English

6th grade
Required

This course focuses on developing each student’s active critical reading skills and analytical writing skills. Fiction, nonfiction, short stories, and poetry are read over the course of the year, and students consistently practice close, active reading and engage in thoughtful discussion that aims to get to the deeper meaning of a text. There is much emphasis on composing paragraphs that include a topic sentence that makes a claim, relevant supporting evidence, and a clear concluding sentence. Students write frequently and have many opportunities to demonstrate their thinking through writing. Additionally, there are opportunities to develop creative writing skills. Students may write poetry or short stories, or even write and draw their own comic strip. Texts may include Seedfolks (Paul Fleischman), Feathers (Jacqueline Woodson), Inside Out and Back Again (Thanhha Lai), Al Capone Does My Shirts (Gennifer Choldenko), World Without Fish (Mark Kurlansky), and Holes (Louis Sachar).

7th grade
Required

This yearlong course exposes students to literature and cultures both local and global. Students are taught to think critically about the works they read and to note similarities between themselves and the characters within those works. In this way, the course encourages students to learn empathy and gain understanding of the characters and their experiences. The course helps students develop the fundamental skills of writing a formal, thesis-based essay through practice and feedback. Formal grammar study is also a part of the curriculum and is centered on the study of commas and sentence structure. Vocabulary study is developed from the texts encountered in the course. Assessments come in the form of individual and group projects, as well as formal paragraphs, essays, and creative writing assignments. The book list may include Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Mildred D. Taylor), A Long Walk to Water (Linda Sue Park), Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Jamie Ford), The Crossover (Kwame Alexander), The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway), and The Giver (Lois Lowry).

8th grade
Required

In 8th grade English, students explore the concept of voice and the impact it has on the reader’s experience. Through close reading, discussion, dramatic performance, and imitation, students unveil the subtleties that make a writer’s voice distinctive. The primary learning goal is to help students express themselves clearly, both orally and in writing. Students read and write in a variety of genres, including expository essay, personal narrative, poetry, fiction, and podcasting. Class texts may include The House on Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros), Outcasts United (Warren St. John), Nimona (Noelle Stevenson), and Lord of the Flies (William Golding). A priority is placed on cultivating personal reading habits, and students also read an additional text through literature circles. Other materials shared in class include episodes of This American Life, assorted poems, a variety of short stories, Grammar for Middle School: A Sentence Composing Approach, and NoRedInk (a website for differentiated instruction in grammar).

Middle School
Elective

This course immerses students in the process and practice of creative writing. Throughout the course, students engage with various types of creative writing from a wide range of established literary figures, understand structures and techniques used within the different forms of writing, and talk about and personally practice the craft. Students produce their own original short story, personal essay, and collection of poetry. Students should expect to ask questions, closely examine each other’s writing, develop their author voice, and take intellectual risks. 

Middle School
Elective

This course focuses on the conception, design, and production of a visual narrative piece. Students read examples of comics and graphic novels that bring together writing and visuals to tell their stories. Using these pieces as inspiration, students then develop their own characters and storylines, write and draw the piece, and produce an anthology series distributed at UPrep.

Middle School
Elective

This course is a partnership between the English and Science Departments to explore astronomy, the solar system, and methods of inquiry in a creative, artistic, and hands-on fashion. Through a variety of trips and projects, students explore outward from the moon to the solar system, and then to some of the anomalies and the history of the universe itself. Students read, analyze, and write science fiction using their own learning and projects for inspiration. Field trips include the University of Washington Planetarium, the Challenger Learning Center at the Museum of Flight, and the Museum of Pop Culture.