Curriculum Overview

1. Literary Units
   1. Summer reading activities and discussions (two of the following):
      1. Burning Up - by Cooney
      2. Tunes for Bears to Dance To - by Cormier
      3. The Cay by Taylor
      4. Pigman by Zindel
   2. Short Story Unit
      1. Stories chosen to stimulate class discussions
      2. Classical titles including:
         1. "The Necklace" - Buy de Maupassant
         2. "A Man who Had No Eyes" - Mackinlay Kantor
         3. "The Monkey's Paw" - W.W. Jacobs
         4. "The Ransom of Red Chief" - O. Henry
         5. "The Tell-tale Heart" - Edgar A. Poe
         6. "The Gift of the Magi" - O. Henry
      3. Literary terms:
         1. Conflict
         2. Antagonist & protagonist
         3. Plot development
         4. Character development
         5. Foreshadowing
         6. Irony
         7. Point-of-view
         8. Theme
         9. Moral
         10. Author's intention
         11. Symbolism
   3. Survival Unit
      1. Class novel: I Am David by Anne Holm
      2. Some of the readings used in small group activities
         1. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
         2. After the Bomb by Gloria D. Miklowitz
         3. Girl Who Owned a City by O.J. Nelson
         4. The Cay by Theodore Taylor
         5. Banner in the Sky by James Ullman
         6. The Island Keeper by Harry Mazer
         7. Snowbound: A Story of Raw Survival by Harry mazer
         8. Pilot Down, Presumed Dead by Marjorie Phleger
   4. The Ballad: A poetry unit
      1. Contemporary and classical
      2. Poetry terms
   5. Conflict in Chernowitz! by Fran Arrick and in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
      1. Families experiencing bigotry in America
      2. Themes
         1. Blind Hatred
         2. Bigotry
         3. Prejudice
      3. Answering study guide questions distributed
      4. Class/small group discussions
      5. Related writing activities
   6. Drama Unit
   7. Yom HaShoah Unit
   8. Historical Fiction Unit
2. Writing Process
1. Taught through both literature and non-literature related activities
   1. Brainstorming
   2. Gathering information
   3. Writing the rough draft
   4. Self-evaluation
   5. Revisions
   6. Teacher assessment
      *Paper Requires parent's Signature/Comments at this point
   7. Final drafts
   8. Conferencing
   9. Portfolios
2. Types of writing
   1. Writing prompts
   2. Personal narrative
   3. Descriptive Essay
   4. Persuasive Essay
   5. Expository Writing
   6. Essay Questions
   7. Research Paper
3. Vocabulary Workshop
   1. Vocabulary selected from literature or vocabulary workbook
   2. Assignments bi-weekly
   3. Vocabulary tests bi-weekly with review tests after 4 lessons
   4. Goal - Incorporation of words into everyday use
4. Grammar Workshop
5. Reports
   1. Assigned one-at-a-tine with appropriate assignment for each
   2. Genre-related (ie. mystery, historical fiction, science fiction, drama)
   3. Free-choice
   4. All books must be approved by teacher for each individual student
      1. Reading Level
      2. Interest Level
      3. Content
6. Book Contest:  Reading beyond the requirements and reading for pleasure
   1. Our excellent classroom library - only a stepping stone
   2. parent support and encouragement are greatly needed