ELL 2/3 Writing & Grammar

September-December, 2015
Ms. Melnik

Course Outline
Welcome to Writing and Grammar for ELL level 2/3! This course is designed to enable you to
develop the skills to comfortably communicate through written language and learn more about
Canadian culture as well as English literature. This course will assist you in becoming more
fluent and confident English writers and communicators through the frequent practice of
grammar skills.
In ELL Writing and Grammar, you will:
Learn more about life in Canada in connection to culture, language, and customs
Develop your grammar and writing skills in English, which will assist you in your
listening and speaking skills
Interact with literature and learn to analyze, critique and critically discuss many
forms of language
Practice your own creative writing skills through various genres of writing
Course Content:
As this is a level 2/3 split class, the topics will be the same (or as similar as possible) each
week, but activities may vary. Students may work from different workbooks but will still be able
to engage in full class discussions. Each student will be assigned work based on their
necessary level of difficulty. These are the intended topics for each unit, but may be adjusted
based on students levels and progress.
Unit 1 (Week 1) Grammar Diagnostic and Short Story
Grammar diagnostic quiz to review and check what you remember from what you
already know
Review of sentence structure and verb tenses
Reading and discussion of a short story
Unit 2 (Week 2) Self-Selected Reading Project (SSRP)
Trip to the Vancouver Public Library to learn how to use the library effectively and
select a novel
Introduction to keeping a reading journal (which we will work on throughout the
course)
o Summarization skills
o Reactions to events in the novel
o Character descriptions
o Vocabulary
We will begin reading a novel as a class
Unit 3 (Week 3) Grammar (I)
For level 2, we will be reviewing count and non-count nouns, as well as collective
nouns and pronouns

Contact Information: adamelnik@gmail.com

ELL 2/3 Writing & Grammar

September-December, 2015
Ms. Melnik
For level 3, we will be reviewing perfect and progressive tenses, passive and
active voices, and subject-verb agreement
All students will be writing an original composition which they will share in a
writers workshop (we will often be working in writers workshops).
Students will present their compositions and lead a class discussion and critique
Unit 4 (Week 4) Grammar (II)
For level 2, we will be reviewing the present tenses: simple, perfect and
progressive as well as the placement of adverbs in relation to verbs
For level 3, we will go through sentence structure and work on the five sentence
elements and in steps, transform simple sentences to complex sentences
All students will be working through a writers workshop to practice using these
grammatical concepts
Unit 5 (Week 5) Grammar (III) and Persuasive Writing
For level 2, we will be working on the past tense verbs: simple, perfect, and
progressive
For level 3, we will learn techniques for writing persuasive essays and identify
these techniques in writing.
o Students will work on a five paragraph persuasive essay for this
unit
All students will write an original composition which they will share in a writers
workshop
Students will present their compositions and lead a class discussion and critique
Unit 6 (Week 6) Grammar (IV) and Patterns of Argument
For level 2, we will be working on the past tense verbs: simple, perfect, and
progressive, as well as perfect-progressive
Students in level 2 will write an original composition which they will share in a
writers workshop
For level 3, we will be working on understanding, identifying and using patterns of
argument (avoiding logical fallacies) in informal and formal contexts
o Students will practice by identifying logical fallacies, as well as
creating their own writing
All students will present either their original composition (level 2) or their findings
from their work with logical fallacies (level 3)
Unit 7 (Week 7) Midterm Review and Exam
Review the concepts already studied in the class (in the first 5 units)
Journals for the individual novel study will be collected
Unit 8 (Week 8) Conjunctions and Transitions
We will working on distinguishing the types of conjunctions and making logical
connections between sentences and paragraphs
Students will write their own compositions describing a step-by-step process
using what they have learned in the grammar section of this unit

Contact Information: adamelnik@gmail.com

ELL 2/3 Writing & Grammar

September-December, 2015
Ms. Melnik
Students will partake in a writers workshop and present their compositions and
lead a class discussion and critique
Unit 9 (Week 9) Formal and informal Writing/English
We will learn the concepts of speaking/writing using different levels of formalities
Translating formal to informal texts and vice versa and acting the compositions
out in skits
All students will write an original composition which they will share in a writers
workshop
Students will present their compositions and lead a class discussion and critique

Unit 10 (Week 10) Description and a One-Act Play

Students in level 2 will read various descriptive passages and recognize
techniques in describing people, events and places
o Students will write original compositions which they will share in a
writers workshop
o Students will present their compositions and lead a class
discussion and critique
Students in level 3 will learn about the conventions of a play and view and review
the style of a play and/or television show that has a structure of a short story
o Students will write their own one-act play and perform it to the
class
Unit 11 (Week 11) Narration
We will work on developing the skills to write both a narrative passage and
narrative essays
We will read a variety of narratives and compare and contrast their styles
Students will write their own narratives which they will present to the class and
lead a discussion
Unit 12 (Week 12) Oral and Written Dialogue
Students will develop dialogue skills using the turn as the basic movement
We will watch various film clips to discuss characters and situations and how they
are communicated through dialogue
All students will write an original composition which they will share in a writers
workshop
Students will present their compositions and lead a class discussion and critique
Unit 13 (Week 13) Short Story
We will study plot structures of short stories and understand how to create ploy
diagrams
Reading and discussion of various short stories and comparison of their genres
and styles

Contact Information: adamelnik@gmail.com

ELL 2/3 Writing & Grammar

September-December, 2015
Ms. Melnik
All students will write an original composition which they will share in a writers
workshop
Students will present their compositions and lead a class discussion and critique
Unit 14 (Week 14) Review and Final Exam

Reviewing the course content and learn material to

prepare for the final exam

Successfully completing a written final exam

Assessment and Evaluation

SSR Journal
Quizzes and Worksheets
Midterm Test
Descriptive Writings (2) / Persuasive Essay (3)
Narrative Writings/Essay
Dialogue (2) / Play (3)
Short Story
Final Exam

15%
15%
15%
10%
10%
10%
10%
15%

Supplies/Materials
Advanced Grammar in Use, by Martin Hewings
Selected class novel (to be decided)

Three ring binder with dividers labeled:

o Grammar
o Writers Workshop Compositions
o Short Stories
o Writing worksheets
o Quizzes

Lined paper

Blue/black pens

Pencils

Erasers

Highlighters

Throughout the term, I will provide feedback to each student to let you know where you stand in
the class. If you have any questions or concerns, or need to speak to me privately, please do
not hesitate to let me know.

Contact Information: adamelnik@gmail.com

ELL 2/3 Writing & Grammar

September-December, 2015
Ms. Melnik
I accept the responsibilities and understand the expectations required to achieve
success in this ELL Writing and Grammar course.
Student signature: ________________________ Date: ____________________
Parent/guardian signature: ___________________

Contact Information: adamelnik@gmail.com