MIDDLE SCHOOL LANGUAGE ARTS The Middle School Language Arts program supports students' development of reading, writing, listening and speaking, and language foundations. In reading, students focus on skills and strategies to enhance critical thinking, comprehension and analysis. In writing, students apply what they have learned in reading, focusing on the development and refinement of ideas and strategies that enable writers to vary form and style in order to write for diverse purposes, audiences, and contexts. Through discussions and presentations, students develop their knowledge and understanding of topics, ideas and concepts in a culturally diverse setting, using tone, volume, and word choice to adapt to different situations. Explicit teaching of language foundations enables students to understand and construct meaning through intentionally applying grammar and mechanic skills. LANGUAGE ARTS 6 The Middle School Language Arts program supports students' development of reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language foundations. Reading & Writing Students will: (1) read a variety of literary and informational texts to determine central ideas or themes and begin citing textual evidence to support analysis. (2) analyze the impact of word choice on meaning and explain how the author develops the point of view of the narrator of the text. (3) write arguments to support claims, using valid reasoning and relevant evidence; write informative and explanatory texts to examine complex ideas and information; write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences; conduct short as well as more sustained research projects. (4) write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of tasks, purposes and audiences to develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. Speaking & Listening Students will: prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively, making strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding. Language Foundations Students will: (1) demonstrate a command of the conventions of standard English grammar when writing or speaking and standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. (2) determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases by using context clues, their knowledge of Greek or Latin roots, and strategically using reference materials. (3) demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary and acquiring a range of general academic and domain-specific words. Prospective Units of Study Personal Narratives, Short Stories, Novel study, Informative Article Analysis, Research, Poetry, Plays LANGUAGE ARTS 7 Grade 7 The Middle School Language Arts program supports students' development of reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language foundations. Reading & Writing Students will: (1) read a variety of literary and informational texts to determine central ideas or themes and begin citing textual evidence to support analysis; (2) analyze the impact of word choice on meaning and explain how the author develops the point of view of the narrator of the text; (3) write arguments to support claims, using valid reasoning and relevant evidence; write informative and explanatory texts to examine complex ideas and information; write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences; conduct short as well as more sustained research projects; (4) write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of tasks, purposes and audiences to develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. Speaking & Listening Students will: (1) prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively, making strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding. Language Foundations Students will: (1) demonstrate a command of the conventions of standard English grammar when writing or speaking and standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing; (2) determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases by using context clues, their knowledge of Greek or Latin roots, and strategically using reference materials; (3) demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary and acquiring a range of general academic and domain-specific words. Prospective Units of Study Language Foundations, Narrative & Descriptive Writing, Novel Studies, Article Analysis, Research, Argumentative Writing, Poetry LANGUAGE ARTS 8 Grade 8 The Middle School Language Arts program supports students' development of reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language foundations. Reading & Writing Students will: (1) read a variety of literary and informational texts to determine central ideas or themes and begin citing textual evidence to support analysis; (2) analyze the impact of word choice on meaning and explain how the author develops the point of view of the narrator of the text; (3) write arguments to support claims, using valid reasoning and relevant evidence; write informative and explanatory texts to examine complex ideas and information; write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences; conduct short as well as more sustained research projects; (4) write routinely over extended time frames and shorter time frames for a range of tasks, purposes and audiences to develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. Speaking & Listening Students will: (1) prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively, making strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding. Language Foundations Students will: (1) demonstrate a command of the conventions of standard English grammar when writing or speaking and standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing; (2) determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases by using context clues, their knowledge of Greek or Latin roots, and strategically using reference materials; (3) demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary and acquiring a range of general academic and domain-specific words. Prospective Units of Study Personal Narratives, Short Stories & Descriptive Writing, Dystopian Novel, Argumentative essay, Article Analysis, Poetry, Romeo & Juliet
