Academic Handbook 2026-2027 | Page 83

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS 8 ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS 9

Prerequisite Humanities 7 Prerequisite English Language Arts 8

English Language Arts 8 serves as the foundation for the essential skills students will need to successfully navigate their subsequent English courses at Crofton House School. It is a course that incorporates discussion, lecture, online, inquiry and project-based teaching and learning strategies to introduce students to grammatical, public speaking, writing, critical and creative thinking, annotation, and research skills. Students will study a range of literature reflecting a variety of cultures, genres, and periods while being encouraged to draw on their own experiences, ideas, and knowledge.

The Big Ideas explored in this course are:

• Language and text can be a source of creativity and joy

• Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and the world

• People understand text differently, depending on their worldviews and perspectives

• Texts are culturally and historically constructed

• Questioning what we hear, read, and view contributes to our ability to be educated and engaged citizens

Assignments are assessed using Standards- Based Grading to help students set specific goals to see progress in their skills over the course of the year. Assignments may include formative and summative analytical paragraphs, creative or other compositional pieces, discussions, project work, presentations, and public speaking.

English Language Arts 9 is a course that utilizes discussion, lecture, online, inquiry and projectbased teaching and learning strategies to reinforce students’ speaking, writing, listening, and critical and creative thinking skills. Students will study a range of literary works that are thematically linked and selected to reflect a variety of cultures, genres, and time periods.

The Big Ideas explored in this course are:

• Language and story can be a source of creativity and joy

• Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and to the world

• People understand text differently depending on their worldviews and perspectives

• Texts are socially, culturally, and historically constructed

• Questioning what we hear, read, and view contributes to our ability to become educated and engaged citizens

Assignments are assessed using Standards- Based Grading to help students set specific goals to see progress in their skills over the course of the year. Assignments may include formative and summative analytical paragraphs, essays, creative and other compositional pieces, project work, discussions, presentations, and public speaking.

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