599006 INTRO TO ASL

510506 INTRO TO FRENCH

550506 INTRO TO SPANISH

906807 COMPUTER SCIENCE DISCOVERIES 

Grade 6

Elective: 9 weeks 

Sixth grade students have the opportunity to explore American Sign Language, French, and Spanish as part of the language wheel. These quarter-long courses introduce students to the target languages and cultures, in order to help students select the language they would like to continue learning in 7th grade and beyond. Active student participation is highly emphasized through projects, games, and frequent pair and small group communicative activities. Students will rotate through the three Language Acquisition introductory courses and a computer science course that teaches the language of HTML and CSS while exploring career interests that integrate the Virginia career pathway modules. Computer Science Discoveries is considered part of the "Wheel" rotation and the description can be located in the Computer Science section. 

599107 ASL 1

Grades 7-12

American Sign Language 1 is designed to give students a foundation of sign language and the culture of the Deaf community. Students will learn receptive and expressive language skills and appropriate behaviors, showing awareness of and respect for Deaf culture. They will learn about Deaf history and will explore main aspects of Deaf Culture, and will share their skills and knowledge with the school community and beyond. This is a performance-based course where immersion strategies are used. There will be an emphasis on vocabulary and grammar skills through the use of the language. Learning American Sign Language will provide students with the opportunities to communicate with another community, to develop an appreciation of the diversity of our society, and to develop a deeper understanding of English.

ASL course work fulfills the VDOE advanced studies graduation requirement AND does meet the MYP requirement. ASL is not recognized to fulfill the requirements for an IB Diploma.

This is a high school credit course, and will go on the student’s high school transcript upon successful completion of the course.

599207 ASL 2

Grades 7-12

Prerequisite: ASL 1

Recommended: A grade of “C” or better in ASL 1

American Sign Language 2 is designed to show that the student’s mastery of ASL, Deaf Culture and Deaf History are further developed at this level. The major goal of the course is to provide students with the skills to communicate in a wider array of situations, to further develop their language fluency and to advance their level of comprehension of ASL in culturally appropriate ways. This is a performance-based course where immersion strategies are used. There will be an emphasis on more complex language structures, a wider range of vocabulary and grammar skills are acquired through the use of conversational activities. Learning American Sign Language continues to provide students with the opportunities to communicate with another community, to develop an appreciation of the diversity of our society, and to develop a deeper understanding of English.  

ASL course work fulfills the VDOE advanced studies graduation requirement AND does meet the MYP requirement. ASL is not recognized to fulfill the requirements for an IB Diploma.

This is a high school credit course, and will go on the student’s high school transcript upon successful completion of the course.

511007 FRENCH 1

Grades 7-12

French 1 takes a balanced approach to acquisition of the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. French is the primary language in the classroom to support the development of conversational skills. This course focuses on communicative competence in French and understanding of the cultures of the Francophone world. Students learn to communicate in real-life contexts about topics that are meaningful to them. Supplementary vocabulary and cultural material are introduced by means of short texts, videos, and authentic online resources.

This is a high school credit course, and will go on the student’s high school transcript upon successful completion of the course.

512007 FRENCH 2

Grades 7-12

Prerequisite: French 1
Recommended: A grade of “C” or better in French 1

By use of the balanced skills approach, the student’s mastery of the language is further developed at this level. More complex language structures and a wider range of vocabulary and idioms are acquired through conversational activities, readings, and a variety of short listening and writing tasks. Cultural awareness and knowledge are further developed through authentic readings, videos, and online resources. The major goal of the course is to continue to develop oral proficiency in real-life contexts, while beginning to develop personal expression in writing and comprehension of a variety of authentic written and spoken material.

This is a high school credit course, and will go on the student’s high school transcript upon successful completion of the course.

599107 SPANISH 1

Grades 7-12

Spanish 1 takes a balanced approach to acquisition of the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Spanish is the primary language in the classroom to support the development of conversational skills. This course focuses on communicative competence in Spanish and understanding of the cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. Students learn to communicate in real-life contexts about topics that are meaningful to them. Supplementary vocabulary and cultural material are introduced by means of short texts, videos, and authentic online resources.

This is a high school credit course, and will go on the student’s high school transcript upon successful completion of the course.

552007 SPANISH 2

Grades 7-12

Prerequisite: Spanish 1

Recommended: A grade of “C” or better in Spanish 1

By use of the balanced skills approach, the student’s mastery of the language is further developed at this level. More complex language structure and a wider range of vocabulary and idioms are acquired through conversational activities, readings, and a variety of short listening and writing tasks. Cultural awareness and knowledge are further developed through authentic readings, online resources, and videos. The major goal of the course is to continue to develop oral proficiency in real-life contexts, while beginning to develop personal expression in writing and comprehension of a variety of authentic written and spoken material.

This is a high school credit course, and will go on the student’s high school transcript upon successful completion of the course.