Ms.+Harapko+LA+7+ACC

‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍Language Arts Accelerated 7, a two credit course, provides students with opportunities to develop higher-level thinking skills in relation to communication in reading, writing, listening, speaking, thinking and researching. The reading series supports a balanced framework, which meets the district’s goals andPennsylvania’s standards.‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ Language Arts Accelerated 7 instruction will include guided reading, self-selected reading, vocabulary, grammar and writing during a daily 90 minute block schedule. Students will actively engage in the reading and writing processes by working independently, as well as collaboratively, with peers. Flexible groupings will be built into the units of study along with reading cohort strategies in order to meet the needs of all students. This course is designed to challenge students; therefore, one’s best effort academically and behaviorally is a requirement and not just an expectation.
 * Welcome to the**  **Language Arts 7 Accelerated**   **Wiki**
 * __Course Overview:__ **

This class currently meets during periods 5/6 The students participating in LA 7 ACC have a double-period of language arts, which infuses grammar, SSR, and high-level warm-ups to challenge them academically and creatively.
 * __Class Meeting Times:__ **

__Click here to access your on-line textbook!__

Students will analyze various types of poetry using a multitude of techniques, including art. We will focus on poetry structure, rhythm, devices, mood, and tone. The end result will be a culminating poetry research project where students complete an in-depth study of a particular poet and their writing.
 * __Unit 1: Poetry (September-October)[[image:jrhighhotline/Poetry_fingers_header.jpg width="214" height="66" align="right"]]__ **


 * __Unit 2: Short Stories (October-November, January)__ **

In our short story unit, the accelerated class will be focusing on the elements that create an interesting story, such as suspense, foreshadowing, point of view, theme, character development and more. Students will be asked to read and analyze a variety of fictional text and discuss them in depth within the class and in groups. The goal is to engage in an active dialogue of not only understanding the story, but also understanding the author's purpose and motivation. media type="custom" key="11841142"

The drama unit is a fascinating journey through Charles Dickens' __A Christmas Carol__ and Rod Serling's teleplay __The Monsters are Due on Maple Street__. Students will have the opportunity to showcase their acting skills in an informal and casual setting. They will also develop a scene with their knowledge of the elements of drama, which will be performed for the class. We will end the unit with a brief overview of a teleplay and the messages Rod Serling wanted to communicate in his Twilight Zone episodes. Students will compare and contrast the written medium to productions of the same text.
 * __Unit 3 Drama:(December, January)__ **

This unit will focus on various elements of nonfiction literature including, autobiograpy, biography, personal essay. We will spend time distinguishing between objective and subjective writing as well as emotional and logical appeals in text. PSSA practice will be infused in this unit in preparation for the exam in March.
 * __Unit 4 Nonfiction: (February, March)__ **

__** Unit 5 Novel Study: (April) **__ The accelerated language arts class will read, study, and analyze Lois Lowery's classic novel __The Giver.__ Students will "experience" life in a community similar to Jonas' as well as participate in shared inquiry discussions that will center around issues including society, rules, authority, security, and freedom. As a culminating project, students will take what they have learned about society to create their own society and present this to their class.

**__Unit 6 Research: (May)__** The research project will consist of an interdisciplinary project between language arts and ancient civilization. Students will choose a civilization to research, write a paper, an create a travel brochure. The focus for this project is to introduce and reinforce research concepts including: reliable sources, source list, works cited page, internal citations, paraphrasing, avoiding plagiarism, etc.


 * __Unit 7 Greek Mythology: (June)__ **

Attached to the following document, you will find the entire list of SAT words that we have covered this year. We will continue to continue enhance our vocabulary throughout this accelerated course.
 * __SAT Words:__ **

__Homework Log: (note: the date indicates when assignment is due)__

4/10: Holocaust project w/Ms. Mellon 3/20: present robot theater w/Ms. Mellon 3/16: Jackie Robinson bonus