Upper Elementary ELA – Junior Great Books

Price range: $ 375.00 through $ 675.00

For upper elementary English Language Arts (ELA) students who are ready to take on a bit more of a challenge, discussions that are more in-depth and analytical, and start some light writing and vocabulary – this is the English Language Arts class for your child.  Fall semester will work on a short story collection while spring will tackle a novel.  Class sessions will be predominantly used for literature analysis activities (including hands-on activities) and Shared Inquiry discussion of text with some homework sharing.  This secular but inclusive semester course is offered in Naperville with in-person class meetings once/week for 1 hours each and has work to complete between classes.

See below for more details including required materials & time outside of class.

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Description

For our Upper Elementary students (ages 8-10/11) who are ready to dig in and start preparing for middle school.  They will learn to “find their evidence”, discuss opposing viewpoints, become active readers with light vocabulary and creativity whenever we can find the opportunity!  Families looking for formal writing instruction may want to register for our Upper Elementary Writing class in the block before this class.

Upper Elementary ELA – Junior Great Books

Students meet on Wednesdays, 10:00 – 10:55 am plus approximately 1 hour/week of work done between classes.

Registration is either for Fall semester (13 weeks) or Full year course (26 weeks) Class will be held the same day both semesters. 

Through our readings, we cover a broad range of topics.  Often, where the conversation goes will depend on the students but always include:

  • Participating in literary discussion including how to present an opposing viewpoint
  • Annotation and supporting statements with text evidence
  • Literary analysis and close reading
  • Literary devices and figurative language as they relate to the readings (metaphor, simile, hyperbole, foreshadowing, personification and many more)
  • Elements of writing (character, setting, perspective, theme, etc.)
  • Comparing and contrasting pieces of literature
Course Content
Students in this class will have homework that includes:

  • 4-10 vocabulary words
  • reading a short story twice or chapters from our novel
  • preparing responses to 3-6 discussion questions
  • writing their own questions to bring to class

Novels will be chosen from the following with a short novel being a potential second book for the spring:

  • Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
  • Holes by Louis Sachar
  • Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
  • Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
  • Fish in a Tree  by Lynda Mullaly
  • Rules by Cynthia Lord
  • The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
  • Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

From the GreatBooks website regarding our short story anthologies:  “Praised for their rich language and international range, and chosen carefully for their ability to support multiple interpretations, the stories in Junior Great Books® capture students’ attention and imagination to engage the best of their thinking.

Required Materials
Students should bring a writing utensil, pocket folder or small binder (this can be shared with Upper Elementary Writing class), and a water bottle.  All other materials for this class will be supplied!
Time Required Outside of Class
Students can expect to spend approximately 1 hour/week to complete various assigned tasks depending on your students speed of reading and writing. This work might require internet access.  If your family cannot allocate 1 hour/week for individual work (which may take less time), this may not be a good fit. 
Required Reading Level
For literature, please go to:  https://fab.lexile.com and look up the books your child reads with ease.  If they are at 650 level or higher, your child is ready to handle the content in this class. 

Students should be able to read and write with relative ease and average speed.  Spelling is less of an issue as long as 1) the instructor can at least phonetically decipher the child’s writing; and 2) spelling is not going to cause a child to write much slower because they are wondering about the correct spelling.

There is also scissor use in our classes.  Students who struggle using scissors may not be ready for some of the tasks they will be presented with in class that must be completed IN class.

Is This Level a Good Fit for My Child?
Students in this level should be ready to ask questions about everything–and grow in depth along the way.  They should be starting to think of the world around them and others, but they will also be looking at themselves.  Students who struggle with looking into themselves may struggle with some of the literature class.  A student who is not able to accept that they can be wrong will find the literature class difficult.

Students who are unable to keep from calling out their ideas in a group setting or engage in negative attention-seeking would not be well-suited to this course.  Fidgeters or students that need to stand rather than sit may be able to be accommodated.  Please contact us to see how we can work together with these needs.

These stories also deal with other cultures and religions (including pre-Christian folklore).  If you are concerned about the reading content, please contact us.

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