Course Description
Credit Earned: l
The main focus of Middle School English is to develop an appreciation for the English language. Students will engage in a variety of challenges desiged to meet the New York State Standards, which include reading, writing, speaking and listenting for information and understanding, literary response and expression, critical analysis, evaluation, and for social interaction.
Independent reading selections will provide students with opportunities to select their own literature. Weekly writing challenges and publishing adventures will provide experiences with a variety of genres including expository, expressive, persuasive and narrative writing. In addtion, teams will solve problems and develop grammatical skills presented in learning centers as well as in mini lessons. Instruction in problem solving, decision making, critical thinking, creative thinking, organization, management, and leadership will also be part of the collaborative challenges provided to students.
The main difference with seventh and eighth grade curriculum is the level of expectation, the detail of the skills and the amount of independence given to the students. During (January) the seventh grade students will take the New York State English Language Arts test.