ARISE High School - Granicus

• ASSESSMENT
ARISE High School
Course Descriptions 2006-7
DRAFT 1/2006
Humanities
Humanities 1: (English, US History, & Multi-Cultural Studies)
This is a required 9th grade class that must be passed to qualify for graduation. This course
will examine the themes of self, community, and society through a series of texts. Within this
framework, students will learn to critically analyze literature, drama, non-fiction and poetry
through essay writing, projects, and oral responses. In the fall, we will focus on an analysis of
self, the school community, and the various communities to which students belong with an
eye toward the forces that influence students as young people. In the spring, we will extend
our lens beyond the school and the broader community of Oakland to the migration and
immigration patterns that influenced who we are today and our context within US history. We
will learn about the various communities that comprise Oakland, reading fiction as well as
non-fiction that complements this theme. Students will read a minimum of six books and
engage in multiple projects that assess the following skills: Oral Presentation, Group Work,
Critical Reading, Literary Analysis, Thesis, Essay Organization, Research, Writing Style, and
Vocabulary. By the completion of this course, students will have produced a major
autobiographical work, be able to write a five-page paper that demonstrates research,
organization, drafting, and analysis strategies, and produce a presentation of an original
research project .
METHODS AND/OR TOOLS
• Regular reading responses
• Daily homework checks
• Portfolio assessment
• Tests and quizzes
• Timed reading assessments
Humanities 2: (English 2 & World Cultures)
This humanities course is designed to integrate World Cultures and 10 th grade English.
Students will read short stories, non-fiction, poetry, legends, and novels to analyze
recurrent patterns and themes in historically or culturally significant works. They will
read at least 3 novels. Students will master several writing styles: short story narratives,
journaling, persuasive, expository, descriptive and research writing. Skills that will be
emphasized include: writing mechanics (organization, outlining, drafting, editing),
research methods (note taking, foot noting, paraphrasing, bibliography etc.), vocabulary
acquisition, reading and writing. Learning expeditions will explore the history of the
regions of origin of some of the various ethnic groups of people represented in Bay Area:
Africa, Asia and Europe. A final project will include a portfolio of 3 well crafted writing
assignments from the different expeditions.
Assessment Methods and/or Tools: