English Language Development courses at Petaluma High School focus on developing students' skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. We use leveled criteria to assess student growth and progress, and a variety of content and materials to help students acquire English as quickly as possible.
The following course descriptions come from our Petaluma High Course Catalog:
ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT - Our English Language Development Program at Petaluma High uses the current (2012) ELD State Standards to guide the design of curricular content for all students still acquiring proficiency in English. We primarily use a Development Bilingual Program model, in compliance with the 2016 Education for a Global Economy (Ed.G.E) initiative, that provides for literacy and academic instruction using both English and a student’s native language where appropriate with the goal of supporting each English learner to achieve language proficiency and meet state academic achievement goals. Students will progress through English Language Development (ELD) Levels 1,2, 3, and 4 as appropriate for their language acquisition proficiency using the three Progress Level Descriptors (PLDs): Emerging, Expanding, and Bridging. These descriptors are defined with both early and exit stages for each proficiency level across three modes of communication: A. Collaborative: Engagement in dialogue with others; B. Interpretive: Comprehension and analysis of written and spoken texts; C.Productive: Creation of oral presentations and written texts.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (ELD) LEVEL 1 A101EY YEAR (9- 12) Prerequisite: Non-English speaker This is a communication-based class that emphasizes communication skills, basic academic vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and pronunciation through listening, reading, speaking, and writing. The course encourages students to experience a sense of pride and knowledge related to their own cultural heritage while also developing an understanding of our local and national culture and history. The course incorporates content tailored to the abilities and needs of the students. The course may be repeated for credit with the approval of the instructor/ELRT.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (ELD) LEVEL 2 A102EY YEAR (9- 12) Prerequisite: ELD 1 and/or appropriate assessment or recommendation of instructor/ELRT The course is appropriate for a student with an expanding proficiency level of English and extends and broadens the skills mastered in ELD 1. Students will need an understanding of conversational English vocabulary and be able to adequately speak and write basic English. There is an emphasis on moving the student from basic communication towards grade level academic vocabulary across the ELA domains of listening, reading, speaking, and writing as well as all academic disciplines (math, science, social science, etc.). The courses may be repeated for credit with the approval of the instructor. 10
ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (ELD) LEVEL 3 A103EY YEAR (9-12) Prerequisite: ELPAC level 3/Expanding/Bridging proficiency; recommendation of instructor/ELRT The course is appropriate for a student with an English proficiency level that is moving from the higher end of Expanding into the Bridging level, and continues to expand upon the skills mastered in ELD 2. There will be a stronger emphasis on the academic English vocabulary and analytical skills needed to successfully enter the standard English program. A greater emphasis is placed on the Common Core academic skills, using more analytical listening, reading, speaking, and writing activities aligned with a college preparatory English class. The course may be repeated for credit with the approval of the instructor.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (ELD) LEVEL 4 A104EY YEAR (9-12) Prerequisite: ELD 2 & 3 and/or appropriate assessment or recommendation of instructor/ELRT In this course, students continue to develop the Common Core English Language Arts skills necessary for success in college preparatory and post-secondary English courses. ELD 4 requires more complex reading and assignments, including close reading and analysis of novels, plays, short stories, poems and nonfiction. Writing assignments will include narrative, explanatory and argumentative essays related to the literature and other course content. This course builds a foundation for all other English classes an English learner will take at Petaluma High. This course meets the Subject Area “b” requirement of the UC / CSU approved course list. Students may only use one year of ELD 4 to meet the UC/CSU Area-B requirement.