******IMPORTANT:
I require camera to be kept ON during the ENTIRE class time. It is difficult for me to check for comprehension of what we're reading if I cannot see your student. Also, when a student camera is off and they do not reply to a question, I don't know if they're not answering because are not paying attention and are distracted, or if they simply don't understand and are thinking about how to answer. If their camera is on, it is much easier for me to assist them and make sure they are receiving the most benefit from class.  I want to ensure that learners receive the maximum benefit of our time together in class. Having cameras turned on throughout the entire class helps me to do this.

***** I follow Outschool’s refund policy and don’t issue refunds for missed classes. Here is the link to more information about Outschool’s refund policy:

https://support.outschool.com/en/articles/16379-outschool-s-happiness-guarantee-and-refunds?fbclid=IwAR0gV1OH5IgkAFm90yW7RK9CuA-yw3JuZQH8RmEmqY-hpEKsbWvOZyjSr5w_aem_AUQmah0_w9vbtydgAHamziWpfNuqO7DB5PTXRRfcyQvc-kuXElWc6dCa0_HUrgNrYA9QWjS9IB8UoJ7_mXvC7_Xa&mibextid=Zxz2cZ


*****Learners have lots of opportunity to actively participate verbally by answering questions as I call on them.  If your learner does not want to answer questions out loud, please let me know, and they will be welcomed to just listen in class, and I will not call on them to answer.

*****The curriculum repeats itself once every 52 weeks. The curriculum in this class meets standards for 6th - 8th grade. This class is suitable for students BELOW 6th grade who are strong, independent readers and now need practice with comprehension of longer and more difficult selections.  This class is also suitable for students ABOVE 8th grade who need extra help with reading comprehension.


In this ongoing class students will read fiction and nonfiction selections to practice comprehension strategies and skills. In addition to developing strong reading comprehension strategies, students will learn about history, art, science and literature through the passages they read each week. Literary terms such as plot, setting, and characters, metaphors and similes, alliteration and onomatopoeia are also taught and explained as they occur in different passages.  


CLASS TIME STRUCTURE:
We will read a different passage each week and apply important reading comprehension strategies to strengthen understanding. Most of the reading in this class is done silently. Occasionally learners may volunteer to read a paragraph out loud. Students who are uncomfortable reading out loud are not required to do so.  

Students will learn to identify the author's purpose in each essay and will learn to identify and state the main idea of the passage.  They will practice finding evidence in the text to support their answers.  

1)  I will explain/describe the passage to be read. 

2)  I will cover any challenging vocabulary words in the passage. Learners do not need to write these words down. They will take turns reading a word and its definition out loud and then doing a matching activity where they choose the correct definition for each word. I am always happy to help them if they don’t remember the word’s definition. 

3)  I will give reading strategy suggestions to the learners before they begin reading.

4)  Learners will silently read the selection, one paragraph at a time. After each paragraph, we will stop and discuss what we have read. I call on each student several times to answer questions out loud about what they have read. I try to make sure each student has several turns answering questions orally. This is great practice for finding evidence in the text. If a learner does not know the answer, I guide them and explain how to find the answer in the text.  

5)  At the end of the passage, learners will answer comprehension questions about this selection. Some of these questions are multiple-choice and the learners use the Zoom chat feature to answer. 

6)  Learners will discuss why and how they answered questions by finding evidence in the text to support their answers. 

7)  Learners will determine the author's purpose for writing the essay.

9)  Learners will identify the main idea of the essay.