High School English
High School English at Smith is taught using a skills-based approach which uses diverse sources to support students in developing a number of critical skill sets. Students are challenged at an appropriate ability level and, beyond learning essential skills for reading and writing, practice their abilities to interact with and understand others beyond the classroom.
Appreciation and understanding of a variety of genres
Over the course of their years at Smith, students are exposed to a wide variety of text genres, including but not limited to memoir, science fiction, magical realism, poetry, and drama. Students learn about the genres through reading relevant texts, learning each genre’s writing conventions, and understanding historical or cultural components of the genre. Students will also practice writing in a variety of genres.
Writing abilities across multiple subjects
Writing is a skill that requires both a breadth and depth of knowledge. At Smith, students take a mandatory 9th grade writing course that approaches writing from a sentence-building approach. Students begin by learning the basics of grammar, punctuation, parts of speech, and build up to writing effective sentences and then paragraphs. Students apply these skills toward multiple types of writing, including argumentative, informative, creative, and research. Students then apply these skills to writing as it connects with other subjects, such as science or history.
In their English classes, students build the necessary skills to write analytical and argumentative essays, including developing executive thesis statements, incorporating textual evidence to support arguments, and organizing thoughts and ideas. Students also become familiar with the stages of the writing process from brainstorming through editing and revision. Students engage in creative writing as well, learning about concepts such as story structure, characterization, and tone and writing style.
Developing higher-level critical thinking skills
In their English classes, students will practice all levels of critical thinking. Using Bloom’s Taxonomy as a model, units are organized so that students have the opportunity to analyze, evaluate, and create in a variety of capacities. Students are empowered by directly learning about the levels of critical thinking and explicitly practicing reading, writing, and speaking at each level. This process is integrated into all class activities so that students can expand their critical thinking skills on a consistent basis.
Grammar and vocabulary skills
Students learn vocabulary by studying Greek and Latin word roots using a structured vocabulary program. By learning word roots, students are empowered to understand how words are formed and to better infer word meanings based on their growing knowledge of root definitions. A variety of learning styles and modes are used to teach and reinforce vocabulary. Grammar skills are also continuously reinforced throughout students’ years at Smith. Editing and revision are emphasized as essential parts of the writing process during all writing projects. Students learn grammar both through the editing process and through direct grammar instruction and practice.
Reading comprehension and analysis
Comfort is essential for students to practice the vulnerability and creativity required in critical thinking, and our teachers constantly invest in relationships so that students can reach the comfort level they need. Analysis skills are developed through modeling, explicit instruction, questioning, and developing an atmosphere in which students feel comfortable sharing their ideas and challenging themselves. Smith School teachers also use a variety of strategies to assist students’ comprehension, from explicitly teaching note-taking to teaching relevant historical context that will help students to understand a text.
Media literacy and research skills
In addition to analytical, creative, and informative writing, Smith School students also conduct research and learn about the research process from beginning to end. Through our Project-Based Learning units, students learn how to identify and cite appropriate sources, how to take notes, how to synthesize ideas from research into their own argument, and more. Students also engage in the ever-evolving conversation around technology use in education, which in recent years has included learning to identify AI-generated content as well as other essential skills for media literacy and safety.
Writing Workshop
While writing is of course taught at all grade levels at The Smith School, all ninth grade students are required to take an intensive writing course in addition to the ninth grade English language arts class. The purpose of this course is to build students’ writing skills from a variety of angles so that they can successfully write for a variety of audiences, purposes, and academic fields. Students study grammar, composition, structure, and other elements of the English language and writing. Then they apply their knowledge by practicing writing for multiple purposes including real-world uses, argumentation, analysis, research, and creative writing.
This course begins with a study of word construction, which then moves into sentence construction, parts of speech, and identifying and using specific types of phrases and clauses. Then students build into studying paragraphs and the variety of purposes for which they can be used.
After learning these building blocks, students engaged in project-based learning, applying their writing skills to multiple fields including real world writing, humanities, and research. The year culminates with a student designed and instructor facilitated writing project which will allow for individual creativity and personal interests that will showcase each student’s year worth of achievement.