Building ELA Skills (Reading and Writing): The Power of Words to Create Change

Teens will get a chance to boost their confidence with reading and text analysis, whilst enjoying learning in a way that feels engaging and accessible.

These small group classes will run even with one enrolled learner, so you have no worries about a class being cancelled. If your learner would prefer not to work in a 1-on-1 class, I am happy to refund the lesson, should no other learners enroll.

Learners will gain a variety of skills and insights, both in terms of their understanding of texts and their ability to express their own viewpoints. 

🏵️Critical Reading and Analysis🏵️
-----> Identifying Persuasive Techniques: Students will learn to identify and analyze rhetorical strategies (like logos, ethos, and pathos) used in speeches and texts that argue for social change or advocate for a cause.
----->Understanding Point of View: They will develop the ability to understand different perspectives, including how and why speakers or writers take a stand on specific issues.

🏵️Empathy and Awareness🏵️
----->Building Empathy: By examining texts on social justice, advocacy, and personal courage, students will become more empathetic to the struggles and challenges faced by others.
----->Awareness of Social Issues: They will gain greater awareness of social and global issues like gender equality, civil rights, environmental activism, and other movements, fostering a broader understanding of the world.

The texts covered are age appropriate to provide the right level of engagement from teens. Learners will not be required to write long responses, as this course is designed for those who may need some extra support and/or encouragement. The focus is on confidence and encouragement. All written work will be be completed digitally during the lesson. No paper or pens will be required.

There will be suggested pre-reading of texts, as the lessons will be of most value with this pre-reading completed. However, learners can still access the lessons even without this pre-reading.

The texts discussed over the 8 lessons are:
🌺The 1843 poem, "The Song of the shirt" by Thomas Hood
🌺The 1906 novel, 'The Jungle' by Upton Sinclair
🌺The 1966 TV play, "Cathy Come Home" by Jeremy Sandford
🌺The 2017 song, "Blinded by Your Grace" by Stormzy
🌺The 2023 article, "Building on the greenbelt will not solve the housing crisis" by Kunie Barker
🌺The 1945 novel, "Animal Farm" by George Orwell
🌺The 2016 speech from Michelle Obama on the "Let Girls Learn Initiative"
🌺The 2022 article, "Just Stop Oil protesters are incapable of winning hearts and minds" by Tom Gomez
🌺The 2022 article, "My suffragette grandmothers are now seen as heroes. Today’s climate protesters will be too" by Helen Pankhurst
🌺The 1789 poem, "The Chimney Sweeper" by William Blake
🌺The 1862 fairy tale, "The Water Babies" by Charles Kingsley
🌺The 1955 protest song, "Where have all the flowers gone" by Pete Seeger