English Language Arts

We encourage you to preview the books that are listed to read in these courses. If you are concerned about the content of any of the novels, alternative options are available.

English Language Arts 9 Course Numbers: 3342 & 3343 Grade: 9 Credit: 1.0

This class is designed to engage students in grade-level reading and writing activities as students continue to build upon the strong foundational skills in fiction, non-fiction, and drama. Students will master their comprehension of literature and develop their analytical skills using a variety of texts. This course establishes a foundation for critical thinking, analysis, argumentation, research, and writing types that will be expected of students throughout their high school years. Texts include short stories, poetry, and novels.

English Language Arts 9 - Advanced Course Numbers: 3302 & 3303 Grade: 9 Credit: 1.0

This class is designed to engage students in complex reading and writing activities as they develop a deeper understanding of literary elements, academic writing, vocabulary, speaking, and listening skills. The course is designed for students to develop their skills in critical thinking, analysis, argumentation, research, and writing. Major skills include close critical reading and literary analysis, rhetorical analysis, and argumentative writing. Texts include short stories, poetry, choice novels, and novels, and supplemental informative texts.

English Language Arts 10 Course Numbers: 3340 & 3341 Grade: 10 Credit: 1.0

This class is designed as a foundational language arts course in which students will begin to master literary elements, academic writing, grammar, vocabulary, speaking and listening skills, and organizational skills. Texts for this course include The House on Mango Street, Of Mice and Men, A Raisin in the Sun, and supplemental informative texts. English Language Arts 10 - Advanced Course Numbers: 3304 & 3305 Grade: 10 Credit: 1.0

This accelerated Language Arts class is designed as preparation for AP Language or ARCC courses in 11th grade. Students will begin to master literary elements and analysis, academic writing, grammar, vocabulary, speaking and listening skills, rhetoric, debate, and organizational skills. Texts for this course include Catcher in the Rye, Shakespeare, Of Mice and Men, and supplemental informative texts. This course includes a required year long research paper that is completed primarily outside of class.

College Seminar (10) / Foundations of College Reading & Writing Course Numbers: 3971 & 3972 Grade: 10 Credit: 1.0 Prerequisite: By referral only. This class does not count toward English credit, so students must be concurrently enrolled in another 10th grade English class.

The goal of the College Seminar class is to develop the potential of students as confident, connected, and capable learners and people of influence in their school and communities. Students will focus on four areas of academic mindset: 1) BELONGING: I am confident I belong to this academic community, 2) CONFIDENCE: I am confident that I can succeed in highly rigorous courses, 3) SELF-EFFICACY: I know that my ability and competence can grow with my effort, and 4) DRIVE: I know that the work I do has value for me. In addition, students will have time to work in study groups to support their early college coursework.

English Language Arts 11 Course Numbers: 3355 & 3356 Grade: 11 Credit: 1.0

In this foundational language arts course, students will continue to master analysis of fiction and nonfiction texts, academic writing, grammar, vocabulary, speaking and listening skills, and organizational skills. Students will also learn the skills and strategies needed for the ACT.

College Writing - ARCC Course Numbers: 3315 Grades: 11, 12 Credit: .5 Prerequisite: Students are expected to meet requirements to register for ARCC courses. Please speak to your Dean to learn more about specific requirements. Note: This is an Anoka Ramsey Community College course offered at Irondale. Students will earn 4 credits for ENGL 1121 College Writing and Critical Reading upon successful completion of the class. This course fulfills the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum Goal 1: Communications and Goal 2: Critical Thinking. Students must enroll for both college and high school credit. Students must meet concurrent enrollment eligibility standards to take this class.

Provides extended practice in critical reading, writing, and thinking. Course content includes the writing process, essential composition skills, and critical reasoning in various rhetorical situations. The course requires effectively reasoned and supported essays including an argumentative research paper.

Interpersonal Communication - ARCC Course Number: 3316 Grade: 11, 12 Credit: .5 Prerequisite: Students are expected to meet requirements to register for ARCC courses. Please speak to your Dean to learn more about specific requirements Note: This is an Anoka Ramsey Community College course offered at Irondale. Students will earn 3 credits for CMST 2220 Interpersonal Communication upon successful completion of the class. This course fulfills the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum Goal 1: Communication and Goal 7: Human Diversity. Students must enroll for both college and high school credit. Students must meet concurrent enrollment eligibility standards to take this class.

A study of interpersonal communication each of us participates in every day. Designed to help students recognize and understand their communication habits, as well as those of others, in an effort to learn more effective communication skills for improving their interpersonal relationships. Primary areas of study include communication theory, language, perception, self-concept, self-disclosure, emotions, the impact of culture on communication, listening, communication climate, conflict, and nonverbal communication. An individual speech presentation is also required. Short Stories - ARCC Course Number: 3317 Grades: 11, 12 Credit: .5 Prerequisite: Students are expected to meet requirements to register for ARCC courses. Please speak to your dean to learn more about specific requirements Note: This is an Anoka Ramsey Community College course offered at Irondale. Students will earn 3 credits for ENGL 2204 Short Stories upon successful completion of the class. This course fulfills the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum Goal 6: The Humanities & Fine Arts and Goal 7: Human Diversity. Students must enroll for both college and high school credit. Students must meet concurrent enrollment eligibility standards to take this class. Enrollment in this course may be limited.

Students will read selected short stories to explore the scope and variety of this form of literature. Point of view, characterization, language, and other elements will be emphasized; students will analyze, interpret, and evaluate the stories. The course will also deal with issues of diversity and may be organized around a particular topic.

AP English Language & Composition Course Numbers: 3311 & 3312 Grades: 10, 11, 12 Credit: 1.0

Students taking AP Language will learn to sustain discussions on topics in both language and rhetoric. This class will help students develop listening and discussion skills in order to reach beyond easy answers to more complex ideas. Students will learn to read closely and critically to recognize the characteristics of the various levels of discourse operating in a given language act, examining each piece for diction, syntax, sentence style and structure, paragraph coherence and unity, and figurative language. Students will also be required to respond critically and reflectively to a range of essays and articles and express their responses in analytical, argumentative, and expository writing. At the end of the course, students will have the option of taking the AP Exam for the opportunity to earn college credit.

College Seminar (11/12) Course Numbers: 3951 & 3952 Grade: 11, 12 Credit: 1.0 Note: This class does not count toward English credit, so students must be concurrently enrolled in another 11th or 12th grade English class.

The goal of the College Seminar class is to develop the potential of students as confident, connected, and capable learners and people of influence in their school communities. Students will focus on four areas of academic mindset: 1) BELONGING: I am confident I belong to this academic community; 2). CONFIDENCE: I am confident that I can succeed in highly rigorous courses; 3) SELF-EFFICACY: I know that my ability and competence can grow with my effort; and 4) DRIVE: I know that the work I do has value for me. In addition, students have time to work to support their early college coursework.

AP Literature & Composition Course Number: 3309 & 3310 Grades: 11, 12 Credit: 1.0

Students in this course will prepare to take the AP Literature and Composition test offered in the Spring. In preparation for the exam, students will write both timed essays and literary analysis papers on canonical works such as Othello, Oedipus Rex, and A Tale of Two Cities. Students will practice close critical reading skills, examine literary elements, employ literary lenses, and explicate poetry.

CIS-Composition (College in the Schools) both obvious and underlying film messages. Students will study films to develop habits of analysis, criticism, understanding, and

Course Number: 3324 Grade: 12 Credit: .5 Note: This is a University of Minnesota course offered at Irondale. Upon successful completion, students will earn four college credits. Students must enroll for both college and high school credit. Seniors must be in the top 20% of their class and have taken AP Language Students begin by Joseph Campbell’s work on the Hero Cycle and

and Composition OR ARCC College Writing with a teacher recommendation.

Students in CIS Composition will explore and practice the various processes and in the various genres of writing; incorporate considerations of audience, purpose, style and voice into their writing and revision; work cooperatively with other students in class to share ideas and suggestions for topics and revisions; understand the importance of constructive criticism from peers and instructors and learn how to use these comments to improve their writing; learn to think more broadly and analytically; and examine others’ writing closely and critically. Considerable work time spent outside of class is Reading & Writing about Film Course Number: 4363 Grades: 10, 11, 12 Credit: .5

Reading & Writing about Film is a class for students who wish to examine the medium of film as a literary and artistic work. The class will focus on the elements of visual communication as used in motion pictures, the art of fiction, the languages of film, the technology of film, a brief history of film, and comparison of films. Film viewing and analysis will concentrate on history, genre, and techniques to reveal appreciation of film in a disciplined and creative manner.

Modern Mythology: Comic Books & Superheroes Course Number: 3381 Grades: 10, 11, 12 Credit: .5

This course immerses students in superhero myth and pop culture using written texts, graphic novels, comics, and film selections. necessary.

apply their learning to analyze pop culture’s modern mythological heroes: super heroes. Students will engage in discussions, write an essay or two, analyze comic books, compare multiple versions of a single myth. Also, students in this course will have the opportunity to plan and create a “passion project” connecting their interests to the vast realm of modern superhero mythology. Students will incorporate research, interview, writing, and presentation skills to create

CIS Literature (College in the Schools) Course Number: 3325 Grade: 12 Credit: .5 Note: This is a University of Minnesota course offered at Irondale. Upon successful completion, students will earn four college credits. Students must enroll for both college and high school credit. Seniors must be in the top 20% of their class and have taken AP Literature and Composition OR Pre-AP Literature and Composition with a teacher recommendation.

Students will read a variety of texts and apply literary terms, constructs, and lenses in an effort to create meaning of the textual material as well as make new meaning of the world surrounding them. Discussion and writing about diverse modern novels, plays, and poems is central to this course. Some of the works used in this course contain mature themes. Because this class is offered for college credit, students will be expected to perform, participate, and produce work at college-level.

Modern Myth II

Course Number: 3374

Grades: 10, 11, 12 Credit: .5

This course builds on the passion project (inquiry-based/ project-based learning) framework introduced in Modern Myth I and increases in complexity and independence for students. This course will focus on developing independent research skills and real-world/ real audience presentation skills. This project-based learning course will be entirely driven and planned by student interest/passion and curiosity

Reading & Writing for Social Justice Course Number: 3398 Grades: 11, 12 Credit: .5

What social justice lessons can we learn from poetry, literature, movies, and TV? Why do these characters and stories captivate us as they do?

Social Justice and Advocacy will explore the intersections between social justice issues and multimedia arts. Students will be introduced to an array of philosophical approaches in attempting to provide answers to the age-old questions of “What’s the right thing to do?” Using a compelling mix of pop-culture, hypotheticals, historical cases, current events, and literary examples, the class will take on a variety of issues and provide students with the opportunity to challenge their own assumptions and biases. Students will gain a better understanding of how a diversity of perspectives can help them to better understand a variety of social issues and empower them to become agents of change. Writing Workshop Course Number: 4316 Grades: 12 Credit: .5

This course offers extensive practice in the writing process, revision skills, writing styles, research skills, and peer review. Completion of this course requires writing effectively reasoned and supported essays for an academic audience through use of sequence, organization, unity, coherence, sentence variation, vivid diction. Most essays will use primary and secondary sources of information as evidence by integrating quotes skillfully, and correctly attributing and interpreting sources. Students will also respond critically and reflectively to non-fiction pieces and scholarly articles by summarizing, interpreting, and analyzing and expressing their responses in argumentative and expository writing. Students will also learn to evaluate a source’s merit based on background, bias, purpose, medium, audience, and tone.

iCreate: Digital Media Literacy in the 21st Century Course Number: 3385 Grades: 12 Credit: .5

This semester elective course asks students to consider the ways their life intersects with mass media and, in turn, create content of their own, communicating their voice and perspective to the world. Throughout the semester, students will learn about, analyze and explore a variety of different digital media forms including YouTube, social media, and contemporary news mediums. Students will leave this course as publishers of digital content related to the Irondale Community.