FORMERLY INTENSIVE ENGLISH 2,
THIS CLASS HAS OFFICIALLY BEEN
APPROVED AS AN HONORS LEVEL COURSE
FOR THE 2017-18 SCHOOL YEAR.
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Independent ReadingOver the course of the year, students select 5-6 independent reading books from lists that represent both fiction and nonfiction choices. Through Literature Circles, students learn what it means to actively participate in a discussion to deepen their understanding of a text as they develop essential listening skills, practice speaking in small groups and learn how to respond to and develop what others have said.
To achieve this, students prepare thoughtful, higher level thinking questions about areas of ambiguity in the text they discuss in weekly meetings. During discussions students generate hypotheses based on evidence from the text and listen to different points of view where the meaning is open to more than one interpretation. Students are also taught protocols that help foster in depth and lively discussions including language to solicit participation from others, challenge ideas, and ask intriguing questions. At the end of each Independent Reading Literature Circle unit, students turn in a culminating project. |
ObjectivesIndependent reading tasks and culminating projects are used as a way to independently practice and measure the skills we are developing simultaneously with the core texts.
Essential Questions:What does it mean to actively participate in a discussion and how can discussion deepen my understanding of a text?
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