Reading/Writing/Grammar Class

OVERVIEW OF GOALS:
LEVEL 1 READING/WRITING/GRAMMAR

READING 1
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

Students should be able to:

--Identify topic
--identify topic sentence
--skim for surface features, for a simple overview, using pictures and title
--make simple predictions
--scan for information on a limited and focused basis
--comprehend basic surface features of a story or descriptive passage
--retell a story
--identify some major details of support
--understand story sequence
--begin to express opinion

WRITING/GRAMMAR 1
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

Writing Focus

The students will be able to:

--write simple sentences using simple tenses
--write one well structured paragraph by the end of the quarter, using narration

Grammar Focus

The Grammar Focus will primarily contain:

--use of the "be" verb
--subject pronouns
--basic prepositions
--singular and plural
--possessives
--past simple, present progressive, present and future
--basic adjectives and adverbs in simple form
--word order: subject/verb/complement

OVERALL GOALS: LEVEL 2
READING/WRITING/GRAMMAR

READING 2
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

Reading Skills

The students will be able to:

--read and comprehend simplified ESL texts using basic sight word and high frequency vocabulary
--begin to predict about a text by guessing
--skim for gist
--recognize topic, main idea and some supporting details
--scan for information
--guess the meaning of some unknown words
--comprehend literal meaning of a passage
--express opinion and relate personal experience to the reading
--detect sequence
--read outside material on a limited scale
--distinguish the differences in patterns:
--chronological order in narration and process
--description
--cause and effect
--giving examples
--definition
--classification
--comparison and contrast
--begin to make decisions about reading at different speeds for different purposes

Word Study

Students will be able to:

--recognize basic prefixes and suffixes
--identify synonyms and antonyms
--change root words using word families
--alphabetize words from a list
--use the dictionary
--recognize new words from the text
--increase sight vocabulary using word families to increase the range of vocabulary

WRITING/GRAMMAR 2
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

Writing Focus

The student will be able to:

--write well ordered simple sentences
--write on a simple level using
--description
--narration.

Grammar Focus

The Grammar Focus will primarily contain:

--use of "be" verb
--pronouns
--articles
--prepositions
--singular and plural
--count and non-count nouns
--possessives
--past simple, present and future, present progressive
--adjectives and adverbs in comparative and superlative form
--word order: subject/verb/complement
--simple sentence combining using: and, but, so, because

OVERALL GOALS:
LEVEL 3 READING/WRITING/GRAMMAR

READING 3
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

Reading Skills

Students will be able to:

--read and understand ESL texts and some authentic passages and stories
--skim for gist
--scan for information
--practice making predictions
--become more comfortable with guessing the unknown
--distinguish patterns as clues to meaning
-- use discourse markers to find main ideas, important supporting details, inferences
--understand surface meaning and important points of support
--read in order to understand, discuss, and write
--continue to practice faster reading
--recognize different text types
--read outside material daily

Word Study

Students will be able to:

--recognize new words
--identify synonyms and antonyms
--continue the practice of manipulating word families
--find meaning from contextual and syntactical clues
--begin to choose appropriate definitions from an English-English dictionary

WRITING AND GRAMMAR 3
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

Grammar Focus

The Grammar focus will primarily contain:

--review of grammar taught at Level 2.
--use of the auxiliaries 'be' and 'have'
--introduction of irregular past verbs
--use of progressive tenses, simple present, past and future
--introduction to most common modals
--continued use of simple comparatives
--continued practice with compound sentences using and, but, or
--emphasis on subject-verb agreement

OVERVIEW OF GOALS:
LEVEL 4 READING/WRITING/GRAMMAR

READING 4
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

Reading Skills

The students will be able to:

--read and comprehend ESL and some authentic texts
--continue practicing skimming and scanning skills
--make predictions as a habit
--guess comfortably to a much greater degree to get past reading word for word
--extract the main idea even though it may sometimes be hidden and less accessible on a first reading
--make greater use of semantic and syntactic cues to understand more about English rhetoric by locating patterns of organization
--pay attention to a greater range of discourse cues to identify information
--read for direct statement and also underlying meaning
--read from a greater range of text types
--recognize different text types and read for a specific purpose
--begin to distinguish fact from opinion
--read critically to analyze opinion and react to it
--begin to understand literary technique through story line, characterization, plot, environment
--begin to understand point of view
--take a step further into paraphrasing, summarizing, drawing conclusions, making inference, putting critical thinking skills to work
--read outside material of high interest to form a daily habit of reading
--actively read

Word Study

Students will be able to:

--recognize new words
--practice using word families
--find meaning from context and syntactical clues
--choose appropriate definitions from an English-English dictionary

WRITING AND GRAMMAR 4
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

By the end of Level 4 the student will be able to:

--write a well organized, five paragraph essay with a clear statement of thesis
--attempt complex structures and ideas, reflected in the use of complex sentence patterns
--use examples to expand ideas
--begin to use in-text references to refer to magazines and books

Grammar Focus

--perfect tenses
--past tense modals
--introduction to passive voice
--gerunds and infinitives
--adjective, noun and adverb clauses
--compound and complex sentences
Writing Focus Students will write a minimum of three essays using the following rhetorical patterns:
--Narration (opening letter)
--Cause and Effect using illustrations
--Comparison and Contrast using illustrations

Two of these essays will be drafted and completed on the word processor.

OVERVIEW OF GOALS:
LEVEL 5 READING/WRITING/GRAMMAR

READING 5
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

Reading Skills

Students will be able to:

--locate main idea with little hesitation
--read creatively
--read from a wide range of text types
--recognize author's intent
--recognize and understand literary devices: character, plot, and environment
--distinguish fact from inference
--understand some figurative language
--recognize symbol, simile, metaphor, analogy, and idiomatic expression
--read critically for point of view and react using support
--paraphrase, summarize and draw conclusions
--make decisions about what to read and then how to read the selected text.
--annotate the text
--demonstrate a high degree of comprehension, understanding and critical thinking by keeping a reading journal and vocabulary study, contributing to class discussion, and reading on a daily basis from a range of sources.

Word Study

The student will be able to:

--comfortably recognize and use Greek and Latin roots and affixes, synonyms, and antonyms to understand new vocabulary
--use context clues
--understand some denotation and connotation
--choose contextually correct meaning from an English-English dictionary

WRITING AND GRAMMAR 5
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES

Writing Focus

The students will be able to:

--write for a variety of purposes
--confidently do in-class free writing
--confidently write one journal entry of two pages per week

Grammar Focus

The emphasis will include

--conditionals;
--noun clauses and phrases
--reduced adjective and adverb clauses
--word forms
--use of prepositional phrases
--review of articles
--transitions
--sentence combining