Areas of concentration are in reading, writing, language, and vocabulary. In the fall, the focus is on fiction with meaningful lessons that engage students through a novel study. A strong writing element is included in this study as students learn to write narratives, engage in literary analysis, write responses for reading, and use evidence to support thesis statements. Students read and test on one Accelerated Reading book each month as well. Additionally, students participate in a short story series where focus is on elements of a short story, figurative language, and reading comprehension. The writing throughout the year introduces different forms of writing such as informative and argumentative writing; research using databases for credible sources; implementing the Modern Language Association (MLA) format for citations; and constructing academic responses to literature. Students are expected to apply SAT words correctly to all of their writing assignments. Teachers use various diagnostic tests to measure students’ growth in comprehension and to differentiate learning for each student. Essential language skills such as grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and sentence structure are also taught in this course throughout the year.
