Unit Plan 3 (Grade 6 ELA): Character, Setting, and Plot Structure
Grade 6 literature analysis unit: students examine how plot unfolds, how characters respond and change, and how an author’s word choice shapes tone and meaning. They map episodes, track character arcs, and analyze how scenes advance the story’s overall structure and theme.
Focus: How plot unfolds; how characters respond/change; word choice & tone
Grade Level: 6
Subject Area: English Language Arts (Reading Literature)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 45–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Readers dig into how stories work: the sequence of plot episodes, the ways characters respond and change, and how an author’s word choice shapes meaning and tone. Students also examine how a sentence/chapter/scene fits into a text’s overall structure and advances plot, setting, or theme. By Friday, they will map plot events, track character change, analyze diction and tone, and explain how a part contributes to the whole.
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to…
- Describe how a story’s plot unfolds in episodes and how characters respond or change as it moves toward resolution (RL.6.3).
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases (including figurative and connotative) and analyze the impact of word choice on meaning and tone (RL.6.4).
- Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, or scene fits into the overall structure and contributes to the development of theme, setting, or plot (RL.6.5).
Standards Alignment — CCSS Grade 6
- Reading Literature 6.3 (RL.6.3): Describe how a particular story’s or drama’s plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.
- Reading Literature 6.4 (RL.6.4): Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
- Reading Literature 6.5 (RL.6.5): Analyze how a particular sentence, chapter, scene, or stanza fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the theme, setting, or plot.
Success Criteria — student language
- I can map the plot into clear episodes and label the turning point.
- I can explain how/why a character changes and point to moments that show it.
- I can define tricky words by context and explain how diction affects tone.
- I can tell how a scene/chapter pushes the plot, setting, or theme forward.