ESL WRITING 1
Instructor: Shannon RowanIn this introductory academic English writing course ESL students study grammar, develop vocabulary and learn to write strong sentences and create thoughtful paragraphs and essays. Students are also introduced to IBT TOEFL test preparation and practice. Through a variety of exercises, students gain writing proficiency skills assessed in the IBT TOEFL.
Texts:Effective Academic Writing 2 Student Book The Short Essay, Alice Savage, Patricia Mayer; Fundamentals of English Grammar, Betty Azar
Level: Beginner
Prerequisite: None
ESL WRITING 2
Instructor: Tina LeslieIn this intermediate academic English writing course students study grammar, develop vocabulary and learn to write strong paragraphs and create thoughtful essays. Students also work on IBT TOEFL test preparation and practice. Through a variety of exercises, intermediate ESL students master writing proficiency skills assessed in the IBT TOEFL.
Text:Effective Academic Writing 3, Jason Davis, Rhonda Liss; Fundamentals of English Grammar, Betty Azar
Level: Intermediate
Prerequisite: ESL Writing 1 or equivalent proficiency.
ESL ENGLISH 3
Instructor: Shannon RowanEnglish 3 commences with a thorough IBT TOEFL test introduction and practice. Through a variety of exercises, students gain writing proficiency skills assessed in the IBT TOEFL. Additionally, students work on developing their written prose in preparation for completing college applications.
The second semester is spent mastering grammar and writing techniques needed to enter mainstream classes through a literature-based curriculum. Students look at literature through the eyes of the people that write it and those that it impacts. They develop vocabulary of terms pertaining to each literary form studied and use those terms to discuss and analyze the works of noted literary figures, as well as to produce creative works of their own.
Texts:Preparation Course for the TOEFL Test, Deborah Phillips; Prentice Hall Literature Grade Ten; Fundamentals of English Grammar, Betty Azar
Level: Advanced
Prerequisite: ESL Writing 2 or equivalent proficiency.
ESL READING
Instructor: Tina LeslieThe purpose of this course is to help students to learn and practice essential reading skills, such as finding the main idea, learning to infer, using context clues, etc. Students read short stories, poetry, and a novel, learning to critically analyze works of American literature. The main literary elements are introduced and reinforced throughout the year. Using word forms and other techniques, students develop their academic vocabularies.
Text: Discovering Fiction: A Reader of American Short Stories, Book 1 by Kay and Gelshenen Foresman/Wesley - Second Edition.
Level: This course is designed for those students in the first year of our ESL Program.
Prerequisite: None
ESL ACADEMIC SPEAKING & LISTENING
Instructor: Scott CampbellThis course is designed to give students the opportunity to develop their speaking and listening skills in academic settings. Throughout the year, students give oral presentations, beginning with one-minute speeches and progressing to ten-minute speeches. Students learn and practice public speaking skills, as well as creating appropriate visual aids to accompany their speeches. Students also listen to academic lectures, developing their vocabularies and improving their note-taking skills.
Texts: Contemporary Topics—Academic Listening and Note-Taking Skills by Clement & Lennox
Level: This course is designed for those students in the first year of our ESL Program.
Prerequisite: None
ESL AMERICAN LITERATURE
Instructor: Tina LeslieThe purpose of this course is to guide students in the critical analysis of selected readings in American literature. Using literary elements, students learn to evaluate short stories by such authors as Ernest Hemingway, Shirley Jackson, and Ray Bradbury, poetry by Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman, as well as a classic novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. Students develop advanced reading and vocabulary skills, as well as skills necessary to write critically about their readings.
Texts: Discovering Fiction: A Reader of American Short Stories, Book 2 by Kay and Gelshenen; other selected readings/poems.
Level: This course is designed for those students in the second year of our ESL Program.
Prerequisite: First year of ESL or equivalent proficiency.
ESL SCIENCE
Instructor: Jeff NarvaThe first semester of ESL Science will focus on the Universe and other space-related fields of study as well as Earth sciences such as geology and mineralogy. The second semester of ESL Science will begin with climatology and transition into life science disciplines such as ecology, environmental science, and biology. A benefit of the pacing of this class is that it allows for the interests of the students to drive the class into further detail where appropriate.
The class texts are accompanied by correlating workbooks. Reading and response assignments will be given based on these texts but supplementary material will also be distributed. Each student is assessed and graded on daily homework assignments, quizzes, tests, creative projects, as well as their organization and note-taking abilities. Participation is paramount in this class and is necessary to aid in the progression of English language and knowledge.
Texts: Earth and Space Science and Life Science
Level: ESL Science is a science elective course offered for students with a beginning level of science and introductory English background.
Prerequisite: None
ESL SHELTERED U.S. HISTORY
Instructor: Jennifer StroudThis course is designed to offer US history to English language learners. The approach to teaching this course is to develop multiple lessons, assignments, and skills that touch on the four cornerstones to teaching English as a second language. Therefore, this course emphasizes listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills.
The first semester is largely focused on domestic policy and isolationist America, whereas the second semester delves into imperialism, expansionism, foreign policy, and the wars and politics of the the 20th Century. The first semester primary focus is on the beginnings of American history, European conquest, Puritan ideals, Native American history, and the foundation of American government. We then examine the political, social, and economic events that contribute to the Civil War and the Reconstruction and Jim Crow era. We close the first semester with a study of the Gilded Age, robber barons impact on politics and society, and we examine immigration waves into the US during the Gilded Age.
The second semester examines the role of the United States in international politics. We discuss U.S. imperialist ventures, like the annexation of Hawaii, Spanish American War and the Filipino insurrection. We transition into WWI, its origins in Europe, U.S. involvement, the home front and subsequent political, social and economic effects on the U.S. We continue with the years between the wars, studying the 1920’s and Great Depression. The course ends with WWII and the beginnings of the Cold War.
Texts: United States History, Pearson/Prentice Hall
Level: This course is designed for those students in the second year of our ESL Program.
Prerequisite: First year of ESL or equivalent proficiency.