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K12 Program Understandings
1. English is used to communicate for a variety of purposes in social, cultural and academic settings

• Acquire knowledge

• Adapting their oral and written expression and visual images to their specific purpose (e.g., to learn, convince, analyze, entertain, and share ideas)

• Listening and viewing reflectively and critically


2. English language strategies* support academic achievement in content areas through

• Transfer knowledge (about content, language, and text structures) gained from reading, speaking, listening and/or writing to the content area

• Asking questions, examining problems and considering ideas that focus on issues and interests

• Finding, evaluating, summarizing, and synthesizing information from a variety of sources and perspectives

*(Strategies such as activating and/or building background knowledge, questioning, predicting, making connections, interacting with other readers and writers, using their awareness of graphics, text features, media techniques and genre characteristics; and employing their knowledge of sounds and letters, sentence and language structure, spelling, punctuation, and figurative language).


3. English language proficiency requires effective listening, speaking, reading, and writing

• Comprehend, interpret, evaluate, analyze and appreciate print and non-print texts

• Transfer knowledge (about content, language, and text structures) gained from reading, speaking, listening and writing

• Create print and non-print texts for different audiences and purposes

• Write effectively using the writing process: (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing)

• Seeking information from print and non-print resources, online databases, and appropriate internet sites

• Sharing the findings in presentations appropriate to the purpose and audience

• Documenting sources and respecting intellectual property


4. US schools and culture have structure, resources, procedures and acceptable behavior

• Meet personal, workplace and societal needs as critical and creative thinkers

• Develop understanding of United States and world cultures, historical and literary time periods and a variety of fiction and nonfiction genres

• Gain understanding of human experience

• Recognizing and respecting the various dialects and speech patterns used within diverse regions and cultures, ethnic and social groups.
Course Understandings for Advanced Beginners
Students will understand that effective readers use strategies (reading strategies, e.g. cause and effect, summarizing, compare/contrast, giving examples, explaining, sequencing, identifying author’s purpose, point of view and making inferences and word-recognition strategies, e.g. decoding, using context clues) to aid comprehension of texts.

Students will understand that effective readers demonstrate knowledge of various features of genres (fiction, non-fiction, poetry and electronic resources), text features and story elements to show comprehension of various texts.

Students will understand that effective writers apply a process and use target vocabulary, spelling, and grammar conventions in order to draft and refine extensive pieces of writing for various academic purposes.

Students will understand that effective communicators infer implied meanings (phrasal verbs and some idioms) and have knowledge of standard vocabulary and social norms necessary to interpreting oral discourse and developing appropriate verbal responses with sufficient vocabulary.

Students will understand that effective learners listen and assess communication needs, use a variety of informational resources, synthesize their knowledge of purposeful communication modes and respond accordingly in order to navigate given situations appropriately.
Course Essential Questions