English Support Courses

Intensive English 1
Grade 9
Intensive English is a two-period standards-aligned course designed to give students who read and write significantly below grade level the skills they need to meet California State Standards for English Language Arts. The course helps students develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills with the goal of moving successfully toward tenth-grade English (combined with an additional support class), high school graduation, and post-secondary endeavors. The intensive English class is significantly smaller, moves at a slower place, and allows for more one-on-one support.

In the fall students learn the basics of grammar, study literature-based vocabulary, practice writing well-developed paragraphs, and learn the basics of research. They are also introduced to the format of the multi-paragraph analytical and synthesis essays. These same areas are reinforced during the spring semester as students hone their skills, work more independently, and add sophistication to their writing. Students study the elements of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry throughout the year, learning how authors demonstrate their purposes through various rhetorical devices. In the fall students read selected short stories, Of Mice and Men and Brown Girl Dreaming. In the spring, the core works are chosen from the following: The Odyssey and Romeo and Juliet, and the lessons are also supported with auxiliary texts that relate to the themes that are taught. In addition to content specific lessons, students learn to take effective Cornell Notes, to use context clues to determine meanings of words, and to employ other study and organizational skills. Each semester students complete a short research project which culminates in an oral presentation with technological visual aid. Students further develop their listening and speaking skills through small group and whole class discussions.

English Support 1, 2, and 3
1 - Grade 9, 2 - Grade 10, 3 - Grade 11
SMUHSD - elective course 
This course is designed to strengthen student literacy skills (speaking, reading, writing, listening) and provide them with appropriate support to meet the California State Standards and to be successful in their English classes. The class will support mastery of the standards for English, using materials that are appropriate to the students’ abilities and experiences.