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Developed through Rigorous Standards

Middle School Language Arts & Literature

SES nurtures the development of each student to achieve their spiritual, intellectual, physical and social potential. Catholic values matter!

This series provides a comprehensive English Language Arts program.

The program is anchored on a set of rich, engaging, and complex literary and informational texts, and is designed to develop students’ abilities to analyze complex texts, cite from sources, reason, and communicate orally and in writing. Developed around rigorous state standards and expectations, the program challenges and supports all students to become critical and close readers. The program develops students’ writing across varied genres with models of effective texts and ample opportunities for writing. With a blend of digital resources and online tools, the program delivers 21st century learning.

The program engages students with thought-provoking, high-quality, complex texts.  The Collection series has six collections per grade level and features one or more anchor text that reflects the theme or topic of the collection and serves as a model of rigor and complexity, bearing the multiple reading that are characteristic of a close-reading protocol. Each selection in the collection reflects the topic and provides the resources for standards instruction, discussion, and written and oral response.

We engage students with thought-provoking, high-quality, complex texts.

Technology: Full 1 to 1 iPad use in the classroom. Technology is used purposefully to facilitate instruction and learning. Interactive tools for close reading, annotating, writing, and resources for additional learning, engage students in learning, skill building, and practice. Digital tools with an interactive and collaborative approach means that all learners are supported in developing the skills needed for school success and beyond.

Writing: Throughout the program, students write in varied genres and develop their skills as writers. The program integrates reading and writing, placing an emphasis on the development of effective skills in both. Students also keep a weekly journal.

Reading: The Accelerated Reader Program. The program is a computerized program that tests reading comprehension. Students select books on their reading level, read independently, and take an independent comprehension test on their iPad. Students have access to thousands of books available from the public library through the Overdrive app. Each book is worth a certain number of points based on its length and reading level. Students get a percentage of these points based on how many of the test questions they get correct. The program tracks their progress over the course of the school year. A Star reading test helps to give students a current grade level of reading and determines appropriate book levels for each student.

Vocabulary: Students expand their vocabulary through an intensive program that combines online material, literature, and critical thinking skills. Students focus on words, contextual clues, higher-level inference thinking and use in daily writing.

Assessment: The program provides effective assessment resources to support teaching and learning. The program includes ongoing formative assessments, performance tasks, and varied assessment approaches designed to meet the needs of all students.

Meeting the Needs of All Students: The program meets the needs of all students by providing specific suggestions for scaffolding and differentiation and for meeting the needs of specific populations, such as struggling readers and English language learners.