English

9th Grade 

English I represents the first year of a two-year program covering curriculum for both Literature and Language.  Works studied will include selections of fiction and non-fiction prose, drama, poetry, and a Shakespeare module. We focus on the acquisition of necessary skills, both written and oral, when approaching a text.

Students will learn strategies for analysis and close reading, the writing process and structure, practice with oral presentation and interactive discussion, and timed writing strategies. As a supplement to texts studied in the core curriculum, students will complete independent reading selections each semester along with an accompanying activity.

All students will partake in lessons introducing college preparatory skills in order to provide a solid foundation for the remainder of their high school English classes.

10th Grade

English II represents the second year of a two-year program covering curriculum for both Literature and Language. Works studied will include selections of both fiction and non-fiction prose, drama, poetry, and a Shakespeare module. Students in this course will continue to build on the foundation of skills they developed in English I.  

We also focus on the writing process, oral commentaries, and both individual and group presentations. Students produce a variety of written and oral responses based upon the literature studied. As a supplement to texts studied in the core curriculum, students will complete independent reading selections each semester along with an accompanying activity.

Regardless of which academic track students follow their junior and senior year, this course provides the necessary tools to equip them in these college preparatory classes.

11th Grade 

This course is designed to be the first of a two-year program that will prepare students for the rigor and intensity they can expect from college level courses. Students will develop their abilities to link elements of form (historical background, themes, tone, character development, conflict, figurative language, etc.) to meaning. Students will be able to explain how words work together on the page to create meaning and convey the author’s purpose.

Students will now hone skills by examining more complex texts and tackling more intensive written and oral assignments. They will perform close readings of texts and write rhetorically sound compositions in which their opinions and insights are supported with evidence from the text. Students will read a variety of prose, drama, and poetry throughout the year, chosen from the American and European canon, including some works read in translation. 

12th Grade 

This second of a two-year course is built on the premise that the study of Literature provides numerous opportunities for encouraging independent, original and critical thinking. It also promotes a healthy respect for the imagination and a perceptive approach to understanding and interpretation of literary works. As a student progresses through the course they will become a confident reader of a range of texts and their skills of response and analysis will be improved.

Students will continue to hone skills by examining more complex texts and tackling more intensive written and oral assignments. Students will use critical concepts and a wide range of new terminology and they will also be encouraged to work independently and decide on their own interpretations of the texts that they read. The texts are chosen from the American and European canon as well as literature from other languages and cultures read in translation.