Course Overview
In grammar this year, we will be focusing on the following concepts:
conjunctions and correlative conjunctions
prepositions
interjections
verb tense
In literature, we will cover:
Inferences
Citing textual evidence 
Determine themes
Describe story plots and characters’ responses
Analyze text structure and idea development 
Explain an author’s point of view
Integrate information from different media or formats
Compare/contrast different genres
Evaluate textual claims
We will be learning how to write:
personal narratives,
fictional narratives,
persuasive arguments,
how-to informational texts.
compare and contrast texts,
descriptive/explanatory informational essays
Required Text
Because of Winn-Dixie, Kate DiCamillo
Helen Keller: Crusader for the Blind and Deaf, Stewart and Polly Anne Graff
The Indian in the Cupboard, Lynne Reid Banks
Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
Course Materials
Houghton Mifflin English
The American Journey: Building a Nation [National Geographic Society]
World Studies: Foundations of Geography [Prentice Hall]
Resources
Miscellaneous short stories, dramas and poems

Semester Two:
ELA:
Subjects and simple subjects
Predicates and simple predicates
Direct objects
Conjunctions
Sentences/fragments/run-ons
Prepositions and prepositional phrases
Verbs
Adverbs
Verb tenses
Subject/verb agreement
Diagramming a sentence