Curriculum Menu

English Language Arts - Curriculum Links
Amherst Regional Middle School

English Language Arts at ARMS
ELA Curriculum Design & Assessment at ARMS
Standards, Norms, & Frameworks
Additional Sites of Interest
English Language Arts Resource Links
Lesson Plan Topics - Possibilities
Lesson Plan Sites

English Language Arts Curriculum at ARMS Overall View of Curriculum Revision as of March 20, 2005
7th Grade Enduring Understandings, Essential Questions, & Titles	ARMS ELA Standards Reading/Literature Writing Grammar Sequence Grammar Teaching Norms	8th Grade Enduring Understandings, Essential Questions, & Titles
ELA Curriculum Design & Assessment at ARMS
Curriculum Design Template	Backward Design 101	Curriculum Design Rubric
Standards, Norms, & Frameworks
Local ARMS ELA Standards Reading/Literature Writing Grammar Sequence Grammar Teaching Norms	State MASS ELA Frameworks 04 Supplement Mass. Frameworks - Grades 3,5, & 7 K-12 Frameworks - June 01	National Assumptions & Practices - NCTE position statement
Backward Design Resources
Essential Questions From Trivial Pursuit to Essential Questions & Standards Based Learning K-5 Essential Questions Creating Essential Questions Essential Questions School Plan with Essential Questions Millennium Planning	Lesson Design Resources	Tools for Planning Differentiated Instruction: Theory of Three Template Student Contract Template (Circle, Triangle. Square) Task Rotation Template Cubing Assignment Dice-Making Template Tiered Activity Template for one Standard Tiered Activity Template for all four learning styles Spelling Matrix (example) Math Matrix (example) Sites ASCD's Tutorial on Differentiated Instruction Amherst County School District's Collection of D.I. Resources Enhance-Learning's Site of Differentiated strategies that incorporate Technology Differentiated Instruction with the Special Education student Differentiated Instruction with the Gifted Student Some Differentiated Lesson Plans Some more Differentiated Lesson Plans WebQuest on Differentiated Instruction Click here to start a WebQuest on D.I.
Additional Sites of Interest
Essential Questions & Themes - Greece, New York School Page	CREATING HIGH EXPECTATIONS Ten Strategies for Creating a Classroom Culture of High Expectations.	HIGH-PERFORMING, HIGH-POVERTY MIDDLE SCHOOLS

Literacy Tools Instructional tools for teaching adolescent literacy, as compiled by a Turning Points coach. Anticipation Guides Anticipation Guide Worksheet Book Buddies Cumulative Writing Projects Double Entry Journal Everyday Texts Flipbooks Gradual Release of Responsibility Helping the Underskilled Reader Inventory of Classroom Writing Jigsaw Knowing Adolescent Literacy Library Modeling Novel in an Hour Origin of Texts Poetry Gallery Questioning Roles for the Competent Reader Schema Tell, Show, Remind Universe of Meaning Vocabulary Trees Word Splash X Chart for Persuasive Writing Young Adult Learners Contact Zones	My Read - Strategies for teaching reading in the middle years.
English Language Arts Resource Links
Mythology Links

Lesson Plan Topics - Possibilities
Culture through Literature - Focuses on fairytales, but the format could be easily adapted to mythology or folklore.	All the World's a Stage Western Drama from Ancient Greece to Shakespeare's England Links to an example of a backward designed drama unit called "All the World's a Stage", that builds on knowledge of Midsummer Night's Dream to trace backwards into the origins of theatre. Cool!	A Look into the Mythic Mirror 10-week curriculum unit for grades 6-8, integrating concepts, materials and content from language arts, music and visual arts

Lesson Plan Sites
Language Arts Lesson Plans Links		http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/teach/les.cfm

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=%22creation+myths%22+%2B%22lesson+plans%22

Essential Questions Resources

Jamie McKenzie’s Essential Questions

http://www.fno.org/sept97/online.html

Teach the Teachers

http://www.washington.edu/uwired/outreach/teched/using/mod2less2quest.html

Transforming Standards to a Big Idea and Essential Questions

http://magnet.sandi.net/workshops/informationquest/essential.html

Developing Essential Questions

http://www.rainbowtech.org/workshops/TechInt_WQ/DevEssQuest.htm

Changing the Questions

http://mciunix.mciu.k12.pa.us/~spjvweb/questions.html

Virginia Social Studies Standards

http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Instruction/History/histssframework.html