Building upon exisitng curriculum, I worked (and am continuing to work on) revamping the 7th and 8th grade English curriculum! Before getting into the nitty gritty, shoutout to:
Hannah Gallagher: new 7th grade English teacher! We met this summer and discussed how to strengthen the opening unit for 7th grade, especially around essay writing
Jackie Beutell: thanks for sharing 'Units of Study' with me and being a great person to bounce ideas off of
Michelle Loomis: for providing such a comprehensive list of possible books to include in our curriculum; Michelle actually suggested the new opening book for 7th grade, A Rover's Story
I've been able to create curriculum maps for 7th and 8th grade, that align to Common Core English standards. I am hoping to implement in both grades formative assessments that cover 4 major standards such as citing evidence and making inferences. I started re-designing the research project for the 7th grade class, and I am hoping to align it more with the sustainability initiative of the Curriculum Council. I've also moved around units to better align with events/assessments in other classes and the larger school community.
In 7th grade specifically, we are adding the novels A Rover's Story and The Joy Luck Club to the curriculum. These books are both appropriate for their level as well as touch on important themes and ideas we are hoping students to explore. We are looking into a more holisitic approach to essay-writing, as TCQA was too formulaic for students.
In 8th grade, we are adding the memoir First They Killed My Father to the opening unit, Youth and War. Originally, the unit had been designed with students reading multiple pieces of both literature and informational text. After reviewing student performance and gathering feeedback from students, I decided that a single anchor text, with supplemental pieces when needed, was a better approach for both students and myself.
There is still more work to be done, but I am excited about where we are going! Attached you can find the curriculum maps for both 7th and 8th grade, as well as the unit overview for the first unit in 7th grade and 8th grade. I will be using a unit plan from Talent Developmental for First They Killed My Father. I've also attached the Amazon link.
Thanks for reading!
Link to 7 ELA Curriculum: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dW0fsjxY9vuFTNUygpaJfMKppKHR7EqyzXhssNy5F24/edit#gid=0
Link to 8 ELA Curriculum: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lKpGWOaCramtlYGzwqnWjs7VJORih-VCWEY4FeqqqEU/edit#gid=0
Unit 1 7 ELA: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UEBwgEwQ1oyYQ9_IHtltiYW460thIb_8GMjxd2Wbwa0/edit
Unit 2 8 ELA: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NgoOKwMui5zJ1O0Y_mDwcXHb6XsxJMCklTgRLKfErig/editA;