English Language Arts activities reach all discipline areas: reading analytically, writing effectively, conducting research, speaking and listening purposefully and using technology and digital mediate strategically and capably. Through our interdisciplinary approach, students will develop and practice these essential skills through creating high-quality, authentic products and presentations in multiple subject areas. 

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In order to become a good writer, it is important to write frequently. Our students will learn how to live a writerly life by keeping a writer’s notebook. Across the year, they will learn many different types of entries and are required to write several entries a week to build their writing stamina, as well as practice crafting techniques they are learning about in their genre studies. 

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Students will participate in units of study providing in-depth instruction on argument, informative, and narrative writing. Through teacher led discussions, students work collaboratively with their peers to examine and analyze multiple model/anchor texts to learn about the structure, elements and crafting techniques for that style of writing. Students independently plan for their writing, gather evidence, practice writing and revising their work.

 

They participate in mini lessons and teacher conferences to learn supplemental skills and strategies for that genre of writing and to apply during each stage of the writing process. Students engage in peer, teacher and parent reviews to revise and edit their work. Writing conventions are taught based on the needs of each writer. 

 

Over the course of each unit, the class constructs a writing reference page specific to the type of writing practiced in the unit to guide students during their journey. By the end of each unit, students will have produced a fully developed piece of writing. Students will participate in a collaborative assessment and reflection process alongside the teacher to assess their effort, participation, and application of skills learned throughout the writing unit, as well as on the effectiveness of their finalized drafts according to the class-generated checklist related to each style of writing.