Junior High Language Arts

Our mission at Chapel is to insure that our students are well prepared for the academic and personal challenges of high school. Our graduates attend top Catholic high schools, and many are admitted with scholarships and honors in English. 

 I firmly believe that Chapel is the diamond of the Los Angeles Archdiocese and one of the top schools in the state. We have won several Los Angeles Academic Decathlon Championships, numerous Quiz Bowls, two Academic Decathlon State Championships, and we are the home of the 2020 AJHD National Grammar Champion. Barbara Moldavon

Mrs. Barbara Moldavon teaches Junior High Language Arts daily in the 8th grade classroom. The 2022-2023 school year marks her twenty-fifth year in that role. Students receive consistent, timely feedback that helps them learn and grow. Students are offered a rich curriculum in grammar, writing, speech, vocabulary acquisition, literature, and reading comprehension. In addition to standard textbooks, the curriculum includes three novels/books per year and the following Scholastic periodicals: Junior Scholastic, Action, and Scope. Lessons are Common Core standard-based and presented with the state of the art technology including individual interactive clickers for immediate assessment, Apple TV, document cameras,  iPads, and laptops. Lessons are enriched with the use of extensive interactive Internet resources and  http://www.loyolapress.com/voyages-in-english-2011-student.htm (This site is a companion to the English text and offers games and resources for students to practice grammar and mechanics. Students may download the grammar handbook as well.) Additionally, classes include resources from Brainpop, American Rhetoric, Grammaruntied, Guide to Grammar and Writing,Youtube for teachers, Flocabulary, TED-ed.com, and vocabtest.com. Students at Cathedral Chapel are provided subscriptions to  Freckle (http://student.freckle.com/#/login), Quizhub and 24/7 access to online Scholastic magazines, and BrainPop, so they can practice skills at home and on weekends. The classroom library contains a variety of hardback and paperback books, audio books, and magazines that students may check out for reading at home. During the year the students read the following books in order:

6th grade: Holes, by Louis Sachar, A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare

7th grade: Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, Night by Elie Wiesel, and Where the Red Fern Grows by Rawls.

8th grade: The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Free Online Site for Literature, Vocab, English, and Science Help

http://www.differencebetween.com/

Free Online Interactive Grammar Resources:

Students looking for additional help in English grammar and usage will benefit greatly from daily use of the following websites:

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quiz_list.htm (This is one of the best!) 

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/index.htm

http://www.chompchomp.com/exercises.htm  (Identify a skill to practice and get immediate feedback!"

http://www.grammaruntied.com/?page_id=1344

http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/learn-english-video.html

Need help avoiding run-ons? http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/what-is-a-comma-splice