Throughout the 14 week semester, students will be taught reading comprehension, writing, listening, and speaking skills based upon Common Core standards by a certified Language Arts instructor with more than 19 years of professional teaching experience.  #academic

*Semesters can be taken in any order, as each will provide thorough coverage of middle school level ELA skills. *  NOTE that this semester course is 4 weeks longer than Semesters 3 and 4.

My classes are highly engaging, thought-provoking, and above all, educational!  Students will actively practice a full semester of English/Language Arts standards with direct instruction, assigned weekly homework, class activities, and detailed feedback for EACH assignment (both homework and classwork!).  I work with each learner at their individual level to build Language Arts skills and strategies, assisting students to be able to apply this knowledge independently.  This course will be a great fit for either students who homeschool or students in regular school who need extra practice and support.  *Assignment/Final Grades will be provided upon parent request.*

I make learning exciting by providing a plethora of activity types to demonstrate mastery of the ELA standards, while providing extensive support, guidance, and individualized feedback.  I will use slideshows, graphic organizers, projects, class discussions, games, hands-on activities, HUMOR, and multiple means of writing throughout the semester.  

After each class session, I will post a detailed description of skills we've learned, recommended next steps, homework instructions, and multiple screenshots from our lesson for review.

Students will be required to complete homework each session and submit it to the classroom for prompt feedback.  I will provide detailed, personalized feedback for each assignment within 3-5 days.

General Class Session Format
3-5 minutes: Class community building/icebreakers/news
10-15 minutes: Skill-based lesson via direct instruction – students are strongly encouraged to take notes
20 minutes: Independent/group practice via whole class instruction or via breakout rooms depending on class size and learner dynamics (I will be checking in with each student/group throughout this time to provide specific, individualized feedback on learner progress!)
3-5 minutes: Review/go over homework assignment for next session

Novel: Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan; Non-Fiction articles

Week 1:  Building Background Knowledge (Book preview and non-fiction articles) and Close Reading Strategies (Ch 1-6)
Week 2:  Setting and Characterization (Ch 7-11)
Week 3:  Summarizing (Ch 12-16)
Week 4:  Vocabulary (Ch 17-21)
Week 5:  Prediction and Inferencing (Ch 22-26)
Week 6:  Figurative Language and Visualizing (Ch 27-31)
Week 7:  Writing in Response to Text and Analyzing Text (Ch 32-36)
Week 8:  Theme and Text Connections (Ch 37-41)
Week 9:  Text Structures: Cause and Effect, Problem/Solution, Chronological and Conflict (Ch 42-46)
Week 10:  Conflict and Elements of Plot/Plot Diagram (Ch 47-51)
Week 11:  Text Marking and Citing Textual Evidence (Ch 52-56)
Week 12: Structured Paragraph Writing and Expository Writing (Ch 57-61)
Week 13:  Essay Planning and the Writing Process 
Week 14:  Writing Process and Synthesizing/Presentations
*Note that some topics will require more than one class session to teach in-depth.  Reading/writing skills are also spiral in nature, so other reading/writing skills not specifically mentioned above will be woven through all lessons to continue providing practice, retention, clarity, and further layered instruction!

Novel Synopsis:  
Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her from leading a quietly happy life . . . until now.
 
Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. The triumph of this book is that it is not a tragedy. This extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. Her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family is a joy and a revelation to read.