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ENGLISH
Four years are required
FOUNDATIONS
OF ENGLISH
Grade Level: 9
Length: 1 year
UC Requirement Fulfilled: B
Prerequisite: 9th grade standing
Foundations of English introduces a variety of genres of literature & writing, as well as a year-long study of grammar and vocabulary in accordance with state standards. Literature presented in the course will include short stories, non-fiction, descriptive vignettes, novels, plays, and poetry. Students will write narrative, descriptive, and analytical pieces centering around the literature presented in the course. During the first semester, novels and plays include: Of Mice and Men, The Old Man and the Sea, The Odyssey, and A House on Mango Street. During the second semester, novels and plays include: Romeo & Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird, and A Separate Peace
WORLD LITERATURE
Grade Level: 10
Length: 1 year
UC Requirement Fulfilled: B
Prerequisite: 10th grade standing
World Literature considers common themes in literature and explores how they are represented in seven different world regions. Students read poems, short stories, plays, and novels. Essay styles include: analytical, narrative, persuasive, and response to non-fiction. World Literature also includes as a year-long study of grammar and vocabulary in accordance with state standards. Novels and plays may include: Cry the Beloved Country, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, The Tempest, Midsummer’s Night Dream, Julius Caesar, Lord of the Flies, Antigone, Woman Warrior, Hiroshima, All Quiet on the Western Front, Metamorphosis, One Day in the Life of Ivan Dinesovich, A Doll’s House, and Animal Farm.
AMERICAN LITERATURE
Grade level: 11
UC Requirement filled: B
Prerequisite for each: 11th grade standing
American Literature focuses on a study of the development of the American character in literature and the social, philosophical, and historical movements that created it. Students read poems, short stories, plays, and novels. Essay styles include: analytical, narrative, comparison/contrast, reflective, interpretive, historical investigation, and research. This course also includes a year-long study of grammar and vocabulary in accordance with state standards. Novels and plays may include: Hamlet, The Crucible, The Scarlet Letter, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Great Gatsby, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, The Grapes of Wrath, and Catcher in the Rye.
ENGLISH LITERATURE THEMES
Grade Level: 12 (Spring)
Length: 1 semester
UC Requirement Fulfilled: B
Prerequisite: 12th grade standing
This course is designed to provide a study of English literature and its authors through a thematic approach. Texts may include Frankenstein, Heart of Darkness, Things Fall Apart and Othello. Students will also read many poems, short stories and critical essays. In writing, students will focus on compare and contrast, persuasion, interpretation, analysis and research. Students will also follow a grammar and vocabulary practice in alignment with state standards.
CHRONOLOGY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE
Grade Level: 12 (Fall)
Length: 1 semester
UC Requirement Fulfilled: B
Prerequisite: 12th grade standing
During this semester class students will follow a chronology of English literature from Anglo-Saxon to contemporary English literature. Students will read many poems and short stories from each time period. The novels and plays for this semester include: MacBeth, Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland, and Brave New World. Students write analytical, comparison/ contrast, interpretive, historical contact, and research essays. Grammar and vocabulary aligned to standards.
MODERN LITERATURE AND WRITING
Grade Level: 12th grade
Length: 1 year
UC Requirement Fulfilled: B
Prerequisite: 12th grade standing
Modern Literature and Writing is a year-long course for 12th grade students.
Literature units are arranged by genre, including poetry, drama, fiction,
and creative non-fiction. Analysis of the literature focuses on the writer’s
voice, style, narrative structures, themes, and elements of craftsmanship
used in the writing of a wide variety of literature expectations include
daily critical and/or creative writing assignments in preparation for college-level
reading and writing skills. Writing modes may include: analytical, comparison/contrast,
interpretive, narrative, research, reflective, business letters, and creative
writing. The course includes a year-long study of grammar and vocabulary
aligned with state standards. During the first semester, novels and plays
include: A Thousand Acres, King Lear, and Death of a Salesman. During the
second semester, novels and plays include: Sweet Thursday, The Awakening,
The English Patient, and A River Runs Through It.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH
Grade Level: 12
Length: 1 year
UC Requirement Fulfilled: B
Prerequisite: Open to 12th graders who have been successful in previous English classes.
Fee: $89 to take the A.P. exam in May
Advanced Placement English is a college level course offered to seniors selected on the basis of outstanding competence and motivation who are interested in earning college units on the basis of demonstrated college-level achievement. Students will read eight major texts, plus poetry, and they will write in-depth analyses of these works. In addition, students will explore various approaches to literary criticism in readings in Criticism. Performance on a three-hour examination in May, will determine eligibility for college units.

