ELL6 2009-10

(CASAS 228-236)

ELL6 (Language Arts 2) is an advanced English skills course designed for those learners whose native language is not English.This course emphasizes the study of literature, grammar, writing, test taking, and the development of critical thinking skills as they relate to GED and/or college preparation.This course also covers non-fiction materials to enable students to meet CASAS Essential Skills certification.Focus on speaking and listening skills will be incorporated into class activities and discussion.

LEARNER OUTCOMES

Vocabulary Skills

  • Use vocabulary strategies for determining the meaning of unknown words:basic context clues; prefixes/root words/suffixes; dictionary usage
  • Demonstrate ability to comprehend difficult reading material based on increased CASAS scores

Test-Taking Skills

  • Increase use of test-taking strategies for multiple choice objective tests

Reading Fiction

  • Identify and define elements of literature related to prose fiction:character, setting, plot, and themes in short stories
  • Analyze various short stories using literary elements (2.7.5) [2]
  • Recognize assumptions and infer reasonable conclusions from the stories
  • Explain the meaning of a poem
  • Demonstrate knowledge of rhythm by reading a poem out loud
  • Analyze excerpts from a drama to identify the characters and setting
  • Retell the plot of a drama in your own words
  • Compare and contrast prose fiction, poetry, and drama to identify each one by text features

Reading Non-Fiction

GOODS AND SERVICES

  • Examine and construct meaning from reading advertisements, labels, charts, and price tags for goods and services, product label directions, and safety warnings on medicine (1.2.1, 3.4.1) [3]

HOUSING

  • Interpret information about lease agreements, home maintenance and housing problems, and tenant/landlord rights based on the law (1.4.3), (1.4.5), (1.4.7) [9]
  • Examine maintenance procedures for household appliances and personal possessions (1.7.4) [1]

WORK

  • Demonstrate comprehension of job-related signs, charts, diagrams, forms, and procedures, and be able to record information on forms, charts, and checklists (4.3.1, 4.4.3) [16]
  • Demonstrate ability to select, set up and use common tools, business machines, and materials in order to accomplish a task while operating within one’s job and/or a technological system (4.5.1, 4.5.4, 4.5.6) [13]
  • Interpret wages, wage deductions, benefits, and timekeeping forms as well as count, convert, and use coins and currency, recognizing symbols such as ($) and (.) (1.1.6, 4.2.1) [9]
  • Interpret and use work-related documents:employee handbooks, job manuals, safety manuals, and personnel policies (4.2.4, 4.3.2) [7]
  • Evaluate written workplace announcements and notices that pertain to appropriate behavior, attire, attitudes, and social interaction on the job (4.6.3) [4]
  • Demonstrate appropriate skills and education for keeping a job and getting a promotion, working cooperatively with others as a team member, promoting effective group interaction, and taking personal responsibility for accomplishing goals (4.4.2, 4.8.1) [4]
  • Follow, clarify, give, or provide feedback to instructions when using office equipment; give and respond appropriately to criticism (4.6.1) [4]
  • Follow procedures for applying for a job, including interpreting and completing job applications, resumes, and letters of application (4.1.2) [2]
  • Interpret diagrams, illustrations, and scale drawings in work-related documents (6.6.5) [2]

COMMUNICATIONS

  • Comprehend practical correspondence:notes, memos, business and personal letters, and email related to home, school, and work communications (4.6.2) [7]

HEALTH

  • Interpret information associated with medical, dental, or life insurance (3.2.3) [5]
  • Identify practices that promote physical well-being and interpret food packaging labels by analyzing nutritional and related information on them (1.6.1, 3.5.1, 3.5.9) [4]
  • Analyze and interpret information pertaining to drug/alcohol/tobacco problems and treatment resources, AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases (3.4.4, 3.4.5) [3]
  • Identify childcare services in the community (2.5.9) [2]

GOVERNMENT

  • Determine how and when to obtain social and governmental services (e.g., low-income housing, Social Security, Medicare), and how to interact with service providers, as well as interpret economic information and statistics (2.5.2, 5.8.1) [10]
  • Analyze a ballot and interpret information about legislative activities (5.1.3, 5.5.2) [5]
  • Interpret tax information from articles and publications (5.4.4) [2]

SOCIAL ISSUES

  • Examine information about social issues such as neighborhood or community problems and their solutions (2.7.3, 5.6.1) [12]
  • Analyze information about ethnic groups, cultural groups, and language groups in an editorial (2.7.2) [5]

ACADEMIC SKILLS

  • Identify purpose and author’s point of view in commentary
  • Determine the implied main idea in a paragraph using inferential skills
  • Distinguish between fact and opinion in a statement or paragraph using inferential skills of inductive and deductive reasoning to hypothesize, predict, conclude, synthesize, and determine what is mandatory and what is discretionary (7.2.4) [8]
  • Analyze a situation, statement, or process, identifying component elements and causal and part/whole relationships (7.2.2) [7]
  • Demonstrate comprehension of indexes and tables of contents (7.4.6) [4]
  • Infer data from maps and graphs (pie and bar)(1.1.3) [3]

Grammar

  • Demonstrate correct use of present, continuous, and perfect tense verbs
  • Identify and correct subject/verb agreement errors
  • Select correct preposition for appropriate sentence meaning
  • Use positive and negative modals effectively to express advice, necessity, possibility, and prohibition
  • Produce compound sentences using coordinating conjunctions
  • Create complex sentences using subordinating conjunctions
  • Recognize and produce present and past participle adjectives

Writing Skills

  • Identify and paraphrase pertinent information (7.2.1) [2]
  • Take notes or write a summary or an outline (7.4.2) [1]
  • Implement correct procedures for writing checks and completing other forms related to banking (1.8.2) [1]
  • Compose paragraphs with different topics and purposes:narrative, descriptive, and persuasive
  • Use the Four-Step Writing Process in paragraph composition:pre-writing strategy, rough draft, editing and revising, and final draft.
  • Develop a paragraph with a topic sentence, supporting details, and a concluding sentence
  • Incorporate transitional words effectively in a paragraph
  • Expand paragraph writing to 2-3 paragraphs incorporating proper transitions and topic sentences
  • Write a variety of sentence types:simple, compound, and complex
  • Edit paragraph for grammatical, mechanical, and spelling errors
  • Revise paragraph for word choice and coherence

Speaking/Listening Skills

  • Communicate one’s opinion on a current issue or a community problem and provide possible solutions (2.7.3, 5.1.6, 5.6.1) [17]
  • Utilize the telephone to make and receive routine personal and business calls, take and interpret telephone messages, leave messages on answering machines, and comprehend recorded messages (2.1.7, 2.1.8) [3]
  • Increase understanding of spoken English through listening to lectures and class discussions
  • Demonstrate comprehension of an audio production of a short story, narrative, or poem
  • Demonstrate proper use of spoken English through conversation with a partner or a small group
  • Respond orally to questions on a variety of topics in an appropriate manner

ASSESSMENTS

1.Paragraph writing rubricPass with 3 or 4

2.Multiple-choice grammar quizPass with 70%

3.Fiction reading examPass with 70%

4.Non-fiction reading examPass with 70%

5.CASAS TestAdvance to next level

PRIMARY MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

Achieving TABE Success in Reading Level M

Viewpoints/Expressions

Jamestown Publishers Short Story Series

Jamestown Comprehension Skills Series

Access Reading

Better Writing Through Editing

English Yes!(Intermediate level)

AZAR Understanding and Using English Grammar

Reading for Life volumes 1 and 2

Downtown 4:English for Work and Life