Middle School English

The relationship among reading, writing and speaking is continuously emphasized in this course, which initiates the integrated Language Arts Program at RNS. Small class size allows for the individual attention required to teach effective writing, reading, and speaking skills, and to encourage a life-long love of reading. Students are required to read a novel each term and they are introduced to the basics of literary analysis. The study of a play may also be introduced. Grade-appropriate short stories and poems are also read. Writing assignments teach basic techniques used in narrative and descriptive compositions. The teaching of tone, voice and persona enable students to develop greater sophistication in their writing style. Knowing how to revise will help students become more flexible and effective writers. Grammar, punctuation and spelling are taught throughout the year.

 

The Grade 7 English program will help to develop the students' confidence and ability, with increasingly challenging literature and writing demands as they progress through the Middle School. Throughout the year, the student is reintroduced to three literary genres: prose fiction, poetry, and drama. The literature component will provide the basis from which the four components of the course - reading, writing, language skills and vocabulary - will come.