The English program aims to empower students with conceptual understanding and skills as they navigate evolving and demanding literary landscapes. Students build their skills with an emphasis on literacy as a mechanism to empower students with conceptual understanding and skills as they navigate evolving and demanding literary landscapes. All English classrooms have their own library of texts and our school has a strong culture of reading and an expectation that students are reading regularly at home. Instruction is aligned with our concept-based approach, with elements of student-centred ‘workshop’ methods supporting regular skills practice and deepening conceptual understanding. In this way, the English programme supports students to develop autonomy and agency as learners as well as a solid foundation in the key academic skills necessary for future success.

Students receive consistent feedback on their skills as readers, writers, producers of texts and effective communicators. This feedback comes mostly through ‘conferences’ during class where a teacher works with an individual or group of students to assess their learning and provide targeted feedback. Regular informal ‘check ins’ during units of work allow teachers to monitor student progress and support learning ahead of more formal assessments. Our approach encourages students to take responsibility for their learning by understanding their own progress and that of their learning partners.

In Grade 6, Humanities is taught as an integrated course along with English.   The Humanities programme in Grade 6 provides a foundation of skills and knowledge that will be expanded and consolidated throughout the Middle School years and beyond. The learning experiences are offered to cater to a range of learning styles. There is a significant emphasis on developing good reading habits, a crucial part of all subjects.  As students enter Middle School and become more aware of themselves as individuals, the Humanities curriculum requires them to think with greater depth and discipline about their place in the world. The inquiry process provides a framework for students to explore the key understandings that form the focus of our learning. The Grade 6 Enghum programme revolves around several units:

• The Empowerment Equation

Students explore issues of identity, values, and belonging as they investigate personal strengths and how through storytelling and action they can feel empowered to make the world a better place.

• Innovations in Early Societies

Students build on their understanding of values as they investigate the histories of their school, of Singapore, and of their families and learn how to tell mindful and creative stories of the past. 

• Quality and Life Development

Students develop an understanding that quality of life varies significantly within and between countries, and that the potential to improve the quality of life increases with informed and sustainable actions.

• The Dynamic Nature of Earth

Students explore the dynamic nature of Earth’s physical processes and their influences on human activity, learning how communities develop resiliency by planning for, and responding to natural hazards.

• Plus est en vous

Plus est en vous, focuses on the concepts of culture, community, and history, specifically exploring the impact of personal values, significant events, and cultural influences. Students will interview family members about pivotal moments in their lives, learn about Singaporean history during World War II, and examine the role of the UWC mission. The unit culminates in a Historical Interview Project where students will synthesise their learning through creative expression. 

The English programme in Grade 7 is an important step as, for the first time in the Middle School programme, students will study English as a subject in its own right. Using the UWCSEA approach to concept-based inquiry, Grade 7 English continues to empower students to investigate literary conceptual understandings. Students are supported to apply receptive and productive skills as they develop autonomy and independence as readers, writers, and effective communicators. Students are expected to maintain strong independent reading habits throughout their journey in grade 7. Extensive classroom libraries in all Middle School English classrooms support student learning. Skills in nonfiction research, drafting and editing are also explored in grade 7 as students grapple with big concepts, such as power and representation. To nurture students’ literary and creative thinking skills, a culminating unit encourages students to hone their ability to evoke vivid imagery and sensory experiences through sophisticated descriptive language in their creative writing. As with all years, the learning experiences offered cater for a range of learning styles.

• The units of study include:

• Making Reading Visible

• Journalistic Investigations

• Powers of Persuasion

• Painting a Picture With Words

During Grade 8, students develop a new level of sophistication in their receptive and productive skills. Essay writing is explicitly taught with an emphasis on developing more complex analyses and revising for style and craft. It is a year in which students’ interest and enthusiasm for literature is widened; they become more aware of different literary media and experience the challenge of writing in a greater variety of analytical and expressive styles. An ever increasing emphasis is also placed upon students’ own independent and autonomous learning as a means of developing greater confidence and ability as critical thinkers and effective communicators. An emphasis on stamina and volume supports students as they hone their skills as readers and writers. Extensive classroom libraries in all Middle School English classrooms support student learning. Over and above the explicit teaching of reading skills, students are expected to further develop their independent reading tastes. Teachers guide students to read widely in terms of genre and authors. Students are encouraged to share recommendations and generate excitement for particular works as part of our strong Middle School reading culture. Despite the increase in expectation, the learning experiences offered always cater for a range of learning styles and abilities.

• The units of study include:

• Complex Texts & The Literary Essay

• Speaking Truth to Power

• The Power of Poetry 

• Growing Perspectives