Oral language, vocabulary, reading habits and, in the early grades, phonics, spelling, fluency and handwriting: the building blocks of reading and writing.
6.1 Foundations (oral language): build spoken communication through listening, speaking, and group discussion
6.1A Listen closely to understand a message, pose clarifying questions, and reply suitably
6.1B Carry out and give spoken directions that involve several steps
6.1C Deliver an organized presentation taking a clear stance, using eye contact, pacing, volume, clear enunciation, natural gestures, and language conventions
6.1D Join student-led discussions by drawing out and weighing group members' ideas, taking notes, and naming points of agreement and disagreement
6.2 Foundations (vocabulary): use newly learned words in speech and writing
6.2A Use print or digital references to find a word's meaning, syllables, pronunciation, origin, and part of speech
6.2B Use context clues like definitions, analogies, and examples to clarify word meanings
6.2C Work out the meaning and use of academic English words at grade level that come from Greek and Latin roots, for example jur/jus, vac, scrib/script, bene, man, mis/mit
6.3 Foundations (fluency): read grade-level text smoothly with understanding, adjusting fluency to the reading purpose
6.3A Vary reading fluency to fit the purpose for reading grade-level text
6.4 Foundations (independent reading): read grade-appropriate texts on one's own
6.4A Pick texts and read on one's own for long, uninterrupted stretches
Comprehension Skills
Using reading strategies to understand, summarize and make sense of what students read and hear.
6.5 Comprehension: use metacognitive strategies to build and deepen understanding of increasingly complex texts
6.5A Set a reading goal for texts that are assigned or self-chosen
6.5B Ask questions about a text prior to, while, and following reading, to deepen understanding and gather information
6.5C Make predictions, then correct or confirm them using text features, genre characteristics, and structures
6.5D Form mental images to deepen understanding
6.5E Connect the text to one's own experiences, ideas from other texts, and society
6.5F Draw inferences, backing understanding with evidence from the text
6.5G Weigh the details read to decide which are the key ideas
6.5H Combine information to build new understanding
6.5I Check comprehension and make fixes when understanding falters, for example rereading, drawing on prior knowledge, asking questions, or annotating
Response Skills
Responding to texts in speaking and writing, with evidence and personal connections.
6.6 Response: respond to an increasingly demanding range of sources read, heard, or viewed
6.6A Describe how a range of sources, including texts one chooses independently, connect to one's own life
6.6B Write responses showing understanding of texts, including comparisons of sources within and across genres
6.6C Support a suitable response with evidence from the text
6.6D Paraphrase and summarize texts while keeping meaning and logical order
6.6E Engage with sources in purposeful ways, for example notetaking, annotating, freewriting, or illustrating
6.6F Use newly learned vocabulary in responses where fitting
6.6G Discuss and write about the stated and implied meanings of a text
6.6H Respond in speech or writing with suitable register, vocabulary, tone, and voice
6.6I Reflect on responses and adjust them as new evidence comes up
Multiple Genres
Reading and analyzing fiction, poetry, drama, informational texts and media, and what makes each genre work.
6.7 Literary elements: recognize and analyze literary elements within and across texts old and new, classical, and varied
6.7A Infer several themes within and across texts, citing text evidence
6.7B Analyze how characters' inner and outer reactions move the plot forward
6.7C Analyze plot elements: climax, rising action, falling action, resolution, plus non-linear devices like flashback
6.7D Analyze how character and plot development are shaped by settings, among them historical and cultural ones
6.8 Genres: recognize and analyze what defines each genre, its traits, structures, and aims, within and across many kinds of text
6.8A Show familiarity with genres of literature, for example realistic fiction, adventure, historical fiction, mystery, humor, and myth
6.8B Analyze how meter and structural elements like line breaks affect poems across many poetic forms
6.8C Analyze how playwrights build characters through dialogue and staging
6.8D Analyze the traits and structure of informational text, including a controlling idea or thesis backed by evidence, features that give background (for example, introduction, foreword, preface, references), and organizational patterns (for example, definition, classification, advantages and disadvantages)
6.8E Analyze argumentative text: identify the claim, explain how varied evidence supports the argument, and identify the intended audience
6.8F Examine the features of texts that are multimodal or digital
Author's Purpose and Craft
How authors choose words, structure and techniques to inform, persuade and entertain.
6.9 Author's craft: analyze authors' choices and how they shape meaning, and apply craft in one's own products and performances
6.9A Explain an author's purpose and message in a text
6.9B Analyze how text structure supports the author's purpose
6.9C Analyze how an author uses print and graphic features for specific purposes
6.9D Describe how figurative language like metaphor and personification serves an author's purposes
6.9E Identify literary devices an author uses for a purpose, including omniscient and limited narrative perspective
6.9F Analyze how an author's language choices shape mood and voice
6.9G Explain how rhetorical devices differ from logical fallacies
Composition and Writing
Writing process, genres of writing, and the conventions of grammar, usage, punctuation and spelling.
6.10A Plan a first draft by choosing a genre fitting the topic, purpose, and audience, using strategies like personal interests, discussion, and background reading
6.10B Develop drafts into focused, structured, coherent writing: purposeful organization (transitions, an introduction and conclusion, coherence within and between paragraphs); a deep, engaging idea with specific facts and details
6.10C Revise for clearer, better developed and organized writing with stronger style, diction, and varied sentences
6.10D Edit drafts: complete complex sentences (subject-verb agreement; no comma splices, run-ons, fragments); consistent verb tenses; relative pronouns; correlative conjunctions (either/or); proper-noun capitals; commas in complex sentences, after transitions and introductory elements; commonly confused spellings; plus grade 5's adverbs, prepositional phrases, subordinating conjunctions and capitals
6.10E Share finished writing with fitting audiences
6.11 Writing genres: compose meaningful texts using genre characteristics and craft
6.11A Write literary texts, for example personal narratives, fiction, or poetry, applying the characteristics and craft of the genre
6.11B Write informational texts, including essays of multiple paragraphs on a topic, built on a controlling idea or thesis statement that is clear, plus genre craft
6.11C Write multi-paragraph argumentative texts applying genre characteristics and craft
6.11D Write correspondence that gives an opinion, lodges a complaint, or asks for information, in business or friendly format
Inquiry and Research
Asking questions, finding and evaluating sources, and presenting what was learned.
6.12 Inquiry and research: carry out brief and extended recursive inquiry for many purposes
6.12A Pose questions, chosen by students or guided by teachers, for formal and informal inquiry
6.12B Create a research plan and revise it
6.12C Refine the main research question if needed, using answers to secondary questions
6.12D Identify and collect relevant information from varied sources
6.12E Tell primary sources from secondary sources
6.12F Synthesize information from varied sources
6.12G Distinguish paraphrasing from plagiarism when using source materials
6.12H Evaluate sources for credibility, reliability, and bias, and for flawed reasoning, for example hyperbole, emotional appeals, or stereotyping
6.12I Provide academic citations and use sources ethically
6.12J Present results using a suitable delivery mode: written, oral, or multimodal
There are 63 6th Grade TEKS ELAR Standards on this page, in 7 strands: Foundational Language Skills, Comprehension Skills, Response Skills, Multiple Genres, Author's Purpose and Craft, Composition and Writing, and Inquiry and Research.
How do I write an assessment for a 6th Grade TEKS ELAR standard?
Pick a standard on this page and choose Make a quiz or Make an exit ticket. AssessmentWiz opens the generator with the standard's code and text filled in, so every question targets that standard.
What does a code like 6.1A mean?
TEKS ELAR codes read grade, knowledge and skills statement, student expectation. In 6.1A, the first number is the grade (K for kindergarten), the next number is the knowledge and skills statement, and the letter is the student expectation under it.