English Pathways
From first novels to AP English Literature. Each grade shows the accelerated focus, a reading list, free curriculum, practice tests, paid boosters and the writing contests to enter.
Where each track goes, grades 3–12
| Grade | Standard | Accelerated (GiftedGlobe path) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Grade 3 ELA | Novels & written summaries |
| 4 | Grade 4 ELA | Literary response with evidence |
| 5 | Grade 5 ELA | Multi-paragraph essays |
| 6 | Grade 6 ELA | Honors ELA 6 |
| 7 | ELA 7 | Honors ELA 7 |
| 8 | ELA 8 | Honors ELA 8 |
| 9 | English 9 | Honors English 9 |
| 10 | English 10 | Honors 10 / Pre-AP |
| 11 | English 11 | AP English Language |
| 12 | English 12 | AP English Literature |
Novels, evidence-based responses and first essays. Word Masters and spelling bees begin.
Grade3
English · Grade 3Novels & summaries
Read full novels and write clear summaries and opinions.
Novels & summaries
Read full novels and write clear summaries and opinions.
Understand the pathway
What this year coversThird grade shifts from learning to read to reading to learn. Accelerated students read middle-grade novels, summarize them in writing and support opinions with reasons.
- Summarizing
- Opinion writing
- Point of view
- Prefixes & suffixes
- Research basics
- Cursive & typing
Next stopReady for grade 4 work when a written summary and an opinion paragraph with reasons are written independently.
Learn
Accelerated curriculumRead
Accelerated reading list- The Wild Robot — Peter Brown
- Because of Winn-Dixie — Kate DiCamillo
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory — Roald Dahl
- The Mouse and the Motorcycle — Beverly Cleary
- Matilda — Roald Dahl
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — C.S. Lewis
Practice & test
Practice sites and benchmark testsBoost
Paid programs, tutors and test prepCompete
Contests and showcases for this grade
Grade4
English · Grade 4Literary response
Explain themes and back every answer with evidence from the text.
Literary response
Explain themes and back every answer with evidence from the text.
Understand the pathway
What this year coversFourth graders on the accelerated path learn literary response: identifying theme, quoting evidence and explaining how it supports their answer.
- Theme
- Quoting evidence
- Figurative language
- Informational writing
- Greek & Latin roots
- Complex sentences
Next stopReady for grade 5 work when a response paragraph with a claim, quoted evidence and explanation is written independently.
Learn
Accelerated curriculumRead
Accelerated reading list- Holes — Louis Sachar
- Island of the Blue Dolphins — Scott O’Dell
- The Phantom Tollbooth — Norton Juster
- Number the Stars — Lois Lowry
- Wonder — R.J. Palacio
- Tuck Everlasting — Natalie Babbitt
Practice & test
Practice sites and benchmark testsBoost
Paid programs, tutors and test prepCompete
Contests and showcases for this grade
Grade5
English · Grade 5Multi-paragraph essays
Write full essays and read classic middle-grade literature.
Multi-paragraph essays
Write full essays and read classic middle-grade literature.
Understand the pathway
What this year coversFifth grade prepares for middle school honors English: multi-paragraph essays, comparing texts and building an academic vocabulary habit.
- Multi-paragraph essays
- Comparing texts
- Research reports
- Summarizing nonfiction
- Grammar: conjunctions & verb tenses
- Academic vocabulary
Next stopReady for Honors ELA 6 when a five-paragraph essay is planned and written independently.
Learn
Accelerated curriculumRead
Accelerated reading list- Hatchet — Gary Paulsen
- Bridge to Terabithia — Katherine Paterson
- The Westing Game — Ellen Raskin
- Esperanza Rising — Pam Muñoz Ryan
- A Long Walk to Water — Linda Sue Park
- From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler — E.L. Konigsburg
Practice & test
Practice sites and benchmark testsBoost
Paid programs, tutors and test prepCompete
Contests and showcases for this gradeArgument, analysis and honors-level reading, with Scholastic and NYT contests.
Grade6
English · Grade 6Honors ELA 6
Start argument writing and analyze longer novels.
Honors ELA 6
Start argument writing and analyze longer novels.
Understand the pathway
What this year coversSixth grade honors ELA introduces argument: stating a claim and supporting it with evidence. Students read longer novels and write about craft, not only plot.
- Argument writing
- Central idea
- Author’s craft
- Narrative techniques
- Pronouns & sentence variety
- Research with sources
Next stopReady for Honors ELA 7 when an argument essay with evidence from two sources is written independently.
Learn
Accelerated curriculumRead
Accelerated reading list- Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry — Mildred D. Taylor
- The Secret Garden — Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Walk Two Moons — Sharon Creech
- Echo — Pam Muñoz Ryan
- The Lightning Thief — Rick Riordan
- Out of My Mind — Sharon M. Draper
Practice & test
Practice sites and benchmark testsBoost
Paid programs, tutors and test prepCompete
Contests and showcases for this grade
Grade7
English · Grade 7Honors ELA 7
Read above grade level and learn to back every claim with evidence.
Honors ELA 7
Read above grade level and learn to back every claim with evidence.
Understand the pathway
What this year coversAccelerated seventh graders move from summarizing to analyzing. The goal is a clear thesis supported by quoted evidence, plus a vocabulary habit that runs all year.
- Theme & character analysis
- Citing textual evidence
- Argument paragraphs
- Grammar: clauses & punctuation
- Greek & Latin roots
- Narrative writing
Next stopReady for Honors ELA 8 when IXL Grade 8 diagnostic scores are on level and a five-paragraph argument essay can be written in one sitting.
Learn
Accelerated curriculumRead
Accelerated reading list- The Outsiders — S.E. Hinton
- The Giver — Lois Lowry
- A Wrinkle in Time — Madeleine L’Engle
- Animal Farm — George Orwell
- Brown Girl Dreaming — Jacqueline Woodson
- The Hobbit — J.R.R. Tolkien
Practice & test
Practice sites and benchmark testsBoost
Paid programs, tutors and test prepCompete
Contests and showcases for this grade
Grade8
English · Grade 8Honors ELA 8
Build argument and research skills that high school honors courses expect.
Honors ELA 8
Build argument and research skills that high school honors courses expect.
Understand the pathway
What this year coversEighth grade is about argument: making a claim, weighing counterclaims and using research. Students also read their first full-length classics with close analysis.
- Argument & counterargument
- Rhetorical appeals
- Short research papers
- Poetry analysis
- Grammar: verbals & voice
- Academic vocabulary
Next stopReady for Honors English 9 when a research-based argument essay with MLA citations is written independently.
Learn
Accelerated curriculumRead
Accelerated reading list- To Kill a Mockingbird — Harper Lee
- Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury
- The Diary of a Young Girl — Anne Frank
- The Call of the Wild — Jack London
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass — Frederick Douglass
- Hidden Figures (Young Readers’ Edition) — Margot Lee Shetterly
Practice & test
Practice sites and benchmark testsBoost
Paid programs, tutors and test prepCompete
Contests and showcases for this gradeAnalytical writing, AP English Language and Literature, and national writing awards.
Grade9
English · Grade 9Honors English 9
Write analytical essays and start entering national writing contests.
Honors English 9
Write analytical essays and start entering national writing contests.
Understand the pathway
What this year coversNinth grade honors English introduces literary analysis essays, rhetorical analysis of nonfiction and timed writing, the skills AP English Language will test in 11th grade.
- Literary analysis essays
- Rhetorical analysis
- Shakespeare & drama
- Epic & mythology
- Timed writing
- Syntax & style
Next stopReady for Pre-AP English 10 when a timed analytical essay earns a strong score against an AP-style rubric.
Learn
Accelerated curriculumRead
Accelerated reading list- The Odyssey — Homer (trans. Emily Wilson)
- Romeo and Juliet — William Shakespeare
- Of Mice and Men — John Steinbeck
- Lord of the Flies — William Golding
- The House on Mango Street — Sandra Cisneros
- The Old Man and the Sea — Ernest Hemingway
Practice & test
Practice sites and benchmark testsBoost
Paid programs, tutors and test prepCompete
Contests and showcases for this grade
Grade10
English · Grade 10Honors 10 / Pre-AP
Prepare for AP English Language and compete at the national level.
Honors 10 / Pre-AP
Prepare for AP English Language and compete at the national level.
Understand the pathway
What this year coversTenth grade connects literature and rhetoric. Students practice synthesis essays and argument under time pressure, and build a writing portfolio for competitions and summer programs.
- Synthesis essays
- Argument under time pressure
- World literature
- Research writing
- Poetry & creative portfolio
- SAT Reading & Writing
Next stopReady for AP English Language when AP-style rhetorical analysis, argument and synthesis essays all score at the top of the rubric.
Learn
Accelerated curriculumRead
Accelerated reading list- Macbeth — William Shakespeare
- 1984 — George Orwell
- Frankenstein — Mary Shelley
- Things Fall Apart — Chinua Achebe
- Their Eyes Were Watching God — Zora Neale Hurston
- Night — Elie Wiesel
Practice & test
Practice sites and benchmark testsBoost
Paid programs, tutors and test prepCompete
Contests and showcases for this grade
Grade11
English · Grade 11AP English Language
Master rhetoric and argument, and build a standout writing portfolio.
AP English Language
Master rhetoric and argument, and build a standout writing portfolio.
Understand the pathway
What this year coversAP English Language focuses on nonfiction: rhetorical analysis, argument and synthesis. It is also the SAT/ACT year and the strongest year for national writing awards.
- Rhetorical analysis
- Argument essays
- Synthesis essays
- American literature
- Style & voice
- SAT/ACT Reading & Writing
Next stopReady for AP English Literature with a 4 or 5 on AP English Language.
Learn
Accelerated curriculumRead
Accelerated reading list- The Great Gatsby — F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Crucible — Arthur Miller
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn — Mark Twain
- The Things They Carried — Tim O’Brien
- Letter from Birmingham Jail — Martin Luther King Jr.
- Walden (selections) — Henry David Thoreau
Practice & test
Practice sites and benchmark testsBoost
Paid programs, tutors and test prepCompete
Contests and showcases for this grade
Grade12
English · Grade 12AP English Literature
Read the classics closely and write college-level literary analysis.
AP English Literature
Read the classics closely and write college-level literary analysis.
Understand the pathway
What this year coversAP English Literature centers on close reading of poetry, prose and drama. Seniors also apply their writing skills to college essays.
- Poetry analysis
- Prose analysis
- Literary argument
- Drama & tragedy
- World literature
- College application essays
Next stopReady for college writing with a 4 or 5 on AP English Literature.
Learn
Accelerated curriculumRead
Accelerated reading list- Hamlet — William Shakespeare
- Jane Eyre — Charlotte Brontë
- Crime and Punishment — Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Invisible Man — Ralph Ellison
- The Remains of the Day — Kazuo Ishiguro
- Beowulf — trans. Seamus Heaney
Practice & test
Practice sites and benchmark testsBoost
Paid programs, tutors and test prepCompete
Contests and showcases for this gradeGiftedGlobe is an independent guide and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the organizations, contests or products linked on this site. Names are trademarks of their owners. Check each organization’s site for current eligibility, fees and dates. Families should choose acceleration with their child’s school and teachers.