Western Canada High School

WCHS ELL Program

WesternCanadaHigh School

ELL Program Scope and Sequence

The following outlines the essential elements of Western’s ELL language arts program, from assessment through placement in levels 2 A&B, 3 A&B, 4 A&B, or ELA 10 – 1 Sheltered.

1. Upon entering Western, students are assessed to determine best placement to meet their needs. Assessment includes, as necessary:
2. Interview/discussion
3. Writing sample
4. Oral reading and comprehension
5. Reading test (Nelson-Denney) to determine grade equivalency
6. Math and Science assessment

1. Recommendations are made to Guidance for placement appropriate to each individual. Consultation with various departments is made when necessary.

1. Ongoing assessment of placement is conducted as needed. NB: the possibility for movement to a different level exists if students demonstrate increased proficiency.

1. Advancement:Normally, students will advance through the various levels of ELL language courses chronologically. However, demonstrating increased proficiency beyond the next level may result in students being moved on by two classes. E.g. from ELL 3A to ELL 4A, skipping ELL 3B. Students graduate to the next proficiency level when their skills have reached that level. (I.e. some students may need to spend more time at a particular level than the usual time of one semester.)

COURSE CONTENT OVERVIEW

ELL 2A

Focus:this course introduces students to Canadian Culture and Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS)

Skills:Students will focus on acquiring oral language skills for everyday survival. Hence, LISTENING is very important as it forms the basis of further language acquisition. Phonetics is taught as a foundation for reading, and parts of speech, verb tenses, and subject-verb agreement serve as bases for writing.“Hands-on” experiences increase comprehension.

Topics: Themes focus on Canadian holidays, traditions, and special events (citizenship) to develop grammar, vocabulary, listening, and speaking skills.

ELL 2B

Focus: This course is a continuation of ELL 2A to allow time for further development of socio-linguistic competency (social rules of language; appropriate non-verbal behaviours)

Skills: Students interact will all forms of text/media to solidify academic literacy skills. Students are encouraged to take risks in oral language usage - to practise English versus native languages. At the end of the course, grammatically correct sentences are evident in student writing.

Topics: themes appropriate to the time of year (e.g. May - Mother’s Day) are continued, as is development of grammar and vocabulary skills as outlined in the following texts: “Ticket to English”, Voices in Literature”, “Amazing Canadian Newspaper Stories.”

ELL 3A

Focus: this course helps low-intermediate level English language learners further develop cognitive academic language (CALP). It focuses on science-based materials as well as “World Issues” (e.g. Women in Changing Roles, the Environment, etc.)

Skills:Writing tasks centre on themes relating to Canadian culture. Book reports, literary terms, journal writing, paragraph writing, and short essay/research papers will be practised. Main ideas/topic sentences and supporting details in writing are emphasized.

Topics: English Grammar is practised using 2nd Edition by B. Azar; and on-line resources. Other texts include: “World Issues”, “Voices in Literature”, and “Ticket to English”.

ELL 3B

Focus: this course includes study of literary text, response to literature, vocabulary development, and various types of writing.

Skills: students will practise reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills with an emphasis on personal and critical response to literature, vocabulary development, and paragraph and essay writing. Also, components of the course are included in D2L to develop computer skills, including reading and responding in discussion (forum) format, reading text online, linking to resources, creating and submitting documents electronically, and creating PowerPoint presentations.

Topics: English Grammar; writing structure; elements of the short story and the novel

ELL 4A

Focus: this course helps high-intermediate level ELLs gain further understanding of Canadian culture and includesbackground about Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and Foreign Relations. Students are encouraged to increase their awareness of the world’s issues and the contributions they can make as active participants in Canadian society.

Skills:Students will listen to the evening news and be involved in relevant discussions about current events. They will present current event topics to their peers to increase their confidence and skills in oral speaking. Students will interact with more advanced reading materials and improve their abilities to paraphrase and summarize.

Topics: English Grammar; Social Issues; Canadian Culture; Canadian Current Events. Text: My Country, Our History

ELL 4B

Focus: this course focuses on literature including the historical background of various ages of literature, such as Greek Mythology, Arthurian Legends, and popular fiction.

Skills: students will practise reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills with an emphasis on personal and critical response to literature, vocabulary development, and essay writing. Also, components of the course are included in D2L to develop computer skills, including reading and responding in discussion (forum) format, reading text online, linking to resources, creating and submitting documents electronically, and creating PowerPoint presentations.

Topics: Greek and Roman history, classical literature and mythology, Arthurian legend, Biblical stories, and elements of the short story and the novel.

ELA 10-1 Sheltered

This is a sheltered class for proficiency level 5 ELL students. Its contents are the same as the regular ELA 10-1 class and are presented at a pace necessary to meet the needs of the advanced ELL.

Focus:Reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and representing skills are practised. Outcomes include responding personally, critically, and creatively to literature and to oral, visual, multimedia, and print texts.

Topics: poetry, the short story, the novel, essay writing, Shakespearean drama, Greek Mythology