The goal of the Norfolk Collegiate School Middle School English Department is to develop students as critical readers, writers and thinkers who will be lifelong learners. Through a novels-based curriculum, students learn to respond to literature, to build a broad vocabulary, to speak with confidence, and to write clear, insightful essays, reports, stories and poems.
Sixth Grade English is all about the power of stories. With each book, students read, discuss, weigh their understanding, and develop their own meaning. Reader response journals, directed essays, papers, and tests are used to demonstrate and measure student progress as analytical readers and thinkers. Book genres read include short stories, realistic fiction, historical fiction, fantasy/science fiction, and non-fiction. Class is organized as a Reader’s Workshop, with mini-lessons and discussions. Language skills such as spelling, vocabulary, and grammar are primarily addressed by reviewing each student’s own writing.
Seventh Grade English focuses on literary appreciation and analysis, composition, grammar, and vocabulary. Examination and analysis of novels from the full range of literary genres, including non-fiction, autobiography, historical fiction, realistic fiction, fantasy/science fiction, adventure/survival fiction, and graphic novels, are the center of classroom discussion, the focus of monthly compositions, and the source for grammar instruction.
Eighth Grade English incorporates the study of reading, writing, language and vocabulary through the study of literature. Students explore many types of literature including plays, short stories, novels and poetry. Students are encouraged to make connections between literature and their own lives through class discussions, journals, essays, and a variety of interactive projects and learning activities.