ELA UNITS
Reader's Workshop
Book Blog Monday (found on Google classroom)
3 trimester book talks
Monthly reading reflections
Unit #1- Identity
Essential Question: How does one develop his/her identity?
Novel Study- Downriver by: Will Hobbs
Nonfiction-
- Barrio Boy
- The Other Side of The Sky
- Apollo 13
Skill Focus:
- Literary elements
- Main idea & details
- Textual evidence
- Inferences
- Central idea/theme
- Summarizing
Writing:
- Paragraphing
- Essay formatting - Me, Myself, and I Essay
- Identity Research Essay
- Scary story podcast
Grammar:
- Prepositions/Prepositional phrases
- Complete subject(s) / predicate(s)
Unit #2- Society
Essential Question: What constitutes a just society?
Novel Study- Bronx Masquerade by: Nikki Grimes
Short Stories-
- The Lottery
- The Giver
Nonfiction Articles-
- Nothing to Envy
- Reality TV & Society
Skill Focus:
- Figurative language
- Connotative, denotative, and technical meanings of words
- Text structure
- Author's point of view & purpose
Writing:
- Poetry
- Compare/contrast essay
- Persuasive speech
Grammar:
- Verbs
- Pronouns
Unit #3- Justice
Essential Question: How does one defend his or her own rights?
Novel Study- Uprising by: Margaret Peterson Haddix
Short Stories-
- The People Could Fly- multiple versions
Nonfiction Articles-
- Mother Jones: Fierce Fighter for Workers' Rights
- About Cesar- multiple versions
Skill Focus:
- Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium
- Compare and contrast a fictional portrayal of a time, place, or character and a historical account of the same period
- Analyze how two or more authors writing about the same topic shape their presentations of key information by emphasizing different evidence or advancing different interpretations of facts.
Writing:
Grammar:
- Adjectives
Unit #4- Getting Along
Essential Question: How do humans interact with each other and how does that impact .....
Novel Study- The Outsiders by: SE Hinton
Short Stories-
- Amigo Brothers
- Thank You, M'am
Nonfiction Articles-
- The Teacher Who Changed My Life
- The Dangers of Social Media
Skill Focus:
- 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.
Writing:
Grammar:
- Adverbs
- Clauses and phrases
- Simple and complex sentences