Level Up: Reading Comprehension

SUBJECT TAUGHT: The course focuses on English language arts, specifically the area of reading comprehension.

TOPICS COVERED:  The topics for this course are:
--February's Dates and Topics:
2/26 - Informational Text (nonfiction) and Literary Prose (fiction)
3/4 - Informational Text (nonfiction) and Literary Prose (fiction)

--March's Dates and Topics:
3/11 - Poetry and Informational Text
3/18 - Poetry and Informational Text


CLASS STRUCTURE:  In these interactive sessions, students will be presented with a sequence of no more than 3 timed reading passages, each accompanied by relevant multiple choice, drag-n-drop, or short answer questions designed to test their comprehension skills.  The topics of this course will derive from literary terms such as theme, plot, and author's purpose.  The specific literary term focus will be random and dictated weekly to mirror what students will see on standardized tests.  These exercises are followed by an in-depth discussion facilitated by the teacher, who will offer insightful feedback on approaches to handle the questions and guide students to deepen their grasp of the highlighted literary term.

For every question students answer correctly, they are awarded a knowledge point (KP). This system of accruing KPs serves as an engaging gamification method; the more points students accumulate, the closer they come to advancing their reading comprehension abilities to the next level. Upon reaching a specific KP total, students automatically progress to the subsequent level.

This course is ongoing and consistently presents varied reading comprehension challenges.  If a student finds their advancement slower than anticipated, they have the flexibility to participate in extra sessions to gain more KPs and achieve their targeted comprehension level.

TEACHING STYLE:  The instructor will use a student-centered approach that combines brief lecture and gaming.