Each unit in Connections: English Language Arts encourages students to engage in close reading with complex texts through unit-level Essential Questions thematically-arranged selections designed to stimulate text-to-text comparisons active discourse in whole class, small group, and peer-to-peer settings focused lesson activities that deepen understanding and build skills annotation techniques designed to increase comprehension and identify textual evidence technology and project-based activities to extend learning writing, speaking, and listening activities throughout each lesson