Ireland · NCCA Curriculum Specifications
6th Class Voices and Visions: Advanced Literacy for 6th Class
This course prepares students for the transition to secondary school by deepening their critical engagement with complex texts and diverse writing styles. Students refine their ability to analyze authorial intent, master persuasive communication, and explore the nuances of digital and traditional media.
The Power of Narrative and Character
Students explore how authors build complex worlds and characters through descriptive language and structural choices.
Analyzing how characters change over time in response to conflict and internal growth.
Examining how the physical and social environment influences the mood and plot of a story.
Investigating how flashbacks, foreshadowing, and pacing affect the reader's experience.
Persuasion, Argument, and Rhetoric
Focusing on the art of influence, students learn to identify bias and construct logical, evidence-based arguments.
Learning to distinguish between objective facts and subjective opinions in media and advertisements.
Developing oral communication skills through structured arguments and rebuttals.
Crafting persuasive letters and articles aimed at solving local or global issues.
Poetry and the Power of Imagery
Students deconstruct poetic forms and use figurative language to express complex emotions and ideas.
Exploring how poets use symbols to represent abstract concepts like freedom, grief, or joy.
Analyzing the auditory qualities of poetry and how they influence the reader's mood.
Focusing on the oral tradition of poetry through recitation and slam poetry techniques.
Information Literacy and Research
Students learn to navigate the digital world, evaluating sources and synthesizing information for reports.
Developing criteria to judge the reliability of websites, articles, and social media posts.
Learning to combine facts from different texts to create a cohesive and original report.
Analyzing how charts, maps, and infographics supplement and clarify written information.
The Craft of the Playwright
Students explore drama as a literary form, focusing on subtext, stage directions, and performance.
Understanding what characters mean versus what they actually say in a dramatic script.
Transforming a short story or novel excerpt into a functional script for performance.
Developing the vocabulary to analyze and review theatrical or filmed performances.