West Jefferson High School

West Jefferson High School

Course Syllabus: ______

Academic Year: 2012-2013

All courses at West Jefferson High School are designed to prepare students to achieve Louisiana graduation requirements and entry into College and/or Careers; therefore, in all courses students will demonstrate reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. This course syllabus has been designed to promote student achievement of the Louisiana State Grade Level Expectations as measured by End-of-Course exams, Common Core Standards which will be measured by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC), and college preparatory requirements as measured by the ACT in addition to specific requirements associated with this course.

Course Summary: In this course students will...(research, analyze, synthesize, evaluate, produce) for the purpose of .... or application to their life by....

Course Outcome: Students who actively participate and engage in class activities and assignments will be able to ... as a result of their participation in this course.

Course Project: At the end of this course students will submit a... (complex model - comprehensive compilation of research - web site - ) using knowledge, skills, and dispositions that were learned in this course.

/ POWER OBJECTIVE (O): What are you teaching?
DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITIES (Ac): How are you teaching it?
ASSESSMENT (As): How do you know that students have learned what you taught them? / Alignment of Power objectives with… /
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SO / LA GLE / ACT /
Aug 9-10 / Intro to WJ
Discussion of school/class
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Introduction of syllabus/projects/etc.
Aug 13-17 / 1. Colonialism / O: Understanding Cultural Characteristics/ Archetypes
Ac: Read The Sky Tree (Huron Myth) pg. 21-26
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The Earth Only (Teton Sioux Myth)
Coyote Finishes His Work (Nez Perce Myth) wk 2
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Here Follow Some Verses upon the Burning of our House, July 10, 1666 (Poem)
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28-30
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from A Narrative of the Captivity (Personal Narrative)
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35-43
Aug 20-24 / 2. Colonialism / O:
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Aug 27-31 / 3. Colonialism / O:
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Sept 4-7 / 4. Revolutionary pd / O:
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Sept 10-14 / 5. Revolutionary pd / O:
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Sept 17-22 / 6. National pd / O:
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Sept 24-28
9/28 early / 7. National pd / O:
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Oct 1-5 / 8. Civil War / O:
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Oct 8-12
End of 9 weeks / 9. Writing Workshop
6 steps of writing / O:
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Oct 15-19 / 1. American Romantics / O:
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Oct 22-26
GEE / 2. American Romantics / O:
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Oct 29-Nov2
11/1 holiday / 3. American Romantics / O:
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Nov 5-9 / 4. Early 20th century / O:
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Nov 12-16 / 5. Early 20th century / O:
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Nov 12-16 / 6. Early 20th century / O:
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Nov 19-23 / Thanksgiving Holidays
Nov 26-30 / 7. The Mid/Late Twentieth Century and Beyond in American Literature / O:
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Dec 3-7
EOC / 8. The Mid/Late Twentieth Century and Beyond in American Literature / O:
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Dec 10-14
EOC / 9. EOC Blitz / O:
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Dec 17-19
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References/Resources:

ACT: Description of the ACT. http://www.actstudent.org/testprep/descriptions/index.html

Common Core State Standards Initiative: Preparing America’s Students for College and Career. http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards

Louisiana Department of Education. Common Core Standards. http://www.doe.state.la.us/topics/common_core.html

Louisiana Department of Education. Common Core State Standards Crosswalks for English Language Arts (ELA). http://www.louisianaschools.net/topics/ccss_ela_crosswalks.html

Louisiana Department of Education. Common Core State Standards Crosswalks for Mathematics. http://www.louisianaschools.net/topics/ccss_math_crosswalks.html

Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC). http://www.parcconline.org/high-school-assessments

Description of the ACT

The ACT (No Writing) consists of four multiple-choice tests: English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science. The ACT Plus Writing includes the four multiple-choice tests and a Writing Test.

Test / Content
English / Measures standard written English and rhetorical skills.
Mathematics / Measures mathematical skills students have typically acquired in courses taken up to the beginning of grade12.
Reading / Measures reading comprehension.
Science / Measures the interpretation, analysis, evaluation, reasoning, and problem-solving skills required in the natural sciences.
Optional Writing Test / Measures writing skills emphasized in high school English classes and in entry-level college composition courses.

ACT: Reading Test Description

The Reading Test is a 40-question, 35-minute test that measures your reading comprehension. You're asked to read four passages and answer questions that show your understanding of:

•  what is directly stated

•  statements with implied meanings

Read more about Reading Test content. Specifically, questions will ask you to use referring and reasoning skills to;

•  determine main ideas

•  locate and interpret significant details

•  understand sequences of events

•  make comparisons

•  comprehend cause-effect relationships

•  determine the meaning of context-dependent words, phrases, and statements

•  draw generalizations

•  analyze the author's or narrator's voice and method

The test comprises four prose passages that are representative of the level and kind of reading required in first-year college courses; passages on topics in social studies, natural sciences, prose fiction, and the humanities are included.

Each passage is accompanied by a set of multiple-choice test questions. These questions do not test the rote recall of facts from outside the passage, isolated vocabulary items, or rules of formal logic. Instead, the test focuses on the complementary and supportive skills that readers must use in studying written materials across a range of subject areas.

ACT: Writing Test Description

The Writing Test is a 30-minute essay test that measures your writing skills—specifically those writing skills emphasized in high school English classes and in entry-level college composition courses. The test consists of one writing prompt that will define an issue and describe two points of view on that issue. You are asked to respond to a question about your position on the issue described in the writing prompt. In doing so, you may adopt one or the other of the perspectives described in the prompt, or you may present a different point of view on the issue. Your score will not be affected by the point of view you take on the issue.

Louisiana DOE: COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS

In July 2010, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) adopted the Common Core State Standards. In doing so, Louisiana joined the District of Columbia and 44 other states to formally sign on to the state-led initiative, which is being coordinated by the National Governor’s Association (NGA) and the Council for Chief State School Officers (CCSCO).

With the aim of providing educators and parents with a common understanding of what students are expected to learn and know, the Common Core State Standards are based on previous input from higher education leaders and employers as well as the most effective models in the country and across the world. Designed in collaboration with teachers and school administrators, the standards define the knowledge and skills students should acquire throughout their K-12 education careers in order to graduate from high school prepared to succeed in their post-secondary education and workforce pursuits. In Louisiana, the new standards will be fully implemented in the 2014-2015 school year.

While English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics are the primary focus of the new Common Core State Standards, Louisiana recently updated the state’s social studies standards as well.
The grade-level standards:

•  Are aligned with college and work expectations;

•  Are clear, understandable and consistent;

•  Include rigorous content and application of knowledge through high-order skills;

•  Build upon strengths and lessons of current state standards;

•  Are informed by other top performing countries, so that all students are prepared to succeed in our global economy and society; and

•  Are evidence-based.

Common Core State Standards Resources

To assist with the transition to Common Core State Standards, the state has published several resources. To access a complete list of Grade Level Standards for ELA, math, science and social studies for the 2011-2012, 2012-2013, and 2013-2014 school years (all grades), please visit our Grade Level Expectations page.

Also, ELA Crosswalk and Math Crosswalk documents provide a side-by-side analysis, comparing the alignment between the Common Core State Standards and the standards outlined in Louisiana’s Comprehensive Curriculum.
Additionally, to provide educators with clear guidance on aligning content instruction to the new Common Core State Standards, LDOE has developed and published ELA Content Comparison Reports and Math Content Comparison Reports, which detail content that will be added, content that will be deleted, and content that will remain unchanged for each tested and non-tested grade and subject. To facilitate understanding of these reports, there are also documents outlining How to Read ELA Content Comparison Reports and How to Read Math Content Comparison Reports.

Common Core State Standards Crosswalks for English Language Arts (ELA)

Crosswalk Documents are Excel files that present the results of an alignment study that analyzed the degree of overlap between the CCSS and Louisiana’s Grade-Level Expectations (GLEs).

The results presented in the crosswalk documents were used to create the Grade-Level Content Comparison Reports.

Common Core State Standards Crosswalks for Mathematics

Crosswalk Documents are Excel files that present the results of an alignment study that analyzed the degree of overlap between the CCSS and Louisiana’s Grade-Level Expectations (GLEs).

The results presented in the crosswalk documents were used to create the Grade-Level Content Comparison Reports.

PARCC: High School Assessments

The high school PARCC assessments will be based directly on the Common Core State Standards

The distributed PARCC design includes four components - two required summative and two optional non-summative - so that assessments are given closer in time to when instruction happens. PARCC states have endorsed agrade-based design in ELA/Literacyand both a course-based and integrated design in mathematics.

•  Summative Assessment Components:

◦  Performance-Based Assessment (PBA) administered as close to the end of the school year as possible. The ELA/literacy PBA will focus on writing effectively when analyzing text. The mathematics PBA will focus on applying skills, concepts, and understandings to solve multi-step problems requiring abstract reasoning, precision, perseverance, and strategic use of tools

◦  End-of-Year Assessment (EOY) administered after approx. 90% of the school year. The ELA/literacy EOY will focus on reading comprehension. The math EOY will be comprised of innovative, machine-scorable items

•  Non-Summative Assessment Components:

◦  Diagnostic Assessment designed to be an indicator of student knowledge and skills so that instruction, supports and professional development can be tailored to meet student needs

◦  Mid-Year Assessment comprised of performance-based items and tasks, with an emphasis on hard-to-measure standards. After study, individual states may consider including as a summative component

The high school assessments will include a range of item types, including innovative constructed response, extended performance tasks, and selected response (all of which will be computer based). In addition, there will be college-ready cut scores on high school tests in mathematics and ELA/Literacy, which will signify whether students are ready for college-level coursework. Earlier tests will be aligned vertically to ensure students are on - and stay on - the track to graduating ready for college and careers.