About Jennifer Brown:

Education:

-Ed.D, Educational Leadership, Roosevelt University, IL

-M.A., Education, Governor State University, IL

-B.S., Business Administration, Roosevelt University, IL

Years Teaching at Heritage Middle School: 8 years

Teaching Philosophy: Promote a positive learning environment that allows students to critically think and successfully collaborate with others

School Involvement:

-Multimedia/Coding/Robotics Club - Facilitator/Founder - 8 years

-Girls Who Code Club - Facilitator/Founder - 1 year

About this class

Guided by the Common Core State Standards, the reading portion of this co-taught English Language Arts class will focus on the critical analysis of complex text. This means that students will be reading for a much deeper meaning.

Because students are taking a closer look at texts while reading, they will be better able to understand central ideas and uncover details and evidence that support these ideas. Additionally, the close reading of complex text will enable students to think about the meaning of key words and phrases. Moreover, students will begin to understand how these ideas are formed and how they develop over the course of a text.

Using the Collections textbook series, students will analyze numerous types of literature and informational text. Examples of literature include: folktales, legends, myths, fables, short stories, poetry, and scenes from plays. Examples of informational text include: biographies, personal narratives, and primary-source materials. Furthermore, students will engage in two novel studies during the school year. In the second trimester, students will study, "Tears of a Tiger" by Sharon Draper and "Esperanza Rising" by Pam Munoz in the third trimester. Students may purchase their books at Amazon or any other vendor.

Finally, students will continue to participate in the Accelerated Reader (AR) program and be expected to read and take assessment tests on two book selections per trimester, for a total of six books per academic year. Moreover, a student's reading level range or zone of proximal development is derived from his/her performance on the STAR Reading Test, which, is administered three times a year. Students generally select their AR books upon receiving their AR reading range and subject interests. Because it takes a few weeks to administer he Accelerated Reader tests during the first trimester, students are provided with an AR book as they

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