English 9:
Focuses on writing and reading based on an integrated, thematic based curriculum. The year begins with Greek mythology and learning how to write effective sentences and paragraphs. Students will practice writing and giving speeches, and then we move on to read some works of literature that confront the issue of indifference. During the second semester, students will practice persuasive writing and read short stories and novels that deal with greed and what greed can do to a person. The end of the year is dedicated to reading Shakespeare, including Romeo and Juliet. Throughout this course students will be asked to read and analyze literature and reflect on what they have read, determining what it means for them in relation to their own lives and their future decisions.
English 10: Global Literature:
By exploring a series of works of world literature written during the last 400 years, students will consider the variety of literature and the themes and forms by which writers have tried to depict the human experience. This year long course is an introduction to renowned world writers of the past. Although the focus is primarily on literary questions, at times it will be useful at times to gain some familiarity with the social, political, cultural, and intellectual history of the modern world. A better understanding of civilizations of today can be gained by tracing the genesis and continuity of certain ideas and values. Students, will read, write, and talk their way through the wonderfully complex and pertinent works that have shaped and defined world literature. By examining representations of human behavior and experience, they will hopefully come to understand other people and our own experience a bit better as well.
English 11:
An American Literature course that introduces students to renowned American writers. The course exposes students to great American literature through various literary periods and genres. Students engage in creative and analytical writing and develop literary sensitivity and writing and reading skills in various ways. Apart from written work, students learn the skills of oral presentation and commentary.
English 12:
The senior semester courses are designed to provide students with two different courses during the year in order to earn full credit for English 12. While reading and writing will occur in both courses, the first semester is primarily writing based, while the second semester is largely reading based. The two courses that will be offered are Media Literacy and Contemporary Literature.
English 12: Media Literacy (Semester 1):
We have been bombarded by the media since the time we were born. For most students, they cannot recall a time without the Internet or cable T.V. Media is changing and evolving at a rapid speed. In order for students to navigate this amazingly technological landscape, they must have the skills to enable you to make independent and cumulative choices about the information they receive through the channels of mass communication. In Media Literacy, we will investigate how the media shapes the way we interpret the world, and the impact it has, on both the individual, and on society. By looking at current events and popular culture, students will critically examine how the media is constructed, and the effects this has on our culture and society.
English 12: Contemporary Literature (Semester 2):
Includes several works over the last decade, and requires that students explore different genres of contemporary literature to determine how and why a book is worth reading, and the role that literature plays in their own lives. Contemporary Literature is designed to teach students reading strategies to become active, thoughtful readers when constructing meaning from the text.
Advanced Placement (English 12):
The first semester focuses on themes in western literature organized around two broad but related central topics: situations of personal crisis or loss, and fundamental conflicts that require individuals to make painful trade-offs. The focus of the first semester will be on critical thinking, advanced writing, and interpretive, analytical skills by examining each work for formal aspects of genre and resources of language. During the second semester students prepare for the Advanced Placement examination by analyzing prose passages and poetry from AP material and writing commentaries on AP samples; by examining past AP topics and applying the topics to the literature studied over the year; and by learning and practicing strategies for multiple-choice questions over literary passages. Students enrolled in this class are required to sit for the AP exam and pay for testing fees.