English 7

The English 7 curriculum provides students with opportunities to address skills pertinent to reading, writing, listening and speaking, language and literacy and to meet the demands of the New York State learning standards. Emphasis is placed on developing meaning through the analysis of author’s purpose and literary devices, as well as learning to read complex texts independently. Students will read short stories, novels, poems, plays, myths, legends and nonfiction selections with an emphasis on such skills as inferencing, determining the main idea, sequencing, and comparing and contrasting. In addition, students will be given the opportunity to read books of their choice independently and in small groups with the guidance and support of their teacher(s). Students will write in the descriptive, narrative,

expository and argumentative modes with a primary focus on creating claims that are evidence based. Students will also begin the research process, which will focus on the foundations of and gathering evidence to produce an authentic, evidence-based argument.

English 8

The English 8 curriculum is designed to provide students with opportunities to address the skills pertinent to reading, writing, listening, speaking, language and literacy.

The instruction embedded in this course meets the demands of the New York State learning standards. Emphasis will be placed on continuing to develop meaning by examining authors’ purpose and use of rhetorical techniques, as well as learning how to read complex texts independently and writing about texts analytically.

Students will read short stories, novels, poems, plays, myths, legends and nonfiction selections. Students will continue to write in the descriptive, narrative, expository and argumentative modes with a primary focus on voice and style. Students will continue the research process with a primary focus on developing a thesis statement that is arguable with supporting evidence from multiple texts. This course is designed to assist students in the transition from a middle school environment to a high school environment.

Readers/Writers Workshop 7 and 8

This academic intervention course reinforces topics covered in students’ primary English course and is designed to augment regular instruction. This course also provides additional reading comprehension support to enhance those skills needed to attain success in high school. In addition, students will be given the opportunity to read books of their choice independently with the guidance and support of their teacher(s). These workshops are aligned with the New York State learning standards to offer more opportunities to practice the key skills embedded in the primary curriculum. Teacher recommendation and/or state assessment scores are used to identify students for this course. This class meets on alternating days.

Literacy Workshop

This course is designed to support students’ literacy growth. Instruction will be based on the assessment of students’ reading and writing abilities and include content that builds in level of difficulty and complexity. Students with reading and writing deficits that prevent them from being on grade level will benefit from a step-by-step instructional approach geared toward improving overall literacy skills.