Elective English Language Arts Courses

This course emphasizes the dynamics of the communication process: speaking, listening, and interacting. Voice development, use of gestures, and audience awareness are stressed as important components of this process. Students will learn techniques to develop confidence in effective discussions, presentations, speeches, interviews, and other social/business speech experiences.

This course is designed for students who have recently exited from direct services in the English Learners program and who need additional support in reading and writing to succeed in English class and on the EOC English examinations. Students will be supported as they develop analytical reading and writing skills required for success in high school and beyond.

This course will provide students with grounding in film appreciation, production, and history. Students will be introduced to the major concepts and techniques filmmakers employ in producing a motion picture. After learning the technical aspects of film, students will also be exposed to classic movies and will evaluate their importance as works of art. The course will also hone students’ oral and written communication skills as these are the keys to film analysis.

Students in this class work to produce a school-specific news show that is regularly broadcasted. Students in this class will explore methods and techniques for reporting, producing, and delivering news and news programs via radio, television, internet, and video/film media. Instruction will explore the responsibilities of professional broadcast journalists, editors, producers, directors, and managers. Students will also have hands-on experience of the principles of broadcast technology; broadcast reporting; program, sound, and video/film editing; program design and production; and professional standards and ethics. Exact course expectations vary by high school; please consult with instructor for details.

Students in this class work to publish a magazine of student literary writings and accompanying artwork. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and musical scores are composed and/or edited throughout the publication cycle. Visual art, photography, and layout design is digitally curated and refined throughout the publication cycle. Exact course expectations vary by high school; please consult with instructor for details.

Students in this class work to produce a regularly published school-specific print newspaper and/or website. Expository writing is the main emphasis of this course. The writing includes but is not limited to news, features, editorials, sports, column, and critique writing. Interview and research techniques are employed used to prepare the copy. The mechanics of newspaper production, including copy-editing, layout and design, typography, headline writing, photography and digital picture editing, and various publishing techniques are presented. Exact course expectations vary by high school; please consult with instructor for details

Students in this class work to publish the yearbook. Students use expository writing skills in most aspects of the work, including feature, headline, and caption writing. Students learn and practice the mechanics of magazine production: layout styles, central theme, copy editing, typography, photography, picture editing, layout, and printing techniques. Exact course expectations vary by high school; please consult with instructor for details.