English

The primary goal of seventh and eighth grade English is to enhance students’ written and oral communication skills. A further goal is to teach them to be critical and clear thinkers. Students study literature, develop speaking and listening skills and increase their grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing skills.

Students learn to enjoy literature and expand their view of themselves as readers and citizens of the world. They are exposed to a wide variety of genres and authors to help them become critical readers and thinkers. They also develop an inferential higher-order understanding of concepts, ideas and themes from literature. Reading skills, especially in the area of non-fiction, are specifically taught.

All students are respected as serious writers. A writing process of pre-writing, revising, drafting and editing, peer editing, final drafting and evaluation is emphasized. In the course of their two years, students experience reflective, descriptive, expository and creative writing, including poetry. They complete at least one full-length cross-curricular research project.