English Writing 2
In this class, students will be given fun and focused opportunities to become independent and confident writers. Through the collaborative reading of an exciting non-fiction story, activities that help to generate ideas, and projects that teach organization, students will be led to create stories and develop them into understandable narratives.
English Writing 3
In this class, students will study the following writing styles: personal narratives, response to literature, and persuasive writing. Students will read a novel that will provide interest and fun in helping to teach them new vocabulary, reading comprehension skills, how to think about the story and what it may mean, and in expressing themselves confidently in writing!
English Writing 4
In the Winter Session, the Fourth Grade writing program continues with instruction and practice in writing, along with vocabulary study, study skills, and oral participation. Students will work on descriptive, persuasive, and response to literature essays. Students will also practice using their vocabulary in their writing. Papers will be corrected weekly and students will be expected to revise all of their writing to the teacher’s satisfaction. The teacher will instruct students in sentence variety, organization, and grammar. All in all, students who take this class full of fun and learning, will be better writers, participants, and human beings!
English Writing 5
During the Winter session at Mill Creek, students in English Vocabulary and Writing Grade 5 will continue working with the Six-Traits to fine-tune their writing skills. The Six-Traits include brainstorming, organization, word choice, sentence variety/fluency, grammar, and voice. While learning new, challenging vocabulary words, these young writers will practice incorporating the words into their essays for Mill Creek. The instructor will correct student papers for proficiency in the six traits.
English Writing 6
The Sixth Grade writing class is a fast paced program with a differentiated and advanced curriculum. Students will study the following writing styles: personal narratives, biographical sketches, descriptive and persuasive writing, and the inductive and deductive essay styles. The topics for these writing samples cause the students to think critically about using their own unique “voice.” Students will be challenged to analyze ideas from the novel as well as engage in discussion. Vocabulary and practicing the basic foundations of English will also be embedded into the course. Through utilizing novels or examples of various writing, students will see how other authors and writers successfully put words on paper. An advanced writing class such as this is a challenge that is sure to result in increased confidence and higher grades, as well as bolster their CAT scores.
English Writing 7-8
Students enrolled in the 7/8 English program will concentrate on expanding and organizing their ideas. Additionally, they will learn how to choose precise vocabulary and use advanced new sentence patterns, which will enhance their written expression. These skills will be demonstrated in the writing of three literary analysis papers on poetry. Students will analyze poetry during the session and write a five-paragraph paper in response to the poetry. Teachers will correct the papers weekly, marking them for grammar/usage, content and expression.
Word Wizardry 7-8
Word Wizardry is designed for Junior High students (grades 7-8). The course will focus on celebrating the language skills of reading, understanding and using words with an emphasis on building vocabulary. Strategies will be introduced to help make learning vocabulary exciting! By teaching the use of mnemonic devices, implementing vocabulary word games, and creating sentences using vocabulary words; the students will hopefully see that vocabulary development is not only important, but also fun!
Grammar 7-9
This course will focus on the essential components of English grammar for students in grades 7-9. Students will have the opportunity to dramatically improve their writing and communication skills by mastering the fundamental grammatical skills that all great writers possess. Areas of concentration include basic parts of speech, subject/verb agreement, pronoun usage, verb tense/form, and modification. Students will be challenged in this course to break old bad habits and replace them with new good ones. Upon completion of this course, students will be armed with the critical skills needed to be successful at both the high school and university levels. It will also complement the English Writing 7/8 course nicely, as it will build on techniques designed to enhance written expression.
English Writing 9
Our Winter / Spring English 9 Composition course will continue to teach students how to perfect the literary analysis essay, the type they will be writing in their high school classes. Teachers will begin by reviewing the essay and paragraph structure taught in the Fall Session. Students will then read short stories and learn to analyze literature in more depth so that they can add impressive content to the essay structure they have learned. Our teachers will also continue to give students the precise and personal paper correction for which we are known. Upon completing the course, students should have a solid foundation that will make them successful writers in high school and ultimately in college.
English Writing 10-11
The purpose of this course is to prepare high school upperclassmen for the analytic, expository, and persuasive writing assignments they will face at the senior and post-secondary levels across all academic disciplines. They will learn to retrieve and integrate quality sources effectively into their writing as they draft and revise their essays for a variety of audiences and purposes. Essays will be collected and returned with positive and constructive feedback.
AP English Preparation
This course will support student effort in preparation for the AP Literature Exam in May. Students will examine classic and modern literature while working to develop writing strategies that help with efficient evaluation of challenging texts. The class will teach students to think like literary critics and deepen their analysis, ultimately, allowing them to write interesting essays based on their understanding. Students can expect to conduct close readings, participate in group discussions, and practice timed writing as part of the course preparation.
AP U.S. History Preparation
This class will help students currently enrolled in AP US History by focusing on writing skills, studying, and test taking strategies. This course will be engaging and include writing, debates, and class discussions. Furthermore, students will work on improving their historical writing skills by focusing on thesis statements, topic sentences, and outlining. Students enrolled in this class should be motivated to pass the AP exam. The course will provide students with extra AP exam questions to help practice their knowledge of the material. The ultimate goal will help students earn high marks on the AP US History exam in May.
