Students in English 9 grapple with perennial issues pertaining to their sense of identity and self; they explore issues revolving around culture, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and mental health. Through reading, writing, and discussion, students will explore the impact of these aspects of identity within the literary characters, their peers, and themselves, with an eye toward increasing empathy and connection within our community. Representative texts include “Animal Farm,” “Lord of the Flies,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “American Born Chinese,” and “Romeo and Juliet.” Individualized vocabulary instruction is a key component of the course.

Students in Honors English 9 grapple with perennial issues pertaining to their sense of identity and self; they explore issues revolving around culture, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and mental health. Through reading, writing, and discussion, students will explore the impact of these aspects of identity within the literary characters, their peers, and themselves, with an eye toward increasing empathy and connection within our community. Representative texts include “The Catcher in the Rye,” “Animal Farm,” “Lord of the Flies,” “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and “Romeo and Juliet.” Individualized vocabulary instruction is a key component of the course. The honors section of English 9 is a more in-depth, fast-paced version of the course, designed for students who desire a greater challenge.

English 10 is a global study that takes students around the world, exploring a variety of genres from writers across time and spanning the seven continents; those genres include not only novels, graphic novels, short stories, and plays, but also memoirs, essays, poetry, lectures, speeches, TED Talks, treaties, letters, and sacred texts. The literature selections all focus on the theme of power: how power has been handled poorly by leaders around the world, and also how power can be handled effectively for the greater good. Students hone skills in critical reading and thinking, as well as spoken and written communication, through a wide variety of activities, including research, multimedia presentations, hands-on art and building projects, theatrical performances, grammar practice, discussion, and writing. Students write in a range of formats: poetry and other creative writing, journal entries, formal literary analysis, and personal reflection. Systematic vocabulary instruction is a key component of the course.

Honors English 10 is a global study that takes students around the world, exploring a variety of genres from writers across time and spanning the seven continents. The literature selections all focus on the theme of power: how power has been handled poorly by leaders around the world, and also how power can be handled effectively for the greater good. As part of the honors course, students will identify the rhetorical situation of various writings and analyze how writers construct their arguments. Students hone skills in critical reading and thinking, analytical writing, as well as spoken and written communication, through a wide variety of activities, projects, and writing assignments. Individualized vocabulary instruction is a key component of the course. The honors section of Global Genres is a more in-depth, fast-paced version of the course, designed for students who desire a greater challenge.

English 11 surveys American authors representing the major periods, schools, and traditions in American literary history. The course moves chronologically in conjunction with the U.S. history course, allowing for analysis of texts in their historical and cultural contexts. The course begins with Native American poetry, followed by texts written by influential authors, including Jonathan Edwards; Anne Bradstreet; Patrick Henry; Frederick Douglass; Mark Twain; Ralph Waldo Emerson; Henry David Thoreau; Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson; F. Scott Fitzgerald; Zora Neale Hurston; T.S.Eliot, and Tim O'Brien. A wide range of assessments helps develop analytical, communicative, and creative skills, Research, writing, and documentation are taught through formal research on an American novel of the student's choosing. Individualized vocabulary instruction is a key component of the course.

English 11 surveys American authors representing the major periods, schools, and traditions in American literary history. The course moves chronologically in conjunction with the U.S. history course, allowing for analysis of texts in their historical and cultural contexts. Representative texts include the work of influential authors such as Jonathan Edwards, Anne Bradstreet, Patrick Henry, Frederick Douglass, Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zora Neale Hurston, T.S.Eliot, and Tim O'Brien. A wide range of assessments and activities helps develop analytical, communicative, and creative skills. Research, writing, and documentation are taught through formal research on an American novel of the student's choosing. Individualized vocabulary instruction is a key component of the course. The honors section of English 11 is a more in-depth, fast-paced version of the course, designed for students who desire a greater challenge.

The AP English Language and Composition course is designed to help students become skilled readers and writers through writing expository, analytical, and argumentative compositions. This course uses an exploration of American voices in literature to teach all of the skills necessary for success on the AP Language and Composition exam. Among other skills, students will learn to identify and explain an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques. Though the course is novel based, one guiding text is “Conversations in American Literature: Language, Rhetoric, Culture.” In addition to readings in the anthology, representative texts include: “Into the Wild,” “Ceremony,” “The Crucible,” “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” and “The Things They Carried.”

This course explores the features of contemporary fiction and non-fiction, with emphasis on the diverse work and methods of American writers publishing today, and fosters students’ creative writing, focusing on the creation of an individual portfolio.

The goal of this course is to explore the features of current fiction, with an emphasis on the diverse work and methods of American writers publishing today. Students will read, discuss, and critique contemporary titles, addressing such topics as literary merit and what constitutes popular fiction. Students read a variety of writers, styles, and topics with the aim of fostering a love of reading while encountering issues relevant to our ever-changing world.

College Composition prepares students to practice the different modes of writing they will explore during their first year of college. Students are expected to craft thoughtful, insightful, and researched pieces of writing in a variety of modes with careful attention to the conventions of the English language. During each unit, students will read model work before crafting their own essays in various modes. Essays will be reviewed during writer’s conferences with the teacher. Responding to feedback on writing skills is expected, and essays will be taken through the revision process. The final assessment will be a comprehensive portfolio of student work.

The purpose of this course is to foster students' individual development as creative writers. While studying the masters of poetry, the short story, creative nonfiction, the play, and other forms, students experiment with those forms themselves. Students learn to become aware of their own writing process, style, preferences, and weaknesses, while stretching themselves as writers and trying new ideas. Assessment focuses on the creation of an individual portfolio that reflects the student's growth. Designed to prepare students to engage at the college level, the course format closely mirrors the format of collegiate writing workshops.

During his brilliant career, William Shakespeare wrote nearly 40 plays and more than 150 sonnets. In this semester course, students explore stories that are as relevant today as they were 400 years ago, while considering the social issues that influenced and inspired the remarkable Bard of Avon. Students read Shakespeare’s sonnets, poems, and plays, including a tragedy and a comedy. Students should develop critical-thinking and communication skills through analytical writing, class discussion, and performance. Individualized vocabulary instruction is a key component of the course. The honors section of this English 12 Seminar is a more in-depth, fast-paced version of the course, designed for students who desire a greater challenge.

During his brilliant career, William Shakespeare wrote nearly 40 plays and more than 150 sonnets. In this semester course, students explore stories that are as relevant today as they were 400 years ago, while considering the social issues that influenced and inspired the remarkable Bard of Avon. Students read Shakespeare’s sonnets, poems, and plays, including a tragedy and a comedy. Students should develop critical-thinking and communication skills through analytical writing, class discussion, and performance. Individualized vocabulary instruction is a key component of the course. The honors section of this English 12 Seminar is a more in-depth, fast-paced version of the course, designed for students who desire a greater challenge.

This semester course will focus on the study of literature developed during the Harlem Renaissance. Students will read a novel and a variety of essays, short stories, and poetry as a class and will complete one author study independently, which will serve as the topic for a research paper. In addition, students will be immersed in artistic and cultural expression of the period, considering what historical influences led to this pivotal period in American history and how it has affected American culture today. In all of their reading, viewing, and listening experiences, students will write and speak reflectively in a variety of modes and formats both formal (essays, presentations, etc) and informal (journals, discussion, etc). To develop their means of communication and expression, they will also perform consistent vocabulary work through an independently driven online tool. The honors section of this English 12 Seminar is a more in-depth, fast-paced version of the course, designed for students who desire a greater challenge.

This semester course will focus on the study of literature developed during the Harlem Renaissance. Students will read a novel and a variety of essays, short stories, and poetry as a class and will complete one author study independently, which will serve as the topic for a research paper. In addition, students will be immersed in artistic and cultural expression of the period, considering what historical influences led to this pivotal period in American history and how it has affected American culture today. In all of their reading, viewing, and listening experiences, students will write and speak reflectively in a variety of modes and formats both formal (essays, presentations, etc) and informal (journals, discussion, etc). To develop their means of communication and expression, they will also perform consistent vocabulary work through an independently driven online tool. The honors section of this English 12 Seminar is a more in-depth, fast-paced version of the course, designed for students who desire a greater challenge.

In the AP English Literature and Composition course, students devote themselves to the study of literary works. Careful reading and critical analysis of such works of fiction, drama, and poetry, provide rich opportunities for students to develop an appreciation of ways literature reflects and comments on a range of experiences, institutions, and social structures. Students will examine the choices literary writers make and the techniques they utilize to achieve purposes and generate meanings. Students develop the skills of literary analysis and composition as they repeatedly practice analyzing poetry and prose, then compose arguments about an interpretation of a literary work. Course content and skills are presented in nine units; through each unit, the content and skills increase in challenge and complexity, with students receiving repeated opportunities to develop and apply analysis and composition skills to specific genres of literature (short fiction, poetry, novels, and plays).

The goal of this course is to help students reach an upper intermediate level of proficiency as described by CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Language) abilities guide. Skills include the ability of students to: (1) Utilize contextual and syntactic clues to interpret meaning (2) Gather most main ideas and some details from textbooks and articles (3) Identify main ideas and details in conversation (4) Determine the attitude of speakers (5) Understand main ideas and some details from academic lectures (6) Write coherent essays (7) Express personal viewpoints in fairly long stretches of discourse (8) Build vocabulary. In addition, the ESL Intermediate Course will: (1) Improve students' grammatical accuracy, including general sentence structure and verb tense and (2) Enable students to participate in discussions about current events and academic topics.