Explorer West Middle School’s English program strives to develop students who enter high school honors English classes with complete reading, writing, and discussion skills. Skills include:

• Producing fluent, thoughtful, and well-organized prose
• Confident creative writing ability
• Literature discussion, using the terminology of literature analysis
• English grammar, punctuation, and usage when writing and discussing writing
• Knowledge of basic Latin and Greek roots and prefixes used in English as a tool for pulling the meaning of unfamiliar words through context
• Reading comprehension, informed and strengthened by an understanding of essential historical, cultural, and ethical knowledge
• Acquired knowledge and the results of their reading, study, and individual thinking to arrive at tentative conclusions about the nature of the world and its ideas independently