August 2013 

Academic English requires students to have accountability, responsibility, and ability to organize time and materials. These students are able to handle outside reading assignments and move at a fast pace. Competency with abstract ideas and problem solving are integral to these independent, self-motivated learners. This level meets the requirements for any student planning to pursue post-secondary education. This college preparatory course expands the students’ language arts skills. The comprehensive study of composition and grammar (including usage and mechanics) enables students to express their thoughts in a clear and meaningful way through all four modes of writing. The literature program, which includes discussion and analysis, encourages an exchange of ideas and information among students while creating literature-based research topics for compositions, presentations, and speeches.

August 2013 

Honors English requires students to have strong verbal skills and excellent reading comprehension and writing skills. Students electing this course need to be self-motivated, inquisitive with a strong work ethic, and have a high level of academic integrity. They have the ability to think logically, independently, and creatively and to complete advanced complex assignments. This college preparatory course encourages independent thinking and creativity through discussion and written analysis of literary works.  The writing program strengthens the students’ skills in the four areas of composition:  exposition, narration, persuasion, and description. By studying the structure of the language (including usage and mechanics), students learn how to refine their writing techniques.  This course, as part of the literature program is coordinated with the ninth grade social studies course and enhances the students’ appreciation of literature and its historical significance.

September 2020 

This college preparatory course with an emphasis on the Keystone exam will focus on different types of skills that are needed for reading, writing, speaking and listening. Students will participate in small group discussion and full class literary discussions in addition to activities that are geared toward qualities of the Profile of a Graduate to analyze texts at a deeper level. They will read, discuss, and analyze short stories, novels, drama, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Students will practice various styles of writing, both formally and informally, in MLA format such as essays, criticisms, short stories, and a research paper while improving grammar and vocabulary. Additionally, there will be a strong emphasis on progressing speaking, technology, and critical thinking skills toward college and career level expectations.

July 2020

This honors course with a strong emphasis on the Keystone exam will focus on different types of skills that are needed for reading, writing, speaking and listening. Students will participate in small group discussion and full class literary discussions both in person and virtually in addition to activities that are geared toward qualities of the Profile of a Graduate to analyze texts at a deeper level. They will read, discuss, and analyze fiction, nonfiction, drama, poetry, and novels. Students will practice various styles of writing, both formally and informally, in MLA format such as essays, articles, criticisms, short stories, and a research paper while improving grammar and vocabulary. Some of the student-written products may be eligible for publication. Additionally, there will be a strong emphasis on progressing speaking, technology, and critical thinking skills toward college and career level expectations.

 July 2013 

English requires that students understand detailed information, deal with concrete ideas, solve problems, read independently, and write satisfactorily.  They have both social and organizational skills and are competent at essay and life skills writing.  Tenth-grade English is a full-year course involving a composite of four subject areas:  literature, composition, grammar, and vocabulary.  In the area of literature, the study of short story, poetry, drama, and novel genres introduces and examines the elements of fiction in order to gain appreciation and experience.  The composition area presents the basic writing skills through process writing.  The grammar portion of the course covers the basics of grammar as they apply to writing.  The course integrates vocabulary studies to enable the student to read and write on grade level and to speak more precisely. 

June 2005 

Academic American Literature requires students to have accountability, responsibility, and ability to organize time and materials. These students are able to handle outside reading assignments and move at a fast pace. Competency with abstract ideas and problem solving are integral to these independent, self-motivated learners. This level meets the requirements for any student planning to pursue post-secondary education. This course is designed for college-bound juniors. A timeline approach to our nation’s major writers is pursued beginning with the colonial era of the 1600’s and concluding with modern day literature. In addition to the course text, eight full-length novels/dramas are read. Evaluations include essay tests, analytical compositions, and objective quizzes and tests, and other approved projects. During the second semester, students are required to write an eight-to ten-page research paper on an approved topic using a minimum of five sources. The historical and cultural events connected to our national literature are also primary focuses. A vocabulary program for college-bound students is also a major component of the course.

 June 2005 

Honors American Literature requires students to have strong verbal skills and excellent reading, comprehension, and writing skills.  They are self-motivated, inquisitive with a strong work ethic and a high level of academic integrity. They have the ability to think logically, independently, and creatively and to complete advanced complex assignments.  This academic course explores in detail the literature of our country from its colonial origins to modern day in a sequential format. The historical and cultural events connected to our national literature are also primary focuses.  Reading twelve major American novels/dramas, in addition to the course text, is a requirement. This course is only for the student who can read independently and comprehensively.  Various essays of literary criticism are included.  Evaluations include essay tests, analytical compositions, and objective quizzes and tests.  Elements of literary style, technique, and structure are discussed.  In the second semester students write an eight-to ten-page research paper on an approved topic using a minimum of five sources.  The course also includes a vocabulary program designed for college-bound students. 

July 2020

Analyzing world literature from the Middle Ages of the Anglo-Saxons to the Modern Age, this course introduces students to the major periods and movements of world literature and the literary styles of each literary period as students reflect upon the socio-historical context of the time. Integral parts of this course include the following: close reading, literary analysis, and varied formal written response with the integration of textual evidence in both MLA and APA formats, speeches, and class discussion/participation. Geared toward college-bound seniors, students will frequently read independently to think logically, collaboratively, and creatively to complete formative and summative assessments that include refinement of written expression and oratory in preparation for post-high school success. Overall, the course offers students an opportunity to analyze all varied genres and literary styles correlating to each work’s cultural and historical events during which they were written while gaining mastery of written and verbal expression.

July 2020

Analyzing world literature from the Middle Ages of the Anglo-Saxons to the Modern Age, this course introduces students to the major periods and movements of World literature and the literary styles of each literary period as students reflect upon the socio-historical context of the time. Cultures include American, British, Chinese, Arabian, and African to name a few. Integral parts of this course include the following: close reading, literary analysis, analytical writing with the integration of textual evidence in APA format, speeches, class discussion, and online participation. The world literature curriculum also gives students the opportunity to experience career exploration, write scholarship and college essays, and practice 21st century skills such as e-mail etiquette, social media presence, blogging, technology enhancement, and possibly grant writing.

July 2020 

Designed for students proficient in English, this course will provide an enriching experience in the study of literature and advanced composition, as it fulfills the curricular requirements of the AP English Course Description. The literature spans the sixteenth through the twentieth centuries, with an emphasis on written response to and class discussion of reading assignments including short prose, novels, drama, and poetry of literary merit completed at a rapid pace. The major works assigned may vary slightly from year to year, but the study of literary elements and the analytical writing process remains the same. Refining writing technique will be a primary focus through literary analyses (both argumentative and interpretive), which implement various critical approaches, and the study of composition, including varied sentence structure, mechanics, transitioning, and precise word choice. Throughout this process, students will perfect their writing skills through revision and submittal of drafts.

American Literature requires students to have accountability, responsibility, and ability to organize time and materials.  These students are able to handle outside reading assignments and move at a fast pace.  Competency with abstract ideas and problem solving are integral to these independent, self-motivated learners.  This level meets the requirements for any student planning to pursue post-secondary education.  This course is designed for college-bound juniors.  A timeline approach to our nation’s major writers is pursued beginning with the colonial era of the 1600’s and concluding with modern day literature.  In addition to the course text, eight full-length novels/dramas are read.  Evaluations include essay tests, analytical compositions, and objective quizzes and tests, and other approved projects.  During the second semester, students are required to write an eight-to ten-page research paper on an approved topic using a minimum of five sources.  The historical and cultural events connected to our national literature are also primary focuses.  A vocabulary program for college-bound students is also a major component of the course. 

June 2013

An AP course in English Language and Composition engages students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes, specifically the rhetorical analysis, synthesis, and argumentative exam prompts. Both their writing and their reading should make students who elect this course aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects, as well as the way genre conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing. The class prepares students to take the AP Exam which ordinarily consists of 60 minutes for multiple-choice questions, a 15-minute reading period to read the sources for the synthesis essay and plan a response, and 120 minutes for essay questions. Students should expect that there will be substantial writing to prepare for the exam in the course of the year.

Contemporary Literature is a course designed to enable students to accurately analyze and interpret literature and improve reading comprehension skills.  Through key concepts of literary analysis, students will be challenged by works in contemporary literature to evaluate conventions of literary style, incorporate new vocabulary from the diction of accomplished authors, apply key literary terms and concepts to their literary analysis, develop skills in utilizing literary synthesis and application to their reading, improve non-fiction reading for understanding, and by incorporating fictional literature from more modern authors, student engagement will expand student literary appreciation. 

July 2020

Media Journalism is a course geared toward college-bound seniors. This course is designed to give students opportunities to obtain, refine, and reflect upon twenty-first century criticalthinking and communication skills via comprehension and analysis of varied media (news, film, narrative, and social media). Students will be provided opportunities to develop personal interests through research, communicate with poise, and master reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. Additionally, students will gain practice analyzing and inferring as a structure for making effective judgment, summarizing a conclusion, or taking action. Students will have multiple opportunities to learn and apply the foundations of communication regarding impacting an audience via discussion, oral presentation, and written response to showcase mastery of journalistic conventions including distinguishing bias, understanding techniques of persuasion, and developing effective word choice with an awareness of varied audiences.