PREREQUISITE: English Language Arts Parts 1 and 2

This 3rd trimester course (Part 3 of 3) will focus on one-third of the common core curriculum for 9th/10th grade. Students will improve their skills in reading, writing, language, and speaking/listening. Using novels, short stories, and informational texts, students will examine themes, main ideas, supporting details, and vocabulary. They will also practice their writing and language skills by writing paragraphs, academic essays (narrative in Part 1, persuasive in Part 2, and literary analysis in Part 3), and reflections. 

As a self-paced class, there will be NO LIVE lessons. Students will have access to lessons and videos on Nearpod that detail each topic and engage the students in activities with reading, writing, language, and speaking/listening. Students will have several opportunities to practice their writing. Most writing assignments will be peer or self-graded, but one academic essay will be turned in to the teacher for extensive feedback. 

I'm a strong proponent of students learning how to find books that interest them. Many assignments from class will be drawn from novels that students self-select based on their own interests and reading levels. In my supply section, I have some links to websites where there are suggestions of novels to read. None of those options are required (nor have they been vetted by me, so please use your own parental discretion about what is appropriate for your students), but they may give your students a jumping off point to find their own books. Local libraries (and librarians) are great resources, too!

Specifically, students will explore the following common core standards:
     --Reading (Informational Texts): http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RI/9-10/
     --Reading (Literature): http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RL/9-10/
    -- Writing: http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/W/9-10/
     --Language: http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/L/9-10/
     --Speaking/Listening: http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/SL/9-10/ 

Photo Credit: [Image by Hermann Traub from Pixabay]