Major Concepts/Content: The Language Arts 7 course is designed to strengthen students' skills in listening, speaking, writing, literature, and language. The content includes, but is not limited to, developing an understanding of listening responsibility, a tolerance for other points of view, and knowledge of various listening techniques for various situations; using standard English in classroom situations; developing an appreciation for the importance of speech in problem solving and the importance of skill in organizing information, thoughts, and ideas logically, leading to clear, concise oral presentations; practicing the process of composition, including prewriting, drafting, revising, proofreading, and publishing; writing in complete sentences; using proofreading skills to correct spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar and usage in final drafts; experiencing different types of literature (e.g., short stories, novels, non-fiction, poetry, mythology; applying information found in the dictionary and the thesaurus; using the media center research facilities; and reading self-selected books to help students learn to view reading as a useful and pleasurable activity.

Major Instructional Activities: Instructional activities will be provided in a general classroom setting, in the media center and in the school and community environment. Student activities will include, but are not limited to, writing Journals or learning logs; writing expository and descriptive papers; writing personal narratives and short stories; writing and mailing personal letters; learning to respond to each other's writing with helpful suggestions for revision; taking several pieces of group and individual writing through a process that includes prewriting activities, drafting, peer response, revision, proofreading for spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar and usage, and publishing; practicing writing from different points of view for different audiences; developing speaking and listening skills by responding to literature and to each other's writing, and by participating in small and large group discussions and in oral presentations, individual recitations, and dramatizations; studying appropriate major works of literature intensively in class; independently reading, viewing, and listening to examples of the various genres of literature, and responding to the experiences, presenting interpretations of literature orally; reading self-selected books and responding to them in journal entries, letters, and group discussions, or in oral or written book reports; and increasing vocabulary through the study of words encountered in reading and through work with the dictionary and the thesaurus. 

Major Evaluative Techniques: Students will be evaluated for class participation; completion of reading assignments and book-reporting requirements; comprehension of literature as measured by objective, essay and/or oral examinations; improvement in written compositions and oral presentations, with major emphasis on critical thinking, content, organization, specificity and relevance of detail, and with secondary emphasis on growth in the areas of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and usage skills. 

Essential Objectives: Upon completion of the language arts 7 course, students should be able to:

• Show tolerance for other points of view.
• Show an understanding of listening responsibility.
• Appreciate the importance of speech in problem solving.
• Write in complete sentences.
• Spell correctly those words used in written communication.
• Use capitalization and punctuation correctly.
• Read different types of literature.
• Apply information found in the dictionary and the thesaurus.
• Use Standard American English in classroom situations.
• Demonstrate the ability to use proofreading skills.

Last Revised: July 18, 2005