PREP ENGLISH – Prep required course (21 hours)

The Prep English program is a one-year, 21-period per week English-language immersion program that comes at the beginning of the high school years. Of the 21 periods, one is designated Communication/BT, a period which allows for the integration of technology.  It has the specific goal of preparing incoming students for both the level of English and the other study skills they will be expected to use in all of their high school years. As Math and Science are taught in English, teachers are expected to collaborate and support the language skill development in these subjects. 

 

The English curriculum maintains a strong emphasis on a continuum of skills throughout the year. All courses include skill development in reading, vocabulary, speaking/listening, writing, research, technology, grammar, and literature. The 21-period per week prep English course includes three sub courses. Prep Literature meets seven hours per week. This is a demanding course which focuses on vocabulary, expository writing, reading comprehension, and moves from folk tales to the novel. Prep Language meets nine hours per week and focuses on improving comprehension of academic texts and writing for academic purposes, including claim/support, cause/effect, compare/contrast, and argumentative. Prep Language also focuses on general writing skills such as grammar, sentence structure, and vocabulary.

 

The final sub-course is Prep Communication, which meets five times per week. This course provides instruction primarily in listening and speaking skills. Students develop fluency through exercises on pronunciation and articulation. 

 

Students are regularly assessed through a variety of methods. Each student will be formally assessed via common assessments, divided between the sub-courses. Each sub-course provides individual assessments based on class activities, out-of-class preparation, quizzes, and participation. All assessments evaluate the students’ understanding of material and their development of skills.  Important skills include reading, skimming and scanning, writing; grammar, listening, speaking, literary terminology and themes, vocabulary; research, and technology. 

 

Additional assessments include weekly vocabulary or literature quizzes, projects, practice paragraphs and essays, listening and speaking activities, assignments in correct source citations, creation and analysis of advertising, discussions, and participation. This latter element evaluates the students’ use of English within the classroom, the quality of involvement in classroom activities and discussions, the preparation in thought and action for class, the willingness to use previously learned vocabulary or skills in class, the ability to work collaboratively and cooperatively with a partner or a group, and the ability to focus and take notes. Students are expected to spend 1½ to 2 hours each night completing English out of class preparation and reading in their silent reading book. 

All prep students complete their year projects in Prep English. 

Achieve 3000, an online, nonfiction reading program is used to help all students develop their individual reading skills. This program allows students to demonstrate the reading strategies learned in class while exploring topics of interest to the students. Grammar skills are reinforced through the online course MyGrammarLab.

 

GRADE 9

ENGLISH 9 – Grade 9 required course (5 hours + 2 hour-electives)

CREATIVE WRITING – Grade 9 elective (2 hours)

JOURNALISM – Grade 9 elective (2 hours)

YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE – Grade 9 elective (2 hours)

WRITERS’ WORKSHOP - Grade 9 Elective (2 hours)

 

GRADE 10

ENGLISH 10 – Grade 10 required course (5 hours)

 

GRADE 11

ENGLISH 11 – Grade 11 required course (5 hours)

HONORS AMERICAN LITERATURE - Grade 11 Elective (4 hours)

 

GRADE 12

ENGLISH 12 – Grade 12 required course (5 hours)

FILM PRODUCTION AND CINEMA STUDIES – Grade 12 elective (4 hours)

HONOURS WORLD LITERATURE – Grade 12 elective (4 hours)

ENGLISH SKILLS FOR UNIVERSITY SUCCESS - Grade 12 elective (4 hours)