English 1 ESports Game Design is a college preparatory grade 9 English course integrated with the games and simulation pathway standards of the information and communication technology sector, which allows students to see where the skills of English intersect with the elements of game design. Students conduct research, closely read and analyze complex texts, evaluate game designers’ audience and purpose, and create a digital portfolio where they synthesize their knowledge to design a game that addresses a social issue. At the same time, students are provided a rigorous pathway for students to learn relevant technical knowledge and skills that prepare them for further education and career opportunities in the field of Information and Communication Technologies.

The esports industry holds unrealized potential for the English language arts classroom; the
stories told within games, the mythology of characters, literacy required to achieve mastery, and
opportunities to integrate the intersections between technology, culture, and play all parallel ELA
skills and concepts. Students will build a foundational understanding of esports, their history, and
their evolution over time, through research in multiple genres and methodologies. They will use
critical thinking skills and argumentative, analytical, narrative, expository, and descriptive pieces of
writing on self-selected topics within each unit’s main framework to apply their esports enthusiasm
to their English study. Students will explore the meaningful and diverse ways to participate in the
esports community beyond playing competitively themselves, and will connect the gaming
experience in literature, both fiction and nonfiction. Challenging preconceptions of what qualifies
as a text, the students will apply their understanding of literary concepts to analyze and critique
how writers and game developers both make choices to convey meaning to their audiences.
By becoming authors themselves, they will contribute their own characters and worlds to the genre of esports. This course also supports integrated STEM learning and principles with its emphasis on
effective oral and written communication, argumentation, design thinking, systems thinking, and
effective student engagement with educational technology as a means to collaborate, critically
think, and communicate student thinking.