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Welcome to the web page for English 7 taught by Mr. Dan Behan. Thank you for your interest in McQuaid Jesuit Middle School and this course. This site will let you explore what seventh graders at McQuaid Jesuit Middle School learn throughout the course of the year in English. Our goal is to provide an overview to prospective McQuaid students and parents. It also serves as a backup copy of key information and major assignments for present English 7 students and parents at McQuaid.
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Curriculum In
the broadest sense, English 7 is a reading
and writing course.
Introducing students to literary analysis, sharpening critical
thinking skills, and practicing speaking and writing skills are
our primary goals. Our
work will take four forms-- literature,
vocabulary, composition
and, to a lesser extent, grammar.
Outcomes and Means: Writing, Reading, and Speaking
Instruction
Literary
terms and techniques, as they apply to each novel, short story,
play, and poem piece, are explored.
Our ultimate goal is to enable students to synthesize such
techniques into their own writing. Students
will demonstrate the ability to: q
Read and analyze
over 40 short stories. q
Read 12-14 young
adult novels as outside reading throughout the school year. q
Read 4 young
adult novels as summer reading. q
Read and analyze
28-32 poems. q
Read and interpret a Shakespearean play and a modern
drama. q
Keep a journal
and a character diary. q
Analyze and
describe a character. q
Defend a topic
sentence with supporting details. q
Respond to a
story’s ending and extend the conclusion. q
Incorporate
descriptive details, especially sensory details. q
Draw inferences
and make judgments from readings. q
Write effective
dialogue and invent a conversation. q
Understand perspective
and write from another point of view. q
Analyze a story’s
title, theme, and characterization. q
Summarize and
evaluate plot. q
Identify the
individual components of storyline. q
Compose a persuasive
essay and express one’s viewpoint. q
Analyze mythology
and write one’s own myth. q
Write short
journalism pieces—news article and interview. Outcomes and Means: Language and Vocabulary InstructionStudents
will demonstrate the ability to: q
Complete a comprehensive
15-unit vocabulary instruction program. q
Identify the
kinds of sentences, the parts of speech, and the parts of a sentence. q
Maintain variety
in sentence structure and diction. q
Examine a writer’s
style. q
Use vivid verbs
and modifiers. q
Distinguish
the three types of irony. q
Explore nuances
of language, such as dialect, slang, connotation, and denotation. q
Identify word
roots and prefixes and suffixes derived from Latin. q
Explore figurative
language, particularly simile and metaphor. q
Combine sentences
via subordinate clauses and transitional devices. q
Punctuate and
capitalize correctly. q
Identify mythological
words and place names borrowed from the ancient world. |
