Middle School Language Arts Mini-Course: 04

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Course Description:
This independent/flexible Language Arts course does not have any live meetings. The course is aligned to the national standards of citing text evidence, main idea, summarizing, informational writing, and collaboration and discussion. 

This independent/flexible Language Arts course does not have any live meetings. This course is aligned to the national standards of citing text evidence, main idea, summarizing, argument/informational writing, and collaboration and discussion. 

This course is centered around the big question, "Do we need words to communicate well?". The informational readings and assignments during this course will be related to the course’s big question as well as each reading's big question. The readings will be used to support the national standards. Feedback will be given on each assessment that is turned in privately to the teacher.  

**The Middle School Language Arts Mini-Courses are designed around a theme and can be taken in any order. Each course contains informational readings and touches on national standards. To get a more rigorous and full semester long experience, please see my Middle School Language Arts Part 1 and Part 2 courses.  The readings and topics are different in the full semester classes and cover more national standards.**

National Standards:
-RI.5.1, RI.6.1, RI.7.1, RI.8.1, RI.9.1 - Citing Text Evidence
-RI.5.2, RI.6.2, RI.7.2, RI.8.2, RI.9.2 - Main Idea
-RI.5.2, RI.6.2, RI.7.2, RI.8.2, RI.9.2 - Summarizing
-W.5.2, W.6.2, W.7.2, W.8.2, W.9.2 - Informational Writing
-SL.5.1, SL.6.1, SL.7.1, SL.8.1, SL.9.1 - Collaboration and Discussion

Course Format:
At the beginning of the week, a “List of Learning” Google Document will be posted on the Outschool classroom page. Each “List of Learning” will have steps students need to complete for the week. These steps will include a lesson video to watch that relates to the standard for the week, the reading assignments for the week, discussion questions to respond to and give feedback to other classmates, assessments to complete, a writing assignment, and possible other assignments or extension opportunities. Any work that will be turned in for grades/scores, will be in the form of a Google Document. Students will need to share the document with the teacher and other students will not have access to the document. 

It is encouraged to have the readings and assignments done by each due date so students can participate in discussions together. To give each student a more meaningful learning experience, all students need to participate in the discussion questions by responding to the questions and giving feedback to other students.

The teacher will be available throughout the week via Outschool to answer any questions and give feedback. 

Course Schedule (Subject to Change):
Week 1:
-Lesson: Citing Text Evidence
-Reading: “Life Is a Funny Thing”
	-Big Question: How do people convey humor without using words?
-Reading: “Dancing in the Streets”
	-Big Question: Is urban dance an important form of communication?

Week 2:
-Lesson: Main Idea
-Reading: “Just Add Ads”
	-Big Question: How do advertisers use pictures to reach people?
-Reading: “Acts of Kindness”
	-Big Question: Do our actions really speak louder than our words?
-Reading: “Decks & Trucks”
	-Big Question: Are public spaces really for everyone to use?

Week 3:
-Lesson: Summarizing
-Reading: “Check for Messages”
	-Big Question: How is texting affecting the way people communicate?
-Reading: “Everyday Art”
	-Big Question: What does pop art tell us about our world?
-Reading: “Music Magic”
	-Big Question: Why does movie music have such an impact on viewers?

Week 4:
-Informational Writing

Preview Week 1 List of Learning: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y0PrzRClsrbTW8YNUYBJ0fHorNcC949t/view?usp=sharing