COURSE OFFERINGS BY DEPARTMENT Course titles are followed by the course code; credit units; limit, if any, of students per section; prerequisites and/or eligible grades; and semester offered, if not a full-year course. Full-year courses that receive four credits and semester courses that receive two credits are considered major courses. A student’s GPA is determined by the marks earned in major courses.
ENGLISH English 9 (ENG101)
English 10 (ENG201)
4 CU, required of all 9th graders
4 CU, required of all 10th graders
This course introduces students to critical literary analysis by demonstrating the parallel bases of narrative forms and archetypes across history and cultures; development of critical writing skill is paramount. Texts explore the cycle of human experience from creation to apocalypse with notable stops in between: heroism and quests, love and loss, and monsters and magic. Ancient sources of myth and contemporary literature are treated for their multiplicity and universality of perspective. Students study literary tropes in text and film with an emphasis on learning how and why common themes recur. Students will develop strong critical thinking skills and deepen reading comprehension skill; they will bolster grammatical accuracy and write cogently. All modes of expression--rhetorical, presentational, creative, and analytical--are emphasized with special attention devoted to the latter. Analytical papers, beginning with the classic 5-paragraph essay, help students practice formulating their logic clearly and authoritatively for 10th grade and beyond. Texts may include Parallel Myths, Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, Fahrenheit 451, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, Antigone, Much Ado About Nothing, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I am Legend, and Dances with Wolves, along with a variety of short stories and films.
English 10 examines the multifaceted American identities that comprise the national character and aesthetic. What is “American” about the country’s literature? Evolving, multi-faceted, and as diverse as its geography and people, American literature confronts the dilemma brought by opportunity. As part of our inclusive approach to American letters, students will explore a range of texts, including: East of Eden, The Great Gatsby, Sula, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Catcher in the Rye, The Things They Carried, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Things They Carried, and Flight, along with units on the Harlem Renaissance and Transcendentalism, treatment of American rhetoric, recognition of aesthetic movements and style through history, and a diverse selection of philosophy and film.
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