All students will be developing the critical thinking skills to navigate our increasingly complex world.  They will be making inferences and predictions, as well as creating and evaluating.  They will be integrating technology as appropriate.  Further, they will learn how their failth helps them to contribute constructively to their family, school, and community.

Students will study proper spelling, use of vocabulary, grammar, and writing.  There will be weekly assignments to learn and use the vocabulary as well as spelling and grammar quizzes each week and a test every two weeks to determine mastery. 

Grammar studies will expand understanding and usage of the parts of speech together with teaching proper sentence structure and the elements of writing.  Students will keep writing journals to help build fluency of expression and skill.

Additionally, they will learn techniques to help develop the skills required to construct narrative and expository writing.  They will learn to put together arguments to persuade and compare/contrast, as well as create their own stories and poems.  Students will learn the writing process from brain-storming, through drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.  There will be emphasis placed on continuous improvement of writing selections through revision and the benefit of peer review. 

Additionally, students will work to build their skills in public speaking with opportumities to present their ideas both informally and formally to the class.  All students will prepare a reading to try out to be selected as one of the presenters in the diocese declamation event held in spring each year. 

Over the course of the year they will complete assignments designed to teach them the techniques to be able to best express their ideas across the curriculum and to prepare them with the communication skills they will need in the future.