7th Grade English/Language Arts

Seventh grade English students are guided to be critical, capable, and reflective learners. The course is designed to be a highly engaging, active class that centers student creativity and participation. 

Students write across multiple genres throughout the year, developing both technical skill and their own, personal voices as writers. They use all phases of the writing process to produce analytical and creative pieces. Students learn to support their ideas and opinions with evidence and analysis and employ a wide range of literary tools to create compelling and original work. They are always guided to consider the purpose and audience for their writing, and they receive ample formative and summative feedback through rubrics, comments, and one-on-one writing conferences addressing content, style, creativity, grammar and language mechanics. 

Students engage critically with a range of challenging texts to further develop their literary and linguistic skills while enhancing their awareness of the critical role literacy can play in their ability to contribute to their local community and global society. Students gain an understanding of the context of production and reception for texts and the ways in which literary and linguistic techniques are used to engage the reader or audience. Students read the verse novel Other Words for Home; Persepolis and other graphic novels; excerpts from Afrofuturist works by Octavia Butler and others; the young reader’s adaptation of Born a Crime by Trevor Noah; and Holocaust literature across genres. They work independently and with their peers to examine texts deeply and apply active reading skills to help make meaning and make inferences.

Students also develop and refine their ability to communicate effectively in class discussions, personal reflections, debates, performances, presentations, and Socratic seminars. Assignments include original writing, dramatic performances, monologues, speeches, articles, blogs, film study, and collaborative projects.