English Language Arts

Students take Language Arts in grades 6, 7, and 8 as a full year course. The Language Arts classes include skill development in reading, writing, language development, and speaking & listening as described in the Common Core State Standards for English/Language Arts. Students will have reading experiences with a variety of genres of fiction (e.g. historical fiction, adventure), non-fiction (e.g. literary nonfiction, informational books) and poetry. Comprehension skills, vocabulary development, and reading strategies and skills are taught each year. Students practice a combination of expository, argumentative, narrative, and poetic composition writing over the course of their time at VCMS. Skills tested on the SBAC test and other subsequent testing are incorporated into the curriculum.