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Status

Open

Estimated Completion Time

36 weeks

Overview

The Elementary English Language Arts courses provide students with a rigorous and comprehensive look at the ELA standards, focusing on reading foundational skills, reading comprehension strategies through informative and literature texts, writing, grammar, and speaking and listening skills. Students will be exposed to the five essential components of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, vocabulary and fluency) through engaging text and interactive learning. Fourth and fifth-grade students will focus on reading to learn with the incorporation of more complex text and extensive exploration and use of vocabulary in reading and writing. Students will be taught grammar skills which will be implemented into the rigorous writing lessons and compliment various topics. Students will participate in informative, narrative, and opinion writing compositions throughout the course. Throughout the English Language Arts courses, students will explore a myriad of topics through integration across content areas. Each grade level of the ELA suite will surround student learning with an adventure filled theme, showing students that learning really is the great adventure.

Please view the Elementary Parents’ Survival Guide: The First Four Weeks of Online Learning for guidance on helping your student in the transition to online learning.

Course Requirements

To achieve success, students are expected to submit work in each course weekly. Students can learn at their own pace; however, “any pace” still means that students must make progress in the course every week. To measure learning, students complete self-checks, practice lessons, multiple choice questions, projects, discussion-based assessments, and discussions. Students and families are expected to maintain regular contact with teachers because, when teachers, students, and parents work together, students are successful.

Required Materials – Please view the list of materials before registering.

Major Topics and Concepts

Module 1

  • Use context clues to read and determine the meaning of unknown words phrases
  • Use strategies to spell words correctly
  • Use legible cursive writing skills
  • Use story details to make inferences and explain what the text says explicitly
  • Use story details to describe a character, setting, or event
  • Use story details to determine the theme
  • Use common, proper, and plural nouns correctly when writing
  • Understand the contexts for formal and informal language
  • Use strong verbs to add more detail
  • Use helping, linking, and verb phrases correctly when writing
  • Use the writing process to write an informative essay

Module 2

  • Use context clues to read and determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases
  • Use strategies to spell words correctly
  • Use legible cursive writing skills
  • Use evidence to make inferences and explain what the text says explicitly
  • Use evidence from the text to determine the main idea
  • Explain events, concepts, and procedures in historical, scientific, and technical texts
  • Use relative pronouns correctly when writing
  • Identify subjects and predicates, and use them correctly when writing
  • Use commas correctly when writing
  • Use the writing process to write a person narrative

Module 3

  • Use context clues to read and determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases
  • Use strategies to spell words correctly
  • Use legible cursive writing skills
  • Explain the meaning of similes and metaphors
  • Explain the major differences between stories, dramas, and poems
  • Use story details to determine the theme
  • Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are told
  • Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate run-ons and fragments
  • Use proper punctuation when quoting
  • Use the writing process to write an opinion essay

Module 4

  • Use context clues to read and determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases
  • Use strategies to spell words correctly
  • Use legible cursive writing skills
  • Describe the overall structure of a text or part of a text
  • Compare and contrast firsthand and secondhand accounts on the same event or topic
  • Recognize and write the different sentence types correctly
  • Use reference materials to determine a word meaning
  • Use the writing process to write an informative essay

Module 5

  • Use context clues to read and determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases
  • Use strategies to spell words correctly
  • Use legible cursive writing skills
  • Compare and contrast themes, topics, and patterns of events in traditional literature
  • Make connections between the text and a visual representation of that text
  • Use knowledge of Greek and Latin Affixes to determine unknown word meaning
  • Use compound subjects and predicates correctly when writing
  • Use compound sentences correctly when writing
  • Use pronouns correctly when writing
  • Use the writing process to write an informative essay

Module 6

  • Use context clues to read and determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases
  • Use strategies to spell words correctly
  • Use legible cursive writing skills
  • Use synonyms and antonyms to add variety to writing
  • Explain how text features contribute to the understanding of the text in which they appear
  • Explain how the author uses reasons and evidence to support his or her points
  • Integrate information from two texts on the same topic to write or speak about the subject
  • Correctly match pronouns and their antecedents when writing
  • Use comparative and superlative adjectives correctly when writing
  • Use relative adverbs correctly when writing
  • Use the writing process to write an opinion essay

Module 7

  • Use context clues to read and determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases
  • Use strategies to spell words correctly
  • Use legible cursive writing skills
  • Explain the meaning of idioms, similes, and metaphors
  • Use story details to describe a character, setting, or event
  • Use story details to summarize and determine the theme
  • Explain the major differences between stories, dramas, and poems
  • Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are told
  • Use parentheses for effect when writing
  • Order adjectives correctly when writing
  • Use knowledge of Greek and Latin Affixes to determine unknown word meaning
  • Use the writing process to write an informative essay

Module 8

  • Use context clues to read and determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases
  • Use strategies to spell words correctly
  • Understand the contexts for formal and informal language
  • Identify opposites and similar meanings of words
  • Use evidence to make inferences and explain what the text says explicitly
  • Use evidence from the text to summarize and determine the main idea
  • Explain events, concepts, and procedures in historical, scientific, and technical texts
  • Describe the overall structure of a text or part of a text
  • Use the progressive verb tense correctly when writing
  • Use irregular verbs correctly when writing
  • Use apostrophes correctly when forming contractions
  • Use the writing process to write informative essays

Module 9

  • Use context clues to read and determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases
  • Use strategies to spell words correctly
  • Use legible cursive writing skills
  • Understand the meaning of adages and proverbs
  • Recognize and use homophones correctly
  • Compare and contrast themes, topics, and patterns of events in traditional literature
  • Make connections between the text and a visual representation of that text
  • Explain the major differences between stories, dramas, and poems
  • Use details to determine the theme of a poem
  • Use compound and complex sentences correctly when writing
  • Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate run-ons and fragments
  • Use correct subject-verb agreement when writing
  • Use helping verbs correctly when writing
  • Use the writing process to write an opinion essay

Module 10

  • Use context clues to read and determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases
  • Use strategies to spell words correctly
  • Use legible cursive writing skills
  • Use synonyms and antonyms to determine the meaning of unknown words
  • Recognize and use homophones correctly
  • Explain how text features contribute to the understanding of the text in which they appear
  • Explain how the author uses reasons and evidence to support his or her points
  • Use evidence from the text to determine the main idea
  • Use sentence tense correctly when writing
  • Use prepositions and prepositional phrases correctly when writing
  • Combine sentences using prepositional phrases
  • Use the writing process to write an informative essay

Module 11

  • Use context clues to read and determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases
  • Use strategies to spell words correctly
  • Use story details to make inferences and explain what the text says explicitly
  • Use story details to describe a character, setting, or event
  • Use story details to summarize and determine the theme
  • Explain the major differences between stories, dramas, and poems
  • Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are told
  • Compare and contrast themes, topics, and patterns of events in traditional literature
  • Combine short sentences using appositives
  • Combine sentences using participial phrases
  • Use a variety of sentence types when writing
  • Use correct verb tense when writing
  • Use the writing process to write a fictional narrative

Module 12

  • Use context clues to read and determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases
  • Use strategies to spell words correctly
  • Use affixes to determine new word meaning
  • Explain how the author uses reasons and evidence to support his or her points
  • Describe the overall structure of a text or part of a text
  • Compare and contrast firsthand and secondhand accounts on the same event or topic
  • Explain events, concepts, and procedures in historical, scientific, and technical texts
  • Use demonstrative pronouns correctly when writing
  • Use the negative correctly when writing
  • Use research to support writing
  • Use the writing process to write an opinion essay

Credits 1

Competencies

  • Making Inferences
    I can interpret the meaning of words and phrases based on context clues. I can describe story elements. I can infer the meaning of a text using text-based evidence. I can write an informative paragraph using text-based evidence. I can identify the theme of a story. I can identify verbs and verb phrases.
  • Main Idea and Detail
    I can identify the main idea of a text. I can identify the details that support ideas within technical, scientific, and historical texts. I can identify the subject and predicate of a sentence. I can write a narrative essay using descriptive language.
  • Literary Genres
    I can compare poetry, drama, and prose. I can summarize a story. I can differentiate between similes and metaphors. I can infer the theme of a story. I can identify point of view. I can write an opinion paragraph using text-based evidence.
  • Literary Structures
    I can describe the structure of a literary text. I can compare firsthand and secondhand accounts. I can write an informative piece using transitional words and phrases.
  • Making Connections
    I can interpret the meaning of words and phrases based on affixes and roots. I can create compound sentences using coordinating conjunctions. I can explain the connection between text and visuals. I can compare two texts. I can write an opinion essay using text-based evidence.
  • Text Features
    I can explain how text features support the text. I can identify the author’s points and evidence. I can create sentences with comparative and superlative adjectives. I can write an opinion essay using and elaborating on textual evidence to support my opinion.
  • Explaining Theme
    I can compare the point of view of different stories. I can explain the meaning of idioms. I can infer the theme of a story. I can write an informative essay making connections between textual evidence and my paragraph topic.
  • Text Structures
    I can identify synonyms and antonyms. I can analyze a text to determine its meaning and structure. I can describe the structures of informative texts. I can write an informative essay using text-based evidence following a structure.
  • Traditional Literature
    I can explain the meaning of adages and proverbs. I can compare fairy tales and myths. I can create an opinion piece through the writing process which follows a structure and uses precise vocabulary.
  • Author’s Points
    I can explain the use of details and evidence to support an author’s points. I can explain the use of interactive text features to enhance understanding of a text. I can synthesize evidence from multiple sources to create an informative essay following a structure.
  • Point of View
    I can analyze a character based on their actions and words in a story or play. I can describe the impact of point of view on a story. I can write a narrative essay using narrative elements, sensory details, and figurative language.
  • Research for Writing
    I can compare firsthand and secondhand historical accounts. I can create a presentation with a visual from a structured opinion essay using research.

Pre-Requisites

None

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We offer regular online open house webinars where VLACS staff members provide parents and students with an overview of our programs and answer questions about online learning.