Middle School English Language Arts Instructional Guide

End of Unit Writing Competency Example

Sample On-Demand Informative Writing Prompt, Text Sets, Student Samples, and Rubric: Review the following text/s on the Great Depression and write a multi-paragraph response that explains the effects the Great Depression had on the people who lived through it. Be sure to use evidence from the text/s to support and develop your response. ● Full Prompt and Sample Text Sets ● Vertically Aligned and Annotated Informative Student Writing Samples (Grades 6-12) ● Informative Writing Rubric Scaffolds

● All Day ELA, Professional Learning Armory

General

● Mini-Moves for Writers: Moves to Summarize ● NCTE Position Statement - Understanding and Teaching Writing: Guiding Principles ● Learning Through Writing Strategies (Avid)

Writing

● Text Annotation (Avid) ● Guiding Questioning ● Close Reading Route ● The Three Phases of the Critical Reading Process (Avid) ● Think-Alouds and Structured Dialogue (Avid)

Reading

● Text-Dependent Questions ● Accessing Complex Texts

● Structured Academic Discussions ● The Big List of Discussion Strategies (Cult of Pedagogy)

Speaking and Listening

● This I Believe essay ● Create an infographic, podcast, profle, turning point essay, proposal, or photo essay ● Write an OpEd and submit to the local newspaper/media outlet ● Submit for publication: learn how to write a query letter, research publications for submissions, submit essay or narrative for publication Multilingual Learners will construct informational texts in language arts that: ● Introduce and defne topic and/or entity for audience ○ Opening statements to identify type of information (describing, comparing/contrasting, classifying) ● Establish objective or neutral stance ○ Declarative statements to provide objective, factual information ○ Technical word choices to add precise and descriptive information without evaluative language (the effects versus devastating effects)

Extensions

Language Expectations for Multilingual Learners

Source: WIDA English Language Development Standards Framework, 2020 Edition

Essential Vocabulary

Morphemes/Roots

● Plagiarism ● Citation ● Credible Sources ● Supporting Evidence ● Text Features

● astro/bio & geo/therm, ● aut/auto, hom/homo, & hydro

Informative Text Structures ● Cause/Effect ● Problem/Solution ● Sequence ● Descriptive ● Compare/Contrast Objective Summary Concluding Statement

○ Heading ○ Caption ○ Sidebar ○ MainText ○ Subheading

Last Updated June, 2023 Middle School ELA, Page 22