Middle School English
English Department Texts:
Prentice Hall Literature
Selected Novels
Classical Roots: Vocabulary, EPS
Grammar for Writing, Sadlier
Daily Language Power Points
ENGLISH 6
Pre-requisite: Passing 5th grade English
Length of Course: Year
Days per Week: 5
Course content includes vocabulary, spelling, grammar, reading, oral presentations, literary terms and writing—particularly descriptive and literary analysis essays. Vocabulary, grammar, and spelling are taught daily and tested on a regular basis. Students read The Graveyard Book, Al Capone Does My Shirts, Touching Spirit Bear and Freak the Mighty, as well as selected short stories and poetry from theliterature text. Students will complete units on letter writing and poetry writing. Students will compete in a local or national writing contest. Additionally, in coordination with the technology department, students will write and publish a children's story. Students will complete cross-curricular projects in conjunction with the Social Science and Technology curriculum. All students participate in Accelerated Reader, a computerized program that tests reading comprehension.
ENGLISH HONORS 6
Pre-requisite: Students who have maintained an A during the previous two semesters, with a minimum GPA of 3.75 and teacher recommendation
Length of Course: Year
Days per Week: 5
This course is designed for students with superior reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar skills, as demonstrated by their standardized test scores, report card grades and teacher recommendation. Based on each grade level's English curriculum, Honors English moves at a faster pace and goes into greater depth in the areas studied. Student projects, possible additional or different novels and more sophisticated writing assignments are also components of the Honors English curriculum.
ADVANCED LITERATURE 6
Pre-requisite: Teacher recommendation + reading fluency of two grade levelsabove current grade
Length of Course: One Quarter
Days per Week: 5
Novel: Miracle Worker
Advanced Literature 6 is for students whose reading scores are within the high school range. The books or plays for this class are selected from high school required reading lists. Students will read the challenging literature aloud in class, participate in lively discussions, and will be allowed to earn Accelerated Reader points for books read in class.
English 7
Pre-requisite: Passing English 6
Length of Course: Year
Days per Week: 5
Course content includes vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing, spelling, literary terms, speech and oral presentation. Vocabulary, grammar, and spelling are taught daily and tested on a regular basis. Students read The Giver, Crispin: The Cross of Lead, Farewell to Manzanar, and The Outsiders, as well as selected short stories and poetry from the literature text. Students are expected to write personal narratives, descriptive,persuasive and literary analysis essays. Each essay is required to have a thesis statement, supported with examples and quotations from the literature, and a conclusion, which summarizes the essay and restates the thesis. Students will compose and present a variety of speeches, including impromptu, how-to, informative speeches. Students will complete cross-curricular projects in conjunction with the Social Science and Technology curriculums. Students will compete in a local or national writing contest. All students participate in Accelerated Reader, a computerized program that tests reading comprehension.
ENGLISH HONORS 7
Pre-requisite: Students who have maintained an A during the previous two semesters, with a minimum GPA of 3.75 and teacher recommendation
Length of Course: Year
Days per Week: 5
This course is designed for students with superior reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar skills, as demonstrated by their standardized test scores, report card grades and teacher recommendation. Based on each grade level's English curriculum, Honors English moves at a faster pace and goes into greater depth in the areas studied. Student projects, possible additional or different novels and more sophisticated writing assignments are also components of the Honors English curriculum.
ADVANCED LITERATURE 7
Pre-requisite: Teacher recommendation + reading fluency of two grade levelsabove current grade
Length of Course: One Quarter
Days per Week: 5
Novel: Great Expectations
Advanced Literature 7 is for students whose reading scores are within the high school range. The books or plays for this class are selected from high school required reading lists. Students will read the challenging literature aloud in class, participate in lively discussions, and will be allowed to earn Accelerated Reader points for books read in class.
English 8
Pre-requisite: Passing English 7
Length of Course: Year
Days per Week: 5
Course content includes vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing, spelling, literary terms, speech, and oral presentation. Vocabulary, grammar, and spelling are taught daily and are tested on a regular basis. Students read The Pearl, Night, The Alchemist, and Animal Farm as well as selected short stories, poetry from the literature text and mythology. Students are expected to write personal narratives, descriptive, persuasive and literary analysis essays. Each essay is required to include a thesis statement, supported with examples and quotations from the literature, and a conclusion, which summarizes the essay and restates the thesis. In coordination with the Social Science and Technology departments, students will research and present a "speech to inform" in PowerPoint format. The English, Social Science and Religion departments deliver a cross curricular Holocaust unit. Students are invited to participate in two nationwide competitions: Patriot's Pen and the Chapman University Holocaust Art and Writing Contest. All students participate in Accelerated Reader, a computerized program that tests reading comprehension.
ENGLISH HONORS 8
Pre-requisite:
Students who have maintained an A during the previous two semesters, with a minimum GPA of 3.75 and teacher recommendation
Length of Course: Year
Days per Week: 5
This course is designed for students with superior reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar skills, as demonstrated by their standardized test scores, report card grades and teacher recommendation. Based on each grade level's English curriculum, Honors English moves at a faster pace and goes into greater depth in the areas studied. Student projects, possible additional or different novels and more sophisticated writing assignments are also components of the Honors English curriculum.
ADVANCED LITERATURE 8
Pre-requisite: Teacher recommendation + reading fluency of two grade levelsabove current grade
Length of Course: One Semester
Days per Week: 5
Novel: Macbeth, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and Fahrenheit 451
Advanced Literature 8 is for students whose reading scores are within the high school range. The books or plays for this class are selected from high school required reading lists. Students will read the challenging literature aloud in class, participate in lively discussions, and will be allowed to earn Accelerated Reader points for books read in class.