Story Maps
To begin the school year, students have hand drawn "writing maps" to help them brainstorm ideas for writing assignments. During this unit throughout the month of August, students will use these ideas to create a short memoir based on a personal life experience, which will use various elements of narrative. Rough drafts due 8/28. Final Drafts due 8/30. Resources: |
The Psychology of Grouping
For the remainder of the first quarter, students will immerse themselves in the psychology behind grouping, stereotypes, and friendships among adolescents. We will use this research to learn the basics of informational writing. Annotations of Medical News Today article due 9/14. Rough drafts due 9/21. Final drafts due 9/25. Resources:
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Q1 Inventory Results
As the first quarter in ELAB comes to a close, students took part in a comprehensive question inventory, which gauged their familiarity with all skills learned thus far this year. Click here for the Q1 Question Inventory Results. Using the pie charts and percentages from the inventory, write two ACES paragraphs: A - Draw a conclusion from the results. C - Provide evidence from the pie charts and bar graphs. E - Explain why students answered this way, or make a prediction how the results might change later in the year. S - Summarize and conclude your thoughts without repeating yourself. |
The Science of Sleep
To kick off the second quarter in ELAB, students will tackle the argumentative essay. Using articles from multiple sources and media, students will argue whether or not to delay school start times to accommodate the natural sleep cycles of teenagers. Annotations of "Homeroom Zombies" due 10/10. Final Drafts due 10/26. Sources:
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The Power of Perspective
When reading narratives and writing essays, it's important to remember that we all have our unique perspective on the world. In this short unit, students will review two stories that they have already read in their ELA class, "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and "Thank You Ma'am", and write their own short scenes related to the texts. For "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi", they will write a scene from the Cobra's perspective. For "Thank You Ma'am," students will continue the story beyond the original text. Sources: "Seventh Grade" by Gary Soto "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling "Thank You Ma'am" by Langston Hughes Resources: "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" Prompt "Thank You Ma'am" Prompt Narrative Checklist When to Start a New Paragraph |
Climate Change
This week, ELAB will focus on the single most important issue facing today's youth and the human race as a whole: climate change. Through this issue, students will discover how various scientific outlets have gathered evidence on multiple fronts to create a broad overview of what life on Earth could look like only 12 years from now. Sources:
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Tracking Your Mastery
Before we enter the holiday break, students will review their writing thus far this semester. Using the resources below, they will track their mastery and reflect on their progress in each of the four categories of the state writing rubric. Resources: CFA Scores Spreadsheet |
Freshwater Crisis Revisited
Students will revisit last week's handwritten informational essay on the global freshwater crisis. In doing so, students will learn to evaluate anonymous student samples according to the four categories of the state writing rubric. Resources: Student Sample #1 Student Sample #2 Student Sample #3 Student Sample #4 Student Sample #5 Peer Evaluation Form Informational Rubric |
Blue Gold
To wrap up our unit on the global freshwater crisis, students will view a clip from the documentary Blue Gold: World Water Wars by filmmaker Sam Bozzo. As they do so, they will compare and contrast how evidence is presented in the original "Beyond Thirst" article and the film. Watch the first 7 minutes of Blue Gold, then write an ACECES paragraph that follows the format below: A - How do the two sources present evidence on the same topic? C - Authorize one source and provide evidence. E - Explain how the source presents the evidence. C - Authorize the other source and provide evidence. E - Explain how that source presents the evidence similarly or differently. S - Summarize your thoughts. Sources: “Beyond Thirst: The Global Water Crisis” by Kathiann M. Kowalski of Faces: Water Issue Blue Gold: World Water Wars by Sam Bozzo (0:00-7:20) |
Dissecting Poetry
In our final major unit of the first semester, ELAB will delve deep into several poems. By doing so, students will better understand how theme is developed in poetry and how language may take on new meaning in new contexts. Sources: "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe "I'm Nobody! Who are You?" by Emily Dickinson "Hope is the Thing with Feathers" by Emily Dickinson Resources: TPCASTT Chart |
Roll-A-Story
Now that students have studied how theme and tone are developed in a written piece, as well as how to construct a variety of sentences using mentor sentences from short stories, students will now construct their own original narratives. Resources: Roll-A-Story Chart Random Dice Roller Criteria:
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New Year, New You Stations
At the beginning of the third quarter and the new year, students will spend some time grappling with new goals, past mistakes, and big ideas to represent 2019. Station One: Personal Resolutions Brainstorm two personal resolutions, set a clear goal for each, and then outline the specific steps you will need to take to reach your goals. Then, discuss your goals withyour peers. Think of how you can find others to keep you accountable in your resolutions. Station Two: Academic Resolutions At this station, you will be focusing on academic/learning-related resolutions. One resolution should be related to school or this class, but the other can be a resolution about something you want to learn/do for your brain/mental stimulation. Brainstorm two learning-related resolutions, set a clear goal for each, and then outline the specific steps you will need to take to reach your goals. Then, discuss your goals with your peers. Think of how you can find others to keep you accountable in your resolutions. Station Three: Word of the Year Pick ONE word to describe your goals, dreams, and hopes for 2019. JUST. ONE. WORD. This should be a word that you want to keep in your mind throughout the year, a word that can serve as a simple reminder for your purpose and your goals. Make sure it is a word that holds unique meaning to YOU, not a word that conveys something that others/society want from you. Station Four: Personal Reflection At this station, reflect upon a failure of 2018. It can be academic or personal, big or small, a bad habit or a grave mistake. Briefly explain your failure, considering the cause of it. How can you learn from this failure? What can you do differently in 2019 to prevent similar failures? Station Five: Article + Response At this station, you will be reading and discussing articles about reaching your goals, increasing your productivity, eliminating procrastination, reducing stress, etc. Choose an article based upon your needs and goals. Then, discuss what you learned with your group members. After sharing articles, write down one thing you learned/hope to apply to your New Year’s resolutions/goals/plans. |
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Stations Worksheet Sources: "Why You Procrastinate, and How to Stop It. Now" by Margie Warrell of Forbes "Achieve Your New Year’s Resolutions in 2018: 5 Strategies to Make This Year Different" by Melissa Matthews of Newsweek "The Physics of Productivity: Newton’s Laws of Getting Stuff Done" by James Clear "Sink or Surf: How to Live Stress-Free In 2018" by Bhali Gill of Forbes "How to Stop Procrastinating by Using the '2-Minute Rule'" by James Clear |
Harrison Bergeron
Students need to embrace those that are different from them--and those that are the same. Students will read a short story by Kurt Vonnegut to learn to embrace their differences. Resources: Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut Harrison Bergeron Powerpoint |
Writing Argumentatively
Now that the second semester is underway, students will revisit the first of the three main types of writing: argumentative. At this time, schools around the country are debating the pros and cons of participating in "Shut Down Your Screen Week". In ELAB, students will weigh the argument, take a position, and support their side. Resources: 'Writing Argumentatively Walkthrough Timed Writing Argumentative Prompt Sources: Shut Down Your Screen Week Articles "Alleged Nazi Labor Camp Guard Deported to Germany"By Camila Domonoske of NPR "Germany 'Unlikely to Prosecute' Nazi Guard Deported from U.S." by Kate Connolly of The Guardian |
Writing Informatively
As students investigate Nazi Germany in ELA with a reading of The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, ELAB will discuss informational writing as they learn about the life and legacy of Anne Frank. Resources: Writing Informatively Walkthrough Inside the Secret Annex from the Anne Frank House Sources: "Who Was Anne Frank?" by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum "Anne Frank's Message is Still Important Today" By Lisa S. Hoffstein and Alexandra Devitt of Teen Vogue |
Writing Narratively
To explore the many skills of narrative writing, students will research Laura Dekker, the youngest sailor in the world ever to circumnavigate the globe. Using her adventures, students will craft a short story that incorporates various elements of narrative and structures. Resources: Writing Narratively Walkthrough aura Dekker World Sailing Foundation Narrative Timed Writing Prompt Sources: Excerpt from "The Conceited Python" by Ruskin Bond Texts + Prompt |
Out of the Park: Potential MLB Expansion to Nashville
To begin the final quarter, students in ELAB will put to use all of the research skills accrued throughout the year thus far as they delve into Major League Baseball's upcoming expansion. With two new teams tentatively being added to the roster, Nashville is on the short list of new locations. If so, this would have a drastic effect on Middle Tennessee and the neighboring regions in the southeast. Resources: MLB Evidence Chart MLB Expansion PPT Sources: "MLB Expansion? These Cities in the U.S. and Abroad Make Sense" by Jay Jaffe of Sports Illustrated "Major League Baseball Commissioner Names Nashville a Potential Expansion City" by Joey Garrison of The Tennessean "Local Businessman Pushes MLB Expansion in Nashville" by Alan Frio of WSMV News "Nashville Sounds Stadium's Rushed Timeline Blamed for Busted Budget, Report Says" by Joey Garrison of USA Today |
Q3 Question Inventory
As we approach the final quarter of the school year in ELAB, students will take part in a comprehensive question inventory which will gauge their familiarity with all skills learned thus far this year. Click here for the inventory results. Using the charts and graphs on the document above, write two ACECES responses that answer the following questions:
Evidence Stem: "In the chart, under the question _________, students responded by saying ..." |
Conventions Centers
Now that students in ELAB have covered all four categories of the state writing rubrics, they will take an in-depth look into the pickiest grading criteria of all: Conventions. Through four stations, students will practice their use of commonly confused words, revising and editing with commas, sentence combination techniques, and using mentor sentences to practice sentence structures. Review the Conventions Rules Powerpoint here. Center 1: Commonly Confused Words
Center 2: Practice RADaR with Commas
Center 3: Combining Sentences Using Colons and Semicolons Center 4: Practice Sentence Structures with Mentor Sentences |
Quizizz Quizmasters
Since students now have the skills to be the ultimate authority on commas, colons, and semicolons, they will spend some time in groups creating a quizizz quiz for their fellow students. By creating original questions using Quizziz, students will demonstrate their learning and challenge their classmates at the same time. Click here for the instructions for the assignment. Review the Conventions Rules here! Resources: |
Multi-Genre Investigation:
From now to the end of the school year, ELAB will center almost exclusively on a long-term project we like to call a Mutli-Genre Investigation (MGI). This project is meant to spur as many creative modes of writing into being as possible. We in ELAB believe that good writing is never just formal or informal, essays or stories, or even always grammatically correct. Writing is simply about one thing: communication. With this in mind, students will create multiple genres, or writing projects, centered around an approved topic of their choosing. Each student will create an overarching question to guide their research on their topic, and they will create genres that answer guiding questions related to specific aspects of their topic. |
MGI Checklist 2019-2019
Examples: Example MGI Chart Example Guiding Questions Example Brainstorming Example Preface Example Narrative Research Example Narrative Outline Example Narrative Genre Example Informative Research Example Informative Outline Example Informative Genre Example Reflection Introduction Resources: MGI Chart Guiding Questions Sheet Topic Brainstorming Chart MGI Preface Outline Narrative Genre Resources: Narrative Research Narrative Outline Informative Genre Resources: Informative Research Informative Outline Argumentative Resources: Argumentative Research Argumentative Outline MGI Reflection Outline |
Q4 Inventory:
Now that students have completed all course work for ELAB, they will reflect on their own level of mastery on all skills covered throughout the school year. Click HERE to access the Q4 Inventory! When finished, click here to go to NoRedInk complete the assignment "End of the Year"! |