Secondary English Language Arts

Secondary Language Arts and Literacy is a division of the Department of Secondary Learning. This department serves to provide resources, professional learning, and support to all Broward County middle and high schools, as well as educational centers and K-8/6-12 schools. The department’s goal is to ensure that the Florida B.E.S.T. (Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking) standards are implemented with fidelity. Instruction is designed to integrate reading, communication, vocabulary, and foundational skills into daily classroom practice, helping students become strong, confident readers, writers, and critical thinkers.

Highlights
Parent Links

Highlights

At Broward County Public Schools, our Secondary English Language Arts and Literacy program is dedicated to cultivating critical thinkers and effective communicators. Through a diverse curriculum that encompasses reading, writing, speaking, and listening, students engage with complex texts and express their ideas with clarity and confidence. Our commitment to literacy ensures that every student is prepared for the academic challenges ahead and equipped with the skills necessary for lifelong success.

Middle Grades English Language Arts

Middle School English Language Arts courses engage students in meaningful reading, writing, speaking and listening experiences that encourage critical thinking skills. Our curriculum equips children with the skills they need to succeed in middle school and beyond. In English Language Arts, this means a balancing of informational and literary text, a transferring of knowledge among the disciplines, a focus on text-dependent questioning and answers, a building of complexity in the texts that are read, writing from sources, and focusing on academic vocabulary to ensure students are college and career ready

Grade Level Expectations

Below is an overview of students' expectations in English Language Arts for each grade level. The more children learn when they are young, the better they become as adults. We want to teach your children the academic skills they will need to prepare them for their next level of learning. Healthy, successful children can excel in many areas – in the classroom, on the court, and in their relationships with peers and adults.

GRADE 6

In 6th Grade English Language Arts (ELA), students will build strong reading, writing, and communication skills that prepare them for future academic success and lifelong learning. The course follows the Florida B.E.S.T. (Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking) Standards and helps students become confident, thoughtful, and effective readers and writers

Throughout the year, your child will:

actively read from varied texts for what is said explicitly, as well as the logical inferences that can be drawn
analyze literature and informational texts from varied literary periods to examine:
- text craft and structure
- elements of literature
- arguments and claims supported by textual evidence
- power and impact of language
- influence of history, culture, and setting on language
- personal critical and aesthetic response
write for varied purposes

For additional information regarding the Grade 6 English Language Arts courses, please visit the course description and course directory at CPALMS.org

Grade 7

In 7th Grade English Language Arts (ELA), students continue to strengthen their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills as they prepare for success in high school, college, and future careers. This course follows the Florida B.E.S.T. (Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking) Standards, which focus on helping students become thoughtful, independent thinkers and communicators.

Throughout the year, your child will:

actively read from varied texts for what is said explicitly, as well as the logical inferences that can be drawn
analyze literature and informational texts from varied literary periods to examine:
- text craft and structure
- elements of literature
- arguments and claims supported by textual evidence
- power and impact of language
- influence of history, culture, and setting on language
- personal critical and aesthetic response
write for varied purposes

For additional information regarding the Grade 7 English Language Arts courses, please visit the course description and course directory at CPALMS.org

Grade 8

In 8th Grade English Language Arts (ELA), students deepen their reading, writing, and communication skills as they prepare for the transition to high school and beyond. This course supports college and career readiness by focusing on the integration of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language, aligned with the Florida B.E.S.T. (Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking) Standards.

Throughout the year, your child will:

actively read from varied texts for what is said explicitly, as well as the logical inferences that can be drawn
analyze literature and informational texts from varied literary periods to examine:
- text craft and structure
- elements of literature
- arguments and claims supported by textual evidence
- power and impact of language
- influence of history, culture, and setting on language
- personal critical and aesthetic response
write for varied purposes

For additional information regarding the Grade 8 English Language Arts courses, please visit the course description and course directory at CPALMS.org

High School English Language Arts

High School English Language Arts courses engage students in meaningful reading, writing, speaking and listening experiences that encourage critical thinking skills. Our curriculum equips children with the skills they need to be successful in high school and beyond. In English Language Arts, this means a balancing of informational and literary text, a transferring of knowledge among the disciplines, a focus on text-dependent questioning and answers, a building of complexity in the texts that are read, writing from sources, and focusing on academics vocabulary to ensure students are college and career ready.

High School ELA Progression

There are many options for students in high school to achieve their requirements for English credit. Below is a chart that indicates many of those options and the progression that students may chose to take with guidance from their school.

View the High School ELA Progression

Parent Links

Newsela is an online platform that provides engaging, high-quality, nonfiction texts for students at all reading levels.
ParentTeen Connect is designed by social-emotional learning experts as an at-home, family-engagement resource. This online experience is loaded with videos, resources, and useful advice to help teens and the adults in their lives address hot-button topics. The site complements the Second Step^® Middle School Program both as a stand-alone parent resource and in connection with Middle School Program classroom activities.
Floridastudents.org provide student tutorials through standards aligned videos with content based questions and reflective opportunities. This program provides review, remediation and enrichment processes.