What makes an honors class different

Affirming from The Successful Middle School: This We Believe that every student is held to high expectations, all middle school students indeed need to engage in content deeply through problem-based learning, critical and creative thinking, and higher-order questioning, but what should differentiate advanced and honors classes from standard classes in ways that add sufficient challenge for students to continue to progress in their learning?

In this article, I articulate criteria schools might consider to be essential in instructional planning of advanced or honors classes.

Imagine these features on a continuum. This means rigor is relative to readiness. While the qualities of challenging curriculum presented below can be considered for all students, advanced classes should include these to a larger degree with more intensity to match the level of challenge needed for a student to stretch, grow, and be in a zone for true learning to occur zone of proximal development.

This means that materials, resources, and texts can be at a higher grade level or teachers may incorporate above-grade level standards in instruction. Content can also be presented at an accelerated pace, where lessons are designed using a combination of multiple standards.

The accelerated content should additionally be integrated with opportunities for students to engage in deep learning through critical and creative thinking. Opportunities to Think as Experts Advanced classes can focus on building experiences in which students engage with and think about the content as experts in the discipline do.

For example, advanced language arts teachers can intentionally incorporate ways for students to critically examine texts as literary scholars think about them. This might include adding layers of interpretation through reading a short story through the lens of archetypes or guiding students to comprehend the interactions among multiple literary elements in shaping meaning rather than focusing on the more isolated development of theme, character, and plot.

In mathematics, it includes an emphasis on defending mathematical arguments, developing proofs, and understanding what mathematics is really about: studying quantity, space, and change around us by examining patterns and relationships. Overall, the emphasis is on inviting students to think about the overall big picture and purpose of the discipline and its related fields, preparing students for deeper learning and exploration in their future careers.

Next Steps in Learning No matter how good we are at something, there is always room to grow. Even professional athletes are coached to improve their skills, top musicians deliberately practice difficult parts of musical pieces to sharpen their technique, and chefs continue to play with recipes to fine-tune their end-product dishes.

High performers need coaching and support for continued advancement. Likewise, as teachers, we must think, what does this student need to continue in order to progress in the next steps in learning? Perhaps it is exposure to mentoring or learning directly from an expert in the field through online virtual learning or in person guest speaker or providing accelerated learning options to learn above-grade level content.

AP classes introduce high school learners to rigorous college-level training. Unlike honors classes, AP courses can also provide college credit if students earn sufficiently high scores on the corresponding AP exams. Additionally, these classes can help you bypass certain admission requirements and gain entry into elite colleges across the country. AP classes run throughout the year, require a considerable amount of after-school studying, and conclude with examinations.

AP exams are scored on a scale of , with scores of 3 and above considered passing grades. Colleges sometimes count scores of 3 and above for college credit, although the most prestigious schools may only consider scores of 4 or 5.

Knowing the difference between AP vs. Read on to understand how these two class types differ. Both AP and honors classes can make your college applications more competitive, but AP exams offer an additional bonus: the potential to earn college credit. Passing an AP exam with a score of 3 or above can lead to college credit in various majors at different schools.

AP classes also tend to be more challenging than honors classes. For AP classes, you should have the ability to manage difficult coursework while preparing for AP exams. Honors classes typically follow a teacher-designed curriculum throughout one semester. These courses usually cover more material than regular classes and provide a more thorough exploration into various topics. Conversely, AP courses follow the College Board curriculum over the course of semesters.

It is a survey course and will cover all major literary time periods from Medieval English to Postmodern and Contemporary British voices. Students will read poetry, novels, plays, speeches, satires, and essays throughout the year, and will be expected to respond thoroughly to the texts using a breadth of both written and oral assessments. Students will be encouraged to read closely and to value textual evidence at all times.

Thorough annotations of novels and texts will be expected. By the end of the course, students will have a foundation of the problems and success of the 20th century and how they affect life today in the 21st century. Throughout the year students will develop critical questioning and thinking skills to objectively study history using a variety of primary and secondary sources.

Students will participate and learn through structured class simulations, college level class discussions and readings, multimedia presentations including the internet, documentary and feature films, broadcast news including television and radio, and a host of others , individual and group projects, formal research essays, and field trips. A comprehensive written final examination is required along with a student selected Reading Program of three topic related books and a final research essay or a presentation.

Everyone has heard the story of the exchange between Ms. Powel and Benjamin Franklin at the close of the constitutional convention in This premise of this course is that keeping our republic requires educated citizens and a free press. This is a one semester course. It moves from a broad study of foundational topics and constitutional legal ideals into an application of these topics and ideals to contemporary times.

The goal is to engage high school students in a critical examination of their government and the exercise of their responsibilities as United States citizens. Students have the opportunity to conduct discussions, research concepts, and debate with their classmates about governmental problems, contemporary political issues and the ramifications of governmental decisions.

The ultimate goal of this class is to provide students with a sense of voter empowerment so they can exercise their citizen responsibility based on their knowledge of how government works. Honors Spanish IV is an intensive course designed to meet the needs of students who are interested to communicate in writing and orally in Spanish at an advanced level.

Students will acquire in cultural appropriate ways a deeper knowledge of thematic vocabulary related to the immediate and external environment and more complex grammatical structures using the four language modalities: speaking, reading, listening and writing. In addition, students will be exposed to customs and traditions of the Spanish speaking countries through literature, history and visual art.

High academic achievement and intellectual ability. Self-motivation and self-discipline. Good organizational skills. Excellent written and spoken expression. An avid interest in reading different types of text. An ability to work independently and collaboratively. Remain on task in class with little to no disruption. Good citizenship and attendance. Remain in the course s for the duration of the year. Maintain high standards of academic integrity. Be in class every day. Excessive absences are grounds for removal from the course.

The student commits to completing any summer work. Summer work may include the reading of books, journals, etc, writing assignments, projects, meeting with the course teacher, etc. If the student is found to have violated the Honors code in any way, then the student may be dropped from any Honors course without honors credit. Student success is the ultimate goal, but students not succeeding in an Honors class will be handled on an individual basis. Honors are expected to pick up on certain points on their own.

Joined: Mar 21, Messages: Likes Received: 1. Jul 12, To me, Honors classes should be expected to do more outside of class as you indicated in your description as well as to move at a quicker pace. Someone who doesn't do their homework or projects definitely does not belong in an Honors class. They should be expected to grasp concepts more quickly, with less time spent on instruction and practice.

More should always be required of a Honors class - in Homework, Assessments, Comprehension, and Curriculum. Honors students should also display critical thinking skills, at a depth which is not required in a regular class. What constitutes an A in a regular class should be a B or C in an honors class - it is the teacher's job to demand more of these students, and to provide more challenging material for them.

Joined: Apr 4, Messages: 6, Likes Received: 0. Jul 13, I teach preschool I was generally juggling several honors or AP classes at a time, as well as extracurriculars like band and choir Joined: Jan 31, Messages: Likes Received: 0.

Jul 13, I agree with clarnet73! I teach an elective class journalism but my mentor teacher had it split into regular and honors and I didn't really like the way she did it.

I think to me, if they're getting extra credit for honors, then they should have to do more challenging work. Not more of the same work, but more critical thinking, more projects, more interaction, more real-life application, etc. Q , Jul 13, Jul 13, I agree with clarnet73 and mrs. I guess maybe I should have been clearer - Honors classes should require more critical thinking.

I do think, however, that more homework does tend to be part of it, but let me be clear: I mean homework not as mere busy work, but in the sense of challenging. In honest, many regular classes at my school are lucky if they can get students to read at home.

To me, part of the idea of an Honors course is to prepare one for college. Now, I'm not saying that the students should have to read a book a night, but what I am saying is that certain expectations should be maintained. One would expect that in any sort of Honors English class, the students would be more competent readers than the mix of a general course.

In an Honors History course, I would think it would mean more primary sources, and deeper comprehension questions. In Honors Math, I would expect the more difficult homework questions on the topic to be assigned. The homework does not necessarily have to be more as in more time-consuming or more problems, just more challenging.