Unit Materials for 6th Grade English

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Finding Your Way: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963

Core Texts

Book: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis (Yearling, 1997) — 920L

Supporting Texts

Article: “Siblings Share Genes, But Rarely Personalities” by Alix Spiegel (NPR)
Article: “'Segregation Forever': A Fiery Pledge Forgiven, But Not Forgotten” (NPR.org, 2013) (produced by by Samara Freemark and Joe Richman, NPR)
Audio Interview: 'Green Book' Helped African Americans Travel Safely (NPR.org, 2010)
Book: The Negro Motorist Green Book, 1949 Edition (Victor H. Green & Co., Publishers, 1949)
Photo: At Segregated Drinking Fountain, Mobile, Alabama (Birmingham Museum of Art) (from "In Living Color" by Brandon Call)
Photo: Department Store, Mobile, Alabama, 1956 by Gordon Parks (The Gordon Parks Foundation)
Photo: Outside Looking In, Mobile, Alabama, 1956 by Gordon Parks (The Gordon Parks Foundation)
Photo: Segregated Laundry Service by Birmingham Public Library Archives (Encyclopedia of Alabama)
Poem: “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes (Poetry Foundation, 2017)
Poem: “The Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall (Cities Burning, Broadside Press, 1968)
Short Story: “The Drive-In Movies”
Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading

Challenging Authority: The Giver

Core Texts

Book: The Giver by Lois Lowry (HMH Books for Young Readers, 1993) — 760L

Supporting Texts

Article: “Dystopias: Definition and Characteristics” by ReadWriteThink (ReadWriteThink)
Article: “The Harmful Effects of Too Much Screen Time for Kids” by Amy Morin, LCSW (Parents)
Article: “Less Screen Time Means a Better Mind and Body for Kids” by Katherine Lee (Parents)
Article: “Why the screen babysitter is worse than you think” by Baltimore Sun Editorial Board (The Baltimore Sun)
Article: “Kids Must Learn to Control Their Own Screen Time” by John Keilman (Chicago Tribune)
Article: “Don't Limit Your Teen's Screen Time” by Chris Bergman (The New York Times)
Article: “The History Of The Dystopian Novel Actually Begins With A Book About Utopia” by Charlotte Ahlin (Adapted by Fishtank ELA Staff.)
Assessment Text: “Examination Day” by Henry Slesar (CommonLit)
Video: “How to recognize a dystopia - Alex Gendler” by TED-Ed (YouTube)
Video: “3 Fears about screen time for kids—and why they're not true” by Sarah DeWitt (TED)
Video: “3 Fears about screen time for kids—and why they're not true (transcript)” by Sarah DeWitt (TED)
Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading

Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts

Core Texts

Book: Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland (Touchstone, 2014)

Supporting Texts

Article: “The Guerrilla Girls: 'We upend the art world's notion of what's good and what's right” by Nadja Sayej
Article: “Favianna Rodríguez: 'Artists are Risk Takers and Truth Speakers'” by Firuzeh Shokooh Valle
Article: “The Black Woman Artist Who Crafted a Life She Was Told She Couldn't Have” by Concepción de León
Article: “A Woman of Two Worlds” by Jennifer L. Bender
Article: “Misty Copeland Launches Her Own Foundation and Free After-School Program” by Ashley Brandt (Pointe Magazine)
Article: “The Enduring Legacy of Ruth Asawa's Mesmerizing Sculptures” by Daria Simone Harper (Artsy)
Article: “'It's like we don't exist': Jaune Quick-to-See Smith on Native American artists” by Nadja Sayej (The Guardian)
Article: “Gee's Bend Quiltmakers” (Souls Grown Deep)
Article: “Interview with Mary Lee Bendolph and Lucy Mingo by Josephine Reed for the NEA” by Josephine Reed (Excerpt titled "Recognition As An Art Form")
Painting: State Names (Smithsonian American Art Museum)
Poem: “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou
Video: “Guerrilla Girls – 'You Have to Question What You See': Artist Interview” by Tate Museum (Youtube)
Video: “Printmaking with Favianna Rodriguez” (PBS (2014))
Video: “Misty Copeland's new foundation focuses on diversity, equity in dance” by Fox 5 New York (YouTube)
Video: “Ruth Asawa: Objects & Apparitions” by Christie's (YouTube)
Video: “What's in a map? Reading the United 'States'” by Smarthistory (YouTube)
Video: “Meet Jaune Quick-To-See Smith” by Smithsonian American Art Museum (YouTube)
Video: “How a Group of Women in This Small Alabama Town Perfected the Art of Quilting | Op-Docs” by The New York Times (YouTube)
Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading

Finding Connection: The Outsiders

Core Texts

Book: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (Speak, 2006) — 750L
Infographic: Teens & Peer Pressure Infographic by Fishtank Staff

Supporting Texts

Movie: The Outsiders
Poem: “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost (poets.org)
Article: “Teen-Agers Are for Real” by S.E. Hinton (The New York Times)
Video: “Typical Teenagers Talk About Teenage Life In 1966” by Global Image Works (YouTube)
Article: “Are You Following the Herd?” by Holly Corbett (Scholastic)
Assessment Text: “Brothers” (Growing Up | ReadWorks)
Assessment Text: “I AM 17. I HAVE A LOT TO SAY.” by Jackson Holbert (The Poetry Foundation)
Poem: “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks
Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading

Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted

Core Texts

Book: Refugee by Alan Gratz (Scholastic, Inc., 2017) — 800L
Book: The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2018)

Supporting Texts

Poem: “Refugees” by Brian Bilston
Article: “What Is a Refugee?” by Abbas Hasan
Video: “Refugees: The Shared Story of Harry and Ahmed” by UNICEF USA (YouTube)
Article: “U.N. Refugee Agency Deputy On The Humanitarian Crisis In Syria” by NPR
Article: “What Will Winter Bring for Syria's Refugees?” by Meghan Collins Sullivan, Mary Louise Kelly (NPR)
Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading

Unit Materials for 6th Grade English

Need to purchase texts for this course?

Finding Your Way: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963

Core Texts

Supporting Texts

Challenging Authority: The Giver

Core Texts

Supporting Texts

Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts

Core Texts

Supporting Texts

Finding Connection: The Outsiders

Core Texts

Supporting Texts

Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted

Core Texts

Supporting Texts

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