Small-Group Instruction
Smaller classes allow me to work closely with each student to evaluate students' learning strengths, locate gaps in their reading development, and tailor lessons focused on specific learning objectives.

Disclaimer:
Parents, please be aware that January 2023 will include the civil rights movement, and May 2023 will consist of Anne Frank, the Holocaust, and WWII. See the following areas of this listing for more information - the course timeline (below), Parental Guidance, Teacher Expertise, and Sources. Feel free to message me with any questions and concerns about these topics. 

LEARNING SESSIONS (no prereading or printing)
Students can expect to read one passage or literary excerpt per session. In addition, sessions will include reading comprehension questions and may consist of a written literary response. Throughout this ongoing class, students may experience a combination of direct instruction, note-taking, discussion, Socratic seminars, reading, writing, vocabulary, and the application of skills. In addition, students can expect independent and group interactions with the teacher and classmates. Finally, please note that this course's writing is in the form of guided literary responses (short paragraph answers - not essays).

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Fall Semester; 2022***
I screen share all learning materials, and the annotated copies will be dispersed after each session.
Day one: A variation of the following skills: Literary Devices, Vocabulary, Grammar, and Pre-Reading activities
Day two: Reading Passage (fiction or nonfiction)
Day three: Reading Passage continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response
*** This is a tentative template and can vary based on weekly topics and passage length
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Week of September 6th: Perseverance 
Day one: Literary Devices; Main idea and Theme
Day two: Introduction to the author and the passage; identify vocabulary, apply test-taking strategies, and begin reading
Day three: Reading, annotation, and discussion continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response

Week of September 12th: Credibility 
Day one: Fact, Opinion, and Hyperbole
Day two: Introduction to the author and the passage; identify vocabulary, apply test-taking strategies, and begin reading
Day three: Reading, annotation, and discussion continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response

Week of September 19th: 
Day one: Plot, Conflict, and Conflict Resolution
Day two: Introduction to the author and the passage; identify vocabulary, apply test-taking strategies, and begin reading
Day three: Reading, annotation, and discussion continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response

Week of September 26th: 
Day One: Characterization and Motivation
Day two: Introduction to the author and the passage; identify vocabulary, apply test-taking strategies, and begin reading
Day three: Reading, annotation, and discussion continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response

Week of October 3rd: 
Day One: Imagery and Setting
Day two: Introduction to the author and the passage; identify vocabulary, apply test-taking strategies, and begin reading
Day three: Reading, annotation, and discussion continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response

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Mid-Fall Break
No Classes the Week of October 10th
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Week of October 17th: 
Day one: Inferences and Context Clues
Day two: Introduction to the author and the passage; identify vocabulary, apply test-taking strategies, and begin reading
Day three: Reading, annotation, and discussion continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response

Week of October 24th: 
Day one: Figurative Language; similes, metaphors, and imagery
Day two: Introduction to the author and the passage; identify vocabulary, apply test-taking strategies, and begin reading
Day three: Reading, annotation, and discussion continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response

Week of October 31st: 
Day one: Figurative Language; personification, symbolism, and motifs
Day two: Introduction to the author and the passage; identify vocabulary, apply test-taking strategies, and begin reading
Day three: Reading, annotation, and discussion continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response

Week of November 7th
Day one: Outlining
Day two: Introduction to the author and the passage; identify vocabulary, apply test-taking strategies, and begin reading
Day three: Reading, annotation, and discussion continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response

Week of November 14th
Day One: Paraphrasing and summarizing
Day two: Introduction to the author and the passage; identify vocabulary, apply test-taking strategies, and begin reading
Day three: Reading, annotation, and discussion continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response

Week of November 21st
Day one: Tone and Mood
Day two: Introduction to the author and the passage; identify vocabulary, apply test-taking strategies, and begin reading
Day three: Reading, annotation, and discussion continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response

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Holiday Break: Thanksgiving 
No Classes the Week of November 21st
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Week of November 28th
Day one: Poetic Forms
Day two: Introduction to the author and the passage; identify vocabulary, apply test-taking strategies, and begin reading
Day three: Reading, annotation, and discussion continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response


Week of December 5th
Day one: Rhetoric; Ethos, Pathos, and Logos
Day two: Introduction to the author and the passage; identify vocabulary, apply test-taking strategies, and begin reading
Day three: Reading, annotation, and discussion continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response


Week of December 12th 
Day one: Topics, Claims, and Thesis Statements
Day two: Introduction to the author and the passage; identify vocabulary, apply test-taking strategies, and begin reading
Day three: Reading, annotation, and discussion continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response


Week of December 19th 
Day One: Argument and Persuasion 
Day two: Introduction to the author and the passage; identify vocabulary, apply test-taking strategies, and begin reading
Day three: Reading, annotation, and discussion continued; includes reading comprehension questions and literary response

~ End of Fall semester; my last Fall class will be on Friday, December 23rd

SPRING SEMESTER 2023
GENRES: Fiction & Nonfiction; Speeches, Short Stories, Poetry, Diaries, and Memoirs
READING MATERIAL: I do not send reading materials out before class. Instead, the materials are screen-shared and annotated by the teacher during class. Students will receive a pdf copy of the annotated text after class. 

Week of January 10th - Empathy, Imagery, Sensory Details, and Rhetoric
~ Day One: Martin Luther King (Biography)
~ Day Two: Excerpts of the I Have a Dream Speech (Focus on Imagery & Figurative Language)
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.

Week of January 17th
~ Day One: 16th Street Baptist Church Bombings (Nonfiction)
~ Day Two: The Sit-In Movement and Peaceful Protests (Nonfiction)  
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.
* I can affirm that these nonfiction articles have been researched and cross-referenced. Sources include history.com, brittannica.com, and kinginstitute.stanford.edu (The Martin Luther King, Jr.
Research and Education Institute).

Week of January 24th
~ Day One: The Harlem Renaissance (Nonfiction)
~ Day Two: Mother to Son by Langston Hughes (poem)
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.

Week of January 31st
~ Day One: Dreams and Harlem by Langston Hughes (poem)
~ Day Two: pending
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.

Week of February 7th -
~ Day One: Thank You M'am by Langston Hughes (Fiction - short story)
~ Day Two: Sometimes a Dream Needs A Push by Walter Dean Myers (Fiction - short story)
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.

Week of February 14th
~ Day One: The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur (poem)
~ Day Two: Identity by Julio Noboa (poem)
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.

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Spring Break #1
No classes the week of February 21st
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Week of February 28th
~ Day One: The Treasure of Lemon Brown (fiction - short story)
~ Day Two: Knock Knock (poem)
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.

Week of March 7th
~ Day One: Rikki Tikki Tavi (fiction - short story)
~ Day Two: A Cobra in the Garden (fiction - short story)
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.

Week of March 14th
~ Day One: The Third Wish (fiction - short story)
~ Day Two: Thumbelina (fiction - fable)
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.

Week of March 21st
~ Day One: The Emperor's New Clothes (fiction - folktale)
~ Day Two: The Blind Men and the Elephant (poem)
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.

Week of March 28th
~ Day One: Gren's Ghost (fiction - short story)
~ Day Two: War of the Wall (fiction - short story)
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.

Week of April 4th
~ Day One: The Four Dragons (fiction - folktale)
~ Day Two: Tansen's Gift (fiction - short story)
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.

Week of April 11th
~ Day One: Home (fiction - short story)
~ Day Two: The Worst Birthday Ever (fiction - excerpt)
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.

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Spring Break #2
No classes the week of April 18th
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Week of April 25th
~ Day One: Introduction to WWII (nonfiction)
~ Day Two: The Tuskegee Airmen (Nonfiction)
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.

Week of May 2nd
~ Day One: The Legacy of Charles R. Drew (Biography)
~ Day Two: Introduction to the Holocaust (Nonfiction - ushmm.org)
Courage in Denmark: Resistance to the Nazis in WWII by The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.

Week of May 9th
~ Day One: Introduction to Anne Frank (Biography - annefrank.org)
~ Day Two: Miep Gies; The Woman that Helped Anne Frank (Biography)
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.

Week of May 23rd - Empathy, Imagery, Sensory Details, and Rhetoric
~ Day One: Excerpts of Anne Frank's Diary; June 6, 1944
~ Day Two: General Eisenhower's Order of the Day and Excerpts of Ronald Reagan's 40th Anniversary D-Day speech
~ Day Three: Supplemental extension activities; reading, writing, and discussion.