English

The English curriculum at BB&N is intended to teach students to read with pleasure and insight and to write with clarity and confidence. The department aims for its students to learn, with increasing skill, to recognize the differences between the profound and the superficial, the eloquent and the awkward, the sincere and the glib.

The English program reflects a belief in the value of reading widely and deeply in a variety of literary forms, traditional and innovative, and of reading from several periods, ancient and modern. The faculty believes that both expository and creative writing improves with practice and with constant attention to basic skills. In Grades 7 and 8, students are encouraged to acquire careful study techniques, to use their imagination, and to develop sound reasoning as they learn to read and write with increasing enthusiasm and proficiency. In Grades 9 through 12, students are asked to understand the essential relationship between form and content and to appreciate the power and beauty of language with increasing sophistication. The study of grammar, punctuation, spelling, syntax, and vocabulary is stressed starting in Grade 7.

Grade 7:  The Grade 7 English curriculum is designed to help students become more accurate and thoughtful readers and writers. The “Portraits” unit guides students to read closely and make reasonable inferences – first by developing a number of close observation skills in studying visual portraits, and then by applying those techniques to the more abstract medium of written language. Throughout the year, students practice and deepen their close reading and analytic skills through studying and considering thematic ideas in short stories, novels, and poems. Among the readings offered are The Pearl, A Raisin in the Sun, The Red Badge of Courage, and The House on Mango Street. Students write with increasing accuracy and depth as they expand the structure and range of their own sentences and ultimately write several longer pieces, including analytical paragraphs and stories.

Students develop the skills of effective time management, notebook organization, underlining and margin noting, vocabulary-building, and grammatical analysis. Short-term assignments, frequent reading quizzes, and an emphasis on class participation help students practice careful and prompt preparation. Imaginative and analytic long-term writing assignments along with more open-ended projects allow students to explore their creativity while they learn to plan and execute their ideas responsibly.

Grade 8:  Grade 8 English students consider ideas in literature in increasingly abstract terms and make exciting leaps in understanding relationships within and between readings. Through discussion, writings, and activities, students find parallels within literature and between these works and their own lives. The theme is the journey or quest, beginning with A Separate Peace by John Knowles. Other texts studied during the year include selections from Leaving Home, an anthology of readings about journeys, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, To Kill a Mockingbird, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Our approach to the play is tied to the study of poetry and gives students an opportunity to explore Shakespeare from multiple perspectives, including language analysis, characterization, and performance. Writing assignments grow out of the ideas and strategies identified in the reading and include stories, descriptive and personal paragraphs, analytic essays, and poetry. The Grade 8 curriculum reinforces study skills introduced in Grade 7. Class time is devoted to discussion, group work, peer editing, acting, short writing exercises, grammatical analysis, and other activities that help students hone their reading and writing skills.