Language Arts Units

This Artios Academies curriculum takes an integrated approach to teaching language arts. All literature selections, writing assignments, and grammar exercises are designed to integrate directly with the history topics that are being studied in order to both maximize your students’ understanding of the time period and retention of information. While it is written with the student as the audience, it is intended to be used with parental input, feedback, and supervision.

Notebook

It is highly suggested that you keep a notebook for your students’ language arts work throughout the year. You will probably want to organize this notebook with dividers, and include sections for Author Profiles, Writing Projects, Grammar Exercises, Literature Projects, and any other areas that you may desire. Your students may enjoy decorating a cover for their notebook.

Literature selections

The literature selections in this curriculum have been carefully selected and ordered to align with the historical topics that students are studying simultaneously. While some older elementary students may be able to read these books easily on their own, younger elementary students may not be ready to read these books by themselves. It is highly suggested that you read aloud to your elementary students on a regular basis, even if they are capable of reading the content on their own; students grow in their understanding of language and spoken word the more they hear it read aloud. As your less-confident readers grow in their abilities, allow them to start with reading a few sentences at the beginning of your reading sessions and then progress to reading longer passages.

As you are reading, take time to pause and ask questions, both to assess their comprehension of what is happening in the book, and to allow for discussion of some of the themes and ideas that are woven throughout the text. Make sure to ask some questions that have a simple, concise answer as well as ones that require some thought. This also makes for a great opportunity to discuss the worldviews that are represented within each book and to help your students evaluate truths and fallacies that may be representative of that belief system.

Vocabulary assignments are not assigned within this curriculum; however, there vocabulary selections are included within the Resources section of the website, or you may choose to keep your own vocabulary lists, according to the age of your children, as you read. You might enjoy creating your own dictionary of new words or creating index cards with written or picture definitions.

The books that you will need for this curriculum are as follows (listed in order of use):

• Son of Charlemagne by Barbara Willard
• Stories of Beowulf: Told to Children by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall
• Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle
• Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Gray
• The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood
• *The Young Reader’s Shakespeare: Hamlet by Adam McKeown OR *Shakespeare Can Be Fun: Hamlet for Kids by Lois Burdett
• Master Cornhill by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

**= Optional supplemental texts

While studies of the following pieces of literature are not included within this curriculum, you may enjoy adding some of the following time-period books to your extra family reading times. Please preview any book before reading with your children, as some may have content that is a little more mature.

•  The Boy and the Samurai by Erik Haugaard
• Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
• Crispin: Cross of Lead by Avi
• The Door in the Wall by Marguerite De Angeli
• The Great and Terrible Quest by Margaret Lovett
• I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth de Trevino
• Luther, Biography of a Reformer by Frederick Nohl
• Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer
• The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
• The Ramsey Scallop by Frances Temple
• The Samurai’s Tale by Erik Haugaard
• The Second Mrs. Giaconda by E.L. Konigsburg
• The Shakespeare Scribe by Gary Blackwood
• The Shakespeare Spy by Gary Blackwood

Writing assignments

The writing assignments that are provided in this curriculum are designed primarily for older elementary students, with an approximate grade level of 4-6. They are designed to prepare these upper elementary students for the more rigorous writing assignments of middle school. Some younger students may still be able to complete these projects easily, while some older students may still need a fair amount of support in completing them, especially if they are not yet comfortable with writing. This is perfectly okay; the most important things are that students grow in their ease and skill in writing, and that they are exposed to a wide variety of writing experiences.

Grading rubrics are also included for each assignment to assist parents in evaluating their students’ writing. Giving these grading rubrics to a students prior to beginning a writing exercise can be helpful for them in understanding what is expected of the assignment; however, it is not necessary that they be used. It is recommended that you skip these formal writing assessments with your student if they are experiencing stress or struggling through the assignments, and instead focus on encouraging and celebrating them as they improve in their writing abilities.

When using this curriculum with younger students and emergent writers, it is highly suggested that you simplify the assignments to fit the ability level of the child. In the early years, writing assignments should follow the students’ curiosity, with an emphasis on learning that writing is simply organizing one’s thoughts onto paper. With this in mind, it is perfectly appropriate for a child to dictate their writing to a parent, who will record it and then allow them to illustrate their writing. It is also suggested that the students’ writing be kept in a place of easy access (for example, their notebook), and they should be encouraged to share it and re-read it frequently. As a student grows in their ability, they should be encouraged to do their own writing, starting with a few words, and working up to sentences and then longer pieces of writing. During this time, it is not important to emphasize correct spelling of words unless they ask for help, but instead to encourage their progress. Appropriate writing exercises would include re-telling, writing, and illustrating brief descriptions of what has been read; listing significant events from a story and arranging them in order; writing an adventure story for one of the characters in the book; writing their own story that may have been inspired by the book; writing rhyming poems a character or event; or writing and illustrating facts about a topic of interest. Young children love to have access to a wide variety of writing materials, so you might consider creating a “Writer’s Workshop” area and stocking it with many types of pencils, markers, crayons, full-size and strips of papers, art supplies, index cards, stickers, materials for book binding, blank books, etc. to encourage them to express themselves in written form whenever possible.

Additional literature projects are provided at a variety of levels within the online resources, and these cross-curricular projects allow students to express themselves creatively while practicing many language arts skills, including writing. Allow your students to supplement their literature studies by selecting literature projects that fit their schedule and interests.

Grammar

The “Notes” for this year’s grammar come from Junior Analytical Grammar: Mechanics by R. Robin Finley and Erin M. Karl. The exercises are designed to integrate directly with the piece of literature that is being studied and can be printed from the website. If a student is having trouble with a particular concept, allow them to spend extra time reviewing these concepts before moving on.

Junior Analytical Grammar: Mechanics is designed for students in 4th-6th grade, although some students may be ready for these concepts at a younger age. If you have a younger student who is not yet ready for this grammar program, you might consider using Grammar-Land by M.L. Nesbitt, which is available at no cost from www.gutenberg.org or www.librivox.org. Another quality option that is available at no additional cost is Kiss Grammar, found at http://home.pct.edu/~evavra/KISS.htm.

Website Content

Website resources are provided along with this curriculum for your convenience. Within the language arts section, you will find:

• Grammar Exercises, which accompany the grammar notes and may be printed according to number of students
• Context Resources, which will help you to extend and enrich your students’ understanding of the literature
• Resource Pages, which will provide you with extra material that you might desire to print and use; additional literature projects are also included within this section
• Formats and Models, which provide examples of types and styles of the writing assignments being explored, along with grading rubrics.

While every attempt has been made to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of any internet links that are provided, please use caution and oversight when allowing your students to access online information. This content will be monitored regularly and updated as necessary.