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Purpose/ Overview |
The During grades 9-12, students are guided through a
sequence of studies that move from emphasizing relatively familiar, concrete
experience to focusing on more generalizable and
abstract ideas. The curriculum does not assume, however, that ninth graders
should avoid generalizing or that twelfth graders should not continually seek
to discern the personal relevance of their studies. Indeed the curriculum
seeks to give all students at all levels as full an experience as possible
with the most rewarding uses of language. A communication environment includes the following: a
message sender, a message, a message receiver, and a social setting with
relevant subject matter. To become proficient and skillful users of language,
students should understand and demonstrate control of these elements of
communication and employ language for different purposes, to different
audiences, and in different contexts (why, to whom, and in
what situations). They also should develop sophisticated understanding
and control of how to communicate by the following strands:
Because language is the means by which we construe and
communicate most of what is significant in our lives, the curriculum
encourages study of language itself as it functions in the communicative
environments. Students need to learn about, and develop increasing control
of, their language and its conventions as they read, write, speak, and
listen; they need to become aware of how different language conventions are
used in different contexts. |
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Competency Goals And
Objectives |
The high school English Language
Arts program is based on the following goals, all of which bring together
oral language, written language, and using media and technology. These goals and
objectives build upon the sound foundation created by the middle school
English Language Arts curriculum, which introduces students to these
different types of communication by purpose, audience, and context. Expressive communication
involves exploring and sharing personal experiences and insights. The
writer/speaker of expressive text addresses the reader/listener as a
confidante, a friendly, though not necessarily personally known, audience who
is interested in how thoughtful people respond to life. As authors, students
write, speak and use media for expressive purposes; as readers and listeners,
they learn to appreciate the experiences of others. Expressive communication
is stressed in English I and reinforced in English II, III, and IV.
Expressive communication can include personal responses, anecdotes, memoirs,
autobiographies, diaries, friendly letters, and monologues. Informational/explanatory communication involves giving information to explain
realities or ideas, to teach people who want to know what the writer or
speaker knows. The writer/speaker of informational text should be
knowledgeable and should communicate so that the audience may gain the
knowledge as well as circumstances required. Informational texts often depend
on the traditional prompts of who, what, when, where, and how, and can
include definitions, instructions, histories, directions, business letters,
reports, and research. English I introduces
informational communication, English II stresses it, and English III and IV
reinforce the concepts. Argumentative communication
involves defining issues and proposing reasonable resolutions. The
writer/speaker is an advocate who discerns the grounds of an issue and
convincingly supports a claim to resolve it. The reader/listener is
considered to be a skeptic who may become another advocate as a result of the
communication. Argumentative texts include advertisements, debates, letters
of complaint, editorials, sermons, speeches, letters to the editor, and the
senior project. English I, II, and III establish the building blocks for
sophisticated argumentation, and English IV focuses upon them. Critical communication
involves interpreting, proposing, evaluating, and judging. The critic
approaches the reader/listener as an independent consumer who is interested
in thinking more keenly about the subject. The critic may establish and apply
criteria and may offer new ways of discerning how the subject is meaningful.
Critical texts include media or book reviews and essays that provide critical
analysis of literature, media, ideas, people, or language. English III
stresses critical communication after sufficient background has been built in
English I and II, and critique is reinforced in English IV. The study of literature, which includes print and non-print texts, is extremely
important in the English Language Arts curriculum. Students should develop a
deep appreciation for literature, understand its personal, cultural, and
historical significance, and learn how to understand and analyze its meaning
and relevance. As Robert Probst, in "Five
Kinds of Literary Knowing" (1992), has observed, knowing about
literature involves different kinds of knowing:
Literary study should revolve around meaningful and
significant conversations about the texts students are reading. Students
should learn to participate in, not merely learn about, literary discussions
(Applebee, 1996). Written and oral conversation provides students a way to
explore, analyze, and develop ideas and concepts of literature. Through
conversation, students gain control of their own interpretations, the
language and vocabulary of the discipline, and the concepts and conventions
of literary analysis. Finally, the study of literature should involve the
following:
Literary study in high school
focuses on building understanding as the students progress through the
courses. English I provides a foundation for
literary analysis. Students develop an understanding of literary concepts,
elements, genres, and terms as a foundation for further study of world,
American, and British literature. In English II, students learn about
both classical and contemporary world literature (excluding British and In English III, students study In English IV, students study British
literature, including how the literature of In English I, II, III, and IV, students learn different
approaches to literary criticism. Students should learn many approaches to
the interpretation of literature, since no single approach is
"privileged." Instead, they understand how different approaches use
different perspectives (e.g., historical, cultural, psychological,
philosophical, aesthetic, linguistic) to analyze and interpret literature
differently. Grammar and Language Usage is a goal that
focuses on students’ developing increasing proficiency in the understanding
and control of their language, including vocabulary development, word choice
and syntax, and oral and written communication. Students should learn how to
use effective and interesting language including:
Students should also continue to develop increasing control
over grammatical conventions, including sentence formation, conventional
usage, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling. Most students do not
learn grammatical conventions efficiently through memorizing the parts of
speech and practicing correct usage and mechanics only through drills and
exercises, with the assumption that students will transfer what they learn in
grammar study to their own writing and speaking. Grammar conventions are most efficiently learned when
they are learned as part of a practical, functional grammar that:
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