Middle School English

 

8th Grade Honors

     Classes begin the study of Shakspeare’s Julius Caesar.  Included in our study is an opportunity for students to memorize one of the play’s iconic speeches and perform it for their fellow classmates. Concurrently, students will study how sonnets evolve from the Elizabethan period to modern times.

Weekly vocabulary exercises begin again.  This week’s sentences require a minimum of eighteen words, an adjectival clause, and a participle. Also returning to reinforce students’ grammatical skills is the art of diagramming.

 Poetry journals have been returned and may be corrected in keeping with our standard corrections’ policy.

      The extra credit books for this quarter include Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist for seven points and The Giver by Lois Lowry for three points. 

 

English 8 College Prep

     Classes continue to delve into Homer’s Odyssey and will evaluate the impact of the epic hero’s return upon his son as father and son plot to recoup their kingdom. Students will pair their reading with poems themed around The Odyssey.

     This week’s vocabulary assignment requires sentences to have a minimum of eighteen words, an adjectival clause, and a participle. 

     The extra credit books for this quarter include Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist for seven points and The Giver by Lois Lowry for three points. 

       

         

JWeb

     The yearbook is completed- huzzah! With the monumental culmination of our efforts completed, we are beginning a myriad of projects including some detailed review of different kinds of article writing and photo editing. We also will be completing some graphic design projects to get familiar with different types of Adobe programs such as Illustrator and Photoshop.

Communication Arts and Debate 

     Last week, students responded to class- and teacher-generated “Would You Rather?” questions. Their arguments were informed by our recent ontological studies and their extant understanding of rhetorical devices. This week, we will begin examining a new debate topic of the class’s choosing.

 

8th Grade Directed Studies: 

     Directed Studies - Grammar Review - We are reviewing our Glossary of Usage with common words that are used and accepted in the English language. We are also beginning our review for the ERB tests in April. 

    

7th Grade Directed Studies

     On the grammar front, students are studying some easily confused verb usage (sit/set, raise/rise, and lay/lie). In addition, students began coding last week. These STEM activities are engaging and thought provoking. We will continue balancing grammar and STEM throughout the fourth quarter. Lastly, students will do some prep work in Directed Studies for the ERB tests in April.

     

     

7th Grade Honors
     Next week, we will resume our regular vocabulary studies with a new list of terms from Harper Lee’s novel. 

     On the grammar side of the course, students began last week preparing for a test on clauses that will take place during this week’s block period.

     Last week, we began the summative assessment on To Kill a Mockingbird: a critical essay on transformational spaces in the story. Students will be drafting, revising, and editing that writing this week in all class periods. They will reach the publishing stage of the writing process before the Easter weekend.

7th Grade College Prep 

     Returning from spring break, students jumped right back into learning in the STEM Center. They designed and printed 3D symbols inspired by To Kill a Mockingbird symbols and wrote reflections to next year’s class explaining each symbol’s significance. As you do laundry, check the pockets for miniature trees, pennies, books, and lamps.

     We have also completed our reading of To Kill a Mockingbird, brought the story to life by reenacting the final scene, and are preparing for a culminating Harkness discussion during our block period. In addition, students will take a grammar quiz on apostrophes and plurals, skills they have been practicing consistently through bellwork and homework.

     In the week leading up to Easter break, students will outline and type a four-paragraph critical essay. They may choose from three prompts focusing on the novel’s ban, the characters’ coming of age, or the motif of courage.

     At home, you may notice your child developing their outline, gathering and analyzing quotes, and marking key passages with sticky notes or highlighting. Students should also be reviewing and correcting grammar sentences in preparation for the upcoming quiz.

For those seeking an additional challenge or an opportunity to boost their grade, students are always encouraged to complete extra credit reading and revise graded assignments.

6th Grade Honors 

    Students have begun reading, annotating, and discussing Emily Wilson’s translation of Homer’s epic, The Odyssey. While we will read and annotate in class, students will also have lines to read and annotate independently. As they do, they should be sure to define vocabulary that they do not know; write new characters on top of the page with a brief description, and add notes in the margin.

     The second vocabulary assignment, due on Tuesday, 31 March or Wednesday, 1 April, is based on The Odyssey. Sentences must be complex and build meaning into each sentence.  

      In grammar, we continue to study adverbs. An adverb usage quiz is set for Thursday, 9 April. 

      The extra credit books for quarter four are Argos, The Story of The Odyssey As Told by his Loyal Dog by Ralph Hardy, Nobody’s Princess, by Esther Friesner, and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Students will have to read and successfully complete a comprehension check on two of the three novels in order to earn the short essay exemption for the quarter four final exam. 

6th Grade College Prep 

    Students have completed their critical essay on the short mythological story, “The Judgment of Paris.” We will now begin reading and annotating Emily Wilson’s translation of Homer’s epic, The Odyssey. While we will read and annotate in class, students will also have lines to read and annotate independently. As they do, they should be sure to define vocabulary that they do not know; write new characters on top of the page with a brief description, and add notes in the margin.

     Vocabulary words come from the epic, and sentences must be complex. 

     In grammar, we continue to examine sentences with adverbs. 

    The extra credit books for quarter four are Argos, The Story of The Odyssey As Told by his Loyal Dog by Ralph Hardy, Nobody’s Princess, by Esther Friesner, and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.. Students will have to read and successfully complete a comprehension check on two of the three novels in order to earn the short essay exemption for the quarter four final exam.