EL Education
EL Education is the curriculum program that Wake County adopted in 2017 for language arts in grades 2 through 8. Each "module," or topic-centered unit of study, will last approximately 12 weeks. Students will be provided a workbook and a central text for use during their study of the module. Modules progress in three stages: building background knowledge -> extended reading and research -> extended writing, culminating in a performance task. Students should plan to read for at least 20 minutes daily -- either an assigned section of our class text to support their instructional experiences, or a text of their choice to build reading stamina.
Module 1:
"Myths: Not Just Long Ago"Focus: Reading closely and writing to learn
Description: Students will study the purposes and elements of mythology. Students will read Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief with a focus on the archetypal hero's journey and close reading of the many mythical allusions. They will also read complex informational texts about the elements of mythology. As a whole class, students will closely read several complex Greek myths, and then work in small groups to build expertise on an additional myth. Students then develop their narrative writing skills as they create their own hero's journey narrative.
Central Text:
Module 2:
"Voices of Adversity"
Focus: Working with evidence (drama)
Description: Students will explore the idea of adversity of people across time and place, and through multiple modes of writing. Students will begin this module with a research-based unit on the Middle Ages. They will read closely about one demographic group in order to write an informational essay based on their research. Students will then move on to read literature: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, in order to identify the various adversities faced by this cast of characters and to examine the author's craft. To conclude the unit students will move into the modern voices of adversity by reading concrete poems in the book Technically, It's Not My Fault and write their own text about adversities faced by sixth-graders.
Central Texts:
Module 1:
"Myths: Not Just Long Ago"Focus: Reading closely and writing to learn
Description: Students will study the purposes and elements of mythology. Students will read Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief with a focus on the archetypal hero's journey and close reading of the many mythical allusions. They will also read complex informational texts about the elements of mythology. As a whole class, students will closely read several complex Greek myths, and then work in small groups to build expertise on an additional myth. Students then develop their narrative writing skills as they create their own hero's journey narrative.
Central Text:
- The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan
- Percy Jackson and the Hero's Journey
- Elements and Themes of Mythology in The Lightning Thief
- Culminating Project: My Hero’s Journey Narrative
- My Hero's Journey Narrative scaffolded narrative (ELA Standards RL.6.3, W.6.3, W.6.4, W.6.5, W.6.6, W.6.11c, L.6.2, and L.6.3)
Module 2:
"Voices of Adversity"
Focus: Working with evidence (drama)
Description: Students will explore the idea of adversity of people across time and place, and through multiple modes of writing. Students will begin this module with a research-based unit on the Middle Ages. They will read closely about one demographic group in order to write an informational essay based on their research. Students will then move on to read literature: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, in order to identify the various adversities faced by this cast of characters and to examine the author's craft. To conclude the unit students will move into the modern voices of adversity by reading concrete poems in the book Technically, It's Not My Fault and write their own text about adversities faced by sixth-graders.
Central Texts:
- Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, Laura Amy Schlitz
- Technically, It's Not My Fault: Concrete Poems, John Grandits
- Adversities in Medieval Times
- Monologues, Language, and Literary Argument: Voices of a Medieval Village
- Modern Voices of Adversity