In Response to Janet's Questions:

I haven't read everyone's post since my last one, so I'm going to go back to discussing Janet's questions...
I don't think teaching reading is exactly the same thing as teaching literature though there may be some similarities... at least not in the way that I think about it. In a sense, there do have in common that students should be learning and thinking about what they are reading; making sense of all those words on a page. To me, teaching literature seems like it would be a more in depth process. Students are presumed (though not always correctly) to have the ability to make meaning of what they are reading so the teacher does not always have to go through every chapter every reading in order for students to understand it. Teaching reading seems more 'basic' for some reason. It doesn't seem like students are presumed to have the ability to make meaning with very little help. At the middle school age though, most teachers assume that students can read: that they can put the letters and sounds together to make words and then with guidance, make a greater meaning.

Honestly, I'm not sure I know what the writing level of a middle schooler should be like. I have no idea what they should be writing about or how much. I visited my friend's 4th grade classroom and she showed me some of their writing, which just seemed to confuse me even more. They were at so many different levels that I'm not sure I would know what type of grade to give them! The expectations from middle and high school writing would be pretty different, at least I would think so.

As for grammar, I think students need a mixture of both. There are some terms that I still couldn't give an example of, but know how to write it. Some students may need that terminology and vocabulary to help them remember to write it correctly though. Practicing writing is important know matter what type of student they are though, especially with all the pressure of testing.