Hours taught: 6 : 2 CORE, 1 Spelling, 2 Reading, 1 Writing
Goals for the year:
• Improve and develop a wide range of the students’ abilities and skills;
• Read literature independently;
• Enhance the students’ vocabulary and its usage in appropriate contexts;
• Further develop spelling skills on a higher level;
• Practice verbal skills through communication assignments and self-expression;
• Continue to consolidate and develop various aspects of English grammar;
• Enhance the students’ writing skills through in-class written assignments and independent writing;
• Fully and thoroughly prepare the students for the next academic year.
Abilities that will be developed:
• Comprehension and interpretation of stories in different genres;
• Basic analysis, comparing and contrasting of the reading material;
• Implementing essential rules and structures of written and spoken English;
• Strengthening the students’ listening skills by using audio and video materials
• Speaking skills will be practiced on a regular basis through conversation topics, in-class discussions, oral presentations, reading activities, and oral exercises
• Ability to do independent research on an assigned topic by using various resources including the Internet
• Topics covered will include: the modern world, arts and culture, social studies, nature and the environment, travel and leisure, sports and games, living in a multi-cultural world, family and friends, books and reading, etc.
• Write informative / explanatory texts and narratives to convey information clearly and accurately;
• Writing: the students will learn how to write a proper essay, make an introduction and conclusion, defend a point of view, compare and contrast, and describe.
• Speaking: project presentations and participation in class discussions on a variety of topics
• Build self- confidence and strength in all areas of the English language
Teaching materials: Textbooks and workbooks
CORE
About the subject
CORE is an enquiry based course designed to develop students’ skills and confidence in English.
Recognizing the multilingual and multicultural nature of today’s world, the approach supports our
students in becoming life-long learners who are agile, independent, 21th century thinkers.
The guiding principles are creativity and engagement.
About the Book:
There are 9 units, which do not have to be followed in a linear fashion, are designed to be
accessible to students in any culture and to promote cross-curricular understanding.
Reading
Each unit starts with a ‘Thinking time’ session in which students examine new ideas and are
encouraged to begin exploring the theme of the unit. This leads on to reading from modern and
pre-twentieth century non-fiction, media texts, news articles and genre fiction. A ‘word cloud’ is
there to go with the reading, which can be used to introduce students to new vocabulary, to explore
meanings and usage in context.
Writing
Students can also practice writing for different purposes linked to the texts they have read. e.g.
creating a leaflet on healthy eating, writing a speech on artificial intelligence etc. All writing tasks
are carefully structured, offering step-by-step guidance so that students effectively plan and
organize their ideas coherently, using a range of sentence structures and punctuation to create
particular effects.
Speaking and Listening
Speaking and listening tasks include collaborating on creative tasks such as interviews, giving and
listening to short talks, promoting a charity, discussing topical issues to improve active listening
and oral skills for debates and presentations at a later stage in students’ school careers.
Formative and summative assessment
Throughout the units, students’ work is assessed through teacher, peer assessment and/or self-assessment,
with the objective of improving specific competencies and self-confidence.
SPELLING:
Hard and soft consonant sounds, silent consonants, long and short vowels, vowel pairs, words with diphthongs, prefixes, suffixes, final consonants, plurals, homonyms and synonyms, abbreviations, spelling dictionary, proofreading .
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS
• Age and level-appropriate reading books as a base for communication, comprehension and writing activities
• Relevant audio and video material to further develop the students’ listening comprehension skills
• Handouts from other relevant textbooks and exercise books within the Middle School Language Arts curriculum
• Materials and props for individual and class projects and presentations
• Age-appropriate students’ magazines: National Geographic Junior, Owl, Time for Kids
• Use of the Internet for research and teaching purposes
• Online English-learning websites for Middle School children in the Language Arts program
Students’ responsibilities for successful completion of course:
• To have a positive attitude and eagerness towards learning
• To have a clear understanding of what is expected of them
• To come to school prepared at all times
• To always complete tasks assigned in class
• Contributing to class discussion.
• To do their homework regularly
• To try to be helpful, responsible and respectful toward one another
• To enjoy what they are doing and learn at the same time
Evaluation methods:
• Weekly spelling quizzes
• Monthly participation grades
• Regular evaluations of writing assignments
• Evaluations of oral presentations and projects