[ELA] English/Language Arts 7 Semester A (1 of 2): Extended Campus (SM)

Please review the course syllabus: Course Syllabus

In this course, you will read and analyze informational texts. These texts take many different forms, including personal accounts of events, presidential speeches, and persuasive letters. The course's reading selections demonstrate ways to understand explicit and implicit information, central ideas and key details, and claims and arguments, among other ideas and concepts. Throughout the course, you will read the autobiography The Story of My Life by Helen Keller. You will also examine informational texts to better your understanding of the lives of several important historical figures, including Jane Goodall and Zora Neale Hurston; places like Dubai, the Galapagos Islands, and the Hoover Dam; and the unique features of great white sharks, among other topics.

As you read the selections in this course, you will identify central ideas, make inferences, practice ways to use supporting evidence, identify figurative and connotative language, and analyze word choice in informational texts. In addition, you will learn about basics in grammar, usage, and punctuation, including simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences; different types of phrases and clauses; and commas. You will also review context clues to determine word meaning. In addition, you will learn various vocabulary words and more about Greek and Latin prefixes, suffixes, and roots.

In addition, you will learn the elements of informational and argument writing so that you can plan, create, write, revise, and edit your own informational and argument essays. These are valuable skills you will be able to apply to other courses you take during middle and high school.

Through the lessons provided in this course, you will master techniques that help you achieve a deeper appreciation of informational texts.