ENGLISH
The English Department offers courses designed to develop the ability of students to read, write, listen, speak and, as a necessary part of these activities, to think for themselves. In addition to the intellectual and communication skills, all courses are intended to develop in students the humanistic values traditionally associated with the student of literature.
Program Design and Sequence
The overriding principle of this sequence is that, as far as possible, students share a common program. The selection of core texts for all students at each grade level is designed to provide students with exposure to literature of a variety of genres and time periods and includes contemporary multi-cultural short stories, a play, a nineteenth century novel, and a work of non-fiction. All students at each grade level are instructed in persuasive, expository, and narrative writing, and produce at least four pieces of multi-paragraph writing each term. Students also write MLA-formatted research papers that increase in length and complexity from one grade to the next. Common assessments on students’ communication skills require all students to memorize, recite, and orally analyze poems twice per year and to engage in other types of presentation activities an additional two times per year. Students’ skills in reading, writing, and communicating, as demonstrated on common assessments and assessed using school-wide rubrics, are reported out twice per year on a scale of 1 – 4.
Students interested in further writing and speaking experience can choose to take the elective courses Journalism, Elements of Writing, The Simple Art of Murder, and/or Skills for the Real World. These courses may be taken in addition to the required English courses.
Levels
At ninth and tenth grades, the English program makes use of two levels of ability. The AP courses in grades eleven and twelve are a third level.
Most students are placed in college preparatory classes. In general, honors students are expected to score in the advanced range on the English Language Arts (ELA) MCAS test and to receive the recommendations of their English teachers. Reading and writing ability is the most important factor in determining the appropriate level for a student.
All level placements are reviewed each year as a matter of course. Movement from one level to another is fairly common, especially as student ability develops. An important principle of the English program is that all students, regardless of level, share a common learning experience. As far as possible, program content is the same for all students and the overall objectives are the same. The difference between the levels is not in the amount of writing or work required. Rather, it has to do with the student’s writing ability and with the student’s ability and willingness to read critically and analytically. Reading is important in both levels, and students will read the same core literary works in both levels.
English Course Selection Table 9-12
GRADE COURSE LEVEL
9 English 9 1, 2
10 English 10 1, 2
11 English 11 AP, 1, 2
12 English 12 AP, 1, 2
Grades 9-12 Course Descriptions
011, 012 ENGLISH 9 Level: 1, 2
Grade: 9 Required Full Year – 5 Credits Students in the ninth grade acquire skills in several areas: reading, composition, vocabulary, speech, and listening. Narrative, persuasive, and expository writing opportunities allow students to exhibit an understanding of literature, self, and society. Students read literature for content and theme and also for analysis and appreciation of style and genre. The core texts at ninth grade are Night, Points of View, Romeo and Juliet, and one or more of the following novels: Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, Les Miserables, The Mayor of Casterbridge, A Christmas Carol, and Far from the Madding Crowd. Other works offered include Oedipus Rex, Antigone, The Sword in the Stone, The Red Badge of Courage, This Boy’s Life, The Human Comedy, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and a selection of poems. In writing, specific emphasis is placed on writing clear, well-constructed paragraphs and essays. In grammar, the focus is on the use of consistent verb tenses, active and passive voice, gerunds, participles, and infinitives, and words often confused.
Prerequisite: None
General Expectations: I, V
021, 022 ENGLISH 10 Level: 1, 2
Grade: 10 Required Full Year - 5 Credits
Students in the tenth grade study proven and timeless fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. This literature addresses many contemporary issues including prejudice, oppression, censorship, and injustice. Matters of concern to emerging adults such as independence, self-esteem, love, hate, and jealousy capture students’ attention because engagement with universal themes such as these helps students to understand the world that confronts them and their place in it. Core literature includes historical journals, multi-cultural short stories, Othello, and one or more of the following novels: The Count of Monte Cristo, The Return of the Native, Jane Eyre, and Great Expectations. Other works offered at tenth grade are To Kill a Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451, The Catcher in the Rye, Anthem, and Things Fall Apart. Throughout the year students read closely, learn by heart, and recite several poems and passages from the literature. Vocabulary is studied with each literary work. Intensive grammar instruction and review is also part of the grade 10 curriculum. Writing skills are developed through a variety of frequent written responses to the literature including informal and formal essays. Students also continue to write from observation and may keep journals or journal folders.
Prerequisite: None
General Expectations: I, V
031, 032 ENGLISH 11 Level: 1, 2
Grade: 11 Required Full Year - 5 Credits
The eleventh grade curriculum gives students a historical perspective on American life and values through the study of a wide variety of literary genres by famous Americans including novels, biographies, short stories, poetry, essays, journals, speeches, and letters. The core literary texts at eleventh grade are Walden, Death of a Salesman, multicultural short stories, and a novel (The Scarlet Letter and/or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn). Other works offered are The Great Gatsby, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Our Town, The Crucible, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and Into the Wild. Writing skills are developed through short, analytical responses to the literature and longer, more formal expository, analytical, and argumentative essays. The technical skills stressed include variety of sentence beginnings, variety of sentence structure, parallel structure, and organization of ideas.
Prerequisite: None
General Expectations: I, V
030 ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
Grade: 11 By Application Full Year - 5 Credits
Advanced Placement students work to guidelines provided by the College Entrance Examination Board, which oversees the Advanced Placement program. Emphasis is on writing. In keeping with the emphasis of English 11, the literature studied will be primarily, although not exclusively, American, and will include the eleventh grade core texts: Walden, Death of a Salesman, multicultural short stories, and a novel (The Scarlet Letter and/or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn).
All students are required to take the AP examination administered in May.
Prerequisite: Selection based on the AP Application Process. This includes student motivation and achievement as demonstrated by past performance, recommendations by previous teachers, letter of application, writing sample essay, and statistical data such as GPA, grades in relevant courses, PSAT/SAT scores, and relevant MCAS scores. Successful applicants will have earned the following grade averages in Semester I of sophomore English:
Honors (level one) students: 87% or higher.
College preparatory (level two) students: 93% or higher.
General Expectations: I, V
041, 042 ENGLISH 12 Level: 1, 2
Grade: 12 Required Full Year - 5 Credits
Following the emphasis on American Literature in grade 11, seniors study the fiction, non-fiction, and poetry of other countries. Students carefully read key literary works to sharpen their awareness of the universality of ideas and language and to understand the ways in which other environments have affected a writer's craft. The core literary texts include Enrique’s Journey, Hamlet, selections from The Art of the Story, and a novel (Pride and Prejudice and/or The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde). Other works offered include Madame Bovary, Candide, The Canterbury Tales, Crime and Punishment, All Quiet on the Western Front, The Things They Carried, A Doll’s House, A Passage to India, The Color of Water, Cry, The Beloved Country, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Wuthering Heights, David Copperfield, No Exit, Red Harvest, and Henry IV, Part One. Throughout the year students read many poems closely. Vocabulary is studied with most literary works. Writing assignments will focus on the critical analysis of literature and will include essays in exposition and argument, and the college application essay. Essays vary in length and often require more than one draft. Students will keep journals or journal folders. Often students will give oral presentations on topics that are relevant to works being studied.
Prerequisite: None
General Expectations: I, V
040 ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION
Grade: 12 By Application Full Year - 5 Credits
Advanced Placement students work to guidelines provided by the College Entrance Examination Board, which oversees the Advanced Placement program. Emphasis in this class will be on English and other world literatures, in keeping with the emphasis of Grade 12 English, including the four core twelfth grade texts: The Art of the Story, Enrique’s Journey, Hamlet, and Pride and Prejudice.
All students are required to take the AP examination administered in May.
Prerequisite: Selection based on the AP Application Process. This includes student motivation and achievement as demonstrated by past performance, recommendations by previous teachers, letter of application, writing sample essay, and statistical data such as GPA, grades in relevant courses, PSAT/SAT scores, and relevant MCAS scores. Successful applicants will have earned the following grade averages in Semester I of junior English:
AP students: 80% or higher.
Honors (level one) students: 87% or higher.
College preparatory (level two) students: 93% or higher.
General Expectations: I, V
044 THE PERFECT CRIME: DETECTIVES, MYSTERY, AND THE WHODUNIT Unleveled
Grades: 11 and 12 Elective Half Year - 2.5 Credits
This course is for students who wish to explore the genre of crime and detective literature. Emphasis in this class will be developing an understanding of the elements of narrative, including plot, character development, point of view, setting, conflict, and symbolism, especially as those elements apply to crime and detective literature. We will examine the major genres of crime fiction and nonfiction (the whodunit mystery, noir literature, true crime reporting), analyze clips of film adaptations, and explore major thematic elements that arise (identity, fate, alienation, underlying societal tensions, and gender relations). Critical reading skills will be developed as students learn to recognize such literary devices as foreshadowing and prolonging suspense, as well as character archetypes (the hardboiled detective, the femme fatale, the keenly observant investigator). Literature selections may include Raymond Chandler’s “The Simple Art of Murder” and The Big Sleep, Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, selected Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, by Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon (or Red Harvest), selected passages from Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, David Goodis’s Shoot the Piano Player, as well as more modern crime writing by writers such as Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Darkness, Take My Hand), Robert Parker (Spenser stories), John McDonald, Cormac McCarthy, and P. D. James (An Unsuitable Job for a Woman). Texts will be read and discussed largely in the classroom setting, with some independent supplemental reading. Aspects of noir and crime film clips will be analyzed and compared. Assessments will be project-based. Project options will include conducting research on and creating profiles of infamous crimes, conducting research into criminal justice careers, creating a film in the style of the genre, and writing original crime fiction. There will be a possibility of an interdisciplinary project with the Forensics elective.
This course may not be taken in place of grade 12 English.
Prerequisite: None
General Expectations: I, V
045 SKILLS FOR THE REAL WORLD Unleveled
Grades: 11 and 12 Elective Half Year - 2.5 Credits
This course is for students who wish to develop skills that will help them to navigate life as adults. In a workshop setting, students will learn how to create a blog, build a resume, fill out a job application, write letters (letters of application, letters in business format, letters of complaint and commendation, letters to the editor, thank-you letters), understand email and social media etiquette, create a travel itinerary, successfully conduct an interview as a job or college applicant, and apply for scholarships and grants. Emphasis will be placed on writing for known and unknown audiences. Students will explore how the basic principles of rhetoric can be strategically used in everyday situations (writing, presentations, confrontation and respectful debate). Assessments will be project-based. Project options will include maintaining a blog, conducting mock job applications (traveling through the entire process from filling out the application, preparing for the interview, participating in the interview, writing a follow-up thank-you letter), writing letters to legislators to express social or political concerns, writing editorials and letters to news media, creating detailed travel itineraries, writing letters of complaint or commendation to corporate or governmental bodies, and applying for scholarships.
This course may not be taken in place of grade 12 English.
Prerequisite: None
General Expectations: I, V
049 ELEMENTS OF WRITING Unleveled
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12 Elective Half Year - 2.5 Credits
This course is designed for students who have experienced difficulty with writing and need to develop fundamental writing skills. After the teacher identifies various areas of weakness, students will be given instruction in such areas as fluency, organization of ideas, supporting a topic completely and coherently, sentence structure, grammar, usage, and mechanics. Word processing with computers will be an integral part of the instruction.