6th Grade
Through the study of literature students will understand that personal choices and decisions have consequences for themselves and others. Students will examine a variety of written works that include short stories, factual information, personal accounts, poetry, and novels. In exploring these written pieces students will make personal connections and develop the skills needed to evaluate and analyze such works. The students will use the knowledge they gained to compose written pieces of writing on the ideas of “Trusting in one’s self to make the right decisions,” and “Exploring the concept of morality when making personal choices.” This will be accomplished through literary responses, creative writing and a persuasive essay.
The content, instructional strategies and assessments in this course support the learner profile in terms of building inquiry and knowledge, developing critical thinking skills as well as the practice of reflection. All of which support the student in becoming an open-minded communicator. The topics and guiding questions throughout this course provide multiple opportunities for students to discuss ethical issues, model respect, compassion, and empathy for diverse ideas, which will ultimately empower students to take responsibility for their own ideas and learning.
7th Grade
Through the use of literature, students will develop an understanding of the changes and challenges that people face. In order to accomplish this, students will read various texts, which include short stories, narratives, articles, plays and poetry. In so doing, students will evaluate, analyze, and explore connections between texts. They will also delve into personal connections to the texts. Utilizing this information will allow them to explore ideas of how stereotypes affect people’s actions, the affect that media has on people’s perceptions of others, and the “power of words”. This will be accomplished through responses to literature, creative writing, and a persuasive essay.
The content, instructional strategies and assessments in this course support the learner profile by developing student inquiry and critical thinking skills as well as extending their prior knowledge. All of which will assist the student in becoming an open-minded communicator. The topics and guiding questions throughout this course provide multiple opportunities for students to discuss ethical issues, model respect, compassion, and empathy for diverse ideas.
8th Grade
Through the use of literature, students will develop an understanding of the effects conflict, specifically war, has on a population of people. In order to accomplish this students will be exposed to a variety of written works including short stories, factual information, personal accounts, plays, poetry, etc. In doing so students will evaluate, analyze, explore commonalities and make personal connections with the text. Utilizing this information will allow them to explore the ideas of “Standing up for what you know is right”, “The cost of war”, as well as “What can be learned from conflict”. This will be accomplished through literary responses, creative writing as well as the development of a research paper.
The content, instructional strategies and assessments in this course support the learner profile in terms of building inquiry and knowledge, developing critical thinking skills as well as the practice of reflection. All of which support the student in becoming an open-minded communicator. The topics and guiding questions throughout this course provide multiple opportunities for students to discuss ethical issues, model respect, compassion, and empathy for diverse ideas, which will ultimately empower students to take responsibility for their own ideas and learning.