High School Course Guide

ENGLISH I

GRADE LEVEL: 9 CREDIT: 1

TX ID: 03220100

PREREQUISITE(S): None

Course Description: Students will read multiple genres throughout the course and write both literacy and information compositions. An emphasis is placed on organizing logical arguments with a clearly expressed thesis, supporting evidence, and commentary

ENGLISH I FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES

GRADE LEVEL: 9-12 CREDIT: 1

TX ID: 03200600

PREREQUISITE(S): Determined by LPAC/Counselor

Course Description: ESOL I enables non-English speaking students to acquire sufficient beginning vocabulary to develop comprehension skills to communicate with English speakers. Initial instruction focuses on listening and speaking, while reading and writing skills are developed simultaneously as the student comprehends and speaks more English.

ENGLISH II

GRADE LEVEL: 10 CREDIT: 1

TX ID: 03220200

PREREQUISITE(S): English I

Course Description: Students enrolled in English II will increase and refine their communication skills. Students are expected to plan, draft, and complete written compositions on a regular basis. An emphasis is placed on persuasive forms of writing such as logical arguments, expressions of opinion, and personal forms of writing.

AP ENGLISH III: LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION

GRADE LEVEL: 11 CREDIT: 1

TX ID: A3220100

PREREQUISITE(S): English II

Course Description: Students enrolling in this course should expect rigorous coursework, homework, writing and reading. This course will engage students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts, and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Both writing and reading should make students aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects as the way generic conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing.

ENGLISH IV

GRADE LEVEL: 12 CREDIT: 1

TX ID: 03220400

PREREQUISITE(S): English III

Course Description: Students enrolled in English IV continue to increase and refine their communication skills. English IV students are expected to plan, draft, and complete written compositions on a regular basis. In English IV, students are expected to write in a variety of forms, including business, personal, literary, and persuasive texts. English IV students read extensively in multiple genres from British literature and other world literature. College Preparatory Standards are incorporated into the curriculum as well.

COLLEGE READINESS AND STUDY SKILLS

GRADE LEVEL: 12 CREDIT: 1

TX ID: 03270100

PREREQUISITE(S): English I, English II, and English III

This course can take the place of English IV. High school students that require or request additional honing of the study skills, especially as the students prepare for the demands of college, may enroll in the College Readiness and Study Skills course. In this course, students acquire techniques for learning from texts, including studying word meanings, identifying and relating key ideas, drawing and supporting inferences, and reviewing study strategies. In all cases, interpretations and understandings will be presented through varying forms, including thorough use of available technology. Students accomplish many of the objectives through wide reading as well as use of content texts in preparation for post-secondary schooling.

AP ENGLISH IV: LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION (College Board)

GRADE LEVEL: 12 CREDIT: 1

TX ID: A3220400

PREREQUISITE(S): English III

Course Description: An AP English and Literature and Composition course engages students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Students also become aware of literary tradition and the complex ways in which imaginative literature builds upon ideas, works, and authors of earlier times. Students enrolled in AP English and Literature and Composition should be prepared for college level reading and writing assignments and an expectation of collaboration and contribution to projects and critical thought.

READING I, II, III (EOC INTERVENTION)

GRADE LEVEL: 9-12 CREDIT: 1

TX ID: 03270700, 03270800, 03270900

Course Description: This course complements the learning requirement of students whose difficulty in reading significantly impacts their acquisition of knowledge and skills. Students practice using speaking, listening, reading, and writing strategies. This course includes an emphasis on relevant and meaningful applications for reading in today’s society, along with learning techniques and test-taking strategies.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT ACQUISITION I

GRADE LEVEL: 9-12 CREDIT: .5

TX ID: 03200800

PREREQUISITE(S): Determined by LPAC/Counselor

for newcomers who participate in an ESL program and are at the lower proficiency levels in English.

Course Description: The course works to develop students proficiency in the four language domains through academic vocabulary development, accessible reading selections, multi-level teaching strategies, and instructional opportunities for newcomer students with little or no English proficiency while incorporating the English Language Proficiency Standards.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT ACQUISITION II

GRADE LEVEL: 9-12 CREDIT: .5

TX ID: 03200810

PREREQUISITE(S): Determined by LPAC/Counselor

for newcomers or second year students who participate in an ESL program and are at the lower proficiency levels in English.

Course Description: The course works to develop students proficiency in the four language domains through academic vocabulary development, accessible reading selections, multi-level teaching strategies, and instructional opportunities for newcomer students with little or no English proficiency while incorporating the English Language Proficiency Standards.

JOURNALISM

GRADE LEVEL: 9-12 CREDIT: 1

TX ID: 03230110

This course on the principles and practices of journalism includes fact-gathering, developing interviewing skills and writing news stories in a variety of formats and for a variety of audiences and purposes with correct use of the conventions and mechanics of written English. In order to produce effective communications, visual and electronic media and other technology along with published work of professional journalists will be used as tools for learning. Students practice determining news coverage and editorial policy and learn how to select, crop and scale photographs. Students are also expected to plan, draft and complete written and/or visual communications on a regular basis in a variety of forms such as print, digital or online media.

This course requires considerable time outside school hours as well as leadership and teamwork abilities.