In language arts, students work on composition skills through activities such as webbing, outlining, sequencing, and editing. Grammar is taught in the context of writing activities, including personal, responsive and informational writing. One unit is designed to teach research skills, and students write a research paper. In reading, students study the different genres in a literature anthology, as well as novels such as The Giver and The Hobbit .
All students are responsible for one outside reading book per month.
English 7 Students in the seventh grade begin the year with a comprehensive course on study skills. Topics covered include time management, test taking, research skills, and note taking. In the area of composition, students work extensively on sentence structure, paragraphing, vocabulary development and grammar. During the second trimester students are formally introduced to the study of Shakespeare when they read The Taming of the Shrew . This course is primarily a composition course, focusing on the multi-paragraph essay, as well as vocabulary and grammar.