Horseheads Middle School
English Language Arts
The mission of the English Language Arts (ELA) Department at the Horseheads Middle School is to help each student grow in literacy, in the areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking, with the goal of encouraging each student to reach his/her full potential as a contributing member of today's society.
As a department we believe that every student can be successful. We differentiate instructional methods to meet the needs of students' varying learning styles, but we also work working toward common assessments for each unit, as we educate and promote character growth in our students within and outside our classrooms.
Eighth grade units include "Flowers for Algernon," The Diary of Anne Frank, The Outsiders, short stories, poetry, ELA review, and public speaking. Each unit involves the four essential areas-reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Writing assignments focus on comparison/contrast and expository essays.
Seventh grade units include A Christmas Carol, short stories, poetry, a novel, ELA review, and listening/study skills. Each unit involves the four areas-reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Writing assignments focus on the personal narrative, expository writing, and also the friendly letter.
Students will take the New York State Assessment in ELA in both seventh- and eighth-grade. Teachers work collaboratively to help students prepare for these assessments, which are given in January.
| Teachers: | Brian Carpenter, Chuck Donovan, Jessica Kelly, Melissa Schultz-Ahearn, Andrew Scott, Maria Shernesky |