English/Language Arts English/Language Arts Course Sequence
Grade 9 | Grade 10 | Grade 11 | Grade 12 |
---|---|---|---|
1 credit | 1 credit | 1 credit | 1 credit |
English 9 or Honors English 9 |
English 10 or Honors English 10 |
English 11 or Honors English 11 |
Senior Seminar or Honors Senior Seminar or UCONN ECE English Course or Community College 3 Credit English Course |
The English Language Arts Program of Studies Course Descriptions
The vision for literacy in the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System is to cultivate literate and productive students who are college, career and life ready. The vision at CTECS is to develop relevant, lifelong reading and writing habits in our students that will enhance their learning pathway and prepare them for success in a global community. The English/Language Arts program in grades 9-12 promotes critical thinking, reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing and researching skills that students use to analyze, evaluate and synthesize text. The curriculum actively engages students in reading and reflecting on a wide range of texts with opportunities to develop thinking and writing skills.
Through whole class, small group, and independent reading and reflection, students in high school English/Language Arts classes develop an understanding of language and its use to convey meaning and provide insight about the world around them. Literacy is a complex skill that must be explicitly taught and practiced across all disciplines, both academic and trade. The CTECS English/Language Arts Curriculum also supports the development of skills recommended by the CT Core ELA Standards, 21st Century Learning Standards and Career Technical Education (CTE) Career Ready Practices.
Course selections are customized per location.
Courses that are NCAA approved are indicated.
Courses that may be repeated for credit are indicated.
For more information about our programs please view CTECS Program of Studies.
English Courses
English Senior Seminars
Senior Seminars provide 12th grade students with an in-depth experience with a topic of their choosing in the field of English Language Arts. Schools may offer up to six of the following courses for students to choose from in making their Senior Seminar selection. Seniors who are enrolled in an UConn ECE English course or a College-Career Pathways Community College English course do not have to take a Senior Seminar.
UCONN ECE Course Descriptions
*Honors and Advanced Courses
The honors version for each English course will cover the same topic as the core course.
The course materials in an honors course will be more rigorous in the following areas:
- Text selection;
- Length of reading assignments;
- Writing assignment prompts; and
- Assessment types.
An honors/advanced level course will expect students to do the following:
- Comprehend complex texts independently.
- Contribute thoughtful commentary to classroom discussion.
- Write effectively with attention to organization, detailed content, precise analysis and writing conventions.
- Understand the fundamentals of the research process and execute research independently.
- Create and conduct presentations for classmates and take a lead role in classroom discussions.
Students seeking admission into an English honors or advanced courses should meet at least 2 of the 3 following criteria:
- Reading on Grade Level: Students seeking to take an English honors or advanced course should be reading on the same grade level of the course they are seeking entry into as demonstrated by the STAR Reading Diagnostic Test. (Example: Students seeking entry to English II Honors, should be reading on a 10th grade reading level at the time of scheduling the course.)
- Current grade in English course:
- If student is currently in an English honors course, h/she should have an earned 85% average at the time of scheduling.
- If student is currently in a core level English course, h/she should have an earned 90% at the time of scheduling.
- Teacher Recommendation: When recommending students, teachers should take into consideration the above bulleted items.
* Some courses may not be offered at every school.