7 Course Description

Objectives

Reading: Read and understand a variety of complex grade-level literature and informational text.

  • Summarize texts objectively.
  • Support inferences and opinions drawn from texts with strong evidence.
  • Identify themes and central ideas and describe how they develop.
  • Describe how literary elements interact.
  • Determine the connotative and figurative meanings of words and phrases.
  • Compare points of view.
  • Compare and contrast text sounds, forms, and structures.
  • Analyze multimedia and compare to text versions.
  • Evaluate arguments.

 

Speaking and Listening

  • Participate effectively in one-on-one, small group, and class discussions (set goals, follow procedures, conduct research, prepare notes, express ideas clearly and logically, pose and respond to questions, acknowledge and clarify others' ideas, and self-evaluate).
  • Use effective delivery (rhetorical devices, eye contact, volume, rate, pitch, gesture, etc.) in various situations.
  • Include visual or other multimedia to clarify and support ideas and add interest.
  • Analyze information and evaluate arguments presented in a variety of spoken formats and media.

 

Writing: Write routinely over longer and shorter time frames for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.

  • Write clear narratives, arguments, and informative texts, making sure the ideas, organization, and style are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience.
  • Strengthen writing through the writing process and by using suggestions from others.
  • Conduct research to answer questions by using relevant information from a variety of credible sources.
  • Avoid plagiarism by properly quoting and paraphrasing information and by documenting sources with citations and bibliographies.
  • Use technology to produce and publish writing.

Conventions

  • Write and speak correctly demonstrating a strong understanding of grammar and usage.
  • Apply the rules of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing and editing.

Vocabulary

  • Identify, learn, and use new words.
  • Determine meanings of unknown and multiple-meaning words by using a variety of strategies (context clues, roots and affixes, reference materials).
  • Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and connotation.

 

Assessment

You receive two grades for language arts: English and Literature.

The English grade is comprised of assessments that evaluate your mastery of the English language.  It encompasses the study of vocabulary, grammar, writing, and speaking. 

The Literature grade is comprised of assessments that evaluate your comprehension and analysis of literature—short stories, novels, plays, poetry, films, articles, essays, etc. 

Categories (% of Grade)

  • Summative (90%) – Tests, Quizzes, Writing Assignments, Projects, Presentations, Outside Reading, etc.
  • Formative (10%) – Notes, Practice, Minilessons, Vocab WB pgs, Self- and Peer-Evaluations, etc.