Year 6 English skills

understand that language varies as levels of formality and social distance increase

understand the uses of objective and subjective language, and identify bias

explain how texts across the curriculum are typically organised into characteristic stages and phases depending on purposes, recognising how authors often adapt text structures and language features

understand that cohesion can be created by the intentional use of repetition, and the use of word associations

understand how embedded clauses can expand the variety of complex sentences to elaborate, extend and explain ideas

understand how ideas can be expanded and sharpened through careful choice of verbs, elaborated tenses and a range of adverb groups

identify and explain how images, figures, tables, diagrams, maps and graphs contribute to meaning

identify authors’ use of vivid, emotive vocabulary, such as metaphors, similes, personification, idioms, imagery and hyperbole

understand how to use the comma for lists, to separate a dependent clause from an independent clause, and in dialogue

identify responses to characters and events in literary texts, drawn from historical, social or cultural contexts, by First Nations Australian, and wide-ranging Australian and world authors

identify similarities and differences in literary texts on similar topics, themes or plots

identify and explain characteristics that define an author's individual style

explain the way authors use sound and imagery to create meaning and effect in poetry

create and edit literary texts that adapt plot structure, characters, settings and/or ideas from texts students have experienced, and experiment with literary devices

examine texts including media texts that represent ideas and events, and identify how they reflect the context in which they were created

use interaction skills and awareness of formality when paraphrasing, questioning, clarifying and interrogating ideas, developing and supporting arguments, and sharing and evaluating information, experiences and opinions

analyse how text structures and language features work together to meet the purpose of a text, and engage and influence audiences

select, navigate and read texts for a range of purposes, monitoring meaning and evaluating the use of structural features; for example, table of contents, glossary, chapters, headings and subheadings

use comprehension strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising, monitoring and questioning to build literal and inferred meaning, and to connect and compare content from a variety of sources

plan, create, edit and publish written and multimodal texts whose purposes may be imaginative, informative and persuasive, using paragraphs, a variety of complex sentences, expanded verb groups, tense, topic-specific and vivid vocabulary, punctuation, spelling and visual features

plan, create, rehearse and deliver spoken and multimodal presentations that include information, arguments and details that develop a theme or idea, organising ideas using precise topic-specific and technical vocabulary, pitch, tone, pace, volume, and visual and digital features

use phonic knowledge of common and less common grapheme-phoneme relationships to read and write increasingly complex words

use knowledge of known words, word origins including some Latin and Greek roots, base words, prefixes, suffixes, letter patterns and spelling generalisations to spell new words including technical words