Selected works of Arthur Conan Doyle, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Washington Irving, Rudyard Kipling, Jack London, O.Henry, Mark Twain, and H. G. Wells are included. Students are also exposed to drama, poetry, contemporary and traditional classics in fiction and biography. The eighth grade program also introduces the students to Shakespeare. As part of their study of literature, students are also required to participate in individual reading activities and to submit book reports on a regular basis. Interpretive and analytic questioning and discussion skills are developed through literary study.
Library instruction is an integral part of the English curriculum.
All students receive instruction in the utilization of the automated card catalog, electronic indexes, the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, dictionaries, almanacs, encyclopedias, and multi-media materials. Lessons are planned cooperatively by the media specialist and the classroom teacher and are generally developed in conjunction with classroom activities. The use of computers in the middle school English program has expanded to include word processing and instructional support. Students visit the computer lab to write papers and reports. Instructional programs are also available to enhance the language arts skills of the students.