ELA Department

Welcome to the Sandpoint Middle School ELA Department!

In 7th Grade, the curriculum comprises of five separate units: Environments, Perseverance, Survival, Medieval Times and Greek Mythology. Each unit revolves around one whole class novel and a free choice novel (student’s choice). All units involve standard driven, individual writing opportunities and group projects. While all five units are extremely rigorous, we (as a faculty) also place a heavy emphasis on student engagement. 

In 8th Grade, students will develop critical reading, writing, and communication skills in a variety of literary genres, including: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and drama. Writing assignments and end-of-unit projects will include: narrative, persuasive, and literary analysis.

Key Skills:

• Analyzing fiction and nonfiction texts

• Persuasive writing

• Drawing inferences and conclusion from texts

• Analyzing conflicting source documents

• Supporting arguments with evidence

• Solving complex problems with no obvious answer

• Preparing for high school-level ELA expectations