English Language Arts: Curriculum & Outline

  • ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
    ALSDE-approved 2021 Curriculum Standards are linked HERE.
    Supplemental Resources: English Language Arts courses may utilize the following supplemental resources: A+ College Ready, AP Classroom/College Board, NoRedInk, Newsela, IXL, Sora, Discovery Education, Scholastic, New York Times                                                                                                                   
    Below are the adopted textbooks for English Language Arts courses as well as the course outline and description.
    Course Title Author Edition Publisher Copyright Year Tentative Course Outline Course Descriptions
    English Language Arts, Gr 7 StudySync N/A N/A McGraw Hill 2021 7th Grade English Course Outline In Grade 7, students will focus on building foundational literacy skills and knowledge to read and respond to various types of literature, build their knowledge base, and strengthen existing abilities. Students’ ability to think abstractly increases. Seventh graders continue to examine and challenge the ideas of others and expand their ability to express and justify their own points of view through reading, listening, writing, and speaking.
    English Language Arts, Gr 7 (Advanced) StudySync N/A N/A McGraw Hill 2021 7th Grade English Course Outline Local districts develop an enriched course which dives deeper into the content knowledge of context through a multicultural diversity of text and types of text, and it provides and extension of the regular grade course work in relation to expression and reception.
    English Language Arts, Gr 8 StudySync N/A N/A McGraw Hill 2021 8th Grade English Course Outline In Grade 8, students will analyze sources of reading span all subject areas, cultures, and formats as students begin to recognize the interconnectedness of their world. These texts also become sources for research. Students in the middle level begin to discern the validity and credibility of information, as well as the importance of employing that discernment in today’s world. Students also learn the importance of citing their sources to acknowledge the work of other academics and to build their own credibility as researchers and writers. Writing in the middle grades becomes more rigorous as the emphasis on organization and textual evidence becomes a daily requirement. Writing is fostered and sustained by both shorter pieces of writing and longer, more challenging works. Students hone their vocabulary literacy by paying attention to connotative meanings, understanding their audience, and their academic and domain-specific vocabulary. They also continue to develop their language and grammar skills as they review foundational knowledge and build upon it with new concepts in their writing through reading, listening, writing, and speaking.
    English Language Arts, Gr 8 (Advanced) StudySync N/A N/A McGraw Hill 2021 8th Grade English Course Outline Local districts develop an enriched course which dives deeper into the content knowledge of context through a multicultural diversity of text and types of text, and it provides and extension of the regular grade course work in relation to expression and reception.
    Reading Readiness, Grades 7 & 8 No Text Adopted   N/A       This course is designed to provide identified students with additional instruction and support in areas of reading. 
    English, Grade 9 StudySync N/A N/A McGraw Hill 2021 9th Grade English Course Outline In Grade 9, students understand the importance of aesthetic decisions by the author and note how choices of syntax and diction shape and clarify meaning. standards are organized under types of literacy (critical, digital, language, and research) to reflect the applications of literacy in a rapidly changing world. This format represents an effort to show that successful communication requires multifaceted receptive and expressive skills emphasize the literature of varied times and places. Both ninth grade standards emphasize world literature to give students a broad and deep foundation. Students learn and practice active listening, read a variety of workplace and literary texts, learn and practice essential digital skills, utilize a process to create and modify written work, implement conventions of language and usage, and utilize context to decipher word meanings all through reading, listening, writing, and speaking. NOTE: THIS COURSE FULFILLS AN ENGLISH CREDIT REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION.
    English, Grade 9 (Honors) StudySync N/A N/A McGraw Hill 2021 9th Grade English Course Outline Local districts develop an enriched course which dives deeper into the content knowledge of context through a multicultural diversity of text and types of text, and it provides and extension of the regular grade course work in relation to expression and reception. NOTE: THIS COURSE FULFILLS AN ENGLISH CREDIT REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION.
    English, Grade 10 StudySync N/A N/A McGraw Hill 2021 10th Grade English Course Outline In Grade 10, students learn and practice active listening, read a variety of workplace and literary texts, learn and practice essential digital skills, utilize a process to create and modify written work, implement conventions of language and usage, and utilize context to decipher word meanings. Tenth grade standards emphasize world literature to give students a broad and deep foundation. Students learn and practice active listening, read a variety of workplace and literary texts, learn and practice essential digital skills, utilize a process to create and modify written work, implement conventions of language and usage, and utilize context to decipher word meanings all through reading, listening, writing, and speaking. NOTE: THIS COURSE FULFILLS AN ENGLISH CREDIT REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION.
    English, Grade 10 (Honors) StudySync N/A N/A McGraw Hill 2021 10th Grade English Course Outline Local districts develop an enriched course which dives deeper into the content knowledge of context through a multicultural diversity of text and types of text, and it provides and extension of the regular grade course work in relation to expression and reception. NOTE: THIS COURSE FULFILLS AN ENGLISH CREDIT REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION.
    English, Grade 11 StudySync N/A N/A McGraw Hill 2021 11th Grade English Course Outline In Grade 11, students will explore the literature of America before, during, and after European arrival. A year of specific attention because of literature’s deep ties to all aspects of culture, and its study encourages a cross-curricular understanding and appreciation of qualities that distinguish American literature specifically and American culture in general with a primary focus on American literature. Students learn and practice active listening, read a variety of workplace and literary texts, learn and practice essential digital skills, utilize a process to create and modify written work, implement conventions of language and usage, and utilize context to decipher word meanings all through reading, listening, writing, and speaking. NOTE: THIS COURSE FULFILLS AN ENGLISH CREDIT REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION.
    English, Grade 11 (Honors) StudySync N/A N/A McGraw Hill 2021 11th Grade English Course Outline Local districts develop an enriched course which dives deeper into the content knowledge of context through a multicultural diversity of text and types of text, and it provides and extension of the regular grade course work in relation to expression and reception. NOTE: THIS COURSE FULFILLS AN ENGLISH CREDIT REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION.
    English, Grade 12 StudySync N/A N/A McGraw Hill 2021 12th Grade English Course Outline NOTE: FULFILLS ENGLISH CREDIT REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION. Reading literature, reading informational text, writing, speaking and listening, and language: This course is designed to provide identified students with additional instruction and support in areas of reading. 
    English, Grade 12 (Honors) StudySync N/A N/A McGraw Hill 2021 12th Grade English Course Outline NOTE: FULFILLS ENGLISH CREDIT REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION. Advanced work in reading literature, reading informational text, writing, speaking and listening, and language
    Reading Readiness, Grades 9-12 No Text Adopted           This course is designed to provide identified students with additional instruction and support in areas of reading. 
    English, Lang and Composition, AP The Language of Composition Renee H. Shea, Lawrence Scanlon, Robin Dissin Aufses, Megan Harowitz, Pankiewicz 3rd Bedford, Freeman, & Worth Publishing Group LLC 2018 AP College Board AP Language Course & Exam Description The AP English Language and Composition course focuses on the development and revision of evidence-based analytic and argumentative writing, the rhetorical analysis of nonfiction texts, and the decisions writers make as they compose and revise. Students evaluate, synthesize, and cite research to support their arguments. Additionally, they read and analyze rhetorical elements and their effects in nonfiction texts—including images as forms of text— from a range of disciplines and historical periods all through reading, listening, writing, and speaking. NOTE: THIS COURSE FULFILLS AN ENGLISH CREDIT REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION.
    English, Lit and Comp, AP Literature & Composition Renee H. Shea, Robin Dissin Aufses, Lawrence Scanlon, Katherine E. Cordes, Carlos Escobar, Carol Jago 3rd Bedford, Freeman, & Worth Publishing Group LLC 2022 AP College Board AP Literature Course & Exam Description The AP English Literature and Composition course focuses on reading, analyzing, and writing about imaginative literature (fiction, poetry, drama) from various periods. Students engage in close reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature to deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure. As they read, students consider a work’s structure, style, and themes, as well as its use of figurative language, imagery, and symbolism. Writing assignments include expository, analytical, and argumentative essays that require students to analyze and interpret literary works. NOTE: THIS COURSE FULFILLS AN ENGLISH CREDIT REQUIRED FOR GRADUATION.
    IB English: Higher Level, Grades 11 and 12 No adopted text         IB Language A Literature Course Information The goals of Language A1 are to enable students to approach literary works with intellectual maturity; to refine reading and writing skills; to engage with precision and clarity in the exchange of ideas and presentation of argument; and to foster lifelong habits of reading, writing, and thinking. The course promotes an appreciation of the possibilities for language to express human thought, emotion, and experience while also increasing the students’ awareness of the structures of language.   Language A1 aims to increase students’ knowledge and understanding of culture and society both locally and globally as students gain an appreciation of literature as an expression of the human condition and human thought. The literary study covers a time period from ancient Greece to the present and is representative of different cultural experiences. Genres studied include poetry, drama, novels, short stories, and essays.