Readiness Profiles and Course Expectations for English 7:

Guidelines for class placement:

Students contemplating placement in an appropriate English class should carefully read the following statements below and ask: Which column best describes me?

Honors Criteria:

  • Be GATE Qualified at elementary school

  • Possess strong writing skills

  • Score at the Advanced Level on the California Standards Test

  • Be an avid reader of high-level books

College Prep English Student Honors English Student

  • May be strong academically in English

  • Hard working, self-motivated

  • Appreciates thorough presentation and practice of new concepts

  • May enjoy challenges, but also needs some assistance and practice with complex, critical-thinking and non-routine strategies

  • Needs or prefers guidance to learn, apply, and extend new concepts.

  • Can participate in a classroom environment of sharing ideas as a medium for deeper analysis in reading, writing and discussion of literature.

  • English is one of his/her gifts or passions

  • Exceptional work ethic, highly self-motivated

  • Masters concepts quickly; requires faster-paced, rigorous curriculum

  • Loves the challenges of complex, critical-thinking opportunities; can achieve this without assistance and can often take ideas to a higher level.

  • Is inquiry-driven; asks Why?, What? and if?. Can recognize the figurative as well as the literal.

  • Seeks out and actively contributes in a classroom environment as a medium for critical reading, analytical writing, and thought-provoking discussion of literature.

Course Expectations for English 7:

The seventh grade course studies literature organized around the theme of A Quest for Identity.The curriculum includes study of short stories, novels, drama, poetry, expository texts, and grammar. Students participate in meaningful class discussions, creative projects, speeches and theater arts. With an understanding of the fundamentals of literary analysis, students will be able to construct a multi-paragraph essay as well as experiment with a variety of writing types.

The course curriculum is based on the California State Standards for Language Arts available at:

http://www.cde.ca.gov/cdepress/standards-pdfs/english-language-arts.pdf

Works typically read in English 7:

    College Prep English

    • Holt Anthology (short stories, poetry, expository selections)

    • The Giver, Lowry

    • The Outsiders, Hinton

    • The Pearl, Steinbeck

    • Bearstone, Hobbs

    • An introduction to Shakespeare through the play A Midsummer Night's Dream

    Honors English

    • Holt Anthology (short stories, poetry, expository selections) Chapters 1,2,4 and 5
    • The Giver, Lowry
    • Animal Farm, Orwell
    • A Midsummer Night?s Dream, Shakespeare
    • Treasure Island, Stevenson
    • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Twain
    • Hobbit, Tolkien
    • Redwall, Jacques

In order to achieve the one million words per year reading goal recommended in the California Language Arts Standards students will self-select, and report on, outside reading works as follows:

College Prep English: At least 3 self-selected novels

Honors English: 4 or more self-selected novels

Writing types covered in English 7:

College Prep English:

  • Introduction to Research Report (with bibliography)
  • Personal Narrative or Short Story
  • Response to Literature
  • Persuasive Essay
  • Summary

Honors English:

  • The same writing types as College Prep English with greater depth and complexity and more independence.