English Language Arts

EAP (English for Academic Purposes) is a language development course that promotes the development of Academic English. The class is aligned with and supports the core English Language Arts course. This course is designed specifically to support English Language Learners (ELL) students in accessing the standard curriculum and developing academic language.

As students read and respond to classic and contemporary literature, they continue to develop reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Students expand their understanding of and appreciation for literature’s diverse origins, purposes and forms through textbooks and supplemental reading. Students also use reading and writing as learning tools and for demonstrating understanding while developing writing, grammar, spelling and vocabulary skills.

Literature study in the seventh grade includes classical and contemporary works, sampling a variety of cultures. Students explore literary themes within all genres: poetry, autobiography, biography, fiction, non-fiction, drama, the short story and the novel. As often as possible, literature study explores and capitalizes on natural and thematic connections to other areas of study (such as Social Studies, Science, and Fine Arts). Students’ composition skills, vocabulary development, grammar usage and spelling proficiency are developed through both direct instruction and writing activities and responses to literature. By preparing and delivering class presentations, students develop oral-language skills.

In the eighth grade, students continue the study of a rich, culturally diverse literary heritage that is expanding through the contributions of contemporary writers. Students use various forms of writing, class discussions, dramatizations and other projects to explore and demonstrate their comprehension of reading. Where parallels occur, interdisciplinary studies align literature with other content areas. Efficient writing strategies, accurate use of written language and effective oral-presentation skills are developed through active participation in individual, small-group and whole-class projects.

The curriculum revolves around the theme of individual change. Students study the concept of change by reading autobiographies of writers and by looking at change in selected lives. To help students gain insight into the development of talent, the lessons encourage them to explore their own identities as talented learners through discussions and reflective writing. Additional selections and activities continue the emphasis on individual change as expressed by authors and students in their reading and writing.

The curriculum revolves around the theme of societal change. Through the study of literature, students learn about change that happens in the world in general, and America in particular, and how the lives of ordinary people change even as the events of war unfold. Additional selections and activities continue the emphasis on societal change, and students are encouraged to research an issue of significance.

The curriculum revolves around the theme of universal change. Students examine why the ideas about utopia undergo change, about the search through the ages for utopia and the struggles to grasp and maintain it on personal and societal levels. Additional selections and activities continue the emphasis on universal change, and students are encouraged to explore utopia through personal dreams and goals.

Students may register for this course or be recommended for enrollment. This course is for the student whose reading and writing performance indicates a need to strengthen basic reading and writing skills and strategies. Through direct instruction, multimedia applications and exposure to a variety of reading materials, including fiction and nonfiction, the student becomes more adept at meeting the reading and writing requirements of middle school. Classroom instruction supports and improves the reader’s ability to decode words, comprehend text, expand reading and writing vocabularies and apply reading-to-learn strategies to other subject areas. Writing instruction and writing opportunities improve the student’s ability to organize ideas and express them clearly. To ensure that the needs of individual students are met, several approaches to Literacy Support are available. These approaches may include Multimedia Literacy, Soar to Success or the Autoskills program.

Students may register for this course or be recommended for enrollment. This course is for the student whose reading and writing performance indicates a need to strengthen basic reading and writing skills and strategies. Through direct instruction, multimedia applications and exposure to a variety of reading materials, including fiction and nonfiction, the student becomes more adept at meeting the reading and writing requirements of middle school. Classroom instruction supports and improves the reader’s ability to decode words, comprehend text, expand reading and writing vocabularies and apply reading-to-learn strategies to other subject areas. Writing instruction and writing opportunities improve the student’s ability to organize ideas and express them clearly. To ensure that the needs of individual students are met, several approaches to Literacy Support are available. These approaches may include Multimedia Literacy, Soar to Success or the Autoskills program.

Students may register for this course or be recommended for enrollment. This course is for the student whose reading and writing performance indicates a need to strengthen basic reading and writing skills and strategies. Through direct instruction, multimedia applications and exposure to a variety of reading materials, including fiction and nonfiction, the student becomes more adept at meeting the reading and writing requirements of middle school. Classroom instruction supports and improves the reader’s ability to decode words, comprehend text, expand reading and writing vocabularies and apply reading-to-learn strategies to other subject areas. Writing instruction and writing opportunities improve the student’s ability to organize ideas and express them clearly. To ensure that the needs of individual students are met, several approaches to Literacy Support are available. These approaches may include Multimedia Literacy, Soar to Success or the Autoskills program.

This course promotes accelerated literacy and language acquisition for targeted EL students at the secondary level. The course is designed for adolescent emergent readers who are in the beginning stages of English language acquisition and need to develop foundational literacy skills such as phonological awareness, concepts of print, vocabulary development, reading comprehension and interpretation, writing, speaking and listening. The course supports students’ move along a learning continuum from initial basic language acquisition toward increasing levels of guided and independent transfer in listening, speaking, reading and writing.