at different rates. Students will observe that this difference in temperature has direct effect on air movement. Students will reach to conceptual understanding of future trends.

  • Views on Freedom: Part 3 of 3: This final lesson in three-lesson unit guides students through the process of writing and revising an essay based on the concept of freedom and using text evidence from two sources - the poem "Sympathy," and the folk tale "The People Could Fly." The lesson consists of a review of the two previous lessons in the series, three days of organizing thoughts and getting teacher and peer feedback on each step in the essay and producing a final copy. An assignment sheet and detailed organizer are all provided. Students must have completed lessons #1 and #2 in this series to complete this lesson.

  • Smooth Smoothie: In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, students will analyze data to decide what blender to use, the number of times the recipes are used and the total ingredients needed.

    Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

  • A Close Reading: An Excerpt from A Corner of the Universe: In this lesson, students will read an excerpt from A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin. Students will explore how a character's point of view can influence how events are described and shape a text. Upon completion of the close reading activities, students will practice their narrative writing skills by creating an original dialogue between the main character and her mother.

  • A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words: From Image to Detailed Narrative: This two-day lesson, "A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words: From Image to Detailed Narrative," by Traci Gardner, is provided by ReadWriteThink.org, a website developed by the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, with support from the Verizon Foundation.

    In the lesson, students view an image that tells a story and brainstorm the possible event or situation the image illustrates. Each student then writes a narrative from the point of view of one of the characters, revealing the character's thoughts/feelings and the events that led up to the image or the events that will follow.

  • Decisions, Decisions!: In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, students will research a list of companies to invest in through purchasing stocks. Students will calculate the amount invested and readjust their investment choices.

    Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

  • Choose Your Own Adventure: A Hypertext Writing Experience: This lesson prepares students for a summative assessment in which they co-author a narrative modeled after Choose Your Own Adventure stories. After reading one or more adventure stories, the teacher will facilitate discussion of the second person point of view while helping students identify the story's literary elements including setting, character, plot, and conflict. Students will then meet in literature circles to brainstorm ideas for their own group Choose Your Own Adventure story. Web authorizing software needed if wanting to post on the web. Groups create their own websites. Parts of the story can be hyperlinked to each other and uploaded to the internet. Graphic organizers, links to online Choose Your Own Adventure-style stories, and a rubric for students to conduct self-assessment are provided in this web resource.

  • Vacation: In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, the purpose of this lesson is to provide students with the opportunity to solve real-world problems using addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of multi-digit decimals. They will write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions.

    Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

  • Analyzing Central Ideas and Details to Answer a Research Question:

    In this lesson, students will formulate a research question, practice analyzing the central ideas and relevant details of informational texts they locate during a partner research activity, and then synthesize this information into an expository paragraph.

  • Lily's Cola TV Commercial: In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, given a tight budget, students need to find the number of people that can be hired to film a soda commercial. Students will make the selection using a table that contains information about two types of extras. Experienced extras earn more money per hour than novice extras; however, novice extras need more time to shoot the commercial than experienced extras. In addition, students will select the design that would be used for the commercial taking into account the area that needs to be covered and the aesthetic factor.

    Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

  • Vacation Time: The students will create a package list for a travel company. They must use all operations with decimals as well as compare decimals.

    Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

  • The Secret Life Continues: An Extension of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty":

    After students read James Thurber's short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," they will write a narrative of a daydream to add to the text using narrative techniques and incorporating multimedia elements.

  • Mucho Mulch: In this Model-Eliciting Activity (MEA), students will continue to explore and discuss the problems faced when soil is weathered and eroded away. Through the activity they will explore one of many solutions to this issue. They will also gain more perspective on the importance of considering the choices they make daily and how every choice can and does affect the environment.

    Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

  • Teen Cell Phone Plans: In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, the purpose of this lesson is to solve real-world and mathematical problems. Students will also use operations with multi-digit decimals to solve problems. They will write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence. Students will engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions.

    Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

  • Fancy Fractions Catering Company Project: Fancy Fractions Catering Company will be hosting a party and need your help to make it happen! Your help is needed to determine which recipe would be best for them to use in their pasta dish taking into account ingredient cost and customer preference.

    Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

  • Batter Up Travel Plans: A traveling baseball team coach is asking a group of engineers to provide a travel plan from Boston to Jacksonville, Florida with the hopes of attending Major League baseball games along their route. The students will design the route on a large US map highlighting their travel plan and submit the map and a written rationale of their plan.

    Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

  • Orange Juice Conversion: In this MEA, the students will be able to convert measurements within systems and between systems. They will be able to use problem solving skills to create a process for ranking orange juices for a Bed and Breakfast.

    Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

  • A Poignant Passage about the Middle Passage:

    In this lesson, students will explore what makes a passage poignant by analyzing an important chapter from the historical fiction novel, The Slave Dancer, by Paula Fox. In cooperative groups, they will use their prior knowledge of figurative language, conflict, theme, and characterization to identify a passage that has high emotional impact, relating to the journey along the Middle Passage during the slave trade. As culminating assessments, students will present their group's textual analysis to the class.

  • Protecting Our Dunes: An environmental conservation group is asked to plant vegetation on existing sand dunes in South Florida to reduce the erosion of the dunes. Group members must decide which vegetation is best to plant.

    Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

  • Lola's Landscaping MEA: In this Model Eliciting Activity, MEA, students are asked to develop a procedure to fit the most amount of rectangular prism plant packages on one sheet of cardboard, using nets and surface area.

    Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. Click here to learn more about MEAs and how they can transform your classroom.

  • Storm Window Treatments: In this Model Eliciting Activity (MEA), students will be asked to analyze a given set of data to determine the best storm window treatments for a local company to use when building a new homes. Students will be asked to write a letter to the company explaining how they ranked the storm window treatments.

    Model Eliciting Activities, MEAs, are open-ended, interdisciplinary problem-solving activities that are meant to reveal students’ thinking about the concepts embedded in realistic situations. MEAs resemble engineering problems and encourage students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models. Students work in teams to apply their knowledge of science and mathematics to solve an open-ended problem while considering constraints and tradeoffs. Students integrate their ELA skills into MEAs as they are asked to clearly document their thought processes. MEAs follow a problem-based, student-centered approach to learning, where students are encouraged to grapple with the problem while the teacher acts as a facilitator. To learn more about MEAs visit: https://www.cpalms.org/cpalms/mea.aspx

  • Arguing for the Sake of WINNING!: In this lesson, students will use the topic of "Banning Cell Phones in Schools" to practice identifying a topic, exploring the PROS and CONS of the topic, identifying arguments, and then supporting those arguments with details and evidence. Students will write a claim and will choose effective supporting evidence to support their claims as they write an argumentative letter.

  • Counting down from 11: Character's Perspective in "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros:

    In this lesson, students will read the short story "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros to collect text evidence about the character’s perspective on her birthday and age. After collecting text evidence, students will develop their own claim about the character’s perspective in the story through discussion and writing.

  • Planning and Producing Plot: Students will plan a fictional narrative focusing on the parts of the plot diagram- exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. They will create a storyboard to illustrate each element of their fictional narrative.

  • Positive Steps: Using The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens: In this multi-day lesson, students will work collaboratively to conduct brief research and create a presentation on one of the habits, from the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. After sharing their multimedia presentations with the class, students will determine which one is most important to them personally. Students will write a response to explain how that habit can provide a positive personal impact.

Teaching Idea
  • Creative Writing Through Wordless Picture Books: Wordless picture books can help students who struggle with writing narratives. In this teaching idea,"Creative Writing Through Wordless Picture Books" by Dr. Laurie A. Henry through ReadWriteThink.org, students verbally create stories to accompany wordless picture books. They then transfer their stories to writing by first attaching sticky notes to pages and later combining the sticky notes to form the complete narratives. This teaching idea also links to an online interactive story map, which might be helpful for students as they work to generate story ideas.

Tutorials
  • Personification: Cowbirds: In this tutorial from PBS, students will explore the power of personification in non-fiction while analyzing an author's treatment of his subject in a documentary on cowbirds. They will be able to read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities as they begin to understand how this work uses human motives and emotions to tell the cowbird's story.

  • Symbolism: Keely's Mountain: In this interactive lesson from PBS, students will read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities as they begin to recognize and understand the relationship between symbolism and one's sense of identity.

Unit/Lesson Sequences
  • Unit Plan for Tru Confessions: Two Wishes to Accomplish: Tru Confessions is the story of Tru, a teenager whose brother Eddie has special needs. Tru writes in her journal about her wish to find a cure for Eddie and to have her own television show. In this unit, students will examine factors that influence how families, classmates, and people in the community perceive and interact with children with developmental disabilities as they work to summarize key details and events from the text, analyze ways in which the author unfolds the plot, and explain how the author develops the point of view of the narrator and discuss how the text’s characters change.

  • A Study of "America Street: A Multicultural Anthology of Stories": This is a sixth grade unit using the collection of short stories in "America Street: A Multicultural Anthology of Stories" by Anne Mazer. Students will examine point of view, multiple perspectives, character development, and setting in these varied texts. This unit includes a complete packet with graphic organizers, a pacing guide, and an assessment with answer key and possible student responses.

  • Investigating a Mystery in "Chasing Vermeer": This sixth grade unit is based on the mystery novel Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett. Students will analyze clues and motives, study plot, and make predictions while learning about the artist Johannes Vermeer. It includes a complete packet with creative activities, graphic organizers, a pacing guide, and an assessment with answer key and possible student responses.
  • A Study of Science and Fantasy Fiction in A Wrinkle in Time: This is a sixth grade unit on the sci-fi novel A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle. Students will examine the characteristics of scientific and futuristic fiction including vocabulary, setting, and plot development. This unit includes a complete packet with graphic organizers, a pacing guide, and an assessment with answer key and possible student responses.

  • Exploring Verse Novels with "Keeping the Night Watch" and "Chess Rumble" : This is a sixth grade unit on the verse novels Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith and Chess Rumble by G. Neri. This unit explores narrative and lyric poetry, figurative language, author's purpose, voice, and symbolism. It includes games, graphic organizers, and a complete student packet, and includes a pacing guide and assessment with sample student answers.
  • Figurative Language in "Home of the Brave" by Katherine Applegate: This is a sixth grade unit on the verse novel Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate. This unit explores narrative and lyric poetry, figurative language, author's purpose, voice, and symbolism. It is rich with games, graphic organizers, and a complete student packet and includes a pacing guide and assessment with sample student answers.

  • Drawing Conclusions and Solving Mysteries in “Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy”: This is a sixth grade unit on the mystery novel Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy by Wendelin Van Draanen. Students will analyze characters, study the plot, make predictions, and draw conclusions to solve a mystery in this forensic-themed unit. This unit includes a complete packet with graphic organizers, a pacing guide, and an assessment with answer key and possible student responses.
  • Analyzing Characters and Making Predictions in "Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief": This is a sixth grade unit on the mystery novel Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief by Wendelin Van Draanen. Students will analyze characters, study the plot, and make predictions in this forensic-themed unit. This unit includes a complete packet with graphic organizers, a pacing guide, and an assessment with answer key and possible student responses.

  • "The House on Mango Street": A Short Story Unit Examining Point of View, Perspective, and Plot: This is a sixth grade unit using the short stories in The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros to identify point of view, interpret a character's perspective, and utilize plot elements to retell a story. This unit includes several graphic organizers, an assessment, and an answer key with sample responses.

  • Examining an Autobiography: "The Lost Garden" by Laurence Yep: This is a sixth grade unit on Laurence Yep's autobiography, The Lost Garden. Students analyze author's purpose and the key characteristics of an autobiography. This unit contains a student packet, pacing guide, and an assessment with answer key and sample student responses. In addition, this unit includes instructional techniques such as a PIES chart, a T chart, and more!
  • Analyzing an Autobiography through "Rosa Parks: My Story": This sixth grade unit on Rosa Parks is a thorough examination of an autobiographical novel and includes the study of author's purpose, main idea, and fact and opinion. It includes a student packet, graphic organizers, a pacing guide, and a unit assessment with sample responses.
  • Analyzing the Mystery Novel "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin: This is a sixth grade unit on the mystery novel "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin. Students will analyze the character's motives, identify clues to solve the mystery, make predictions about the conclusion, and identify 'red herrings'. This unit on detective fiction includes a complete packet with graphic organizers, a pacing guide, and an assessment with answer key.