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Overview: The mission of the Dover High School English Department is to challenge students to think critically and to communicate effectively. A sequence of courses has been designed to provide all students with a comprehensive four-year study of literature and writing. Activities in vocabulary, research writing, grammar, and critical reading will be a part of each course. Intensive preparation for the New Jersey Standards of Learning Assessment (NJSLA) in English Language Arts, the SAT, and college placement tests will be offered.
Rationale: The New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NSLS) for English Language Arts is the curricular framework for English courses. Literature and informational (i.e. nonfiction) texts are important for our students and maintain their rightful place in our classrooms. Academic vocabulary, media representations, and power of language are recognized and incorporated into lessons. Using evidence remains a critical skill, interspersed throughout, allowing students to ground their thinking in the work of authors and experts in literature. Research by students provides the opportunity to learn more, but equally as important, provides students the opportunity to look beyond their research to questions left unanswered. Background knowledge and motivation are critical to students’ success when learning to read and write when accessing complex text.
General Proficiencies: Students are expected to demonstrate proficiency in skills and topics within this department by satisfactorily completing homework assignments, maintaining passing averages on tests and quizzes and other specific assignments as listed in each course description and/or as required by faculty. Students must also meet the designated level of proficiency on standardized tests such as the NJGPA, PSAT and/or the SAT.
Technology: The Dover Public School District recognizes the use of technology as an integral component of every student’s education. As the district acknowledges the importance of providing the student with experiences that model “real life” use of technology in society and the workplace, student use of technology on a regular basis in all disciplines and at all grade levels is encouraged and supported. Technology skills are not taught in isolation, but rather infused into the English curriculum providing students with activities and authentic interdisciplinary projects that address the New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS) in English Language Arts Literacy and other disciplines. Student achievement and growth are measured through performance-based assessment. In addition to increasing higher-order thinking skills and creativity, these technology-infused projects provide students with the opportunity to work collaboratively. The ethical use of technology and online safety is promoted in numerous ways and is constantly modeled by the classroom teacher. Every student has a Gmail account, an individual login and home directory that provides individual storage space. Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, each actively enrolled student is issued a laptop and charging cord, courtesy of Dover Public Schools for the express purpose of completing school work. Students are responsible for maintaining these items and returning them in the same condition in which they were received.
Twenty-First (21st) Century Skills: Dover Public Schools has integrated into the English program the idea that effective communication, including language arts literacy, contributes to students’ career paths, college readiness and life-long learning skills. It is through the knowledge gained in communications and language arts that students learn to understand and engage in the world in which we live. As the world changes its global community, business and world leaders look to people who can think and explore issues in an innovative manner. English Language Arts Literacy trains students to think globally, work in collaboration and attain civic responsibility through the exploration. The use of multimedia and technology brings another dimension to the potential for understanding students’ contributions to the world community. All English courses have been developed to include the following Twenty-first (21st) Century skills: critical thinking and problem solving, communications, and creativity. Learning is aligned to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards (NJSLS), National Education Goals, and Twenty-first (21st) Century Learning Skills. It is through knowledge acquisition that Dover students become vital, productive citizens who contribute to our school community as well as to society.
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