ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS MASTERY ACADEMY
Language & Literature: Foundations
Build the skills to read, write, communicate, and learn with increasing independence.
Language & Literature: Foundations is a live, small-group academy for learners developing the reading, writing, language, discussion, and presentation skills needed for increasingly independent middle-school level work.
Across four connected units, students create original writing, participate in a full-book study, investigate how texts influence people and culture, and develop a researched public presentation.
Reference Level: Grades 6th - 7th
Format: Live Online, Small-Group Instruction
Placement: Readiness-Based
Enrollment: Flexible entry when space and placement allow
THE PURPOSE OF THE ACADEMY
A Stronger Foundation for Independent Learning
At Kenning Learning, literacy means more than reading and writing. It is the ability to read, understand, evaluate, communicate, and create meaning.
Language & Literature: Foundations helps students develop these abilities through literature, informational texts, creative work, research, discussion, revision, and presentation.
Students do not simply complete assignments. They learn how sentences work, how paragraphs develop ideas, how readers interpret texts, how writers communicate with purpose, and how feedback can lead to stronger work.
Strong foundational skills give students the tools to approach increasingly complex academic work with greater confidence and independence.
THE FOUR-UNIT CURRICULUM
A Four-Unit Journey From Written Expression to Public Communication
The curriculum progresses from foundational writing and language skills toward increasingly independent reading, inquiry, research, and presentation. Grammar, vocabulary, and language conventions continue throughout every unit.
01
UNIT 1
Building With Language
Writing structures, sentence craft, grammar, and creative expression
How do writers build clear, meaningful, and engaging texts?
Students establish a shared foundation in sentence construction, paragraph development, organization, grammar, vocabulary, drafting, feedback, and revision. They apply those skills through a student-choice creative writing project—a short story, personal narrative, illustrated narrative, dramatic scene, fictional journal, children’s story, narrative podcast, or another approved form.
Choice affects the project’s topic, audience, and format. Shared milestones—proposal, planning, first draft, sentence-level workshop, feedback, revision and editing, publication or presentation, and a writer’s reflection—ensure every student develops the same core writing skills.
R-METHOD™ IN ACTION
Activation begins with the student. An initial writing activity helps identify existing strengths and skill gaps in sentence construction, grammar, organization, and expression. Student choice activates interest by allowing learners to shape the topic, form, and audience of their creative work. Drafting, feedback, revision, and reflection then turn those initial choices into purposeful practice.
Culminating evidence: A polished creative project and a reflection showing how feedback and revision strengthened the work.
02
UNIT 2
Reading Together
A choice-based full-book study
How do readers build and revise their understanding of a complete work?
Students and parents select from a curated list of level-appropriate books. Potential selections may include The Giver, Holes, Call It Courage, Hatchet, or similar approved works. Students may read different books, but the academy remains one shared literature course with common analytical tools, questions, discussion structures, and learning goals.
Students examine character development, conflict, plot and structure, setting, theme, point of view, word choice and tone, inference, textual evidence, and objective summary—then explain, support, reconsider, and refine their interpretations in prepared book-club conversations.
R-METHOD™ IN ACTION
Repetition develops through sustained reading, evidence, and conversation. Students repeatedly interpret character, conflict, theme, point of view, and language while applying those skills to different books. Book-club discussions create opportunities to compare interpretations, explain reasoning, reconsider conclusions, and recognize how stronger evidence changes understanding.
Culminating evidence: An evidence-based literary response examining how a central character responds when circumstances challenge the character’s values, identity, or goals—plus a brief book talk identifying the intended reader, central conflict, important theme, and supporting evidence.
03
UNIT 3
Texts That Shape Us
Language, culture, information, and influence
How do texts shape what people understand, value, remember, and choose?
Students expand the meaning of “text” beyond fiction—essays, speeches, letters, articles, advertisements, public-service messages, myths, memoir excerpts, documentary clips, websites, and historical or community documents. They investigate how a specific type of text influences individuals or communities, exploring questions such as how advertising influences what people value or how family stories shape identity.
Students learn to identify central ideas, analyze claims and evidence, recognize purpose and point of view, compare sources, evaluate credibility, distinguish evidence from personal reaction, quote and paraphrase responsibly, and develop an evidence-based explanation or argument.
R-METHOD™ IN ACTION
Skills developed through literature are transferred to unfamiliar kinds of texts. Students repeatedly identify ideas, examine claims, evaluate evidence, compare sources, and consider purpose across articles, speeches, advertisements, media, and other texts. Discussion, feedback, and reflection help students recognize how source choices, assumptions, and reasoning influence the conclusions they reach.
Culminating evidence: A focused explanatory or argumentative inquiry product supported by credible sources.
04
UNIT 4
Speaking With Purpose
Research, public speaking, and presentation
How do speakers communicate ideas clearly, responsibly, and effectively?
The final unit integrates research, writing, speaking, listening, rehearsal, visual communication, and reflection. Students select a meaningful question connected to an academy theme or approved personal interest, then research, organize ideas, develop a central claim or purpose, rehearse, apply feedback, present publicly, and respond to questions.
Formats may include an informative talk, persuasive speech, book talk, research presentation, recorded mini-documentary, podcast presentation, or demonstration. Students develop logical organization, audience awareness, clear speaking notes, purposeful visuals, vocal clarity, physical presence, and listening and response skills.
R-METHOD™ IN ACTION
The learning cycle culminates in increasingly independent application. Students draw on the year’s work with research, evidence, organization, language, audience, and communication to develop a presentation of their own. Rehearsal, feedback, reflection, and revision provide evidence throughout the process; the final presentation demonstrates how independently the student can bring those skills together.
Culminating evidence: A public presentation or exhibition, a question-and-answer component, and a reflection identifying strengths and next steps.
Evaluation happens throughout the academy, not only at the end of a project. Reading responses, discussions, drafts, revisions, conferences, rehearsals, and completed work provide evidence that guides instruction throughout each unit. Formal progress is reported at the end of the unit, after students have had opportunities to practice, receive feedback, reflect, revise, and demonstrate growth.
THE R-METHOD™ IN THE CURRICULUM
The R-Method™ shapes how students move through each unit. Activities establish what students already know and activate interest; essential literacy skills return across new texts and purposes; discussion, feedback, and reflection help students recognize how they are learning; and evidence gathered throughout the learning cycle guides instruction and unit-level evaluation.
RECOMMENDED READINESS
Is Language & Literature: Foundations the Right Starting Point?
Grade level is provided as a reference point. Placement is based primarily on readiness. Students entering Foundations should generally be able to:
- Read chapter books with limited support and explain important ideas or events.
- Make simple inferences and identify details that support their understanding.
- Write an organized paragraph around one main idea using generally clear sentences and conventions.
- Discuss a text or topic and explain their thinking.
These are guideposts, not rigid admission requirements. The brief entry diagnostic provides a more useful picture of the student’s strengths, needs, and readiness for the current unit.
JOINING DURING THE YEAR
Students Do Not Have to Wait for a New School Year
Students may join Language & Literature: Foundations during the academic year when space and placement allow. Before joining, the student completes a brief entry diagnostic. The diagnostic identifies:
- Current strengths
- Relevant skill gaps
- Readiness for the current unit
- Student-specific course goals
- Essential background or catch-up work
- Instructional accommodations needed for meaningful participation
The student joins the current learning sequence while completing only the catch-up work needed to participate successfully.
Placement depends on readiness, available space, and whether accommodations can support successful participation in the current unit.
THE SMALL-COHORT EXPERIENCE
Small by Design
Small cohorts create space for students to read aloud, discuss ideas, ask questions, explain their thinking, receive direct observation and feedback, and develop individual goals within a shared curriculum.
Active Participation
Every student is expected to read, write, speak, listen, and contribute.
Meaningful Discussion
Students have time to explain ideas, respond to classmates, and reconsider interpretations.
Specific Feedback
The educator can observe student work closely and provide guidance connected to individual goals.
Shared Community
Students learn alongside peers while pursuing reading, writing, and project choices that reflect their interests.
PROGRESS AND DOCUMENTATION
Making Growth Visible
Students receive feedback throughout the academy rather than waiting until the end of a unit to learn how they are doing. Families may receive:
- Progress monitoring
- Narrative feedback
- Mastery descriptors
- Student-specific learning goals
- Representative work samples, where applicable
- Unit or semester evaluations
- Course-completion documentation
- A conventional grade when requested for reporting purposes
Progress reflects demonstrated learning, application of feedback, revision, and increasing independence through the R-Method™—rather than point accumulation alone.
LANGUAGE & LITERATURE: FOUNDATIONS
Is Language & Literature: Foundations the Right Fit?
Tell us about your learner’s current reading, writing, language, and communication skills. We will help you determine whether the academy’s level, current unit, and available cohort provide an appropriate starting point.