Description of Audience by ---- ---:
The school in which we are teaching is a public high school serving grades 9-12 in an urban area, with a total of 1,537 students. The student teacher ratio is 25:1--somewhat higher than the average for the state. The demographics for the students are 65% White, 18% African American, 7% Hispanic, 9.5% Asian American, and 0.5% Native American. The school offers many sports, clubs and other extracurricular activities to meet the diverse needs and interests of students, which include, but are not limited to, football, basketball, tennis, golf, volleyball, color guard, marching band, journalism, animal club, Future Physicians of America, Science Olympiad, and Gay-Straight Alliance.
The classroom in which we are teaching this specific unit is an Honors Sophomore English class, which consists of twenty-five students (thirteen female, twelve male). The ethnic background of students in this class include five African American students, two Hispanic students, one Native American student, four Asian American students, and thirteen Caucasian students. Of these students, one is an English Language Learner whose primary language is Spanish. He has recently been exited out of the ESL program, and has scored high on his exit exam, which placed him in this course. Moreover, all five African American students are speakers of African American Vernacular English, and there is one student who has Asperger’s disorder. Because this is an Honors English class, many of these students read and write at or above the grade level. Generally, the students in this class come from a middle-class socio-economic background.
The classroom in which we are teaching this specific unit is an Honors Sophomore English class, which consists of twenty-five students (thirteen female, twelve male). The ethnic background of students in this class include five African American students, two Hispanic students, one Native American student, four Asian American students, and thirteen Caucasian students. Of these students, one is an English Language Learner whose primary language is Spanish. He has recently been exited out of the ESL program, and has scored high on his exit exam, which placed him in this course. Moreover, all five African American students are speakers of African American Vernacular English, and there is one student who has Asperger’s disorder. Because this is an Honors English class, many of these students read and write at or above the grade level. Generally, the students in this class come from a middle-class socio-economic background.
