WHS ESL Comp 2 Curriculum Guide

Grades 9-12 College Prep 2.5 credits

This course will be offered to students in ESL 1B-2B. This course will focus on the academic reading and writing skills necessary for success in core content classes. Students will read, discuss, and write about a variety of texts. These texts will serve as a vehicle to practice reading aloud, think-alouds, reading for information and detail, determining an author’s purpose. Students will be introduced to writing aligned to the 2020 WIDA Standards. In line with the school’s focus on Project Based Learning, students will complete curriculum embedded performance assessments and a final project. Prerequisite: Completion of ESL IA or equivalent assessment or teacher recommendation.

Unit

Timeframe

Big Ideas (Statements or Essential Questions)

Major Learning Experiences from Unit 

The Writing Process



Quarter 1

  • How do we organize our writing in the US?

  • What types of information do we need to develop our ideas? 

Students review how to organize and develop their ideas with evidence and examples. 


Students will be able to:

  • Review  present tenses to describe and explain.

  • Use complex sentence structures to develop ideas in a paragraph.

  • Explain how an event or activity is significant to one’s life.

Analysis and Informative Writing in Science

Quarter 2

  • What environmental problems concern you?

  • What are some issues in science and technology you would like others to know about?

Students create claims and use evidence to explain their ideas about science and technology.


Students will be able to:

  • Explain current trends using the present tenses.

  • Describe and explain information provided in charts.

  • Suggest how to solve a problem.

  • Inform a reader about a current situation/trends.

Humans of Waltham High School Project--Done with the Digital Photography Department


Quarter 3

  • What experiences do people feel are key in their lives?

  • How do we portray these experiences?

Students interview and photograph people in the Digital Photography classes and write a caption/quote explaining something about the person. They are in turn interviewed and photographed.


Students will be able to:

  • Ask and answer questions during an interview.

  • Evaluate information to use in a caption.

  • Summarize information from a spoken interview.


Expressing Your Opinion

Quarter 4

  • What issues affect you?

  • What is your opinion about topics such as climate change and social justice?

Students will research and write about an issue of their choosing, They will learn what materials are reliable and how to organize their findings into an essay.


Students will be able to:

  • Argue and explain a claim  using the language of opinions and sentence patterns across a content area.

  • Research an issue of one’s choice.

  • Write a multiple paragraph essay on an issue using this research.