Murray State University ● 113 Sparks Hall● Murray, Ky 42071

English for American History Cindy Barnett, LeShawnda Fitzgerald, Patricia Lovett ● TSL 615 Murray State University ● 113 Sparks Hall● Murray, KY 42071

Who should take this course?

Lessons & Activities Lessons

This course is designed for college level ESL students with various linguistic backgrounds.

Program Goals *To prepare students for academic success in their chosen areas of study at the college level by strengthening their knowledge in one or more content areas: U.S. history, academic writing, the sciences, and life skills. *To prepare students for academic success at the college level by strengthening their English skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) in an academic setting. *To develop research and study skills in the students that will help them to become more academically efficient at the college level.

Course Goals & Objectives Course Goals *Students will acquire a broad overview of U.S. history. *Students will acquire English skills necessary to achieve academic success at the college level. *Students will develop research and study skills needed for academic success at the college level. Course Objectives *Students will demonstrate an understanding of how events in U.S. history have influenced U.S. mainstream cultural traits. *Students will participate actively in classroom discussions. *Students will demonstrate research skills. *Students will make effective classroom presentations.

Assessments Assessment of students’ performance in the “English for American History” course will include a variety of methods—quantitative and qualitative, formal and informal. The purpose of the assessment is to determine how effectively the goals and objectives of the class are being met and what changes need to be made to improve the course in the future.

▪Taking notes ▪ Pre-Columbian peoples and colonial beginnings ▪ Cause and effect ▪ American Revolution and the early republic ▪ Using the library’s reference section ▪ Civil War and reconstruction ▪ Evaluating websites for use in research ▪ Industrialization and emergence as a world power ▪ Citing Sources overview ▪ Depression and World War II ▪ Organizing the research paper ▪ Cold War, Civil Rights, Vietnam ▪ Giving a research presentation ▪ Contemporary U.S. Society

Activities

▪ Paired/Group Collaborations ▪ Pre-Reading/Post Reading ▪ Library/Internet Research ▪ Class Discussions ▪ Note Taking ▪ Website Evaluation ▪Classroom Presentations ▪ Historical Research Paper

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Needs Assessment The Needs assessment is an attempt to obtain deeper, more holistic information about students’ perceived academic and social needs for learning English and American History, their previous language learning experience, their attitudes about English and U.S. culture, and their preferred ways of learning.