English

List of 8 items.

• English 9: English Language and Literature

  The overall goal of this course is to prepare students with the critical reading and writing skills required for success across the various academic disciplines. Specific topics to be covered include the basic parts of speech and their respective functions in sentences, paragraph development, essay organization, text annotation, contextualized vocabulary study, and critical reading strategies. Teaching methodologies include both teacher and student-directed instruction. The explicit teaching of text structure, the use of graphic organizers, the modeling of writing strategies, the use of cooperative learning, the employment of a variety of discussion models, and the maintenance of reading response logs are among the methods used to engage a wide range of learning styles. The first semester’s emphasis on contemporary young adult fiction prepares students for the second semester’s study of appropriately more challenging works of literature including an introductory study of world myths and branching into both classic and contemporary sources of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. This course is required for graduation.
  
  (Year – 10 units)
  
  This course is UC-approved on the “b” list.
  
  Prerequisite: None

• Honors English 9: English Language and Literature

  The goal of Honors Language and Literature is to advance the critical reading, writing, and thinking skills of qualifying students. Mythology, along with classic and contemporary works of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction serve as points of departure for study and discussion. Students engage in the writing process, practicing a variety of writing modes including exposition, persuasion, argumentation, narration, and comparison/contrast. Students receive specific instruction in the development of strong thesis statements, effective supporting paragraphs, and logical, convincing conclusions. Teaching methodologies include both teacher and student directed instruction, direct lecture, group projects, dramatic presentations, whole class and small group discussions, and independent inquiry.
  
  Additional Information: Additional time will be required for unit projects and occasional meetings during Office Hours. Time required will vary as students’ reading and writing speeds vary, but critical attention is expected and required for this course. Additionally, summer reading and writing, Thanksgiving break reading, Christmas break reading, and Easter break reading may be assigned. 
  
  (Year – 10 units)
  
  Prerequisites: Students must be freshmen, have earned an A- or higher in their 8th grade English class, submit a writing sample, and have earned qualifying scores on the entrance exam (MAP).
  
  

   This course is UC-approved on the “b” list.

• English 10: Coming of Age Literature

  This course seeks to further develop students’ reading comprehension and literary analysis skills through the wide-ranging exploration of coming-of-age literature, with written responses to relevant prompts. Specific topics include coming-of-age and related issues of social, moral, and aesthetic development. Students will read and discuss the texts, write formal essays on related topics, and further study basic technical aspects of composition, grammar, vocabulary, and critical thought. Teachers will instruct by lecture and discussion of literary themes and related social justice issues. Students will develop an understanding of texts and themes through group work, dramatic re-creations, and oral presentations.
  
  (Year – 10 units)
  
  Prerequisites: Students must be sophomores and have passed English 9
  
  This course is UC-approved on the “b” list

• Honors English 10: Coming of Age Literature

  This Honors level course is designed to better prepare students for success in the college-level demands of our upper division AP® English classes. This course seeks to further engage students in a rigorous process of close reading, studying, analyzing, and writing about a variety of literary and non-literary texts. Planned content is drawn from both classic and contemporary fiction, poetry, and drama, along with thematically consistent non-fiction and visual texts. Central to instruction over the academic year are thorough introductions to a wide range of literary/poetic terms appropriate to each unit’s content as well as a comprehensive introduction to the rhetorical modes of writing. Several outcomes transcending all unit-specific outcomes are: the development of strong thesis statements, the development of effective and deliberate essay arrangement, the development of text-specific exemplification, the development of effective quotation integration, and the development of appropriate source documentation.
  
  Additional Information: Additional time will be required for unit projects and occasional meetings during Office Hours. Time required will vary as students’ reading and writing speeds vary, but critical attention is expected and required for this course. Additionally, summer reading and writing, Thanksgiving break reading, Christmas break reading, and Easter break reading may be assigned.
  
  (Year – 10 units)
  
  Prerequisites: Students must be sophomores, have earned an “A-” or higher in both semesters of English 9 or a “B-” or higher in both semesters of H English 9. They may be required to complete deadline-sensitive summer reading and writing assignments.
  
  This course is UC-approved on the “b” list
  

• English 11: American Literature

  This course will follow a chronological and theme-based approach to surveying American literature. Students will have the opportunity to explore major events and movements in American history and discover the unique and evolving “voice” of Americans in literature. Multiple genres will be explored, including fiction, short stories, drama, poetry, speeches, and historical political documents. This course will include a variety of reading and writing activities including narrative, descriptive, persuasive, and expository essays; short stories; poetry; and critical analysis. Written and oral presentations will be administered through class discussions, dramatic performance, storytelling, speeches, debates, oral readings, poetry, and research reports.
  
  (Year – 10 units)
  
  Pre-Requisites: Students must be juniors and have passed all required English courses.
  
  This course is UC-approved on the “b” list

• AP® English Language and Composition

  The two overarching goals of this course are to prepare students for the rigors of college-level writing with emphasis on argumentation strategies and argument analysis and to simultaneously prepare them for the Advanced Placement® Language and Composition Examination. This class is both reading-and-writing intensive, driven by the idea that advanced critical thinking is a product of practice. Students are taught to identify logical fallacies, to frame their own arguments, to analyze the arguments of others, and to intentionally employ rhetorical tropes for effect in their own writing. Teaching methodologies include direct lecture and discussion, peer editing and evaluation, individual and group interpretation of visuals, maintenance of reading response logs, and practice with various components of retired and released Advanced Placement examinations.
  
  (Year – 10 units)
  
  Prerequisites: Students must be juniors or seniors and have earned an “A-” or higher in both semesters of the previous year’s college preparatory English course(s) or “B-” or higher in both semesters of the previous year’s Honors or AP® English course. They must also successfully complete a deadline-sensitive summer reading and writing assignment.
  
  This course is UC-approved on the “b” list

• English 12: Global Literature

  Following a chronological and theme-based approach, this 12th grade level English course continues to develop and explore the reading and writing skills, literary genres, and specific texts introduced in the previous three years of English. Students will explore major literary works throughout history and across the globe. A key expectation is that students challenge themselves to make connections between their current text to texts previously read in other courses, as well as to contemporary events and issues. Students will explore timeless themes of the human condition such as the quest for truth, the “Hero’s Journey,” the relationship between God and humankind, the relationship between the individual and society, and destiny versus free will, all issues of great urgency as students consider their paths post-high school. In the second semester, the teacher will guide the class to choose to survey a specific genre or time period of literature in a more in-depth manner. The second semester will culminate in a final project or presentation developed throughout, and based on the focus of, the second semester.
  
  (Year – 10 units)
  
  Prerequisites: Students must be a senior and have passed all required English courses. 
  
  This course is UC-approved on the “b” list

• AP® English Literature and Composition

  This course is designed to expand and develop skills in critical reading of and writing about literature. Students will develop the critical reading and composition skills necessary for advanced college coursework and the Advanced Placement® exam. Students will read and analyze poetry, prose, and drama from a wide range of literary periods. This course stresses a sophisticated awareness of genre, theme, and style, focusing on works by British and American authors, contemporary writings, and world literature. Students will understand how authors use elements such as diction, imagery, syntax, details, and figurative language to convey themes. Extensive reading of novels, poetry, essays, plays, and literary criticism are integrated into course assignments. Discussion is the primary way in which students come to understand a novel, essay, play, or poem. Preparation (having read the assigned materials and engaging in vocabulary enrichment) will be critical to the success of these discussions. Daily writing will serve as a means by which students train to respond, to synthesize, and to evaluate literature discussed in and outside of class.
  
  (Year – 10 units)
  
  Prerequisites: Students must be juniors or seniors and have earned an “A-” or higher in both semesters of the previous year’s college preparatory English course(s) or “B-” or higher in both semesters of the previous year’s Honors or AP® English course. They must also successfully complete a deadline-sensitive summer reading and writing assignment. 
  
  This course is UC-approved on the “b” list.