Archive
Dana Domenick
LAD & 5th Grade Social Studies Teacher
- Academic Support
- English
- History
- Student Support
- Upper Campus
Language Analysis and Development IB
- English
Language Acquisition and Development (LAD) is designed to strengthen studentsí understanding of language, and to reinforce their skills in the areas of reading fluency, reading comprehension, word attack skills, vocabulary recognition and usage, grammatical concepts, and other rudiments of language. Throughout the year, students will study short stories, articles, short essays, and other literature to deepen their understanding of the material and be able to analyze, interpret, and converse constructively about what they have read. Vocabulary words will mostly derive from the context of assigned reading, and punctuation and grammar will complement reading-based coursework. Assessments will include a variety of informal writing assignments, creative projects and quizzes.
Sixth English
- English
Fifth grade social studies begins the year by inviting fifth graders into the world of the upper campus, and orienting them to the skills and tools required to understand themselves as learners. Students develop and master the skill of creating and presenting slideshows on Google Slides. One recurring project that draws on these skills is the Newscaster project, in which students pick a current event and create a slideshow in order to educate their peers about the event. This project recurs four times over the course of the year, and requires students to work on becoming researchers and presenters, using images for storytelling. Students also focus on using models like Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences in order to understand their strengths as students, and advocate for their own learning. As the year progresses, fifth graders shift their focus to world geography, building a foundation of map skills and focusing on the five themes of geography: location, place, region, movement, and human- environment interaction. Many group and individual projects, as well as map quizzes and tests, help fifth graders to understand the fundamentals of geography that will be crucial for history classes later in the scope and sequence of their experience at IMS. Interdisciplinary connections between science work in biomes and social studies work in the natural and human elements of geography are also explored.
Fifth English
- English
The Fifth Grade English curriculum provides students with opportunities to become more critical readers and writers. They engage different genres of literature that focus on a range of themes, including but not limited to identity, social inequalities, and the power of relationships. Through small-group and whole-class discussions, students practice constructive dialogue with their peers while also developing their ability to annotate as they learn how to thoughtfully articulate insights and observations about a literary text. They become more confident in various modes of expressive, analytical, and imaginative writing assignments that emphasize prewriting, drafting, and revision. The spelling curriculum deepens and expands a word-specific knowledge base that is fundamental to meaningful communication. The literature studied and texts utilized: The Birchbark House, Esperanza Rising, The Pants Project, and Spelling Connections.
Language Analysis and Development II
- English
Language Acquisition and Development (LAD) is designed to strengthen studentsí understanding of language, and to reinforce their skills in the areas of reading fluency, reading comprehension, word attack skills, vocabulary recognition and usage, grammatical concepts, and other rudiments of language. Throughout the year, students will study short stories, articles, short essays, and other literature to deepen their understanding of the material and be able to analyze, interpret, and converse constructively about what they have read. Vocabulary words will mostly derive from the context of assigned reading, and punctuation and grammar will complement reading-based coursework. Assessments will include a variety of informal writing assignments, creative projects and quizzes.
ELL: Writing
- English
This class is intended for second language learners who are attending IMS for the first time. Students learn and practice the intermediate/ advanced intermediate level grammatical structures and apply them in their speaking and writing. They progress from writing grammatically correct sentences to structured paragraphs and five paragraph essays. In addition, students write poetry, narrative fiction, and summaries. They are expected to participate in class discussions and to improve their listening skills. It is the goal of this class to prepare students for mainstream English class or ESL Bridge class the following year. Evaluations include regular quizzes and tests, as well as placement and cumulative testing using the Cambridge Michigan English Placement test.
ELL Academic Skills
- English
This class is intended for second language learners who need an additional year of ESL instruction after taking ESL Writing and Reading classes, as well as incoming eighth grade international students. Students in this class need to have advanced intermediate to advanced level English proficiency. In Bridge class, students follow the mainstream eighth grade English class curriculum; however, it is modified so that they can complete assignments independently. They use the mainstream eighth grade English textbooks except for the vocabulary textbook: instead, they strive to master new vocabulary from their grammar and reading books. Students are expected to improve their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in Bridge class; participation is expected during every class. Evaluations include regular quizzes and tests, as well as the SLEP and ITP (Institutional Testing Program) TOEFL test given in the spring.
ELL: Bridge English
- English
This class is intended for second language learners who need an additional year of ESL instruction after taking ESL Writing and Reading classes, as well as incoming eighth grade international students. Students in this class need to have advanced intermediate to advanced level English proficiency. In Bridge class, students follow the mainstream eighth grade English class curriculum; however, it is modified so that they can complete assignments independently. They use the mainstream eighth grade English textbooks except for the vocabulary textbook: instead, they strive to master new vocabulary from their grammar and reading books. Students are expected to improve their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills in Bridge class; participation is expected during every class. Evaluations include regular quizzes and tests, as well as the SLEP and ITP (Institutional Testing Program) TOEFL test given in the spring.
Ninth English
- English
The IMS English Department has––at least for the last decade or so––encouraged students to treat their interaction with every text in the syllabus like an investigation. What is this novel, short story, play, excerpt, podcast, or piece of longform journalism really about? How is this central subject signaled (subtly or overtly) by the author/writer/creator of the work in question? Is the author levying a judgment? If so, what is it? What’s the relevance of this assertion to the way we think and live? The focus has always been on active reading and rigorous engagement with the texts considered. This year, as the English and History departments prepare to merge and adopt a unified humanities model in 2022-2023, the lines of inquiry we’ll follow will be largely the same in both disciplines. We’ll strive to adequately and accurately define terms such as “power,” “justice,” “identity,” “equity,” “perspective,” “alterity,” “privilege,” and “morality.” Then we’ll seek to sufficiently unpack and account for the relationships extant between these concepts, as the students come to understand how their interaction and interplay, their causality and influence, dictate the social structure of societies and civilizations.
Expression has long been at the forefront of what we do. Being articulate in discussion and eloquent on the page have always been paramount learning goals. When it comes to written work, the modes of expression that receive the lion’s share of attention are persuasive/expository, introspective, and creative writing: the stylistic (and pedagogical) emphasis is, respectively, on clarity and concision in the first case; candor and earnestness in the second; observation, detail, vividness, and narrative elements in the last. The goal is to endow students with the analytical acumen to dissect and distill sophisticated content and the technical mastery to trenchantly convey their views and beliefs about said content.