CurriculumGrade 6English Language Arts

Reading Tougher Nonfiction

Aligned to RI.6.10 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

What this lesson teaches

Grade 6 nonfiction — essays, articles, and true stories — packs dense facts and vocabulary. Build comprehension by previewing headings, pausing to summarize, and using text features like captions and charts.

Worked example

Before reading a science article, a reader skims the headings and bold terms, then after each section says the gist aloud: 'this part explains why volcanoes erupt.' Previewing plus pausing keeps a dense text from overwhelming.

Practice questions

  1. Preview an article's title, headings, and any charts before reading.
  2. After each section, write one sentence naming its main point.
  3. Use a caption or chart to clarify something the text alone left fuzzy.

Watch the lesson

Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.

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En español

Leer Textos Informativos mas Dificiles

Los textos informativos de sexto grado — ensayos, articulos e historias reales — traen datos y vocabulario densos. Desarrolla la comprension dando un vistazo a los titulos, deteniendote a resumir y usando elementos como pies de foto y graficas.

Ejemplo: Antes de leer un articulo de ciencias, un lector revisa los titulos y las palabras en negrita, y despues de cada seccion dice la idea en voz alta: 'esta parte explica por que hacen erupcion los volcanes'. Dar un vistazo y hacer pausas evita que un texto denso abrume.

More Reading: Informational lessons

Evaluating an Author's ArgumentRI.6.8Evidence in NonfictionRI.6.1Central Idea and SummaryRI.6.2How Ideas Are DevelopedRI.6.3Meaning of Words in NonfictionRI.6.4How Text Structure Builds IdeasRI.6.5

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