ENGLISH 9
This is a one-year survey course of the major literary genres: short stories, nonfiction, drama, poetry, folk literature (Greek mythology), and a selected novel. Two selections students will read are To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. Students will strengthen their critical thinking, writing, and organizational skills by interpreting, analyzing, and evaluating literature from a Christian worldview. Students will strengthen their ability to cite strong textual evidence to support their analyses. They will apply these skills to writing narrative, informational, and argumentative essays. In addition, students will construct a research paper utilizing all of the skills they have learned.
ADVANCED ENGLISH 9
This is a one-year survey course of the major literary genres: short stories, nonfiction, drama, poetry, folk literature (Greek mythology), and selected novels. Three selections students will read are Lord of the Flies by William Golding, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. Students will strengthen their critical thinking, writing, and organizational skills by interpreting, analyzing, and evaluating literature from a Christian worldview. Students will strengthen their ability to cite strong textual evidence to support their analyses. Bi-weekly writing assignments and /or essays will be devoted to the application of these skills. Three types of writing— narrative, informational, and argumentative essays—will be emphasized. In addition, students will construct a research paper utilizing all of the skills they have learned.
ENGLISH 10
This one-year course is designed to equip students to engage in critical thinking skills and to communicate successfully, both orally and in writing. The course covers reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar skills. An understanding of the English language is developed from a Christian perspective. Literature is studied using short stories, drama, nonfiction, poetry, and a novel. Students are taught to write personal narrative, informative/expository, and argumentative papers, including a research paper.
ADVANCED ENGLISH 10
This one-year course is designed to equip students with communication skills necessary for success in higher education and in life. The course covers reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar skills. The focus is on writing and exposes students to narrative, informative/expository, and argumentative styles, including a research paper. Literature is studied using short stories, drama, nonfiction, poetry, and multiple novels. This class moves at a faster pace than English 10 and includes more literature and more writing.
ENGLISH 11
The eleventh grade, American literature class emphasizes writing, literature, grammar and vocabulary. Literature from the Puritan era to Post-Modernism, focusing on the history of the periods and the influences of race, class, and gender on society, will be explored through the analysis of each work. Students will be exposed to genres of fiction, non-fiction novel, drama, poetry, and short story. Writing is practiced through journaling, literature responses, and the creation of a research paper. The 11th grade curriculum is based on the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.
AP COMPOSITION
This one-year course is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement (AP) exam in English Language and Composition at the end of the school year. We will be making a careful study of representative works by American and British authors, as well as some that come from other cultures and have been translated into English. These texts will primarily consist of nonfiction and will present students with opportunities to identify and critically analyze the use of rhetorical strategies and techniques. In addition to reading the texts, we will critically analyze them for literary devices that are unique to specific genres and analyze how graphics and visual images may be used in relation to written texts or as alternative forms of text in their own right.
Students will be given numerous opportunities to explore their understanding of literary texts and to demonstrate their awareness of styles and techniques through informal and formal writing assignments. These writing assignments will focus on an array of subjects, and multiple drafts of each formal paper will be written and revised based on feedback from fellow students and from the instructor. Students will work on developing and using a wide vocabulary and on effectively employing a variety of sentence structures in their essays, and all papers will need to exhibit logical organization, as well as the ability to effectively use the tools of rhetoric, such as tone, voice, and emphasis.
Students will be expected to demonstrate research skills for the formal written assignments, including the evaluation, use, and citation of primary and secondary documents. Students will develop their own arguments and include an analysis and synthesis of ideas from a variety of sources, as well as demonstrate proficiency in using MLA format.
Students will be given numerous opportunities to explore their understanding of literary texts and to demonstrate their awareness of styles and techniques through informal and formal writing assignments. These writing assignments will focus on an array of subjects, and multiple drafts of each formal paper will be written and revised based on feedback from fellow students and from the instructor. Students will work on developing and using a wide vocabulary and on effectively employing a variety of sentence structures in their essays, and all papers will need to exhibit logical organization, as well as the ability to effectively use the tools of rhetoric, such as tone, voice, and emphasis.
Students will be expected to demonstrate research skills for the formal written assignments, including the evaluation, use, and citation of primary and secondary documents. Students will develop their own arguments and include an analysis and synthesis of ideas from a variety of sources, as well as demonstrate proficiency in using MLA format.
ENGLISH 12
This one-year course is a survey of important British authors and literary trends from Beowulf to the present. In addition to reading the texts, we will critically analyze them for literary devices and explore the biographical and historical contexts that led to their creation. We will begin with the Medieval Era, reading Beowulf, selections from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. We will then move on to the Renaissance with a selection from Spenser's The Faerie Queene and Shakespeare's Macbeth. During the second semester, we will tackle the Enlightenment by reading from the works of John Donne, John Milton, Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope, then shift our attention to the Romantic poets and a reading of Shelley's Frankenstein. We will close the school year with the Victorians and the twentieth century, focusing on texts by Tennyson, Yeats, Conrad, Joyce, and George Orwell's 1984.
Students will practice the types of writing, both informal and formal, that will be expected of them at the college level. As a part of this writing focus, students will review the basics of grammar, punctuation, and sentence mechanics, and they will reinforce their knowledge and use of MLA format for essays and the research paper.
Students will practice the types of writing, both informal and formal, that will be expected of them at the college level. As a part of this writing focus, students will review the basics of grammar, punctuation, and sentence mechanics, and they will reinforce their knowledge and use of MLA format for essays and the research paper.
AP LITERATURE
This one-year course is designed to prepare students to take the Advanced Placement (AP) exam in English Literature and Composition at the end of the school year. We will be making a careful study of representative works by British and American authors, as well as some that come from other cultures and have been translated into English. These texts include works of fiction (both novels and short stories), poetry, and drama from the 14th century to the present. In addition to reading the texts, we will critically analyze them for literary devices that are unique to the specific genres and explore the biographical and historical contexts that led to their creation.
Students will be given numerous opportunities to explore their understanding of literary texts through informal and formal writing assignments, including analytical essays and a research paper. Students will be expected to identify and draw upon textual details in order to explain or interpret a chosen work of literature, and papers should reflect an appropriate use of literary vocabulary, a variety of sentence structures, and a logical organizational strategy.
Quarter 1: Introduction to Literature and Fiction/Novel
We will begin examining the very nature of literature by exploring the criteria used to determine the literary quality of a text, the role of the literary canon, and the primary strategies for interpretation. This will be followed by an introduction to the major elements of fiction, including plot, character, setting, point of view, symbolism, theme, style, tone, and irony. Comprehensive discussions about our summer reading and detailed analyses of three novels, Candide, The Stranger, and Wise Blood, will allow us an opportunity to practice critical reading skills.
Quarter 2: Fiction/Short Story
Using the tools of analysis introduced during the first quarter, we will read and discuss a wide variety of short stories and then turn our attention to a careful study of two American authors, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Flannery O’Connor.
Quarter 3: Poetry
We will begin with an introduction to the major elements of poetry, including word choice, word order, tone, imagery, figures of speech, symbolism, allegory, irony, sounds, patterns of rhythm, and poetic forms. We will read and discuss a wide variety of poems and finish with a careful study of two American poets, Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost, and a detailed analysis of The Inferno (the first part of The Divine Comedy).
Quarter 4: Drama
Beginning with an introduction to the major elements of drama, including plot, setting, dialogue, character, theme, and stage directions, we will read and discuss a wide variety of plays and conduct a careful study of three paramount playwrights, Sophocles, Shakespeare, and Arthur Miller.
Students will be given numerous opportunities to explore their understanding of literary texts through informal and formal writing assignments, including analytical essays and a research paper. Students will be expected to identify and draw upon textual details in order to explain or interpret a chosen work of literature, and papers should reflect an appropriate use of literary vocabulary, a variety of sentence structures, and a logical organizational strategy.
Quarter 1: Introduction to Literature and Fiction/Novel
We will begin examining the very nature of literature by exploring the criteria used to determine the literary quality of a text, the role of the literary canon, and the primary strategies for interpretation. This will be followed by an introduction to the major elements of fiction, including plot, character, setting, point of view, symbolism, theme, style, tone, and irony. Comprehensive discussions about our summer reading and detailed analyses of three novels, Candide, The Stranger, and Wise Blood, will allow us an opportunity to practice critical reading skills.
Quarter 2: Fiction/Short Story
Using the tools of analysis introduced during the first quarter, we will read and discuss a wide variety of short stories and then turn our attention to a careful study of two American authors, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Flannery O’Connor.
Quarter 3: Poetry
We will begin with an introduction to the major elements of poetry, including word choice, word order, tone, imagery, figures of speech, symbolism, allegory, irony, sounds, patterns of rhythm, and poetic forms. We will read and discuss a wide variety of poems and finish with a careful study of two American poets, Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost, and a detailed analysis of The Inferno (the first part of The Divine Comedy).
Quarter 4: Drama
Beginning with an introduction to the major elements of drama, including plot, setting, dialogue, character, theme, and stage directions, we will read and discuss a wide variety of plays and conduct a careful study of three paramount playwrights, Sophocles, Shakespeare, and Arthur Miller.
SPEECH
This class is designed to enable students to think critically and to communicate effectively and confidently through the spoken word. These skills will be developed through giving a variety of speeches and participating in various speech activities. Colossians 4:6 says “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned as it were with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person.” The goal of the speech class is for students to gain skills in public speaking so they become confident in responding to small or large groups of people.