Justice Page Middle School ELA Course Descriptions

• LANGUAGE ARTS 6 In sixth grade English Language Arts (ELA), students will develop skills as readers, writers, speakers, viewers, and critical thinkers. Students will explore Essential Questions by reading a variety of wholeclass and self-selected fiction and nonfiction texts; using the writing process to compose fiction, narrative, persuasion, poetry, and drama; participating in shared inquiry discussions; incorporating media and technology; and collaborating on interdisciplinary projects. Finally, each of the ELA units is based on the Minnesota Common Core Standards for Language Arts and incorporates components of the INNOVATE Design process of teaching and learning. As a result of this work, students will develop into critical thinkers who use evidence to support their ideas and seek to understand multiple perspectives and cultures.

• LANGUAGE ARTS 7 Seventh grade language arts is designed to foster an authentic love of literature and to awaken or cultivate an intrinsic joy in reading for pleasure. Students will work to become effective communicators and wordsmiths through discussions, expository and narrative writing; together we’ll practice imaginative thinking and intellectual curiosity as we study texts including poetry, speeches, films, novels, graphic novels, and essays. Anticipated whole class texts include: The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis, March Book One by John Lewis, and Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai.

• LANGUAGE ARTS 8 Critical thinking, reading and writing are the core of eighth grade English Language Arts (ELA). Students will dig deeply into texts to discover how literature is often a critique of society and how authors explore the issues of their day through characters and stories. Anticipated whole-class texts include The Giver by Lois Lowry, Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, and a variety of short stories, essays, speeches and poems. Writing will emphasize both personal and analytical responses to literature. We will continue to build on students’ skills in inquiry, discussion, and collaboration.