English Language Arts

Reading

• Review criteria for “just right” independent books
• Set reading goals
• Identify strategies to support self-monitoring while reading
• Compare/contrast genres using genre features
• Revisit and extend on critical literacy framework
• Complete iReady fall Diagnostic assessment

Writing

• Set up reading response journals
• Compose student letters of introduction to teachers
• Compose response to summer reading
• Complete Common Writing Assessment
• Vocabulary: Review vocabulary strategies
• Grammar: Review parts of a sentence

Speaking & Listening

• Independently establish roles and responsibilities for whole group discussions and self-evaluate

Examples of Texts

• Independent reading books from library

Reading

• Review strategies to support inferencing
• Gather and cite textual evidence to support interpretation of a text
• Determine the theme of a text and analyze its development over the course of a text
• Analyze the effects of differences in point of view between characters and audience (e.g. dramatic irony)

Writing

• Write narratives utilizing elements of dramatic irony and establishing different points of view for different characters
• Vocabulary: Understand the difference between connotation and denotation and connection to mood and tone
• Grammar: Review phrases and clauses

Speaking & Listening

• Pose effective discussion questions and respond to others’ questions respectfully

Examples of Texts

• “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury
• “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry
• “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson
• “Superhuman” by Nicola Yoon

Reading

• Identify author’s purpose
• Compare/contrast multiple versions of an event
• Analyze the narrator’s point of view and evaluate author bias

Writing

• Identify a topic related to the text and engage in independent research
• Evaluate sources for credibility
• Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence from multiple sources
• Vocabulary: Identify cognates and multidisciplinary tier 2 vocabulary
• Grammar: Identify erbals (gerunds, participles, infinitives)

Speaking & Listening

• Elaborate and reflect on the comments and ideas of others
• Orally construct a counterclaim

Examples of Texts

• Night by Elie Wiesel
• Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
• Related nonfiction (short print and digital texts)

Reading

• Analyze lines of dialogue or incidents that propel the action, reveal aspects of character, or provoke a discussion
• Gather and cite textual evidence to support interpretation of a text
• Complete iReady winter Diagnostic assessment

Writing

• Write arguments to support and elaborate on claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence from the text
• Develop a counterclaim
• Compose analytical paragraph on theme

• Complete One-Pager project for selected text

• Vocabulary: Identify academic power verbs
• Grammar: Identify indicative, imperative, interrogative, conditional and subjunctive moods

Speaking & Listening

• Independently establish roles and responsibilities for book club groups and self-evaluate participation in groups

Examples of Texts

• The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan
• Internment by Samira Ahmed
• Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram
• Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish by Pablo Cartaya

• Related fiction and nonfiction (short print and digital texts)

Reading

• Identify elements of dramatic structure and how this differs from prose
• Determine how the structure of a dramatic text relates to its meaning
• Gather and cite textual evidence to support interpretation of a dramatic text

Writing

• Create dialogue for a dramatic scene
• Compare/contrast an original dramatic text vs. the film version
• Vocabulary: Identify prefixes/suffixes, Greek and Latin roots
• Grammar: Distinguish between and passive voice

Speaking & Listening

• Perform a dramatic reading of a text

Examples of Texts

• A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare
• 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose
• A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
• Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee

Reading

• Analyze the development of a theme over the course of a text
• Draw on knowledge of themes, patterns of events, or character types (e.g. allusions) from myths, traditional stories, or religious works to support interpretation of a text

Writing

• Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence from the text
• Support claims or counter arguments with relevant evidence, logical reasoning, and accurate details/facts
• Compose analytical essay on topic of student’s choosing
• Vocabulary: Identify prefixes/suffixes, Greek and Latin roots

• Grammar: Practice punctuation (to indicate a pause or break - e.g. comma, ellipsis, dash)

Speaking & Listening

• Present an oral argument with a clear claim incorporating textual evidence and/or information
• Engage in class discussion using a variety of academic language

Examples of Texts

• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
• The Pearl by John Steinbeck

• Various supplemental fiction and nonfiction texts

Reading

• Evaluate progress towards reading goals and identify strengths/future areas for growth
• Gather and cite textual evidence from multiple fiction and nonfiction sources to support interpretation of a text
• Apply strategies for self-monitoring while reading

Writing

• Evaluate progress towards writing goals and identify strengths/future areas for growth
• Compose graduation speech
• Vocabulary: Review vocabulary strategies
• Grammar: Hone style and voice

Speaking & Listening

• Elaborate and extend on the comments and ideas of others
• Acknowledge, respond to, and consider multiple perspectives

Examples of Texts

• Independent reading books from library
• Related fiction and nonfiction (short print and digital texts)