6th Grade Reading Lessons: Plans for Parents and Teachers

Planning Lessons for 6th Grade Reading

Deciding What Lessons Are Needed

As a teacher, if you've started noticing that you're having more classroom management issues than usual during reading lessons, consider the following questions. Are you teaching texts that are too easy or too hard? Are you providing meaningful activities to accompany reading lessons? Do your students enjoy the books they're reading in class? Does each lesson have a mix of activities?

At times, students act up in class because the material is too easy (boring), or too hard (frustrating). Take another look at reading scores and the reading level of the books to determine if you need to adjust the curriculum. You may want to select books from a 6th-grade reading list, which may be available at your public library or online.

If it's necessary to stick with the same texts, you can modify the activities and assignments. Choose meaningful activities that help children engage in the lesson. Hands-on activities are usually exciting for kids. These same principles can be applied at home. Engage your child with reading rather than approaching it simply as another educational requirement.

Reading Comprehension

In 6th grade, students read a variety of genres of literature as well as many informational texts. Your child needs to be able to understand what he or she reads in all subjects, not just English and language arts.

One of the most effective ways to teach reading comprehension at home is to encourage reading for fun. If you haven't already, make time each day where everybody at home reads a book that isn't associated with school. You can lead by example by reading your own materials.

Alternatively, read some of the same texts as your 6th grader, and discuss them together. Ask your child questions like, 'What are the internal and external conflicts in this story?' By 6th grade, implied meaning must be understood. So, when the meaning of a narrative is in the subtext, be sure to go over it thoroughly with your child in order to ensure that she or he gets it.