Belmont Ridge Middle School English/Language Arts Department

Heidi Branch, Language Arts Subject Area Lead Teacher (SALT)

Goals for English/Language Arts Department 

• Promote the love of independent reading and build reading stamina both in class and schoolwide

• Improve comprehension of nonfiction via TeenBizPro, an Achieve 3000 program

• Create a passion for writing during Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month)

• Help students learn to revise and edit through our after-school Writing Center

• Incorporate reading and writing workshops

• Promote common writing expectations across all classes at Belmont

• Support our teachers in professional development opportunities like the VATE, NCTE and NVWP Language & Learning conferences

Digital Content and Resources

• Achieve 3000

• Google Classroom

• Nanowrimo.org

• Noredink.com

• Membean

• NY Times

• Online subscription databases 

Differentiated Instruction

• Teach students to think at higher levels using Socratic seminars, writing prompts, class discussions, etc.

• Offer challenging novels and vocabulary

• Provide enrichment activities such as writing contests and the school spelling bee

• Emphasize authentic writing for an authentic audience -- not writing for the teacher!

8th grade teachers

Margaret Stokes

Jonathan Pitts

Heidi Branch

Lori Vosburgh

Rebecca Newkirk

7th grade teachers

Nicole DiMario

Maggie Hodges

Maggie Mason

Stephanie Dosik

Rebecca Newkirk

Margaret Stokes -- Communications

Desiree Hall -- Accelerating Literacy

6th grade teachers

Melanie Muller

Kathleen Cannon

Sara Kauffman

Katie Chiet

Jason Hathaway

Sara Interewicz

Barbara Hughes

Jennifer Raffenbeul

Rebecca Brookover 

ELL teacher -- Christine Wyatt

Reading specialist -- Desiree Hall

Literacy Team

Desiree Hall

Nicole DiMario

Heidi Branch