The Prince William County Public Schools English Language Arts program promotes the development of a continuum of literacy skills and strategies for students in kindergarten through grade 12. This continuum includes processes critical to reading, writing, speaking, listening, information management, and the use of technology.
The Prince William County Public Schools English Language Arts Curriculum is the 2017 Virginia English Standards of Learning Curriculum Framework. In grades K-12 the Curriculum Framework is organized by the strands of Communication, Reading, Writing, and Research.
Grade 6
Students completing Grade 6 will be active participants in group discussions by presenting personal opinions, understanding differing viewpoints, and analyzing group communication. They will continue vocabulary development and begin the study of word origins. Students will read independently a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts, for comprehension and appreciation. Through daily writing practice in narratives, descriptions, and explanations students will follow the writing process with emphasis on composition and style as well as sentence formation, usage, and mechanics. Students will demonstrate correct use of language, spelling, and mechanics by applying grammatical conventions in writing and speaking. Technology will be used by students to gather, organize, and communicate information in a properly cited research project.
Grade 7
Students completing Grade 7 will learn the effects of verbal and nonverbal messages in communication and understand the elements of media literacy. They will extend vocabulary development through the study of figurative language, roots, affixes, and cognates. Students will develop independent and analytical thinking by reading a wide variety of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Through daily writing practice in narration, exposition, and persuasion students will demonstrate correct use of language, spelling, mechanics, and grammatical conventions. Students will gather, organize, and communicate information by completing a properly cited research project.
Grade 8
Students completing Grade 8 will learn and apply interviewing techniques used in developing and delivering group and individual oral presentations. They will analyze, develop, and produce media messages. Students will continue development of vocabulary with attention to connotations and figurative language. Through daily writing practice in exposition and persuasion, students will follow the writing process and demonstrate correct use of language, spelling, and grammatical conventions. Students will describe themes, make inferences, interpret cause-effect relationships, differentiate between fact and opinion, and draw conclusion from daily independent reading from a variety of genre. Technology will be used by students to gather, organize, and communicate information in a properly cited research project.