My Home Page

Welcome to the English Language Arts and literature page for grades 7 and 8!

Since Language Arts is used in every subject of the curriculum, it is very important.  In both 7 and 8 grade grammar is a priority in the Lang. Arts classes.  After learning the grammar, students will be expected to demonstrate their application of the learned grammar for a given chapter.

Many projects will incorporate grammar and arts; therefore, students will be exposed to using grammar in a practical, artistic manner.

In literature, students will read several books on grade level or above.  Notes will be taken by the students for every book read for class.  An essay will be due when the class has finished reading a book, and the student will be required to follow the format handout as design by the teacher.

Scoring for each essay is done by using a rubric similar to the ones used to score the New York State ELA 8 exam.  Two grades are given for each essay.  One grade is a technical score based on correctly using grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.  The other grade is a content score based on details and recall of specific events in the book.  A rubric will be posted in the classroom for students for each essay.

Some videos will be used to enhance the literature read, and some plays will be acted out to give students exposure to performing before their peers.  Students will also travel to the performing arts theatre on the Russell Sage campus to see at least one live performance.

Oral presentation and recitation is also a part of both Language Arts and literature.  Students will be well-prepared for high school where oral presentation is required in many classes (according the the NYS Learning Standards).

Research in the literature class is to be expected.  The research is not limited to Internet sources only.  Again, a procedural hand-out, calendar of deadlines, and a talk-through of the project will be done in class.

Both grade 7 and grade 8 have an honors literature class where the level of reading, writing, and research goes two or more levels beyond the grade level.

Teacher Websites © 2009 SchoolWorld