Language Arts

The Language Arts Curriculum encompasses the skills of writing, reading, and public speaking. Students study persuasive, expository and descriptive forms of writing.This year we have purchased new Language Arts texts, Sadlier’s Grammar for Writing. Grammar for Writing helps students meet national English language arts standards, learn core skills and effective strategies through abundant guided practice and modeling, and apply conventions of writing to real world tasks, unlike many of the English grammar texts in the past. They are given many opportunities to practice their creative writing skills in the school newspaper, The Cavalier, and in developing cross-curriculum stories; for example, stories about characters in Ancient Greece while studying Greek Mythology. The Novel, Short Story, and Poetry are studied in a number of genres using the Glencoe Literature (2000) series. The Glencoe Literature Series is a complete Language Arts Curriculum. It contains many different types of genre such as folk tales, science fiction, fantasy, and non- fiction as well, but also incorporates vocabulary building , grammar and language development. It also offers a complete Writing Forum in each theme unit.  Units on  Homer's Odyssey and Iliad are studied during the school year. Students perform in a Christmas skit, spring musical, and the Diocesan speech festival, as well as reading at Holy Day Masses.   Monthly reading procedures for 6, 7 and 8 can be found by clicking the Monthly Reading Link ADDITIONAL IDEAS FOR SUMMER READING If you liked... *C.S.Lewis(Narnia) *Andre Norton(Witch World) *J.R.R.Tolkien (Middle-Earth) Try these alternate world fantasies Burroughs, Edgar Rice(Mars,Venus) LeGuin,Ursula(Earthsea Trilogy) McCaffrey, Anne(Pern) Salvadore,R.A.(Underdark) Weis,Margaret(Death Gate) If you liked... Frank Herbert(Dune,Pandora) C.S.Lewis(Space Trilogy) Madeleine L'Engle(Time) try these other series Douglas Adams(Hitchhiker) Issac Azimov(Founation,Robot) Susan Cooper(Dark is Rising) Andre Norton(Forerunner,Moon Singer) Piers Anthony(Apprentice Adept, Xanth)

Links

Literary Circles Summer Reading List Grade Six Summer Reading List Grade 7 Summer Reading List Grade 8 Recommended Sites for Projects Monthly Reading and Monthly Reading Questions Washington DC Power Point Project t HOME