Pennsylvania Standards
Pennsylvania 6th Grade ELA Standards
All 54 Pennsylvania English language arts standards for 6th grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Pennsylvania Department of Education's document, linked at the end of this page.
54 standards
Reading Informational Text
12 standardsCC.1.2.6.A
Find the main point of an article or other nonfiction piece, show which details get it across, and write a summary that leaves out your own views.
CC.1.2.6.B
Quote or point to exact passages in a nonfiction text to back up what it states directly and the inferences or broad conclusions you draw from it.
CC.1.2.6.C
Trace closely how a nonfiction text first presents an important person, event or idea and then builds it out with examples and further detail.
CC.1.2.6.D
Figure out an author's purpose or stance in a nonfiction text and point to the places where it shows.
CC.1.2.6.E
Analyze how an author breaks a nonfiction text into paragraphs, chapters or sections and what job each part does in the whole.
CC.1.2.6.F
Work out what words and phrases mean in sixth-grade nonfiction from how they are used, including figurative language like calling a busy city a beehive.
CC.1.2.6.G
Pull together information from words, pictures, charts and other formats to build one clear understanding of a topic.
CC.1.2.6.H
Judge an author's argument by checking each claim and deciding whether real evidence backs it up.
CC.1.2.6.I
Study how two authors cover similar information in different kinds of writing, like an encyclopedia entry and a magazine feature.
CC.1.2.6.J
Learn and use grade-level academic and subject words, and look up any word that matters to understanding or expressing an idea.
CC.1.2.6.K
Figure out new or multiple-meaning words in sixth-grade nonfiction by picking the right tool, like context clues, Greek and Latin roots, or a dictionary.
CC.1.2.6.L
Read and understand sixth-grade nonfiction, like articles, biographies and essays, on your own and with skill.
Reading Literature
11 standardsCC.1.3.6.A
Figure out a story's theme, show which details carry it, and summarize the plot without adding your own opinions.
CC.1.3.6.B
Back up what a story says outright, and what you infer or generalize from it, with quoted lines and specific details from the text.
CC.1.3.6.C
Describe how a story or play moves from one episode to the next and how the characters react or change as the plot heads toward its ending.
CC.1.3.6.D
Figure out why an author wrote a story or poem and show the places in the text where that purpose comes through.
CC.1.3.6.E
Analyze how the way a story, play or poem is built, like its chapters, scenes or stanzas, helps shape its theme, setting and plot.
CC.1.3.6.F
Interpret figurative language in a sixth-grade story or poem, like a simile or personification, and work out what other words mean from how they are used.
CC.1.3.6.G
Compare reading a story, play or poem with hearing an audiobook or watching a film or stage version, including how what you picture differs from what you see and hear.
CC.1.3.6.H
Compare how works in different forms or genres, like a poem and a fantasy novel, treat a similar theme or topic and use elements like setting or point of view.
CC.1.3.6.I
Pin down unfamiliar or multiple-meaning words in a sixth-grade story or poem using context, word parts, a dictionary or a glossary, whichever fits best.
CC.1.3.6.J
Learn and use grade-level academic and subject words, and look up any word that matters to understanding or expressing an idea.
CC.1.3.6.K
Read sixth-grade novels, short stories and plays on your own and understand them well.
Writing
24 standardsCC.1.4.6.A
Write reports and explanations that dig into a topic and lay out its ideas and facts clearly, like a report on how volcanoes form.
CC.1.4.6.B
Open an informational piece by naming the topic in a way that suits the readers it is written for.
CC.1.4.6.C
Build out a report's topic with fitting facts, definitions, details, quotations and examples, adding charts, pictures or media when they help readers understand.
CC.1.4.6.D
Arrange an explanation by defining, classifying, comparing or showing cause and effect, link ideas with transitions, use headings where helpful, and conclude.
CC.1.4.6.E
Write explanations in a formal style and steady voice, with exact subject vocabulary and sentences that vary in length and complexity.
CC.1.4.6.F
Use correct grammar, capitalization, punctuation and spelling for sixth grade in reports and explanations, like keeping pronouns in the right case.
CC.1.4.6.G
Write arguments that defend a position with reasons, like an essay on whether the school day should start later.
CC.1.4.6.H
Open an argument by introducing the topic and stating clearly where you stand on it.
CC.1.4.6.I
Back a claim with clear reasons and evidence from trustworthy sources, showing that you understand the topic well.
CC.1.4.6.J
Lay out an argument so the claim, reasons and evidence follow in order, link them with words like because or therefore, and end with a conclusion that fits.
CC.1.4.6.K
Argue in a formal style and a consistent voice, choosing exact words and topic vocabulary and mixing short, long, simple and complex sentences.
CC.1.4.6.L
Edit opinion essays so grammar, capitalization, punctuation and spelling meet sixth-grade expectations, like using commas or dashes to set off an extra detail.
CC.1.4.6.M
Write stories, true or made up, that bring an experience or series of events to life, like a personal narrative about a first day at a new school.
CC.1.4.6.N
Begin a story by hooking the reader, setting the scene and introducing the narrator or main characters.
CC.1.4.6.O
Bring a story to life with dialogue, description and pacing, plus exact word choices and sensory details that let readers see, hear and feel the events.
CC.1.4.6.P
Order a story's events so they flow logically, use varied transitions like later that night to mark changes in time or place, and close with a fitting ending.
CC.1.4.6.Q
Shape a story's style by varying sentence patterns to hold interest, choosing exact words and keeping the narrator's voice consistent.
CC.1.4.6.R
Proofread stories for sixth-grade grammar, capitalization, punctuation and spelling, like catching a pronoun that shifts from I to you by mistake.
CC.1.4.6.S
Pull evidence from stories and nonfiction to support written analysis, reflection and research, using the reading skills taught in sixth grade.
CC.1.4.6.T
Improve a piece of writing by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or starting fresh, with help from classmates and adults.
CC.1.4.6.U
Use the internet and other technology to write, publish and work with others, and type at least three pages in one sitting.
CC.1.4.6.V
Run a short research project that answers a question from several sources and narrows the question when the findings call for it.
CC.1.4.6.W
Gather information from print and online sources, judge whether each source is trustworthy, quote or paraphrase without plagiarizing and list where it came from.
CC.1.4.6.X
Write regularly, from a report built over several days to a journal entry finished in one class, for different subjects, purposes and readers.
Speaking and Listening
7 standardsCC.1.5.6.A
Take part in partner, group and class discussions about sixth-grade topics and texts, adding to what others say and stating your own ideas clearly.
CC.1.5.6.B
Follow a speaker's argument point by point, name the reasons and evidence behind each claim, and spot any claim that has no facts behind it.
CC.1.5.6.C
Explain what a chart, video, speech or other source adds to the topic the class is studying.
CC.1.5.6.D
Present claims and findings in a logical order with facts and details that spotlight the main ideas, making eye contact and speaking clearly and loudly enough.
CC.1.5.6.E
Adjust how you speak to fit the situation, like talking casually with friends but formally when presenting a report.
CC.1.5.6.F
Add images, sound, video or charts to a presentation when they make the information clearer.
CC.1.5.6.G
Use correct grammar when speaking, at a sixth-grade level, like saying my friend and I went instead of me and my friend went.
The official Pennsylvania documents
- Pennsylvania Core Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics · adopted February 2014 · since March 2014
The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of Pennsylvania's standards, not the official wording, which Pennsylvania Department of Education publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.