Language Arts Literacy
Students must take and pass a year of English each year that he/she attends the high school. English courses are
sequential and prerequisites of each other so a student must take and pass English 1 before English 2, and
English 2 before English 3, etc.
Student must have 20 credits in English in order to graduate (4 years of English at 5 credits per year).
Language Arts Course Offerings 2012-2013
HONORS ENGLISH 1
Full Year Grade 9 5 credits
This course covers a balance of reading, writing and communication skills. Literature covered will consist of drama, short stories, poetry, novels, and myths and legends. Writing will be taught in connection with the literature as well as in a separate unit. Students will be expected to perform at a well above average level in reading and writing and to meet more stringent academic classroom and outside the classroom requirements.
This course should be taken by college bound students who want to prepare themselves for the honors program in tenth grade or for the more difficult elective courses in the twelfth grade.
Special Note: To take this course student must have the recommendation of a language arts teacher.
ENGLISH 1
Full Year Grade 9 5 credits
This course covers reading, writing, and communication skills. The literature and writing are similar to that presented in English 1 Honors. Test-taking and study skills along with reading comprehension and vocabulary growth are also stressed.
This course should be taken by students who are either college or non-college bound but who can perform at grade-level in reading and writing. It is the course to be taken by the majority of incoming freshmen.
HONORS ENGLISH 2
Full Year Grade 10 5 credits
This course covers novels, short stories, drama (contemporary and Shakespearean) and poetry, primarily using selections from American Literature. There will be concentration on different kinds of writing, vocabulary skills, and SAT preparation. It is an accelerated course.
Special Note: This is an honors course and requires the recommendation of an English teacher.
Prerequisite is English 1 Honors or special permission of the department. Parents must also give approval. A writing portfolio may be required before placement is finalized. Since this is an honors course, grades are weighted for class rank.
ENGLISH 2
Full year Grade 10 5 credits
This course involves a full-year‘s integrated study of American Literature, language, and composition. Readings will be drawn primarily from American Literature. This literature will supply the basis for creative and analytical writing for the course. Students who want a college preparatory background should take this course.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH 3: LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
Full Year Grade 11 5 credits
This course will cover a full-year‘s study of various types of British Literature. It is an accelerated course. Incorporated into this study of British Literature will be Advanced Placement Language and Composition, a program designed to improve analytical writing and reading through rigorous study. Students who successfully complete this course will be well prepared to take senior Advanced Placement Literature and Composition.
HONORS ENGLISH 3
Full Year Grade 11 5 credits
This course covers a full year‘s study of various types of literature (novels, plays, poetry, essays) using primarily British literature readings. It is an accelerated course, and writing will be based on the literature read. General composition instruction and vocabulary study are included. A research paper is required. This course should be taken by students who have successfully completed English 2 Honors and are planning to go on to Advanced Placement English in their senior year. (Students who have not had English 2 Honors must have approval of the department).
Special Note: This is an honors course and requires the recommendation of the tenth grade English teacher and parental approval. A writing portfolio may be required before placement is finalized. Since this is an honors course, grades are weighted for class rank.
ENGLISH 3
Full Year Grade 11 5 credits
This course involves a full-year‘s integrated study of British Literature, language, and composition. Reading will be drawn primarily from British Literature. Analytical and creative writing will be generated by the readings. Students who want a college preparatory background should take this course. SAT verbal skills will be covered in this course.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH 4: LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
Full Year Grade 12 5 credits
During the first semester this course covers a study of tragedy: plays, theory, and criticism. The second semester concentrates on comedy. During both semesters, there will be assigned outside readings of novels, in class study of poems, and both impromptu and assigned compositions. Students will be expected to read and discuss in depth a number of works by the great writers of literature. This is an accelerated course and should be taken by students who want to gain college credit by taking the Advanced Placement examination in May. (Students are not required to take the exam.) Students must have successfully completed AP English 3, English 3 Honors or be approved by the department.
HONORS ENGLISH 4
Full Year Grade 12 5 credits
This course will offer students who are currently enrolled in Junior Honors English an opportunity to do advanced work in English without the constraints of the Advanced Placement course. This course will integrate reading and writing skills through the teaching of Greek and Shakespearean drama and contemporary world literature in conjunction with composition. A senior research paper and/or senior project will showcase student learning.
Special Note: This is an honors course and requires the recommendation of the eleventh grade English teacher and parental approval. A writing portfolio may be required before placement is finalized. Since this is an honors course, grades are weighted for class rank.
ENGLISH 4
Full Year Grade 12 5 credits
This course will blend the teaching of literature and composition into a full-year course. Readings for this course will be drawn from a variety of genre including but not limited to Greek and Shakespearean drama, and contemporary world literature. A senior research paper/project will showcase student learning.
PUBLIC SPEAKING
Full Year Grade 9-12 5 credits
This course covers the communication process and the four levels of communication: self-communication, one-to-one, small group, and one-to-many. Students will be expected to prepare and deliver a variety of oral presentations. Participation in group activities will be required in addition to a final oral presentation. This course should be taken by students who want to develop new sensitivity and skills in communicating with others on individual, social, and career levels.
Special Note: Outside reading and writing for speech preparation will be required.
SAT ENGLISH
This class is recommended for college-bound juniors and seniors planning to take the SAT and/or ACT. Almost all undergraduate colleges and universities require that prospective students take either the ACT or the SAT; most students take both. Taking this course will prepare students for all of the question types found on the SAT and ACT. We will analyze each of the test question areas and give special consideration to verbal refreshers and techniques aimed at relieving test-taking anxiety. Topics include sentence completions and reading comprehension for the reading section, grammar and essay writing for the writing section, scientific concepts for the science section.
ESL I
Full Year Grade 9-10 5 credits
This course aims at developing students’ ability to handle of variety of basic social situations (introductions, ordering meals, asking questions, making purchases, taking and leaving simple messages, etc.). Students will learn to tell simple stories and describe pictures in simple sentences, and to understand simple narratives. They will also increase their English vocabulary. The course includes an introduction to North American vowels and consonants as well as basic intonation patterns.
ESL II
Full Year Grade 10-11 5 credits
This course includes a review of basic sentence types and simple tense forms and introduces the students to a variety of higher-level grammatical constructions, with a particular focus on developing the students’ ability to use simple, continuous and perfective forms; modern verbs; comparatives constructions; and quantifiers.
ESL III
Full Year Grade 11-12 5 credits
This course includes a thorough review of the English tense and aspect system as well as basic principles of capitalization and punctuation. The course focuses on complex and compound sentences ( including relative clauses and embedded questions), conditional forms; passive, gerunds, infinitives, and perspective forms with modal verbs.