What do the sixth grade language standards mean?

There are many big ideas and key concepts that are expected of sixth graders in English Language Arts. The following is a breakdown of what the standards might actually mean.

When a standard states that a student will "demonstrate control" of Standard English, what does that really mean? 

The standard means that students should recognize the eight parts of speech correctly and effectively. It also means that students must be able to use correct capitalization and punctuation to  help make their writing clear. And finally,  they need to know how to spell correctly. All of these are difficult tasks. So how do we teach them?

The second language standard says that students must use different strategies to determine a word's meaning. Okay? Does this mean that we need to have a school-wide vocabulary program?

Yes. I believe that every school should adopt some sort of school-wide vocabulary program. This program should teach both domain-specific words and grade-level words. This program should be a jumping start for SAT and ACT vocabulary.

What does the standard mean when it says that students should proofread their papers for correct usage? It means that students need to check the following:

correct modifier usage

correct verb usage

correct pronoun usage

fragments and run-on sentences

correct spelling

correct punctuation

correct capitalization

correct manuscript style

What do I do when I want to correct my modifier usage?

I need to read a final text to identify and correct errors in comparison and placement.

What is a modifier?

A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that makes the meaning of a word or word group more specific.

There are two types of modifiers: adjectives and adverbs

One-Word Modifiers:

Adjectives make the meanings of nouns or pronouns more specific.

Examples:

That one is my favorite

Does Stephen know the secret combination?

Esteban has saved more money that I have.

Four horses grazed peacefully at the bottom of the hill.

Adverbs make the meanings of verbs, adjectives, and adverbs more specific.

Examples:

The car backfired loudly.

The painting is quite old.

The bear traveled surprisingly quickly.

How are modifiers used as comparisons? If you have ever played twenty questions, then you have used modifiers to make comparisons.

Is it smaller than an ambulance?

A comparison shows how two or more things are alike or different.

One way we compare is by changing the forms of modifiers.

A scooter is smaller than an ambulance but bigger than a skate.

What are the degrees of comparisons?

A modifier can have three different degrees or forms.

Positive

Comparison 

Superlative

Those flowers are pretty.

They're prettier than the ones we saw yesterday.

They're the prettiest flowers I've ever seen.

The positive degree is the most basic form of comparison.

Lisa is a young girl.

The balloon climbed high into the air.

The comparative degree compares one thing or action with another.

Lisa is younger than her brother.

Our balloon climbed higher than the other one.

The superlative degree is used to compare more than two things or actions.

Lisa is the youngest person in her family.

That balloon climbed the highest of all.

The subway would be faster than the bus.

Kendra is the tallest girl on the basketball team.

We arrived at the game early.

Jimmie works more quickly than Kim does.

Most one-syllable modifiers form the comparative degree by adding -er and the superlative degree by adding -est.

Bright, brighter, brightest

Slow, slower, slowest

Cute, cuter, cutest

Here's a way to remember which form of a modifier to use:

When comparing two things, use the two-letter combination (-er).

This knife is sharper than that one.

When comparing three or more things, use the three-letter combination (-est).

That knife is sharpest of all.

Some two-syllable modifiers form the comparative by adding -er or by adding "more."

Some two-syllable modifiers form the superlative form by adding -est to the word or by adding "most."

fancy, fancier, fanciest

easy, easier, easiest

often, more often, most often

cheerful, more cheerful, most cheerful

If a modifier has three or more syllables, form the comparative by adding "more." Form the superlative by adding "most."

Positive: powerful, skillfully, delicate, creatively

Comparative: more powerful, more skillfully, more delicate, more creatively

Superlative: most powerful, most skillfully, most delicate, most creatively

"More" and -er and "most" and -est show increases.

To show decreases in the quality a modifier expresses, use "less" and "least."

The red sweater is less expensive than the gray one.

The pink sweater is the least expensive of all.

Proud, less proud, least proud

Generous, less generous, least generous

Tasty, less tasty, least tasty

Grateful, less grateful, least grateful

The moon is the Earth's nearest neighbor in space.

Seen from the Earth, the full moon is brighter than the new moon.

We notice the moon more frequently when it is full rather than when it is new.

The moons of other planets move more slowly than our moon.

Like one-word modifiers, phrases can also be used as adjectives and adverbs.

The cat with the short tail is my favorite.

Mr. Rodgers planted the new bushes along the fence.

Like words and phrases, clauses can also be used as modifiers.

Spaghetti is the food that I like best.

Before Mario went downstairs, he washed his face and hands.

Ms. Olivarez is the woman on teh left.

The squirrel darted quickly up the tree and hid among the leaves.

Wang Wei was a talented painter of landscapes.

Gabriella can ski faster than I can.

Is this poem the one that you wrote?

The man who has curly hair is my Uncle Thaddeus.

Soon you will need to put the bread in the oven.

Before the performance, the actors practiced their lines and gestures.

mountain biking is the sport that I enjoy most.

Tasmania is an island off the coast of Australia.

A clause is a group of words containing a subject and verb. An independent clause is a simple sentence. It can stand on its own.

She is hungry. I’m feeling well today.

A dependent clause cannot stand on its own. It needs an independent clause to complete a sentence. Dependent clauses often begin with such words as although, since, if, when, and because.

Although she is hungry…

Whoever is hungry…

Because I am feeling well…

A phrase is a group of words with a subject-verb component, used as a single part of speech.

Here is a writing idea. Write down the first word that comes to mind.

A food.

A scent.

Something beautiful.

Basic phrases are grammatical building blocks. They act as a single part of speech. There are four types of phrases. Noun phrases, appositive phrases, verb phrases, and prepositional phrases.

All phrases contain a head that determines the nature of the phrase. The head of a noun phrase is a noun. The head of an appositive phrase is an appositive. The head of a verb phrase is a verb. The head of a prepositional phrase is a preposition.

The term noun phrase is not widely used in traditional grammar. However, the distinction between a noun and noun phrase is quite clearly made in traditional grammar, though in different terminology: simple subject and complete subject. A simple subject in traditional grammar corresponds to a head noun in modern grammar, and a complete subject corresponds to a noun phrase.