Middle School Extended Language Arts Overview Graham Park Middle School Prince William County Public Schools

The purpose of Extended Language Arts is to provide extended enrichment opportunities for engaging in deep inquiry at a rigorous pace for children who are passionate about reading, writing, and communicating. What is Extended Language Arts?

Extended Language Arts is not a prerequisite to enroll in advanced courses in high school. While the course’s accelerated pace and in- depth study may help prepare students for the rigor of advanced high school courses, students enrolled in Language Arts 6, 7, and 8 may still access advanced coursework in high school. What Extended Language Arts is not.

How is Extended LA different than Middle School LA? Increased instructional pace creates opportunities to explore high-interest topics and real-world applications Students complete the required VA English Standards of Learning at an accelerated pace (typically equivalent to six rather than nine weeks), making room in the term to focus on an extension.

Students who passed the previous year’s English SOL PWCS students, regardless of LA course placement, will take their grade level English SOL. Extended LA is a middle school advanced English/Language Arts course with an open- enrollment policy. Who can enroll in Extended LA?

Extended LA students consistently… work at an accelerated pace. work collaboratively with peers. work independently. meet deadlines. actively participate in class. use critical thinking skills. accept a challenge. Some qualities to consider:

Feedback about Ext. LA classes Parents The best part of the program was giving “Susie” an outlet for her creativity. I was consistently impressed with her imagination and her strong writing ability. I don’t know that I could have recognized her talent if not for this class. – PWCS Parent I can tell he is learning a lot and enjoying every moment because he tells me about his projects often and I often see him working hard on them. – PWCS Parent Students I absolutely loved the extended program. I got lots of student- teacher interaction, and I felt completely comfortable asking the teacher any questions that I had. – PWCS Student I was challenged in a positive way that allowed me to push myself harder in school. – PWCS Student

Students scoring in 90th% in 5 th grade read 40+ minutes a day… Students scoring in 90 th % in 8 th grade read 3+ hours a day Kylene Beers, National Literacy Conference, 2015 Volume reading is the number one predictor of success.

What are extended topics like? specialty projects real-world applications higher-order thinking inquiry activities largely project based collaborative workshop structure teacher serves as facilitator during student exploration Picture is of class fishbowl discussion similar to Socratic Circles

Example Extended Units 6 th grade Units Newspaper Creative writing Debate Socratic Circles Drama Mythology We have a collaborative and ongoing process of revising and developing new units. Students actively participate in writing various genres throughout the school year.

Thank you for your interest in Extended Language Arts!! If you have additional questions please contact your child’s Language Arts teacher.