English Language Arts 6-8

Jack R. Merchant, Ph.D., a Fulbright Scholar with over 15 years of teaching experience, teaches all the classes in our English Language Arts program.  The program focuses on reading, writing, grammar, and vocabulary skills and is designed to enhance the curriculum offered in Seattle schools. 

The critical reading component of our English Language Arts program for middle school students is partially based on the Jacob’s Ladder Reading Comprehension Program.  Dr. Merchant guides students through a process of inquiry, which moves from lower order skills (basic literary understanding) to higher order skills (critical analysis and synthesis).  Readings are taken from three genres: short stories, poetry, and nonfiction.  The program organizes tasks into six skill ‘ladders’, each of which focuses on a different skill-set.  The readings are followed by questions organized by ladder grouping, which students ‘climb’ by answering lower-level questions prior to advancing to higher-level questions.

Instruction in grammatical concepts is also part of our program. Students are provided a level-appropriate grammar workbook, from which they are instructed and given weekly assignments.  The grammatical concepts covered in class are reinforced through writing.  Dr. Merchant guides students through the three genre of writing emphasized in their schools: Informative/Explanatory, Narrative, and Opinion/Argument. Students are also encouraged to practice writing through genre-focused lessons and integrated writing assignments based on in-class readings and/or on their work in school. 

The final component of the program is vocabulary development.  Students are provided weekly vocabulary lists of words that appear with high frequency in literature and on standardized tests like the SAT and ACT.  At the beginning of each class session, students are given a vocabulary quiz, which asks them to define the words on the list from the previous week.  Students are also encouraged to use new words in their written compositions.   

Our 6-8 English Language Arts program enhances that of the school classroom, allowing students to improve their skills and excel with confidence.