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Course Overview

Language Arts 500 continues to build on the sequential development and integration of communication skills in four major areas—reading, writing, speaking, and listening. After completion of course assignments within the course, student understanding will be deepened in the following ways:

  • Unit 1: Understanding main ideas and the author’s message through vocabulary
  • Unit 2: Reading stories and poetry to review comprehension skills, mood, and compound words
  • Unit 3: Exploring parts of speech and language including prefixes, suffixes, homonyms, and idioms
  • Unit 4: Applying strategies for effective communication in writing and speech
  • Unit 5: Reading and writing stories efficiently including use of dialogue
  • Unit 6: Identifying characteristics of different types of poetry
  • Unit 7: Exploring reading passages and applying knowledge of story parts and language
  • Unit 8: Using language effectively to describe and compare
  • Unit 9: Planning, drafting, and editing a research-based report

Curriculum Content And Skills Focus

UNIT 1: JESUS, OUR EXAMPLE

  • Match vocabulary and spelling words with their definitions and put them in alphabetical order
  • Name the four major skills of language arts and match each with its benefit
  • Identify the subject noun or pronoun of a sentence
  • Find the topic of a paragraph or article and type a paragraph of an article from the newspaper and list the source
  • Identify the vowel diphthong of a word and sort them accordingly
  • Complete sentences stating the five steps to studying spelling words
  • Match spelling words with their first or second syllables or use spelling words to finish a story/sentence
  • Identify the main idea, plot, setting, and characters of a story and arrange the events of a story in the order in which they occur
  • Give your opinion about a story you have read
  • Name the purpose of a respelling in the dictionary and match vocabulary words with their respellings and definitions
  • Tell what a vowel digraph is and name four examples
  • Identify the details of good handwriting and evaluate your handwriting skills

UNIT 2: WORKING WITH INFORMATION

  • Identify information about an author including the reliability of an author
  • Answer questions about a story you have read and organize information from a story into an outline skeleton
  • Match vocabulary and spelling words with their definitions
  • Match words with their synonyms
  • Identify if a statement is a fact or an opinion
  • Sort words into the three categories of compound words
  • Combine two words to create a compound word and add a hyphen to compound words when they need one
  • Identify the noun which is the subject of a sentence and match adjectives with the nouns they describe
  • Find the topic sentence of a paragraph, and decide what would be a good title for it
  • Find the main idea of a passage and match details from a story with the mood they portray
  • Choose if a word is a noun, adjective, or verb
  • Identify where each part of speech goes in a diamante poem and write your own
  • Write the two words which make a contraction and form a contraction using two words, including the word not

UNIT 3: THE STORY OF OUR LANGUAGE

  • Identify the main idea of a paragraph and put the events from a story in the correct order
  • Identify if a sentence is complete or incomplete and find the complete subject of a sentence
  • Identify the missing vowel digraph of a word and the number of vowel sounds you hear
  • Match spelling and vocabulary words with their meanings and use them in a sentence
  • Identify which statement is a cause and which statement is an effect
  • Decide which form of propaganda is being used in an advertisement
  • Identify the root word and prefix or suffix of a word and add a prefix or suffix to a root word to change its meaning
  • Match pairs of phrases to form complete sentences and identify the adjectives or adverbs in a sentence
  • Choose the best adjective to complete a sentence and write sentences using given adverbs
  • Identify an author’s purpose and answer questions about a piece of writing
  • Translate statements written in Middle English to Modern English
  • Complete a picture timeline and a written timeline
  • Choose the correct homonym for a definition and match abbreviations with the words they stand for
  • Match idioms with pictures or descriptions which describe them and write a paragraph using at least three idioms
  • Write a three paragraph descriptive story about your experience with language.
  • Match each word with its antonym and use antonym pairs in sentences
  • Select and read a nonfiction book and follow the directions to report on the book

UNIT 4: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

  • Select and read a nonfiction book and follow the directions to report on the book
  • Correctly punctuate sentences, then tell what type of sentence they are
  • Add courteous words to sentences and write a paragraph explaining how or when you should use courteous words
  • Match spelling and vocabulary words with their definitions and arrange spelling words into alphabetical order
  • Sort words by the silent letters they have and by their letter sounds
  • Find the adjectives in a phrase, locate article adjectives, and tell what nouns they are signaling
  • Identify the adverb in a sentence, and tell what question it answers about the verb, and add adverbs to sentences to improve them
  • Divide the subject and predicate of a sentence, and label all of the adjectives and adverbs in it
  • Write an essay stating your opinion
  • Put the events of a story in the right sequence and match each character with his description, including personality traits based on story details
  • Answer questions based on a story you have read
  • Tell whether a certain use of figurative language is a simile or a metaphor and match figurative phrases with the pictures they paint
  • Create a list of topics and choose the one that most interests you and write an original composition stating your opinion
  • State your purpose for writing and your audience, gather and organize factual information, and list and organize the parts of an outline

UNIT 5: READING AND WRITING STORIES

  • Match vocabulary and spelling words with their definitions and use in sentences
  • Summarize the action of a story and put the events from a story in the correct order
  • Match characters with their descriptions and identify admirable qualities in a character
  • Find the main idea of each paragraph in a story including dialogue and answer questions about how to judge the quality of a story
  • Select and read a book of historical fiction and follow the directions to report on the book
  • Match spelling words with their root words and sort spelling words by what happened to them when a suffix was added
  • Match the speaker to what he or she may have said and add correct punctuation to quotations
  • Rearrange sentences or words to put them in an order which makes more sense or add a better word to a sentence to improve its word choice
  • Fill out a story map and main character description for the story you are going to write
  • Edit sentences for grammar and punctuation errors and replace adverbs and adjectives with more descriptive words
  • Plan, draft, edit, and produce a final copy of your own short story

UNIT 6: POETRY

  • Match vocabulary and spelling words and poetic expressions with their meanings and use in a sentence
  • Compare and contrast two different poems and answer questions about stanzas, events, and descriptive words in a poem
  • Answer questions about rhythm and identify vivid adjectives and word pictures, and natural rhythm patterns of speech in a poem
  • Add suffixes to root words to create spelling words and sort words by how they were made plural
  • Identify which syllables are stressed in a line of poetry and explain the meanings of certain lines in poetry
  • Use clues to identify words or sentences which are palindromes and correctly use pairs of homonyms in sentences
  • Write your own limerick, a rhymed quatrain, a pen picture, a rhymed couplet with a specific rhythm, and a paragraph as a response to a poem
  • Select and read a book of poetry and follow the directions to report on the book
  • Make unlikely comparisons between two items or finish writing similes
  • Match phrases with metaphors that describe them and examples of personification used in various poems throughout the unit
  • Find descriptive words, alliterations, and rhyming patterns in poems and insert a word into a sentence to finish the pun
  • Use context clues to figure out the meanings of figurative language phrase and answer questions about various types of poetry

UNIT 7: READING COMPREHENSION

  • Identify causes and effects in a story or statement
  • Answer questions about a story you have read and put the events of a story in the order in which they happened
  • Write about how you would feel in a given situation, make judgments whether something is right or wrong, and explain your choice
  • Match spelling and vocabulary words with their meanings and insert words into sentences
  • Use homophones correctly in sentences
  • Identify the root word, the part of speech for a spelling word, and if a noun is singular or plural
  • Identify if a word is a common or proper noun and capitalize proper nouns in sentences
  • Replace common nouns with proper nouns, and change singular and plural nouns to their possessive forms
  • Choose the rule which a noun has to follow to become plural and change a noun from its singular form to its plural form
  • Identify nouns in the subject of a sentence and in the verb phrase of a sentence
  • Substitute nouns with pronouns and possessive nouns with possessive pronouns in sentences
  • Sort spelling words by the letters they have and add letters to other groups of letters to make them into spelling words
  • Identify the main idea and details of a story you have read, judge whether or not a character’s action was right or wrong, and make inferences about events that happened in a story
  • Read and identify the mood of a paragraph and tell if a statement is a fact or an opinion
  • Write the past-tense version of certain words
  • Rewrite sentences by correctly placing the adjectives and insert adjectives into sentences to make them more colorful
  • Identify whether the word following a linking verb is a noun or adjective

UNIT 8: WORKING WITH WORDS

  • Find or insert an action verb in a sentence and identify whether it is an action verb or a being verb
  • Find the verb in a sentence, list its tense, and tell if it is regular or irregular or correctly insert a singular or plural verb into a sentence
  • Write a complete sentence, and find the complete predicate and simple verb in it and identify the helping verb and the participle verb in a sentence
  • Choose which contraction should be used in a sentence and match contractions with the two words they came from
  • In a paragraph, find participles acting as adjectives and choose the correct form of the verb to be to be used in a sentence
  • Match spelling and vocabulary words with their descriptions or add suffixes to root words to create spelling words or change verbs to nouns
  • Find or insert the adverb and verb in a sentence, then tell what part of speech the word it modifies is, and change adjectives into adverbs using -ly
  • Insert comparison adverbs or adverb phrases into sentences based on the degree of comparison indicated
  • Use negatives to answer questions or correct sentences using two negative word forms
  • Find the incorrect homonym in a sentence and replace it with a correct one
  • Find the moral of a fable and write a paragraph applying a fable to your own life or to show how the characters could have behaved differently
  • Answer questions about information you have read and put the events of a story into the correct sequence
  • Identify the similarities and differences between fables and parables and match symbols from a parable to their meanings

UNIT 9: READING AND STUDY SKILLS

  • Match vocabulary and spelling words with their definitions and divide them into syllables or use them in a sentence
  • Skim a passage to find specific information or read a passage slowly to find details and answer questions based on articles you have read
  • Put the events of a story into the correct sequence
  • Use descriptions to make inferences or read two statements and then make an inference about what happened between them
  • Use maps, charts, diagrams, and illustrations to answer questions and write an introductory paragraph to a story based on an illustration
  • Select and read a biography and follow the directions to report on the book
  • Identify which literary form is being described
  • Identify facts and opinions in a report and tell which source you should use to find certain pieces of information
  • Choose a topic for your report and find two sources of information to create an outline
  • Write, edit, and revise a draft of a report checking for punctuation, spelling, and grammar

UNIT 10: REVIEW

  • Review key terms, standards, and rules from previous units
  • Practice the skills and concepts discussed throughout the course

Literature List

UNIT 1: JESUS, OUR EXAMPLE

  • “Jesus, Our Example”

UNIT 2: WORKING WITH INFORMATION

  • Sperry, Armstrong – Call it Courage (excerpt)
  • “The Flight”

UNIT 3: THE STORY OF OUR LANGUAGE

  • “A Plot and a Plan Made in Heaven”
  • “The World’s Best Home and Garden”
  • “A Fatal Choice and a Flat Denial”
  • Beowulf (prose paraphrase)

UNIT 4: EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

  • Robin Hood (paraphrased excerpt)

UNIT 5: READING AND WRITING STORIES

  • Arthur and the Sword in the Stone (paraphrased excerpt)
  • Loeks Bourman, Elizabeth – “Roger Down and Roger Up”

UNIT 6: POETRY

  • Hemans, Felicia – “The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers in New England”
  • Whittier, John – “Barbara Frietchie”
  • Stevenson, Robert Louis – “The Swing”
  • “King John and the Abbot of Canterbury”
  • Longfellow, Henry- “The Village Blacksmith”
  • Delong, Russel V. – “The Hammers Are Gone – The Anvil Remains”
  • Findlay, Carol – “A Child’s Thought”
  • Clarkson, E. Margaret – “I Know Christ”
  • Hoffman Graper, Margaret – “Sky Driver”
  • Hoffman Graper, Margaret – “Space Milkshake – Catnip Flavor”
  • Loeks Bouman, Elizabeth – “Freshly Fallen Snow”

UNIT 7: READING COMPREHENSION

  • Swift, Jonathan – Gulliver’s Travels (excerpt)
  • “Marc”

UNIT 8: WORKING WITH WORDS

  • Aesop – “The Farmer, His Son, and the Donkey”

UNIT 9: READING AND STUDY SKILLS

  • Brown, Marcia – Dick Whittington and His Cat (adapted excerpt)
  • “The Duckbill Platypus”
  • “Esther”
  • Chambers, Zita – “My Trip to Australia”

Additional Resources

In addition to the default course content, some projects may require paper and pencil or drawing supplies to complete the assignment. Writing assignments may require a graphic organizer to be printed out and used in the writing process. Projects (such as book reports or informational essays) may require students to acquire outside resources for research or reading.

The following lessons require specific materials that are not included in this course and must be acquired separately:

Unit Assignment Resource
3 Book Report — Nonfiction
  • Buffalo Hunt, by Russell Freedman, Holiday House, 1988.
  • Exodus, adapted from the Holy Bible, by Miriam Chaikin, Holiday House,1987.
  • Growing Up Amish, by Richard Ammon, Atheneum, 1989.
  • In the Beginning; Creation Stories from Around the World, by Virginia Hamilton. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1988.
  • Linnea’s Windowsill Garden, by Christine Bjork, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1988.
  • Maggie by My Side, by Beverly Butler, by Dodd & Mead, 1987.
  • The Story of Football, by Dave Anderson, published by Morrow, 1985.
5 Book Report — Historical Fiction
  • Across Five Aprils, by Irene Hunt, Berkeley, 1964.
  • The American Adventure series, by Norma Jean Lutz, Barbour and Co., 1998.
  • Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Buccaneer Books, 1908.
  • Anne of Avonlea, originally published by Buccaneer, republished by Scholastic in 1998.
  • Anne of the Island, originally published by Buccaneer, republished by Scholastic in 1998.
  • Dragonwings, by Laurence Yep, HarperCollins, 1975.
  • Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harper & Row, 1953. (Available through the AOP Home School Catalog.)
  • The Friendship, by Mildred Taylor, Dial, 1989.
  • Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry, Houghton Mifflin, 1989.
  • Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan, Harper & Row, 1985.
  • Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth Speare, Houghton Mifflin, 1983.
  • Where the Lilies Bloom, by Vera & Bill Cleaver, Harper & Row, 1969.
6 Book Report — Poetry
  • American Ballads and Folk Songs, by John A. and Alan Lomax, Dover Publications, 1994.
  • Casey at Bat, by Ernest Thayer, Peppercorn, 1982.
  • The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein, HarperCollins, 1986.
  • Hiawatha, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, illustrated by Susan Jeffers, Puffin, 1996.
  • Bible: Psalm 23, also known as the Good Shepherd’s Psalm; Psalm 1; Psalm 8; Psalm 24; Psalm 46; Psalm 100; Psalm 121; Psalm 119: 1-8; Psalm 121; Psalm 136; Psalm 147; Psalm 148; Psalm 150.
  • New Kid on the Block, by Jack Prelutsky, Greenwillow, 1984.
  • Now We Are Six, by A. A. Milne, Puffin, 1992.
  • When We were Very Young, A. A. Milne, E. P. Dutton,1988.
9 Book Report — Biography
  • Biblical Biographies, Several of the books of the Bible are biographical accounts of the lives of Biblical characters. Read the life stories of Ruth, Esther, and Job in the Bible books named for these Biblical characters. Or you may read the life of Jesus Christ as recounted in the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.
  • China Homecoming, by Jean Fritz, published by Putnam, 1985, and Homesick, by Jean Fritz, also published by Putnam.
  • Christopher Columbus: Voyager to the Unknown, by Nancy Smiler Levinson, published by Lodestar, 1990.
  • Daniel Boone, by Laurie Lawlor, published by Whitman, 1988.
  • Martha Washington, First Lady, by Stephanie McPherson, Enslow publishers, 1998.
  • Clara Barton, Civil War Nurse, written by Nancy Whitelaw, published by Enslow Publishers, 1997.
  • Mark Twain: Legendary Writer and Humorist, written by Lynda Pflueger, published by Enslow Publishers, 1999.
  • Alexander Graham Bell: Inventor and Teacher, written by Michael A. Schuman, published by Enslow Publishers, 1999.
  • Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father and Inventor
  • Lewis and Clark, Explorers of the Northwest
  • Paul Revere, Rider for the Revolution
  • Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy
  • John Wesley Powell, Explorer of the Grand Canyon
  • Robert E. Lee, Southern Hero of the Civil War
  • Indian Chiefs, by Russell Freedman, published by Holiday House, 1987.
  • Joni, the autobiography of Joni Earickson Tada, published by, Zondervan, 1979.
  • Lincoln: a photo biography, by Russell Freedman, published by Clarion, 1987.
10 Book Report — Fiction
  • Belated Follower; a Biblical Novel, by Colleen L. Reese, Barbour Press, a division of Heartsong Publishers, 1995.
  • Fight for Freedom, by Norma Jean Lutz, Barbour & Co., 1967.
  • The Grandma’s Attic novels: In Grandma’s Attic; More Stories From Grandma’s Attic; Away From Home; A School of Her Own; Wedding Bells Ahead; At Home in North Branch; New Faces, New Friends., by Arleta Richardson, Chariot Victor, 1995-1999.
  • The Narnia Chronicles: The Magician’s Nephew; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; The Horse and His Boy; The Last Battle., by C. S. Lewis, Harper Collins, 1994.
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