Middle School / Junior High English Language Arts
This online course covers the sixth-eighth grade levels English Language Arts curriculum that can be used as a supplement to or in place of a core language class.
Sarah Wood
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:(74)
Popular
What's included
2 live meetings
1 hrs 40 mins in-class hours per weekHomework
1-2 hours per week. Students should finish their work in class, but essays will be assigned as homework.Class Experience
US Grade 8
This course covers four target areas: grammar & mechanics reading (beginning of the first semester); vocabulary, writing (end of the first semester and all of the second semester), and reading (second semester). The course utilizes lectures, online worksheets, games, and discussions. You will be required to read a book of your choice during our fall break. You will have to write a book report about it when you come back from break. You will need Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters to follow along and refer to for the second semester. 2024 Fall Semester: Aug 26-29: Nouns & Possessives / Pronouns and Conjunctions Sep 2-5: Verbs / Verb Tenses Sep 9-12: Adverbs & Adjectives Sep 16-19: Prepositions & Misplaced Modifiers / Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms Sep 23-26: Sentence Fragments & Run-Ons / Types of Sentences and Punctuation Sep 30 - Oct 03: Semicolons, Colons / Hyphens, & Dashes Oct 7-10: Clauses, Appositives, & Tiered Vocabulary Oct 14-17: Prefixes & Suffixes / Root Words & Etymology Oct 21-24: Capitalization & Letter Formatting / Types of Writing & Literacy Genres Oct 28-31: Literary Devices / More Literary Devices Nov 4-7: Active & Passive Voice / Main Idea, Theme Nov 11-14: Plot & Characters / Conflict & Setting, Writing Process & Persuasive Writing Nov 18-21: Prewriting & Organizing Writing/Writing Process & Persuasive Writing & Essay / Biography Essay ****NOVEMBER 25-28: NO CLASS**** Dec 2-5: Poetry 1 (Angelou & Poe) Dec 9-12: Poetry 2 (Dickinson, Shakespeare, & Homer) Dec 16-20: Homer's "The Iliad" & "The Odyssey" Crash Course ****NO CLASS DEC 23 - JAN 9**** 2025 Spring Semester: January 13 - April 10: The Lightning Thief Unit Apr 14 - May 29: The Sea of Monsters Unit Part 2 continues to add to, goes more in-depth, and has more practice time with the subjects than Part 1. It is a MUST that students already know how to write the following essays: book report, opinion piece, compare/contrast, and persuasive. If they do not know how to write these, I suggest enrolling in Part 1. Each week, new words will be added to their spelling/vocabulary list. The first month will cover grammar and journal writing but afterward, the main focus of the course will be reading and analyzing short stories. Students will discuss and have writing prompts based on what they read. Each week will feature a new short story. This course utilizes lectures, online worksheets, games, and discussions. Fall Semester 2025: Aug 21-24: Nouns, Pronouns, Spelling/Vocab, Journal Writing Aug 28-31: Verbs, Spelling/Vocab, Journal Writing Sep 4-7: Adverbs, Adjectives, Spelling/Vocab, Journal Writing Sep 11-14: "The Fun they Had", Spelling/Vocab Sep 18-21: "The Most Dangerous Game," Spelling/Vocab Sep 25-28: "The Pit and the Pendulum," Spelling/Vocab Oct 2-5: "The Tell-Tale Heart," Spelling/Vocab Oct 9-12: "The Monkey's Paw," Spelling/Vocab Oct 16-19: Coraline Chapters 1-4 Oct 23-26: Coraline Chapters 5-8 Oct 30-Nov 2: Coraline Chapters 9-13 Nov 6-9: Coraline Review & Test / Movie Analysis Nov 13-16: Coraline Movie Analysis / Comparison Essay Lesson ****Nov 20-21: Coraline Comparison Essay - ONLY ONE CLASS DAY**** ****November 22 - 24: NO CLASS**** ****Nov 27-30: Artemis Fowl Chapters 1-5**** Dec 4-7: Artemis Fowl Chapter 6-7 Dec 11-14: Artemis Fowl Chapter 8-9 Dec 18-21: Artemis Fowl Movie Comparison & Essay ****December 26-27: NO CLASS**** Spring Semester 2026: Jan 1-4: Holes Ch 1-10 Jan 8-11: Holes Ch 11-20 Jan 15-18: Holes Ch 21-30 Jan 22-25: Holes Ch 31-40 Jan 29-Feb 1: Holes Ch 41-50 Feb 5-8: Movie Comparison Feb 12-15: Movie Comparison/Theme Essay & Project Feb 19-22: Analysis & The Scarlet Ibis Unit Part 1 ****Feb 26-29: NO CLASS**** March 4-8: Analysis & The Scarlet Ibis Unit Part 2 / Dystopian Lesson ****March 11-14: NO CLASS**** March 18-22: The Giver Ch 1-5 March 25-29: The Giver Ch 6-10 April 1-5: The Giver Ch 11-15 April 8-11: The Giver Ch 16-20 April 15-18: The Giver Ch 21-23/Essay April 22-25-May 2: Tangerine Prologue/Part 1 May 6-21: Tangerine Part 2 May 22-30: Tangerine Part 3
Other Details
Supply List
Book list for the school year: Artemis Fowl (Book 1) The Giver Holes Coraline
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Joined May, 2021
4.9
74reviews
Popular
Teacher expertise and credentials
I went to school for a teaching degree with a major in English and a minor in science. I later went back to add on a history degree. Throughout the years in brick and mortar schools, I taught high school English (general, pre-AP, and at-risk), AP American history, AP world history, chemistry, AP biology, pre-AP anatomy, middle school Earth and life sciences, and IPC.
I was also a scout troop leader for nearly a decade where I taught life skills and made several themed book camps for the scouts. I love to dive into book series with students to promote a love of reading and understanding. I was that kid that waited outside of Barnes and Noble for it to open at midnight on the Tuesday release days of each Harry Potter book (after I read the first one). My goal is to not only get students to want to continue reading the following books in the series I teach, but to have them take a closer look into them and learn about different literary devices. I also have a love of history and always seek multiple views of historic events. Science fascinates me with its ever evolving discoveries. I love when my students get excited to learn more about a subject.Reviews
Live Group Class
$30
weekly ($15 per class)2x per week
50 min
Completed by 7 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 11-16
2-10 learners per class
