2024-2025 Course Flipbook v2 - Flipbook - Page 26
ENGLISH 6: FANTASY AND ADVENTURE
“But just because you can never reach it, doesn’t mean that it’s not worth looking for” (The
Phantom Tollbooth). In English 6, students encounter stories that are at times fantastic,
at times realistic, and always adventurous, sparking a love for reading, thinking, and
creating. In their study of increasingly complex texts, students recognize story shape, the
impact of characterization, the necessity of con昀氀ict, and other critical elements of reading
that ground their English adventure at The Field School. Through daily reading and writing
exercises, students learn to appreciate and employ the building blocks of expression,
exploring sentence craft elements including grammar and syntax while developing
pro昀椀ciency with paragraphs and persuasive writing. Through these efforts, students
recognize how others’ word choices and sentence structures convey meaning and inform
the development of their increasingly unique voices. Texts may include selected short
stories and myths from various cultures, Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth, Louis
Sachar’s Holes, Linda Sue Park’s A Long Walk to Water, and more.
ENGLISH
ENGLISH 7: RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF CHALLENGE
“To the untrained eye, the night sky is a scattering of stars, a chaos of light
and dark across the universe. And yet, the stars are not lost (When Stars Are
Scattered).” When we look at the state of the world today, we wonder how we can
navigate the challenges ahead. In English 7, students read texts that immerse
them in stories of challenge and the striking courage young people 昀椀nd to, in
one way or another, persist and make an impact. Students ask questions like:
What strategies do we use when faced with dif昀椀cult circumstances? How can
we build resilience? What can we learn from others’ stories to help us persevere?
To enhance their understanding, students use the framework of “windows and
mirrors” to engage critical thinking skills, relating to a text and learning about
circumstances other than their own. They identify and analyze passages that
facilitate these direct connections to the world and themselves, pulling from a
variety of texts across cultures and genres. Students develop multiple approaches
to active reading and stamina building, while advancing spoken, written, and
visual language skills. We practice paragraph structure and mechanics as
students begin to develop comfort engaging more deeply in the process of written
analysis and interpretation. Texts may include Lois Lowry’s The Giver, Sharon
Creech’s Walk Two Moons, Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl, Omar Mohamed
and Victoria Jamieson’s When Stars Are Scattered, and more. Our collective goal
is for students to 昀椀nd meaning and relevance in reading, to develop con昀椀dence in
their voices, and to express themselves as engaged and curious young adults in a
changing world.
