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English Language Arts

john

Johnathan Gilbert
Director of ELA
Phone: 603-845-1558 ext. 5232 
Email: [email protected]

English Language Arts

The English Language Arts Department is proud of our comprehensive Windham School District English Language Arts Curriculum Grades K-12.  Our standards-based classes represent a diligent, cooperative and concerted effort by professional educators comprising a multiplicity of skill sets and experiences.  Our professional staff are committed to working with and supporting students in all grade levels representing all ability levels.    All programs ensure a high level of rigorous instruction and provide a readable and user friendly format for staff, students, parents, and community members. 

Our curriculum evolves from a traditional elementary school model through grade four to a three or four person team-taught model beginning in grade five and continuing through grade eight.  Our Grade 9 and Grade 10 programs are co-taught by English and Social Studies teachers in an effort to provide additional support similar to the team experience that students have experienced in the lower grades.  Carefully developed cross-curricular units provide focus and relevance to the instruction and prepare students to advance to grade 11 where students will move to either our full year World Literature and Composition Program or into the Advanced Placement Program.  In Grade 12, students can choose from a variety of elective courses or continue with the Advanced Placement Program through graduation.

Humanities 

At the heart of a rigorous academic education is the study of the humanities. The study of humanities enables students to understand what it is to be human. The study of humanities challenges students to draw connections and find purpose and meaning in the world.  WHS’s Humanities Program is designed to provide an interdisciplinary approach to learning.

There are two required core humanities courses at Windham High School: Cultural Foundations and American Studies. The purpose of these courses is to enable students to think deeply across academic disciplines and to build solid academic skills, particularly in the areas of writing and reading. Interdisciplinary instruction enables students to view learning as more than an accumulation of isolated facts and helps students develop the skills necessary to solve multifaceted problems. Each core course is team-taught by a social studies teacher and an English teacher. Students earn credit in both social studies and English.