English
Teacher: Ms. Kelly Trotta
The Intermediate School Program
Seventh grade traditionally marks the start of departmentalized learning at Canterbury Brook Academy. The academic teachers that students have during these three years will remain with them through graduation. The English department, run by our founder and headmistress, acts as the fulcrum upon which all other academic subjects rely. Using a cross-curricular approach to literacy, the strategies taught in English are carried over into all other subject areas. All of the essay writing utilized from seventh grade onward will be using Regents styles of composition, assisted by the use of graphic organizers. The approaches taught in English will be carried over across the subject areas, building upon the seamless literacy program started in the lower grades. Editing checklists that began in our Early Childhood Program will be continually added to throughout all three years in our Intermediate School. At each grade level, four-five thematic reading units will be covered, from which different topics and styles of writing will be explored, as well a various poems, short stories, and non-fiction articles that will be covered throughout each year. At all levels, grammar will be explicitly taught, using a more "old-fashioned" approach involving sentence breakdown to enhance understanding of word function. Vocabulary will be pulled from the novels read each quarter, with students being exposed to 20 words a quarter, the expectation being to build upon their functional lexicon; derivations, connotations, and context sentence formation will be a main focus of the vocabulary program. Penmanship, typing, and use of MLA formation are also covered through the ELA program, as is public speaking. For a brief overview of the literature and corresponding writing taught at each level, please see below:
SUMMER BEFORE SEVENTH GRADE
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
SEVENTH GRADE
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare - Historical-Fiction and Compare/Contrast Writing
The Giver by Lois Lowry - Science-Fiction/Dystopia and Plot Mapping
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff - Realistic-Fiction/Descriptive and Narrative Writing Styles
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros - Multicultural Literature and Intro to Literary Analysis/Thematic Writing
SUMMER BEFORE EIGHTH GRADE
Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
EIGHTH GRADE
*All essays done from this year on will follow the Regents style and will be graded using NYS rubrics to prepare for exams
Short Story Unit including texts by the following authors:
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - central idea essay
Night by Elie Wiesel - thematic essay
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee - one central idea essay and one thematic essay
SUMMER BEFORE NINTH GRADE
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson OR A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals
NINTH GRADE
*All essays will follow the Regents style and will be graded using NYS rubrics to prepare for exams; minimum 2 per quarter
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
For more information on the Intermediate School's English Program, please feel free to contact Ms. Kelly Trotta at:
admin@canterburybrookacademy.com
SUMMER BEFORE SEVENTH GRADE
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
SEVENTH GRADE
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare - Historical-Fiction and Compare/Contrast Writing
The Giver by Lois Lowry - Science-Fiction/Dystopia and Plot Mapping
Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly Giff - Realistic-Fiction/Descriptive and Narrative Writing Styles
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros - Multicultural Literature and Intro to Literary Analysis/Thematic Writing
SUMMER BEFORE EIGHTH GRADE
Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
EIGHTH GRADE
*All essays done from this year on will follow the Regents style and will be graded using NYS rubrics to prepare for exams
Short Story Unit including texts by the following authors:
- James Joyce
- Edgar Allan Poe
- Langston Hughes
- Shirley Jackson
- Kurt Vonnegut
- Frank Stockton
- Ray Bradbury
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - central idea essay
Night by Elie Wiesel - thematic essay
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee - one central idea essay and one thematic essay
SUMMER BEFORE NINTH GRADE
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson OR A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals
NINTH GRADE
*All essays will follow the Regents style and will be graded using NYS rubrics to prepare for exams; minimum 2 per quarter
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
For more information on the Intermediate School's English Program, please feel free to contact Ms. Kelly Trotta at:
admin@canterburybrookacademy.com
Teacher's Bio
Ms. Trotta is the Founder and Head of School at Canterbury Brook Academy of the Arts, as well as the Dean of the Upper School. Because she believes strongly that the most effective administrators remain in the classroom, she wears multiple hats within our school. Ms. Trotta is an English teacher and Literacy Specialist with 18 years experience in education. Her focus and passion rest in adolescent literacy instruction, and she has successfully built and overseen literacy programs for schools for many years. She is quite excited to now be able to do so for her own school.
