Description
In this engaging course, students will create empathetic autobiographies using characters from “A Wrinkle in Time” and “Clap When You Land.” They’ll explore language and self-expression while sharpening their skills in understanding complex texts and refining their writing across different styles. By learning new words, becoming skilled in advanced reading techniques, and immersing themselves in diverse literary and informational materials, students will deepen their understanding of language dynamics. They’ll also develop an awareness of language in various contexts, culminating in crafting impactful pieces like personal narratives and historical accounts, which they’ll refine for publication.
State Standards
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.3.A: Engage and orient the reader by establishing a context and point of view and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally and logically.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.3.B: Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, and description, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.3.C: Use a variety of transition words, phrases, and clauses to convey sequence and signal shifts from one time frame or setting to another.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.3.D: Use precise words and phrases, relevant descriptive details, and sensory language to capture the action and convey experiences and events.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.3.E: Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on the narrated experiences or events.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.1: Cite several pieces of textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.2: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama.
Supports Available to Students
Tier 1 (Supports provided to ALL students)
- Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) Units
- Academics, focus on Equitable Literacy
- Classroom Climate
- SEL Practices
- Movement Breaks
- Think Spaces
- Standards-aligned curriculum
Tier 2 (Supports provided to targeted SMALLER groups of students)
- Strategic Small Groups
- Lexia
- ELD small groups
Tier 3 (Intensive supports provided to SMALL groups or INDIVIDUAL students)
- Individual counseling for non-IEP, students with IEP and 504s
- Family engagement/ partnership to support student
- 1:1 or Small Group
Skills-learned
- Determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.
- Analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone.
- Strengthen writing by revising, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
