Language Arts

The “Six Trait Writing Process” is the essential guiding force in our language arts department; all of the department teachers have been trained in and use the six traits for teaching and evaluating writing. Other staff members refer to the “Six Traits of Writing” as it applies to their subject matter: for example, the organization trait is discussed as it applies to math, science, or art so that students realize that the process is universal not just tied to writing. Seventh and eighth grade language arts students participate in cross-curricular writing experiences receiving credit in each subject area.

When sixth graders study bugs in science, they write a descriptive paragraph using their notes and outlines. Outlining is practiced for ease of use in social studies and science. Letter writing and thank you notes of appreciation are emphasized in another unit centering on communication. Narratives are written at the beginning of the year to express their feelings about the first weeks in middle school.

Seventh graders write “Ode to the Earthworm” in class after studying earthworms in science. The odes have been published in the Daily Courier with photos of the worm races. Students also dress up and take on the attributes of a fictional character as they tell about the novel from the character’s point of view. They may visit Barnes and Noble to hear an author explain their writing techniques and read their works. Students use the computer lab to do online research, work on bibliography entries, and to write and illustrate informational brochures in conjunction with the study of diseases in science.

Cross-curricular writing in science and social studies is emphasized in eighth grade. During January, students study human rights, they read and discuss “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King, Jr., “Indian Rights” by Red Cloud, and “The Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln. Focus in language arts is on the use of imagery, repetition, and voice. Civics classes watch MLK’s speech and then write their own dreams for the future. Formal science lab write-ups are done quarterly; second quarter’s lab write up was “Converting Potential and Kinetic Energy.” Students formulate their hypothesis, provide a thorough
description of the procedures, clearly state the results of the experiment, and either support or disprove the hypothesis using the data in the conclusion.

Persuasive essays are written after reading a scientific article entitled “Should We Move the Moon?” published in Scholastic Science World; students must support one of the scientists quoted in the article and provide reasons for their choice. Essays are graded using the Six Traits of Writing in language arts and then also graded in science.

Student writers contribute to a variety of essay and poetry contests throughout the year. We have participated in the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, and Veterans’ Day essay contests for fifteen years. We usually submit 100-200 essays at the three grade levels. Last year, we placed 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th at the local level of the VFW competition. The Americanism essay contest sponsored by the American Legion usually finds at least one sixth, seventh, and eighth grader moving to the state level. Six of this year’s district winners are from Mrs. Howlett’s seventh grade classes. Our language arts teachers receive recognition from these organizations because of the high participation rate and quality of entries.

Sixth and seventh grade poets enter the PTA Poetry Reflection Contest and have been published in Teens World, Prescott Unified School District Anthology, A Celebration of Young Poets Anthology, READ Magazine, Seventeen, and Creative Communication Anthology. Our school also received the “Poetic Achievement Award” in 2004 for having fifteen or more poets accepted to be published and having an excellent language arts program by Creative Communication.