The sands of the Nile River Valley hold many clues about one of the most mysterious, progressive, and artistic ancient civilizations. A great deal of evidence survives about how the ancient Egyptians lived, but questions remain. Even the wise sphinx would have trouble answering some of them. How were the pyramids built? Who came up with the idea for mummies and why? What was a typical day like for a pharaoh?

7th Grade Historical Literacy consists of two 43 minute class periods. Writing is one 43 minute block and reading is another. The teacher has picked themes based on social studies standards, and a read-aloud novel based on social studies serves as the mentor text for writing and reading skills. More social studies content is addressed in reading through teaching nonfiction reading skills and discussion. Standards reflect CCSS ELA, Reading, and Social Studies Standards.

Students must "become" a character in a novel in order to describe themselves and other characters using powerful adjectives.

Exploring poetic and speaking & listening techniques and devices in the poem - 'Ain't I a woman?' by Sojourner Truth and Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech. Worksheets and resources focusing on the lexical choices in the texts, and the effects of these.

Following the traditional form of the haiku, students publish their own haikus using Animoto, an online web tool that creates slideshows that blend text and music.

This course pack is designed to meet the learning outcomes for Adult Literacy Fundamental English Level 5 (roughly equivalent to grades 6 to 7.5 in the K-12 system). Every chapter includes a level-appropriate, high-interest reading of between 500 and 800 words. The readings are freely available in a separate reader with convenient links to the readings in each chapter of this course pack. Font size and line spacing can be adjusted in the online view, and have been enhanced for the print and PDF versions for easier reading. This course pack has been reviewed by subject experts from colleges and universities.

This course pack is designed to meet the learning outcomes for Adult Literacy Fundamental English Level 5 (roughly equivalent to grades 6 to 7.5 in the K-12 system). Every chapter includes a level-appropriate, high-interest reading of between 500 and 800 words. The readings are freely available in a separate reader with convenient links to the readings in each chapter of this course pack. Font size and line spacing can be adjusted in the online view, and have been enhanced for the print and PDF versions for easier reading. This course pack has been reviewed by subject experts from colleges and universities.

This course pack is designed to meet the learning outcomes for Adult Literacy Fundamental English Level 6 (roughly equivalent to grades 7.5 to 9 in the K-12 system). Every chapter includes a level-appropriate, high-interest reading of between 500 and 1,000 words. The readings are freely available in a separate reader with convenient links to the readings in each chapter of this course pack. Font size and line spacing can be adjusted in the online view, and have been enhanced for the print and PDF versions for easier reading. This course pack has been reviewed by subject experts from colleges and universities.

This course pack is designed to meet the learning outcomes for Adult Literacy Fundamental English Level 6 (roughly equivalent to grades 7.5 to 9 in the K-12 system). Every chapter includes a level-appropriate, high-interest reading of between 500 and 1,000 words. The readings are freely available in a separate reader with convenient links to the readings in each chapter of this course pack. Font size and line spacing can be adjusted in the online view, and have been enhanced for the print and PDF versions for easier reading. This course pack has been reviewed by subject experts from colleges and universities.

This reader contains nine original stories written specifically for adults, and is designed to accompany the BC Reads: Adult Literacy Fundamental English - Course Pack 5. This level 5 reader, one of a series of six readers, is roughly equivalent to grades 6 to 7.5 in the K-12 system. New vocabulary are set in bold throughout each story, and then summarized and defined in a Glossary found in the appendix. Font size and line spacing can be adjusted in the online view, and have been enhanced for the print and PDF versions for easier reading. This reader has been reviewed by subject experts from colleges and universities.

This reader contains nine original stories written specifically for adults, and is designed to accompany the BC Reads: Adult Literacy Fundamental English - Course Pack 5. This level 5 reader, one of a series of six readers, is roughly equivalent to grades 6 to 7.5 in the K-12 system. New vocabulary are set in bold throughout each story, and then summarized and defined in a Glossary found in the appendix. Font size and line spacing can be adjusted in the online view, and have been enhanced for the print and PDF versions for easier reading. This reader has been reviewed by subject experts from colleges and universities.

This reader contains 11 original instructional essays written specifically for adults, and is designed to accompany the BC Reads: Adult Literacy Fundamental English - Course Pack 6. This level 6 reader, one of a series of six readers, is roughly equivalent to grades 7.5 to 9 in the K-12 system. New vocabulary are set in bold throughout each story, and then summarized and defined in a Glossary found in the appendix. Font size and line spacing can be adjusted in the online view, and have been enhanced for the print and PDF versions for easier reading. This reader has been reviewed by subject experts from colleges and universities.

This reader contains 11 original instructional essays written specifically for adults, and is designed to accompany the BC Reads: Adult Literacy Fundamental English - Course Pack 6. This level 6 reader, one of a series of six readers, is roughly equivalent to grades 7.5 to 9 in the K-12 system. New vocabulary are set in bold throughout each story, and then summarized and defined in a Glossary found in the appendix. Font size and line spacing can be adjusted in the online view, and have been enhanced for the print and PDF versions for easier reading. This reader has been reviewed by subject experts from colleges and universities.

Students must think critically to create comic strips highlighting six important scenes from a book they have read.

Book tasting can be adapted to any grade level. It is designed to promote interest in voracious reading by presenting attractive and interesting books that students may not have noticed on their own.

A guide to support students in grades 6-8 during intervention or in a supplemental setting, including suggestions for additional work with related text, word study and vocabulary, fluency, grammar and syntax, and independent reading.

The curriculum map is the single-best source to understand the year’s work in the module lessons for each grade level: a detailed view of the scope and sequence of the modules showing module titles, topics, targets, and standards explicitly taught and formally assessed in each module.

A Google Slide Deck introduction to the MITECS competency Empowered Learner - Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.

Example: Seventh grade students in an English class set individual goals based on their initial reading fluency and comprehension assessment results. As the academic year progressed, the students jotted “success notes” to themselves as they mastered new skills. Each student charted their goals and monitored their own progress each week through a personalized goal tracker checklist. As the academic year progressed, each student wrote about their learning journey in an online journal that was shared with their teacher. At the end of the year, students reflected on and celebrated their growth.

Questions for Reflection:
- How do the MITECS complement core content?
- How might you and your colleagues develop cross-curricular experiences to support the MITECS?
- Which of the competencies are you most familiar with?
- Which competency is an area of growth for you, as an educator?

For this lesson, students will learn what theme is, understand what the most common themes are, and analyze the theme of short stories. As a final assessment, students will read a novel and write a 5 paragraph essay analyzing the theme.

*Please see link included for a more detailed planning document.

Students will be designing a graphic based on the book they have finished reading in their guided reading group.   They will use the app, Canva (www.canva.com),  to create the graphic.  The graphic will include key details, descriptions, themes, plot, summary, as well as other text evidence we have discussed throughout our guided reading time together.  Students will create their graphics, and present them in a gallery walk for the rest of the class.

The content on their graphics will come from our guided reading group questions and discussions . They will record answers in their Google Classroom, based on the questions I post.  Questions will be text dependent, and focus on comprehension, main idea, key details, point of view, and connections. Students will then synthesize the information and discussion topics to create a graphic about their book.