Kuna School District 6th-12th English Language Arts Adoption 2023
In today’s world, one of the most critical challenges is preparing students with the needed literacy skills to be successful in achieving their goals. To this end, we must provide students with varied opportunities to engage with and respond to rich texts, so students view themselves as readers, writers, and critical thinkers.
In order to best support educators, we must provide them with ongoing literacy professional development to improve practices and strategies that effectively address student literacy needs. Teachers must also have quality resources to support their instruction and student learning, as well as time to collaborate with colleagues.
Successful literacy instruction is best achieved through partnership with all stakeholders: teachers, students, parents, the school, and the community. The Kuna School District is in the final stages of identifying quality resources to support 6-12 English Language Arts (ELA) instruction and learning. While no resource is ever used “cover to cover”, resources are accessed that will best assist students to meet the demands of the standards.
The ELA committee began working in October of 2022 and completed the following actions:
Middle School (6-8) English Language Arts:
Resource Name: myPerspectives
This is a comprehensive (integrates reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary, speaking & listening) program from Saavas Learning.
It provides students and teachers with both digital and print (hardbound) access.
Print copies of the student text are available for review at either the FMS or KMS library during school hours from May 8 - May 11, 2023
Whole Class Novel Selections: (Each student in the class reads the same text as part of the class instruction.)
These novels may be selected by a grade level to engage students in reading comprehension, vocabulary development, speaking & listening, writing, and critical thinking, all skills embedded in the Idaho State ELA Standards.
6th Grade:
- Where the Red Fern Grows - W. Rawls
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - R. Dahl
- Maniac Magee - J. Spinelli
- My Side of the Mountain - J. Craighead George
- The House of Dies Drear
7th Grade:
- The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton
- Hatchet - G. Paulsen
- Letters from Rifka - K. Hesse
- No Promises in the Wind - I. Hunt
- Crater - H. Hickham
8th Grade:
- Boy, Tales of Childhood - R. Dahl
- Ender's Game - O. Scott Card
- Boy in the Striped Pajamas - J. Boyne
You can provide feedback on these resources by using this online form.
High School English Language Arts:
Resource Name: NoRedInk
This is a “Writing-First” resource with its primary purpose being to support writing and grammar instruction. NoRedInk is digital-only access with print options.
- Review “Parent Guide to NoRedInk” and/or “How Does NoRedInk Work?”
- Explore the resources by using this link to their DEMO system.
Password: Sparkling water (case sensitive)
Resource Name: CommonLit
This is a “Reading-First” resource with its primary purpose being to support reading comprehension, vocabulary, and speaking & listening skills instruction. It is a digital-only access with print options.
High School Novel Selections:
These novels may be selected by a grade level to engage students in reading comprehension, vocabulary development, speaking & listening, writing, and critical thinking, all skills embedded in the Idaho State ELA Standards.
Freshmen (9th Grade)
Whole Class Novels Selection Options - (Each student in the class reads the same text as part of the class instruction)
- Odyssey - Homer
- Romeo and Juliet - W. Shakespeare
- Anthem - A. Rand
- Greek Gods & Heroes - R. Graves
Book Club Selection Options - (Each student will be provided the selected set of texts as options to choose from as part of class instruction)
- Armageddon Summer - J. Yolen
- Romiette and Julio - S. Draper
- Saving Juliet - S. Selfors
- Autobiography of My Dead Brother - W. D. Myers
- Son of the Mob - G. Korman
- Children of the River - L. Crew
- Downriver - W. Hobbs
- Uglies - S. Westerfeld
- House of the Scorpion - N. Farmer
- If I Should Die… -H. Nolan
- When the Legends Die - H. Borland
- Orphan Monster Spy -M. Killeen
- Catherine, Called Birdy - K. Cushman
- Salt to the Sea - R. Sepetus
- Code Talker - J. Bruchac
- Fallen Angels - W. D. Myers
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - M. A. Schaffer and A. Barrows
- Prisoner B-3087 - A. Gratz
- A Night Divided - J. A. Nielsen
Sophomores (10th Grade)
Whole Class Novels Selection Options - (Each student in the class reads the same text as part of the class instruction)
- To Kill a Mockingbird - H. Lee
- Antigone - Sophocles
- Night - E. Wiesel
- Fahrenheit 451 - R. Bradbury
- The Lord of the Flies - W. Golding
- Animal Farm - G. Orwell
- A Separate Peace -J. Knowles
- A House on Mango Street - S. Cisneros
- Taming of the Shrew - W. Shakespeare
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream - W Shakespeare
- Our Town - T. Wilder
- The Pearl - J. Steinbeck
Book Club Selection Options - (Each student will be provided the selected set of texts as options to choose from as part of class instruction)
- Farewell to Manzanar - J. W. Houston
Juniors (11th Grade)
Whole Class Novels Selection Options - (Each student in the class reads the same text as part of the class instruction)
- The Great Gatsby - F. S. Fitzgerald
- Of Mice and Men - J. Steinbeck
- Grapes of Wrath - J. Steinbeck
- The Crucible - A. Miller
- Unbroken (YA adapted version) - L. Hillenbrand
- The Scarlet Letter - N. Hawthorne
- The Help - K. Stockett
- The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn - M. Twain
Book Club Selection Options - (Each student will be provided the selected set of texts as options to choose from as part of class instruction)
Seniors (12th Grade)
Whole Class Novels Selection Options - (Each student in the class reads the same text as part of the class instruction)
- Frankenstein - M. Shelley
- Dracula - B. Stoker
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - R. L. Stevenson
- Northanger Abbey - J. Austen
- Jane Eyre - C. Bronte
- Hamlet - W. Shakespeare
- Macbeth - W. Shakespeare
- Princess Bride - W. Goldman
- Inferno - Dante
- Beowulf - Anonymous
- Pride and Prejudice - J. Austen
- Heart of Darkness - J. Conrad
- Metamorphosis - F. Kafka
- Tuesdays with Morrie - M. Albom
- Cannery Row - J. Steinbeck
- Brave New World - A. Huxley
- 1984 - G. Orwell
- The Chosen - C. Potok
- Life of Pi - Y. Martel
- Canterbury Tales - G. Chaucer
- Bless Me Ultima - R. Anaya
- Atomic Habits - J. Clear
- Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal - C. Grennan
- Siddhartha - H. Hesse
Book Club Selection Options - (Each student will be provided the selected set of texts as options to choose from as part of class instruction)
- My Name is Asher Lev - C. Potok
- Power of One - B. Courtenay
- Born a Crime - T. Noah
Dual Credit Courses:
Dual Credit courses are not part of the adoption process but are listed here for transparency purposes.
Dual Credit courses must meet the approval of partnering colleges and are subject to change based on those partnerships.
ENGL 102:
Write What Matters
By Long, L., Gladd, J., and Minervini, A. Write What Matters.
ENGL 191:
Introduction to Creative Writing
By Linda Frances Lein
ENGL175:
The Edinburgh Introduction to Studying English Literature
2nd ed - Dermot Cavanagh (Editor), Alan Gillis (Editor), Michelle Keown (Editor), James Loxley (Editor), Randall Stevenson (Editor)
ENGL101:
Patterns for College Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide
twelfth, thirteenth, and fifteenth editions - Laurie G. Kirszner (Author), Stephen R. Mandell (Author)
The River:
A novel - by P. Heller
Senior/Junior whole class read
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