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Instead of looking at the pacing guide SOLs, I would like to keep up with the Unit Guide headings and embed those.

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Move the research unit closer to unit 3 so that 6th and 7th grade do not have research at the same time

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Include practice with SGM concepts frequently and give guidance (annotation not in units at all). Would love passages and poem suggested to annotate, as well as a key for where they should be in 6th grade, 7th, etc.

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I would like to see units that are centered on a full text to teach a variety of skills, instead of skills that are supposed to be addressed paired with so many different texts. A single text can teach 100+ skills! The full text doesn't have to be a novel, but it needs to be more than a picture book or single poem. If the units available were paired with dozens of skills to span across several weeks, then teachers would be able to choose which text units they wanted to apply in their own classrooms, thus making a more cohesive experience for students. This would also allow them to add more or change elements of a unit-- find a song/swap out a poem, etc.

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Our grammar resources are woefully limited and don't reflect the lack of foundation students having coming from elementary school. The grammar moves too quickly through 6th grade for pacing-- realistically, 6th graders might be ready for COORDINATING conjunctions in MP4. Subordinating conjunctions should be saved for 7th grade. Editing should be more of a focus in 7th grade.

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Narrative writing should be a full unit in 6th grade, including the writing process, parts of a plot diagram, etc. and should be paired with a novel or short story study, so students are able to apply their knowledge of plot/characterization (and easily 10 other skills) on a daily basis. The writing process should be explicit/direct instruction which students then apply to a single larger piece. This should take place at the beginning of the year in MP1, so the NARRATIVE writing process can be applied through the rest of the year.

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Expository writing should be a full unit in 7th grade, including the writing process and how to write a 1-sentence thesis statement (NO COUNTERCLAIM). It should also emphasize how to write in a 2nd or 3rd person point of view. This should be embedded with non-fiction reading and research, so that students are reading different kinds of expository writing at the same time they are completing research and crafting their own longer expository piece. This unit should be designed with school librarians, as the research standards are essential to their teaching requirements. These units should be taught together with school librarians to fulfill both the ELA and library SOLs. Ideally, this unit would start in MP1 (maybe 3-4 weeks into the year after reading a few expository texts) and continue through the start of MP2. There needs to be separate explicit/direction instruction on the writing AND research process, so students master each component before moving to the next phase. HOWEVER, both writing and research should be taught together in stages (meaning, start with one, add in the other when applicable-- don't teach both at the same time or teach all of one before adding all of the other).

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The 6th grade fall SGM should be one of the narrative SOL writing prompts and with multiple choice questions related to grammar from 5th grade and grammar to be taught in 6th grade. If annotation is going to be used, it should be used with a narrative text, such as a short story, for two skills: characterization and main idea/supporting details.

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The 7th grade fall SGM should be one of the expository SOL writing prompts and include multiple choice questions related to 6th grade grammar and grammar to be taught in 7th grade. If annotation is going to be used, it should be used with an expository text, such as a current events article or research essay or even a released SOL anchor paper, for two skills: main idea/supporting details and organizational pattern.

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Persuasive writing should be a full unit in 8th grade, including the writing process, adaptation of how to write a 1-sentence thesis statement for persuasion and the addition of counterclaims. It should emphasize how to write in a 3rd person point of view. This should be the first unit of the year and be aligned with paired persuasive texts arguing both sides of something using current events, reviews, opinion pieces, etc. Students should use 85+% of their writing opportunities to take a position and craft a thesis, with the addition of the other skills as they are taught. Ideally, this unit would start in MP1 within the first two weeks of the year and be paired with persuasive texts. There needs to be separate explicit/direct instruction on the writing process taught in stages, so that students master each component before moving to the next phase.

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Vocabulary is best taught in context, which we know, but the resources provided to us thus far have required teachers to figure out vocabulary all on their own. It would be a HUGE benefit to either have a) texts with strong vocabulary (aka not picture books) b) vocabulary resources that can be easily adapted for a self-selected text c) vocabulary resources paired with the HCPS book club units....

or some combination with all of the above. Vocabulary should be ongoing through the whole year with a system for tracking words/accounting for words, etc. even if it means bringing back weekly vocabulary lists or grade level vocabulary-- each grade level has a set of 150-200 words you are expected to know and be able to use by the end of the year! 10 words/week @ 15 weeks (4 months = 150 words!)