September - October: Short Stories, Body Paragraph Structure, Narrative Writing
Reading Skills: Main Idea, Symbolism, Point of View, Plot Diagram, and more
Writing Skills: Topic and Wrap-Up Sentences, Building a Story with Dialogue, Characterization, Plot Structure, Sensory Details
November - December: The Watsons Go to Birmingham, Essay Structure
Reading Skills: Figurative Language, Characterization, Conflict, Theme, and more
Writing Skills: Transitions, Text Evidence, Introduction, Body Paragraphs, Conclusion Paragraphs
January - February: Nonfiction Unit, Research Simulation Task & Explanatory Essays
Reading Skills: Main Idea, Author's Purpose, Text Structure, and more
Writing Skills: Using sources to write an argument
March - April: Fiction, Number the Stars or The War That Saved My Life, Literary Analysis Task & Explanatory Essays
Reading Skills: Reviewing and building on all previous skills, especially focusing on theme
Writing Skills: Comparing and contrasting literary or poetic texts in writing
May - June: Fiction, Some Kind of Courage
Reading Skills: Reviewing and building on all previous skills
Writing Skills: Finalizing essay structure and circling back to creative writing