Boost English Language Arts Skills with Studies Weekly Extended Learning Program

Are you looking to give students more reading and writing opportunities and refine their English Language Arts skills?

Studies Weekly’s Extended Learning program – which focuses heavily on ELA standards – gives you four weeks worth of extra content that teachers can use at any time to review English Language Arts concepts and prepare students for state testing.

How Studies Weekly Extended Learning Refines English Language Arts

Writing about what they read improves students’ reading comprehension more than reading and rereading, according to a meta-analysis by Steve Graham and Michael Hebert. These researchers looked at over 100 studies covering grades 2-12 and found that the more students write, the better their reading comprehension gets.

With Studies Weekly Extended Learning, your students engage with the text through writing. Each lesson comes with writing prompts based on the text. As they practice writing about the articles they read, the more you’ll see their reading comprehension improve.

Project-Based Learning

Studies Weekly’s extended learning curriculum also increases students’ knowledge of English Language Arts because it utilizes project-based learning. According to a 2014 School Science and Mathematics study, project-based lessons increase student performance and knowledge retention more than traditional teaching methods.

Because this extended learning program was designed to use during the school year and for Summer School, it is packed full of fun hands-on learning activities your students will love.

These project-based lessons will not only help students retain their knowledge of ELA concepts but also increase their motivation to learn. Imagine a student who feels frustrated because they struggle with reading comprehension or a child who is learning fast and itching to challenge themselves. Fun hands-on ELA-focused lessons keep these students engaged and help meet their specific needs.

Project-based learning also involves collaboration, allowing students to learn from and support each other as they practice reading and writing.

Expanding Vocabulary

Studies Weekly Extended Learning curriculum covers everything from math and science to social studies and student wellness. Reading about these different topics will expand your students’ vocabulary and help keep students engaged while continuing to practice the same fundamental English Language Arts skills.

Ideas for Using Studies Weekly Extended Learning

The program comes in a consumable periodical format, so teachers can cover the lessons in any order and stretch the content over the year, depending on student needs.

For Tier 1:

Teachers can dedicate one day a week for the class to practice English Language Arts using an article or activity from the curriculum. This way, teachers can potentially cover all four weeks of content and expand students’ knowledge of science, social studies, and student wellness while refining their understanding of ELA.

Studies Weekly Extended Learning is also perfect for substitute teachers to use since lesson plans are pre-written, and they won’t need to review what students have covered in the curriculum up until that point. Also, giving substitutes ELA-focused lessons ensures their lessons are relevant and standards-based.

For Tier 2:

Teachers can work separately with a group of students and go through the curriculum from start to finish or work with them one day a week throughout the school year. This group can be children who need extra English Language Arts support or students with the strongest ELA skills who need a challenge to stay engaged in class.

A teacher assistant can also work with a small group while the main teacher works with the rest of the class.

See samples of Studies Weekly Extended Learning Curriculum at studiesweekly.com/ela/.