Welcome to 7th grade English Language Arts!

I am so excited to begin this new year with you! Seventh grade can be a very challenging year, and I want you to know I am here for you through all of it. I am certain that you will find challenges as well as success as we move through the school year. We are fortunate to have one another as a shoulder to lean on when we are down, and  I look forward to meeting each and every one of you. 

On this website, you will find information about my classroom, the supplies you will need for this year, homework, parent information and a little bit about your teacher.

We are going to be studying some amazing things this year! We work in the Reading and Writing Workshop model of instruction. There are scholarly articles and links to more information on the workshop model on the Parent's Page. 

Units of Study:

Unit #1: September to October: Studying Tolerance and Injustice Through History

 Students will discuss the definitions of justice, injustice, empathy, and historical context while exploring texts that demonstrate these terms. As each of our texts are set in significant time periods, the historical contexts for the books will be explored as well (research skills will be incorporated here).  Some of the texts that students will explore are: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Stella By Starlight, Port Chicago, March, Inside Out and Back Again, Refugee, Loving Vs. Virginia. 

Unit #2: November: Personal Narrative Unit

 Students are challenged to think about a time where they have demonstrated empathy or been confronted with injustice.  Students will be asked to write a narrative explaining and reflecting on their experience. Writing skills that will be explored are: writing with purpose, painting a picture for the reader, framing a life lesson or theme within the text.

 Unit #3: December to January: Non-Fiction

 Students will read multiple books on various non-fiction topics such as: history, sports, math, famous people, animals, science,  etc.   Students will accumulate knowledge on these topics and even expand their current knowledge. Texts will be self-selected and based on student interest.  Skills being explored: Nonfiction text features, building background knowledge, evaluating text, independent time management of reading, understanding non-fiction topics, making and recording the big ideas found in texts.  Some of the books that may be explored are: Extreme Skiing,  Dogs   and Cats, African American History Civil War, Causes of the Civil War, Finding the Titanic, For Liberty, Abe Lincoln Goes to Washington, Nature’s Green Umbrella, Planet Earth/ Inside Out.  

 Unit #4: February to March: Research

 Students will be introduced to MLA formatting, plagiarism, in-text citations, and works cited pages. Most importantly, by the end of the unit students will understand how to avoid plagiarism. We will continue to develop research skills, explore electronic as well as print sources, and learn how to explore students' interests by obtaining facts on a topic. 

 Unit #5: March to April: Argument and Debate

Students will become familiar with the elements of the argumentative essay. Students will also engage in debates on various topics. We will explore ways to research both sides of an argument, students will learn how to  draw meaningful conclusions based on facts. Ultimately, a well crafted argumentative essay will be crafted.

Unit #6: April to May: Dystopian Literature

Students will become familiar with characteristics of dystopian literature, learn about the controls often present in dystopian literature and immerse themselves in various dystopian literature options. Some texts that will be explored: Hunger Games, Divergent, Harrison Bergeron, Uglies, and many more. 

 Unit #7: May to June: Poetry

Students will analyze and assess several types of poems.  Some of the poems in this unit will directly link back to the units we have done this year.  Socratic Seminars will be a valuable tool used in this unit to help students converse about the meaning and depth of the poems being explored.