Grade
6
Standards
August – September
October
- November
Extended
writing assignment
- Choice
of one or more:
- Passion
Project
- Personal
Narrative (focus on leads, point of view, sensory detail, dialogue;
1st person singular account, one event)
- Expository
Essay (thesis statement, topic sentences, supporting details, transitions,
conclusions)
- Reading:
First novel
- Well
developed response to literature; single paragraph
Quarter
2 – Outside Reading Project – fantasy/scifi - Start
November
December – January
- Extended
writing assignment - Choice of one or more:
- Personal
Narrative (focus on leads, point of view, sensory detail, dialogue;
1st person singular account, one event)
- Expository
Essay (thesis statement, topic sentences, supporting details,
transitions, conclusion)
- Research
Report (guiding question, area of study, note-taking, outlining,
pre-writing, table of contents, bibliography)
- Reading:Start
second novel
Quarter
3 – Outside Reading Project – historical fiction
- Start end of January
February
- March
- Extended
writing assignment - Choice of one or more:
- Expository
Essay (thesis statement, topic sentences, supporting details,
transitions, conclusion)
- Research
Report (guiding question, area of study, note-taking, outlining,
pre-writing, table of contents, bibliography)
- Persuasive
Essay (taking a position, backing it up and addressing a counterargument;
research skills, writing process)
- Reading:
Start third novel
- Multi-paragraph
well developed response to lit (cite quotes, examples)
April – May
- Extended
writing assignment - Choice of one or more:
- Research
Report (guiding question, area of study, note-taking, outlining,
pre-writing, table of contents, bibliography)
- Persuasive
Essay (taking a position, backing it up and addressing a counterargument;
research skills, writing process)
- Summary
Writing (chronological order, transitions, relevant data)
Reading:
Third novel
Reading choice:
D’Aulaires’ Myths
The Odyssey
Julius Caesar
Quarter 4 - Outside Reading Project - mystery/suspense – Start
April
June
Wrap up (poetry unit, story writing)
Ongoing
Grammar – Parts of speech (focus on pronouns), complete sentences, capitalization,
subject-verb agreement, tense agreement, punctuation (commas and apostrophes,
end)
Spelling
Vocabulary
Figurative Language
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Grade
7
Standards
First Quarter:
Essay and additional smaller writing assignments
Second Quarter: Essay
Third Quarter: Essay
Fourth Quarter: Essay
Writing compositions may represent the following genres: analytical, response to literature, persuasive, research, narrative, descriptive, expository, and poetry.
Ongoing areas of focus throughout the year may include poetry, nonfiction selections, book/film reviews, news articles, short stories, grammar instruction, vocabulary, and smaller writing assignments
All 7th graders read:
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hacket and/or Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank
Students read at least two of the following short stories:
“Seventh Grade” by Gary Soto,
“Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros
“The Fan Club” by Rona Maynard
“Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing
“All Summer in a Day” by Ray Bradbury
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Grade
8
Standards
First Quarter: Novel #1
Essay and additional smaller writing assignments
Second Quarter: Novel #2
Essay/literary response
Third Quarter: Novel #3
Essay/literary response
Fourth Quarter: Novel #4
Essay and additional essay reflection of core subject work for portfolio
Ongoing throughout the year: poetry, nonfiction selections, short stories, grammar instruction, research papers (various teachers), journal writing, vocabulary, book reviews/summaries, and smaller writing assignments
All 8th graders read core novels The Pearl by John Steinbeck and The House on Mango Street : by Sandra Cisneros. Students read at least two of the following novels: Exended Core: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury Supplemental Novels Whirligig by Paul Fleischman, Call of the Wild by Jack London, and Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez
Students also read various extended core novels and choice novels.
Most students use computers and create word documents as well as power points and other multimedia arts.
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