The theme of 7th-grade English is emerging adulthood. Students read, discuss, and write about a variety of texts that explore what it means to become a “grown-up,” and how adolescence is marked by a growing understanding of one’s own identity, agency, and values. Class texts include Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes, King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender, Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, and Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri, along with additional essays, short stories, and poetry. The ultimate goal for 7th grade English is that students become more critical, confident, and sophisticated readers and writers. In the domain of writing, students will study and compose in multiple genres, including narratives and literary analysis, with a workshop approach that equally values self-reflection, peer feedback, and coaching from the teacher. In the domain of reading, students will engage in mature text discussions of class novels and develop strong literary thinking skills — how to make literal, inferential, and critical observations about the text and how to recognize authorial craft in fiction — that they’ll apply in their personal reading lives. Throughout the year, students should also be reading books of their own choosing, with regular independent reading cycles taking place in class. The goal is to become confident, independent readers who seek and find new books/authors/genres, reread old ones, abandon boring ones, and read equally for learning, pleasure, and the experience of being enrapt by a book.

In 8th grade, students explore a timeless question: Are human beings fundamentally good or evil? Through a study of canonical and contemporary texts, students will consider how access to power influences human behavior, and how people respond in the face of unjust leadership and oppression. A common theme of revolution runs through all of the texts. Students will examine these patterns in history and in literature and contemplate their power to make change for a better world. English texts include: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Animal Farm by George Orwell, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Night by Elie Wiesel, Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, and Internment by Samira Ahmed, among others. English classes are a mix of discussion and debates, group activities, writing activities, and mini-lessons. Writing assignments demand abstract thinking, inferential reasoning, and the incorporation of textual evidence. Vocabulary work derives from the study of Greek and Latin roots. Students continue to hone grammar and punctuation skills through exercises and frequent writing activities.