I have an exciting year planned for your child. The English Program consists of reading, writing, critical thinking, speaking, grammar, and vocabulary.
Literature: In addition to reading short stories, articles, and poems, we are planning to read four novels: Out of the Dust, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Giver, Number the Stars and The Adventures of Ulysses by Bernard Evslin. (Honors read The Cay in addition to the the above novels.) It is advised that students get their own copy of the books so they can make notes in them as they read.
Writing: The Middle School Writing Program is based on Vicki Spandel’s Six Traits of Good Writing. The program is based on extensive research regarding the components of good writing. The six traits of good writing are: Organization, Conventions, Ideas, Sentence Fluency, Word Choice, and Voice. In 6th Grade, we will focus primarily on Organization, Conventions, and Ideas. Students will write journal entries, friendly letters, narratives, expository pieces, poetry, research papers and responses to literature. They will use the writing process to take their writing through pre-writing, drafting, revising, and publishing their work.
Vocabulary: Students will learn about Greek and Latin roots, as well as prefixes and suffixes to gain an understanding of how English words originated. Each Monday, students will receive a list of new roots and words formed from each root. (Honor students receive extra S.A.T. prep words each week.) Students will be tested each week on the spelling of the words and the definitions of the roots and words.
Grammar: In addition to improving grammar skills by revising their writing, there will also be lessons in grammar. Grammar lessons will take place each day in the form of warm-ups where students must correct sentences on the overhead projector. There will be periodic grammar quizzes.
