| The Language Arts Curriculum |
 |
|
7th Grade will be reading and writing every day. In addition to our textbook, students will be reading several novels this year. We will be reading captivating, thought-provoking novels that challenge our critical thinking skills. The novels we will be using are full of fascinating and exciting characters and circumstances. We will be conducting structured discussions, journal writing, and literary analysis writing throughout the year. Students will also be challenged to write persuasive material, conduct research to produce and publish quality presentations and brochures, and create quality narrative and expressive writing. One of my goals is to bring students' writing to a higher level of quality.
Another part of the curriculum will be the Vocabulary themes. The focus will be Greek and Latin roots, which make up most of the Romance languages, and in our case, the English language. Students will learn and understand new words which will make their reading (understanding), writing, listening and speaking even better, broader, and deeper.
The regular homework for the year is going to include character development writing, completing projects and unfinished classwork, and the reading of novels. My intention is to make most of the learning happen in the classroom, where I am an active part of the process, so homework should not be excessive or overwhelming for students in any way. I understand that many students need time for family, sports, activities and other outside interests. When I do assign a project that needs to be assembled at home, I will provide students with all of the tools and information they need to work independently to complete projects.
Each day students will be directed to complete bell-work that includes grammar skills, journal writing, spelling and dictionary skills. This is a great way to begin each students' hour with success and attainable high expectations.
All of the content I teach is based on the Arizona State Standards for Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking. |
