Lessons

Grade 6

Lesson

1

:

Learning Understanding from Literature

Lesson
1
:

Learning Understanding from Literature

Grade

Grade 6

UNIT

8

•

Understanding

Last Updated:

June 10, 2025

In Unit 8, Lesson 1, “Learning Understanding from Literature,” students will learn examples of understanding from a contemporary work of young adult literature, The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin. Additionally, students will answer questions to develop their critical thinking skills and advance their academic dialogue skills through class discussion.

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SUGGESTED TIME:

  • The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin has 94 very short chapters and a total of 385 pages. Each chapter is approximately 4 pages long.
  • The suggested reading assignment is 5 chapters per day for either in-class silent reading or homework. 
  • With this schedule, students will complete the book in 19 in-class reading sessions or 19 homework sessions.
  • Students should complete the short-answer questions on the worksheet as they read the book. 
  • Allow at least 50 minutes for a class discussion of the worksheet questions.

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RELATED SUBJECT:

English Language Arts

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LEARNING OUTCOMES:

  • Read a contemporary work of young adult literature 
  • Identify and analyze the book’s central themes and ideas  
  • Identify and analyze the book’s genre, point of view, characters, setting, and plot 
  • Write answers to questions about the book, demonstrating understanding of standard English sentence structure and grammar
  • Engage effectively in collaborative discussions about the book

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REQUIRED MATERIALS:

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ELA COMMON CORE STANDARDS MET

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.1

Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

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CSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.2

Determine a theme or central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.

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CSS.ELA-Literacy.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.

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CSS.ELA-Literacy.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

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CSS.ELA-Literacy.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.

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CSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.6

Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

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CSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.10

By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.1

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.1.A

Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under discussion.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.1.B

Follow rules for collegial discussions, set specific goals and deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.1.C

Pose and respond to specific questions with elaboration and detail by making comments that contribute to the topic, text, or issue under discussion.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.6.1.D

Review the key ideas expressed and demonstrate understanding of multiple perspectives through reflection and paraphrasing.

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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.6.1

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

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CHARACTER AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL (CSED) NATIONAL STANDARDS MET

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Moral Character A5

Understand and explain why caring (and helping others) should never be motivated by the likelihood of being recognized or rewarded for your help or support

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Performance Character A6

Describe a role model who demonstrates a positive attitude, effort, and grit

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Intellectual Character A2

Identify individuals, fiction and real, past and present, who exemplify the different intellectual character strengths in a concrete and compelling manner

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Intellectual Character A3

Recognize and understand why the intellectual character strengths are not innate (something you are born with) but can be developed with practice and support

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Social-Awareness A1

Experience and demonstrate empathy

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Social-Awareness A3

Demonstrate respect for other people’s opinions and perspectives

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Social-Awareness A5

Practice “perspective taking” as a strategy to strengthen your acceptance of others

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Social-Awareness A6

Demonstrate awareness and understanding that despite differences, all people have similar needs, feelings and wants

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Responsible and Ethical Decision-Making A3

Write about and share a principle you want to live by that you learned from a family member, book, movie, or personal experience

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LESSON PROCEDURE

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Step 1: 

  • Explain that we will be reading a novel based on a true story: the work done at Bletchley Park during WWII.
  • Ask if anyone has heard of Bletchley Park. Explain that it was a British government cryptological establishment in operation during WWII. Bletchley Park was where Alan Turing and other agents of the Ultra intelligence project decoded secret messages, most notably those that had been encrypted with the German Enigma machines. Experts have suggested that the Bletchley Park codebreakers may have shortened the war by as much as two years. (Source: “Bletchley Park.” Encyclopedia Britannica) 
  • This video explains the historical context. Play the video: The enigma of WWII codebreaker Alan Turing by CBS Sunday Morning (~7 min) 

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Step 2: 

  • Have students complete the book, either through multiple in-class silent reading sessions or as homework: The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
  • Have students complete the short-answer questions on the worksheet as they read the book. 

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Step 3: 

Allow at least 50 minutes for in-class discussion of the short-answer questions on the worksheet.

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GRADE 6 UNIT 8 WORKSHEET 1: LEARNING UNDERSTANDING FROM LITERATURE

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Vocabulary

  • Intellectual character: Someone who has intellectual character shows the strengths of curiosity, carefulness, intellectual autonomy, intellectual humility, open-mindedness, and critical thinking. Intellectual autonomy means you can think for yourself, especially when it might go against what is popular at the time. Intellectual humility means you recognize that your knowledge is limited and that your beliefs might be wrong. Critical thinking means you question, analyze, interpret, evaluate and make a judgement about what you read, hear, say, or write
  • Understanding: I seek knowledge and try to learn the truth. I think about other people’s views that might be different from mine.

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QUESTIONS TO ANSWER WHILE READING The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin: 

  1. What was happening in England—and in Europe as a whole—at the time the novel The Bletchley Riddle took place?

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  1. What was Bletchley Park and what type of work was done there?

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  1. What was the Enigma machine and what did it do? 

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  1. Who was Alan Turing and what did he accomplish? 

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  1. In Chapter 45, what is the breakthrough that Jakob, John, and Beryl make to understand the Enigma’s ring settings? 

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  1. Other than cracking the code of the Enigma machine, what is the other mystery of this book? Explain how Lizzie’s intellectual character helps her to solve that mystery.

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  1. In Chapter 67, what advice does the fictional Alan Turing give to Lizzie to help her crack the code? 

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  1. In Chapter 73, what do we learn about the Polish codebreakers?

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  1. By the end of the novel, what do Jakob and Lizzie discover about their mother and father? 

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  1. In the Historical Note at the end of the book, what do historians estimate was the impact of work done at Bletchley Park on WWII? 

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  1. What did you learn about understanding from this novel? 

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Prohuman K-12 Curriculum © 2025 by Prohuman Foundation is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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