English Language Arts 7

English Language Arts 7 extends beyond the five fundamental English language arts skills of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and understanding language. This course exposes students to a variety of texts from a range of time periods, literary genres, and writers. From classic texts to contemporary creative writers and Evan-Moor pieces, students analyze fiction and nonfiction literature, examining and interpreting multiple literary devices within a single piece. In addition to reading, students strengthen their writing skills through narrative, informative, and persuasive compositions. They apply these forms of writing in essays, speeches, presentations, and other media. Students also compose an MLA-style research essay that includes headings, citations, and a Works Cited page. In addition, students produce a professional technical, or how-to, text that includes concise directions and images. The final topic of the course presents a wealth of valuable real-world skills. Notably, students practice important life skills such as letter writing, filling out forms, and interviewing, while exploring career interests. Additionally, grammar is integrated regularly throughout the course to introduce and reinforce age-appropriate grammatical concepts. These lessons parallel the main lessons, and at the end of each grammar unit, students complete a summative workshop to apply the skills taught within that unit. Lastly, students complete creative projects, such as a family tree, an original narrative short story, a reinvention of themselves as a superhero, a song, and a writing portfolio. These projects and activities showcase students' abilities based on their learning styles. Overall, this course supports critical thinking and independent learning and application, while also incorporating social-emotional learning opportunities.