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English Language Arts

Build critical reading, analytical writing, and research skills through engaging literary and informational texts. Covers literary analysis, argument construction, grammar, vocabulary, and media literacy. TEKS §110.23 aligned.

14 Units

30-45 minutes per unit

What You Will Learn

Literary Analysis

Read closely, identify craft moves, and construct evidence-based interpretations of complex texts.

Argument & Research

Learn to construct claims, evaluate evidence, and write persuasive arguments with proper sourcing.

Vocabulary in Context

Build academic vocabulary through authentic reading — not isolated word lists.

All Units

How to Read Like a Detective

Master active reading strategies that transform you from a passive page-turner into a sharp, questioning reader.

•Apply annotation strategies to engage actively with complex texts
•Identify and analyze text structures including chronological, compare/contrast, cause/effect, and problem/solution
•Distinguish between inferences and explicitly stated facts
+1 more objectives

The Architecture of Stories

Discover the structural elements every story is built from — plot, character, setting, and point of view — and learn to see how authors engineer them.

•Analyze plot structure including exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution
•Classify characters as flat or round, static or dynamic, and explain how they develop
•Evaluate how setting functions beyond background to shape conflict and meaning
+1 more objectives

Reading Between the Lines

Learn to analyze literature like a critic — identifying theme, symbolism, figurative language, and irony beneath the surface of any text.

•Distinguish between theme and topic and articulate a story's theme in a complete statement
•Identify and interpret symbols within literary texts
•Analyze figurative language including metaphor, simile, personification, and hyperbole
+1 more objectives

The Power of Poetry

Explore poetry as a concentrated form of language power — learning to read, analyze, and write poems that make words do more than they should be able to.

•Identify and analyze poetic forms including free verse, sonnet, haiku, and narrative poetry
•Recognize sound devices such as rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, and onomatopoeia and explain their effects
•Analyze how line breaks and stanza structure contribute to a poem's meaning
+1 more objectives

Reading Nonfiction Critically

Build the skills to read nonfiction like a skeptic — identifying main ideas, evaluating evidence, and detecting bias in articles, essays, speeches, and reports.

•Identify and analyze the organizational structures of informational texts
•Determine the main idea and trace how it is supported by details and evidence
•Use text features such as headings, graphs, and captions to deepen comprehension
+1 more objectives

The Art of Argument

Learn to evaluate arguments by examining claims, evidence, and reasoning — and spot the logical fallacies that derail even the most confident-sounding arguments.

•Analyze arguments using the Claim-Evidence-Reasoning (CER) framework
•Evaluate the quality and reliability of different types of evidence
•Identify common logical fallacies including straw man, ad hominem, false dilemma, and bandwagon
+1 more objectives

The Writing Process: From Brainstorm to Final Draft

Master the five-stage writing process and learn why messy drafts are not failures — they are how every great piece of writing gets made.

•Use prewriting strategies including brainstorming, outlining, and graphic organizers to generate and organize ideas
•Produce a first draft that prioritizes getting ideas down over achieving perfection
•Revise writing for organization, clarity, and strength of evidence
+1 more objectives

Writing Stories That Matter

Master narrative structure, sensory details, dialogue, and character voice to write stories that stick with readers long after they finish.

•Structure narratives with clear exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution
•Use sensory details and dialogue to show rather than tell character emotion and conflict
•Develop distinct character voices through dialogue, internal monologue, and physical description
+1 more objectives

Explaining Complex Ideas Clearly

Learn to write clear, well-organized explanations that help readers understand difficult ideas. Thesis statements, evidence, analysis, and transitions are your tools.

•Develop a clear thesis statement and organize supporting paragraphs around it
•Write topic sentences and support them with relevant evidence, explanation, and examples
•Integrate direct quotes, paraphrases, and summaries of sources with analysis
+1 more objectives

Writing to Convince

Learn to construct arguments that persuade. Claim, evidence, warrant, counterarguments — and the difference between manipulation and honest persuasion.

•Develop a clear, defensible claim and support it with relevant, sufficient evidence
•Explain the warrant — the logical connection between evidence and claim
•Address and refute counterarguments fairly and persuasively
+1 more objectives

Grammar and Mechanics: The Rules That Make You Clear

Master the sentence structures, agreements, and punctuation rules that are the backbone of clear writing. Grammar is not about being fancy — it is about being understood.

•Identify and construct simple, compound, and complex sentences
•Apply subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement rules
•Use commas correctly in lists, compound sentences, introductory phrases, and around nonrestrictive clauses
+1 more objectives

Vocabulary: Words in the Wild

Expand your vocabulary by learning to recognize context clues, understand word parts, and distinguish connotation from denotation. Words are tools; the more you have, the more you can build.

•Use context clues — definition, synonym, antonym, example, and inference — to determine word meaning
•Break down words using prefixes, suffixes, and roots to unlock meaning
•Distinguish between a word's denotation and connotation and use this knowledge in writing
+1 more objectives

Research: Finding and Using Information

Learn to ask good research questions, find reliable sources, evaluate information critically, and give credit where it is due. Research is detective work.

•Formulate focused research questions that drive inquiry
•Evaluate sources using the CRAAP test: Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose
•Cite sources properly using MLA format
+2 more objectives

Media Literacy: Reading the World Around You

Understand how media messages are constructed, spot bias and persuasion techniques, analyze visual rhetoric, and practice digital citizenship in an age of information.

•Analyze how media messages are constructed through selection, framing, and editing choices
•Identify bias, stereotypes, and persuasion techniques in news, advertising, and social media
•Understand visual rhetoric and how images and design choices persuade
+1 more objectives

Grade 7 English Language Arts. Designed for Texas homeschool families. TEKS §110.23 aligned.