English Department Welcome to Ramsey's English Department! We are having an exciting year as we welcome new staff members, implement a rigorous curriculum using our updated textbooks, and continue using Disciplinary Literacy in our classrooms.  In addition, we are working closely with the Center for Academic Excellence to improve all aspects of our teaching. The English Department offers Challenge English 7 and 8;  English 7 and 8. Students are grouped by their reading vocabulary and comprehension skills. English teachers offer several electives which are very popular with our students: Journalism, Creative Writing and Speech and Debate. Selected students may be scheduled into Reads 180 to improve their reading skills.   Reading and writing continue to be high priorities in all of our classrooms.  We plan our standards-driven curriculum so that students of different teachers study the same subjects each semester. We all work on skills needed for the standardized testing in language arts.   To provide continuity, if a student moves from one teacher to another at semester break, we work collaboratively to ensure his/her success.  Some examples of English extracurricular activities include the schoolwide Ramsey Speech Contest in March and a schoolwide Spelling Bee which precedes the district competition. We enter contests and exhibit our students' work outside the classroom to a wider audience whenever possible. We hope to encourage our students' creativity and give them a chance to shine! English Dept. Web Sites This section features links especially helpful to the English Department, students, staff and parents. It is another Ramsey Jr. High web page starting place for a variety of online activities and information.