Unit Materials for 6th Grade English
Explore the texts and supporting materials used in each unit of 6th Grade English.
Need to purchase texts for this course?
You can request a current spreadsheet with all unit texts needed to teach Fishtank ELA for the 2025-26 school year by emailing [email protected].
Fishtank Learning partners with two text vendors who offer convenient ordering options for a school or district adoption: The Reading Warehouse and Mackin. You can request an introduction to the appropriate representative by emailing [email protected].
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Finding Your Way: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963
Core Texts
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Book: The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis (Yearling, 1997) — 920L
Supporting Texts
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Poem: “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes
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Video: “President John F. Kennedy's Civil Rights Address” by C-SPAN (YouTube)
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Transcript: “Radio and Television Report to the American People on Civil Rights” by John F. Kennedy
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Photo: At Segregated Drinking Fountain, Mobile, Alabama by Gordon Parks (the High Museum of Art)
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Photo: Department Store, Mobile, Alabama by Gordon Parks (the High Museum of Art)
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Photo: Outside Looking In, Mobile, Alabama by Gordon Parks (the High Museum of Art)
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Photo: Segregated Birmingham Streetcar by Birmingham Public Library Archives (The Encyclopedia of Alabama)
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Poem: “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall
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Book: White Water by Michael S. Bandy and Eric Stein; illustrated by Shadra Stickland (Candlewick)
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Challenging Authority: The Giver
Core Texts
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Book: The Giver by Lois Lowry (Clarion Books) — 760L
Supporting Texts
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Article: “Dark Futures: The Power and Purpose of Dystopian Fiction” by Caitlyn Meagher
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Article: “Stories That Challenge Us: Understanding Book Bans” by Caitlyn Meagher
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Article: “A Florida school district banned 'Ban This Book.' Author says that's 'erasure of the highest order' and wants it reinstated” by Chandelis Duster (CNN)
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Article: “The Heavy Cost of Banning Books About Black Children” by Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman
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Article: “Banning Books Isn't Just Morally Wrong. It's Also Unhealthy” by Dr. Sayantani DasGupta
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Article: “What role are parents playing in the rise of book bans?” by Cody Mello-Klein
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Expressing Yourself: Women in the Arts
Core Texts
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Book: Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland (Touchstone, 2014)
Supporting Texts
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Article: “The Guerrilla Girls: 'We upend the art world's notion of what's good and what's right'” by Nadja Sayej (The Guardian)
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Video: “Guerrilla Girls – 'You Have to Question What You See' | Artist Interview” by Tate Museum (YouTube)
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Article: “Favianna Rodríguez: 'Artists are Risk Takers and Truth Speakers'” by Firuzeh Shokooh Valle (Global Voices)
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Video: “Printmaking with Favianna Rodriguez” (PBS (2014))
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Article: “The Black Woman Artist Who Crafted a Life She Was Told She Couldn't Have” by Concepción de León (The New York Times)
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Poem: “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou
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Website: Ruth Asawa
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Article: How Did Maria Tallchief Become America's First Prima Ballerina?
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Article: “Misty Copeland Launches Her Own Foundation and Free After-School Program” by Ashley Brandt (Pointe Magazine)
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Video: “Misty Copeland's new foundation focuses on diversity, equity in dance” by Fox 5 New York (YouTube)
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Article: “The Enduring Legacy of Ruth Asawa's Mesmerizing Sculptures” by Daria Simone Harper (Artsy)
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Video: “Ruth Asawa: Objects & Apparitions” by Christie's (YouTube)
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Article: Beyond the Canvas: Identity and Justice in Jaune Quick-to-See Smith’s Art
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Video: “What's in a map? Reading the United 'States'” by Smarthistory (YouTube)
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Video: “Meet Jaune Quick-To-See Smith” by Smithsonian American Art Museum (YouTube)
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Painting: State Names (Smithsonian American Art Museum)
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Finding Connection: The Outsiders
Core Texts
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Book: The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (Speak, 2006) — 750L
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lnfographic: Teens & Peer Pressure Infographic by Fishtank Staff
Supporting Texts
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Movie: The Outsiders
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Poem: “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost (poets.org)
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Article: “Teen-Agers Are for Real” by Susan Hinton (The New York Times)
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Video: “Typical Teenagers Talk About Teenage Life In 1966” by Global Image Works (YouTube)
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Article: “Are You Following the Herd?” by Holly Corbett (Scholastic)
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Assessment Text: “Brothers” (Growing Up | ReadWorks)
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Assessment Text: “I AM 17. I HAVE A LOT TO SAY.” by Jackson Holbert (The Poetry Foundation)
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Poem: “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
Fleeing Conflict: Refugee & The Unwanted
Core Texts
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Book: Refugee by Alan Gratz (Scholastic, Inc., 2017) — 800L
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Book: The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees by Don Brown (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2018)
Supporting Texts
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Poem: “Refugees” by Brian Bilston
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Article: “What Is a Refugee?” by Abbas Hasan (ReadWorks)
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Video: “Refugees: The Shared Story of Harry and Ahmed” by UNICEF USA (YouTube)
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Article: “U.N. Refugee Agency Deputy On The Humanitarian Crisis In Syria” by NPR
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Article: “What Will Winter Bring for Syria's Refugees?” by Meghan Collins Sullivan, Mary Louise Kelly (NPR)
- Resource: Recommended Texts for Independent Reading
