Middle School English
Program Overview
The English program develops basic writing skills and understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of literature. Princeton Academy has made a further commitment to writing by increasing class time to include additional writing periods. Enriching reading, thinking, and communication skills, the short stories in the Junior Great Books program introduce students to great works from around the world.
Goals and Objectives
- Students will develop critical reading, thinking, and communication skills through interpretative questioning, written responses, and shared inquiry discussion. Reading and responding to literature will enable students to make connections between it and the many values it offers: reading for entertainment, information, enlightenment, issues, etc.
- Students will develop thinking and planning skills as they respond to literature through a variety of narrative and creative writing techniques (reports, journals, stories, memoirs, and poems).
- Students will be able to organize and support ideas in expository writing. Progressing from simple to expanded paragraphs to essays, students will write various types of paragraphs and essays (example, process, reason, definition, and compare and contrast).
- Students will master basic English grammar: parts of speech, sentence structure, punctuation, and capitalization. This is reviewed on a yearly basis and adjusted to grade and specific class requirements.
Content
5th Grade
The general theme of the literature in the fifth grade is courage. Books that have been read in past years include:
- Dear Mr. Henshaw
- Letters from Rivka
- Call It Courage
- My Side of the Mountain
- Shiloh
- Amos Fortune, Free Man
- In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
- Hatchet
In addition to this, every student is expected to read two recreational reading books of his choice each trimester.
6th Grade
The general theme of the literature in the sixth grade is friendship. Books that have been read in past years include:
- The Incredible Journey
- Detectives in Togas
- The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963
- A Door in the Wall
- Bridge to Terabithia
- The Twenty-One Balloons
- Number the Stars
In addition to this, every student is expected to read two recreational reading books of his choice each trimester.
7th Grade
The general theme of the literature in the seventh grade is relationships. Books that have been read in past years include:
- Romeo and Juliet
- The Outsiders
- A Christmas Carol
- My Brother Sam Is Dead
- The Slave Dancer
- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
- The Animal Family
In addition to this, every student is expected to read two recreational reading books of his choice each trimester.
8th Grade
The general theme of the literature In the eighth grade is a complement to 20th century history. Books that have been read in past years include:
- Z for Zachariah
- Streets of Gold
- Animal Farm
- Night
- Catcher in the Rye
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
In addition to this, every student is expected to read two recreational reading books of his choice each trimester.