US Russian 2
Ongoing Enrollment
While our courses are no longer available for purchase on the website, St. Raphael School is open to inquiries about enrolling in courses at any time during the year. If you wish to enroll in a Yearlong course for the 2020-2021 school year after the official add/drop deadline (September 21), you will need to contact us directly. We will consider each request on a case-by-case basis after considering several factors, including size of the class, the preparedness of the student, the willingness of the instructor to accommodate a late addition to the class, and the content of the course. If you would like to submit a request for enrollment in an ongoing course, please visit our Contact Us page.
This course continues the work of Russian 1, building on skills in an introduction to modern Russian. Students will build on a foundation to communicate in written and oral forms. It is rigorous but also allows time to linger with the richness and beauty brought to the language by its historical and cultural context. The class is creatively tailored to move systematically through additional and more complicated building blocks of Russian with a combination of explicit grammatical explanation and active conversation among all students.
At least 50% of each lesson is conducted in Russian, so that in-class repetition and exploration of new concepts engage the students’ senses. Materials include casual Russian conversation, art as visual aids, reading simple texts, Russian Orthodox hymns, poetry or prayer memorization, and even Russian recipes. Written homework will be required to allow for quiet contemplation and further reinforcement of the new material. Oral and written quizzes will be administered periodically during the class period to determine mastery. Each semester will end with an engaging creative project involving either research or a creative group project. Students in the class get to know each other and build a love and knowledge of the Russian language together.
Though demanding and challenging, the course holds promise for students to experience the wonder and delight of discovery, beauty, and a sense of great accomplishment.
In the course, students will learn how to:
- Memorize and understand new Russian vocabulary
- Build on knowledge of conjugation of Russian verbs
- Build on knowledge and use of grammatical cases and tenses
- Build conversational skills for formal and informal settings
- Appreciate aspects of Russian culture and history that are embedded in the language, especially those related to Russian Orthodox tradition
- Build stronger reading skills
View the SRS Russian Curriculum Map
Syllabus
The course will use an excellent free online text book, Mezhdu Nami, which is designed for university students, but will be adapted to be appropriate for a high school setting. All other materials will be provided by the instructor.
https://mezhdunami.org/
Dr. Erin Moulton has a deep love for education and has been teaching in some capacity for over two decades. She holds a PhD in Slavic linguistics from the University of Kansas and has also studied at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri, and in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In the past, she served as an instructor of Russian language, literature, and culture at University of Kansas. She has worked professionally as an editor, copywriter, and project manager in the fields of international compliance and revenue operations. She also serves as youth communications liaison for the Orthodox Church in America Diocese of the Midwest and as board president of the Orthodox Christian Translation Society. Erin and her husband, Christian, are parishioners at Holy Trinity Church in Overland Park, Kansas, where she teaches church school and assists in creating a multiyear cycle of curriculum for the parish. Erin and Christian have four children, all of whom she has educated at home over the past 15 years. moultonstraphael@gmail.com
Computer: You will need a stable, reliable computer, running with processor with a speed of 1 Ghz or better on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with MacOS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or later; Windows 8, 7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do NOT recommending using an iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be much better solutions, as they enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer. Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation, which may be used by our teachers for class activities.
High-Speed Internet Connection: You will also need access to high-speed Internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal use of your bandwidth. The faster your Internet, the better. We recommend using a connection with an download/upload speed of 5/1Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.
WebCam: You may use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer.
WebCam Recommendations: Good (PC only) | Best (Mac and PC)
Headset: We recommend using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the level of background noise heard by the entire class.
Headset Recommendations: USB | 3.5mm
Zoom: We use a web conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy to use.
To download Zoom:
- Visit zoom.us/download.
- Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
- Open and run the installer on your computer.
- In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.
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First, read the available course descriptions, noting prerequisites, target grades, and course objectives. If you think your student is prepared for the course, go ahead and register. After registration, a placement assessment may be provided to students, depending on the course and the student’s previous enrollment with Scholé Academy. Registration is finalized when the student’s placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.
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Make sure they don’t conflict with other activities in your schedule or other courses you are purchasing. Our system will not catch double-bookings!
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Our Assistant to the Principal will be in touch with you after your enrollment to help you with next steps, including any placement evaluations that may be required for your course selections.
This registration will be finalized when the student’s placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.