Course Description Booklet
ENGLISH
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Course Title |
Prerequisite |
Credit |
Grade Offered |
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Will meet the English 1 requirement: |
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English 1 |
8th Grade English |
1.0 |
9 |
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Honors English 1 |
8th Grade English Standardized Test Scores /Application |
1.0 |
9 |
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Will meet the English 2 requirement: |
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English 2 |
English 1 |
1.0 |
10 |
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English 2 Enriched |
English 1 |
1.0 |
10 |
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Honors English 2 |
English 1 |
1.0 |
10 |
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Will meet the English 3 requirement: |
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English 3 |
English 2 |
1.0 |
11 |
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English 3 Enriched |
English 2 |
1.0 |
11 |
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AP Language and Composition |
English 2 |
1.0 |
11 |
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Will meet the English 4 requirement: (Seniors must complete 1.0 credits in total.) Critical Reading or Writing Workshop must account for .5 of the English 4 requirement unless student is enrolled in AP or British Literature: |
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AP Language and Composition * |
English 3 (Seniors may enroll in AP Language if they did not take the course as juniors.) |
1.0 |
12 |
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AP Literature and Composition* |
English 3 |
1.0 |
12 |
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Enriched World Literature* |
English 3 |
1.0 |
12 |
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OR |
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Critical Reading (Blended Option available) |
English 3 |
0.5 |
12 |
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AND |
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Writer’s Workshop (Blended Option available) |
English 3 |
0.5 |
12 |
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Contemporary Literature |
English 3 |
0.5 |
12 |
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Creative Writing |
English 3 |
0.5 |
12 |
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Media Literacy and Composition |
English 3 |
0.5 |
12 |
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English Elective Courses Will NOT meet graduation requirements for English but can be taken for elective credit: |
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Drama |
None |
0.5 |
9-12 |
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Advanced Drama |
Drama |
0.5 |
9-12 |
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Speech Communications and Performance |
None |
0.5 |
9-12 |
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Journalism |
None |
0.5 |
9-12 |
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Journalism Production |
Journalism |
0.5 |
9-12 |
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Broadcast Production |
English 1 |
0.5 |
10-12 |
* AP Language, AP Literature, or British/World Literature as a SENIOR satisfies the English 4 Critical Reading or Writer’s Workshop requirement.
ENGLISH
English 1
English 1 is designed to help students build an academic foundation in reading, writing, speaking, and critical thinking. English 1 utilizes an inquiry-based approach that emphasizes the connections between these domains. Students study a variety of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama that is conceptually linked by an essential question. Students write a number of multi-paragraph argumentative essays, as well as participate in formal and informal discussion and debate. Successful completion of this course is a prerequisite for English 2. Incoming students are expected to complete required summer reading.
Prerequisite: 8thgrade English
Level: 9
Credit: 1.0
Honors English 1
This course is the first in a pair of pre-Advanced Placement courses designed to challenge students to engage in rigorous academic work. This honors class focuses on the same critical reading and argumentative writing skills that freshmen study in English 1; it is, however, through a more critical lens. Students develop their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills through the analysis of novels, plays, poetry, and informational text and engage infrequent and varied writing experiences with a specific focus on formal argumentation and reasoning. The assignments in this course prepare students for future honors and Advanced Placement English courses, so the course is reading and writing intensive. Incoming students are expected to complete required summer reading and writing.
Prerequisite: 8thgrade English and Standardized Test Scores or Student Application
Level: 9
Credit: 1.0
English 2
English 2 helps students continue the development of their reading, writing, speaking, and critical thinking skills. The course follows an inquiry-based curriculum in which students attempt to uncover answers to the question, Who controls my future? Students develop their argumentation skills and also prepare and deliver researched speeches and engage in active reading activities. Students will study novels, plays, poetry, and non-fiction prose in an effort to maximize their exposure to the literary canon, as well as contemporary fiction, film, and other important current events. Passing English 2 is a prerequisite for taking English 3. Incoming students are expected to complete required summer reading.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 1
Level: 10
Credit: 1.0
English 2 Enriched
The Enriched curriculum is modeled after the English 2 Honors curriculum and may be considered a preparatory course for AP English. Students engage in close reading, literary analysis, and argumentation. This course is more reading and writing intensive than English 2. Students who intend to attend a four-year college or university should enroll in enriched or honors. Incoming students are expected to complete required summer reading.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 1
Level: 10
Credit: 1.0
Honors English 2
This course is a natural extension of English 1 Honors and serves as a bridge to the Advanced Placement English program. In this college preparatory course, students begin to hone their writing, reading, and speaking skills primarily through inquiry-based units that examine concepts such as dystopia, satire, and comedy. Students can expect to encounter frequent and varied writing experiences requiring greater sophistication in the use of support and depth of analysis. Incoming students are expected to complete required summer reading and writing.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 1 Honors or English 1
Level: 10
Credit: 1.0
English 3
Students in English 3 focus primarily on American works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The study of literature will focus on gender, coming of age, and what it means to live an authentic life, as well as address rebellion, loss, and the American Dream. Students will continue to develop their facility with multi-paragraph essays and public speaking. Additionally, students are expected to research as a component of this course. Successful completion of English 3 is a prerequisite for taking any English 4 course. Incoming students are expected to complete required summer reading.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 2 and English and Communication 2
Level: 11
Credit: 1.0
English 3 Enriched
The Enriched curriculum is modeled after the AP Language and Composition curriculum and may be considered a preparatory course for British/World Literature or AP English Literature (or AP Language itself). This course is more reading and writing intensive than English 3 and is designed for students who intend to enroll in a two or four-year College or university. Incoming students are expected to complete required summer reading.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 2 Enriched or English 2
Level: 11
Credit: 1.0
Advanced Placement Courses
Advanced Placement – English Language and Composition
The College Board states, “The AP English Language and Composition course is designed to help students become skilled readers of prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts and to become skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Both their writing and their reading should make students aware of the interactions among a writer's purposes, audience expectations, and subjects as well as the way generic conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing.”
This course is comparable to an introductory rhetoric course offered at most colleges. Upon completion students will be able to write critical analysis papers, respond to ideas holistically and with complexity, and evaluate the values and philosophies apparent in historically relevant works of literature. This course requires that students learn to write timed essays in argumentative and analytical styles. AP essays call for an increased sensitivity to the nuances of voice, tone, and intent. As a result of their studies, students will be prepared for and expected to take the Advanced Placement Language and Composition examination in May. Students in AP Language should be willing to make the increased time commitment of a college level course. Incoming students are expected to complete required summer reading and writing.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 2 Honors or English 2 Enriched
Level: 11 or 12 (Seniors may enroll if they have not previously taken the course.)
Credit: 1.0
Advanced Placement – English Literature and Composition
According to the College Board, “The AP English Literature and Composition course is designed to engage students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through the close reading of selected texts, students can deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. As they read,students should consider a work's structure, style, and themes, as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone.”
This course is comparable to an introduction to literature course at most colleges. By the end of the course, students will be able to respond critically and independently, both orally and in writing, to the ideas, values, and philosophies inherent in various genres of literature. Through their study, students will sharpen their awareness of language and their understanding of the writer’s craft. Further, they will develop critical standards for the independent appreciation of any literary work. To achieve these goals, students will study the individual work, its language, characters, action, and themes. They will consider a work’s contemporary meaning, as well as its significance during the time in which it was written. As a result of their studies, students will be prepared for and expected to take the Advanced Placement Literature and Composition examination in May. Students should be willing to make the increased time commitment of a college level English class. Incoming students are expected to complete required summer reading and writing.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of AP Language, American Studies, English 3 Enriched
Level: 12
Credit: 1.0
The following English 4 courses meet the English graduation requirements in addition to AP English. These courses CANNOT replace English 1, 2, or 3.
English 4 - Enriched World Literature
This course provides an opportunity to study literature from countries around the world. The material is organized around thematic units based on broad questions addressed and explored throughout the literature. Students study and discuss significant works from ancient times through the twentieth century. The main objective is to study the changing concepts of humanity over time. Students will compare cultures, values, attitudes, and characteristics of various societies while improving writing, reading, listening, speaking, and critical thinking skills. Students will be given the opportunity to compose and/or perform an independent researched project as part of the curriculum. Incoming students are expected to complete required summer reading.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 3 Enriched, American Studies, or English 3
Level: 12
Credit: 1.0
If a student is not enrolled in a year-long course for English 4, he or she must take Critical Reading and an English Option Course.
English 4 - Critical Reading
Critical Reading is a one-semester course that focuses on a student’s development of an identity as a reader. Students work with a variety of texts including newspaper and magazine articles, develop strategies for reading texts from varied subjects, and recognize nuances of meaning. Students will practice making complex inferences, specifically examining how tone affects meaning. Seniors in the Critical Reading course will be expected to write in response to their reading and will engage in large and small group discussion about the texts that the class reads together. There will be opportunities for students to select materials for independent reading. Incoming students are expected to complete required summer reading.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 3
Level: 12
Credit: 0.5
English 4 Options:
English 4 - Writing Workshop
This writing course will serve the needs of students who have a personal interest in further developing their writing skills. Students in this class work on composing argumentative, narrative and expository writing. Students will participate in many activities that the teacher determines to be of general interest to those who want to improve their writing. Incoming students are expected to complete required summer reading.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 3
Level: 12
Credit: 0.5
English 4 - Contemporary Literature
This is a semester course that focuses on literature of the 20thand 21st century. The works represent a variety of genres including short fiction, novels, plays, poems,and non-fiction prose. As in other English classes, the students engage in discussions about literature as well as write in response to what they have read, yet the texts enable students to understand how culture is a product of or impetus for literary forms. Students will engage in an independent research project as part of the curriculum. Incoming students are expected to complete required summer reading.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 3
Level: 12
Credit: 0.5
English 4 – Media Literacy and Composition
Media Literacy students will examine the foundations of our society’s mass media and consider the elements that shape social, political,and consumer thought. They will also consider how media reinforces stereotypes and impacts our attitudes towards violence, sexuality, and democracy. Students will analyze media messages to engage them as products designed not only to inform or entertain but to persuade. The strength of this course will grow out of the experience participants have already developed when interpreting the complicated mix of culture and mass media. The course features an interactive website that encourages several technologies such as internet forums and student published blogs to build further communications of the content of this course. Students will engage in a capstone research activity with the opportunity to deliver their findings at a community forum. Incoming students are expected to complete required summer reading.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 3
Level: 12
Credit: 0.5
English 4 - Creative Writing
This course focuses on the reading, writing, and performing of poetry, short stories, and other creative genres. Through the study of great writers from Walt Whitman to Buddy Wakefield, students work to expand, develop, and reinvent the writing craft. Creative Writing also explores the working world (business, advertising, etc.). The course is writing intensive, so interested students must be committed to beginning (or continuing) daily writing practices. The course requires one research project, a portfolio of original works, and submissions to poetry journals, as well as attendance at one of the various events hosted by the Creative Writing Club. Incoming students are expected to complete required summer reading.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 3
Level: 12
Credit: 0.5
Elective Courses
The following English courses may be taken for elective credit. They do NOT meet English graduation requirements. These courses CANNOT replace English 1, 2, or 3.
Speech Communications and Performance
In Speech Communications and Performance students study the aspects of effective interpersonal and public communication and apply these skills through the performance of speeches. Students will engage in structured discussion opportunities and will have a variety of occasions for public speaking. As the students shift from one speaking occasion to another, they will attend to changes in audience needs, technique, format, and emphasis. Students will also study effective communications through video, readings, and guest speakers. Students will also participate in the critical assessment of their own speech performance and the performances of others. (This course maybe repeated more than once for elective credit.)
Prerequisite: None
Level: 9-12
Credit: 0.5
Drama
This course is designed to acquaint students to theatrical production with the primary emphasis placed on acting. The course combines both practical and academic aspects of drama including explorations of theater history and dramatic literature. Students will develop self-confidence and composure as they work with others in class exercises in imagination, movement, voice, improvisation, character development, and memorization. Students will also begin to explore some of the theater’s related arts.
Prerequisite: None
Level: 9-12
Credit: 0.5
Advanced Drama
Advanced Drama offers students the chance to continue their study of the theatrical arts. Students in this class will read and study a variety of plays that will expand their knowledge of the different subgenres of the play. Students will focus on the importance of character development for performance and will participate in scene work to expand their understanding of acting styles and techniques. Students will also study other aspects of production such as set and costume design. (This course can be repeated more than once for elective credit.)
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Drama
Level: 10-12
Credit: 0.5
Broadcast Production
This one-semester course extends students' training in broadcast communication. Students will continue to develop skills in writing, editing, and speaking for a broadcast. They will also have editorial responsibilities in finding, developing, and planning newsworthy stories for production. Students will also apply their knowledge to the production of "Wildcat Weekly." There will be a $10 lab fee for this course. Senior students are granted enrollment first. (This course can be repeated more than once for elective credit.)
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 1
Level: 10-12
Credit: 0.5
Journalism
This class introduces students to the basic concepts of news writing and newspaper publication. After completing the class, students will be able to conduct interviews and use this information effectively in a story. Students will learn to compose and revise stories for publication. Students will have the opportunity to understand newspapers more thoroughly, begin writing for the school paper, and develop confidence in their ability to write. Students may take Journalism while also taking another English class at the same time.
Prerequisite: 8thgrade English
Level: 9-12
Credit: 0.5
Journalism Production
Journalism Production is responsible for publishing the school newspaper, The Wildcat Chronicle. The class expects students to work as responsible journalists while they conduct interviews, write stories, and determine the content of the newspaper. Students are also responsible for page design, photography, editing, proofreading, desktop publishing, and attending events outside of class hours. While on the newspaper staff students will learn to cooperate in a group and work independently as they polish their journalism skills. Students may take Journalism production while also taking another English course. Journalism Production may be taken for a semester or the entire year. (This course can be repeated more than once for elective credit.)
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Journalism
Level: 9-12
Credit: 0.5