Welcome to my page!

I am Alana McKinnon, seventh grade language arts teacher at Northern Guilford Middle School. I graduated from UNCG with a degree in middle grades education. I became a teacher because I want to help students realize their full potential. I believe that every student who enters my classroom has a gift, and I want to help them strengthen that, or realize what that gift is. I also believe that every student's differing backgrounds are an asset. I learn from them just as they learn from me.

In my class we will have four main units. Those are:

• Launch Unit: This is a fiction unit where we identify and analyze elements of fiction.
• Weather Unit: During this unit, students will work on informational (non-fiction) text skills. They will learn how to properly conduct research and create a product displaying this information.
• Mystery Unit: This unit will focus on interpreting literature (fiction) and the mystery genre. Classes will read and analyze a mystery book. They will also create their own mysteries.
• Civil Rights Unit: Students will conduct research on Civil Rights Activists. They will focus on argumentative skills in this unit.