English Grade 7

The Grade 7 English curriculum engages students to better understand themselves and the world around them. Students read, analyze and respond to a wide variety of texts and media. Students are encouraged to explore issues related to personal identity and community concerns as they interact with increasingly complex and/or challenging texts; to critically analyse and evaluate perspectives in texts and the influence of media on their lives; and to write about and discuss topics of relevance that matter in their daily lives. Students transform text types, reflect on the powerful messages in novels, create social media posts showing perspectives, produce and deliver a speech, and create a story map or presentation integrating both English and Humanities knowledge and understanding.

English Grade 8

In the Grade 8 English curriculum, in addition to reading a variety of texts and novels for a book club, students will also read It’s Trevor Noah: Born a Crime (YA novel), A Long Way Down (verse novel), and A Girl Called Echo (graphic novel). Students will develop a critical approach to analyzing literature and further develop reading strategies. Students will also think about how the author's choices convey meaning and impact the reader. Teaching will focus on developing communication and language skills that allow students to use written, oral, and visual media as vehicles for thought and creativity. Teaching will include integration through connecting concepts and skills in the Grade 8 humanities curriculum.