M/J Language Arts 2 – Grade 7

Credits: 1
Estimated Completion Time: 2 semesters/32-36 weeks
Earliest Start Date: November 2018

Pre-Requisites:

Recommended for 7th grade

Description

Using a motif of Mystery, Monsters, and Mayhem, students in the MJ Language Arts 2 course will acquire the reading, writing, language, and speaking/listening skills necessary for success in college, career, and beyond.  Students will become critical readers and thinkers as they delve into fiction and informational texts within the course.  They will also learn to effectively write narrative, informational, and argumentative pieces and present their ideas clearly and cohesively.

Access the site link below to view the course description from the Florida Course Code directory.

Regular course description: http://www.cpalms.org/Public/PreviewCourse/Preview/13164

Advanced course description: http://www.cpalms.org/Public/PreviewCourse/Preview/13165

Major Topics and Concepts

Segment 1

Reading Comprehension/Informational & Expository Writing/Narrative Writing

Analyzing interactions between ideas in a text

• Identifying theme
• Analyzing how theme develops
• Comparing and contrasting mediums
• Using context clues
• Thesaurus and dictionary skills
• Implicit and explicit meaning
• Finding the main idea
• Writing an effective summary
• Assess internet sources
• Why writers choose words
• Reading informational texts
• Researching and organizing information
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Writing an introduction for informational texts
• Connecting and supporting ideas
• Writing a conclusion for informational texts
• Revising writing
• Using formal language in writing
• Recognizing point of view
• Identifying the narrator
• Planning narrative writing
• Beginning a narrative
• Writing dialogue
• Writing the body of a narrative
• Using Commas
• Writing effective transitions
• Identifying active and passive verbs

Segment 1 Advanced

Novel Study

• Origins and elements of the novel
• Analyzing major characters
• Analyzing historical context
• Authors’ style and voice

Segment 2

Reading Comprehension/ /Argumentative Writing

• Organization of informational articles
• How authors express ideas differentlyRoots and affixesInterpreting allusionsPropagandaIdentifying poetic devicesHow literary elements interactComparing and contrastingPlot pattern-determining themeEnhancing a messing using multi-media claims and counterclaimsLocating reliable sourcesEliminating redundancyBuilding an argumentWriting a strong conclusionSegment 2 Advanced? Elements of suspense? Historical context of literature
• ? Authors’ language techniques
• ? Short story genres
• Polishing a final draft
• Transitions and signal phrases
• Writing a strong introduction
• Refuting counterclaims
• Writing an effective claim
• Determine an author’s point of view
• Writing a book review
• Identifying and interpreting symbolism
• A perspective of different characters in literature
• Finding text support
• How poets arrange their words
• Interpreting explicit and implicit ideas
• History vs. fiction
• Using apostrophes

Required Materials

All students select ONE novel below:

Ungifted by Gordon Korman

The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick

The Magician’s Nephew by CS Lewis

The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Advanced students select ONE additional novel below:

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Course Grading

Besides engaging students in challenging curriculum, the course guides students to reflect on their learning and evaluate their progress through a variety of assessments. Assessments can be in the form of practice lessons, multiple choice questions, writing assignments, projects, research papers, oral assessments, and discussions. This course will use the state-approved grading scale. Each course contains a mandatory final exam or culminating project that will be weighted at 20% of the student’s overall grade.***

***Proctored exams can be requested by FLVS at any time and for any reason in an effort to ensure academic integrity. When taking the exam to assess a student’s integrity, the exam must be passed with at least a 59.5% in order to earn credit for the course.

Communication Policy

To achieve success, students are expected to submit work in each course weekly. Students can learn at their own pace; however, “any pace” still means that students must make progress in the course every week. To measure learning, students complete self-checks, practice lessons, multiple choice questions, projects, discussion-based assessments, and discussions. Students are expected to maintain regular contact with teachers; the minimum requirement is monthly. When teachers, students, and parents work together, students are successful.