Beginning in the 1999-2000 school year, the sixth grade has been included in the middle schools in District 205. This has created a need to revise and coordiante the English/Language Arts Curriculum. The new 6-8 programs will continue to promote the middle school concept philosophy and comply with the Illinois State Goals for Learning. As a result of the new programs, middle school students will have an opportunity for quality instruction.
The curriculum focuses on reading, writing, speaking, and listening to skills to facilitate the student's ability for effective communication in the global curriculum. With a renewed emphasis on multicultural sensitivity and awareness integrated into the curriculum, students will be better prepared to attain success throughout their lifetime.
7th Grade
Novel:
The Shadow Club by Neal Shusterman (Interview with Neal Shusterman)
Plays:
"D.A.R.Y.L"
"The Boy Who Couldn't Read"
"Bluffing It"
"Gift of Love"
Short Stories:
"Survive
the Savage Sea" by Dougal Robertson
Book Description
In June 1972, the 43-foot schooner Lucette was attacked by killer whales
and sank in 60 seconds. What happened next is almost incredible. In an inflatable
rubber raft, with a 9-foot fiberglass dinghy to tow it, Dougal Robertson
and his family were miles from any shipping lanes. They had emergency rations
for only three days, and no maps, compass or instruments of any kind. After
their raft sank under them, they crammed themselves into their tiny dinghy.
For 37 days--using every technique of survival--they battled against 20-foot
waves, marauding sharks, thirst, starvation, and exhaustion, adrift in the
vast reaches of the Pacific before their ordeal was ended by a Japanese
fishing boat. The Robertsons' strong determination shines through the pages
of this extraordinary book which describes movingly their daily hopes and
fears, crises and triumphs, tensions and heartbreaks.
From the Back Cover
"For stark excitement, marine natural history, practical lessons, and
human love and stresses, few records, if any, of hazard and survival have
ever bettered it." --Washington Post
About the Author
Dougal Robertson was born in Scotland
in 1924 and spent the war in the Merchant Marine. He and his wife Lyn lived
on a farm in England for a number of years before deciding to go on a circumnavigation
with their children.
Review
Powerful summary of survival and leadership. Having read many survival and
endurance books, I found this one exemplary. Written with quiet recollection
- as only a log-keeping seaman could - he recounts both the inner and outer
journey very well. I was appreciative of his honesty in the emotional shortcomings
of himself and crew. You can imagine the difficulty of being so revealing
of your own family in print! Without these insights, a reader would have
been mislead about what it means to survive with others. I also listened
to an unabridged book-on-tape, and the idea of a long story, well told,
detail by detail was wonderful. For someone who has waited out storms on
the sides of mountains, I appreciate long, detailed, unhurried stories.
This is a wonderful book.
"Sarah's Ghost House"
"The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs (Full text version here.)
"In the Bag"
Study Skills, including Listening Skills, Following Directions, Note-taking, Mapping, Outlining, Reading Tables, Charts and Graphs, Summarizing, Paraphrasing, SQ3R
Magazine: Scholastic Scope
Novel: Snow BoundLincoln Middle School
1500 Charles Street
Rockford, Illinois 61104
Rockford School District #205
815-229-2400
Copyright 1998-2002
Email: paul.stalter@rps205.com
Updated 10-8-2002