English

Ninth and Tenth Grade English
Students begin the high school English program with intensive practice in the fundamentals of writing and with rich exposure to a variety of literary forms: poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction. Students also hone the art of public speaking. Those who wish to engage in advanced, intensive study in English may do so through the honors project option, which includes a guided independent study that reflects the content of each specific course. Students receive detailed information describing the honors project at the beginning of each course. All students must successfully complete English 9 and English 10 before enrolling in eleventh and twelfth grade elective. courses. Students who do not earn credit in these courses may repeat the course. Please read the detailed course descriptions in the section below. 

Eleventh Grade English

In eleventh grade, students will take one semester-long English course. All courses offer a deep-dive into important works of American literature and students will be immersed in anti-racist/anti-oppression reading and writing that builds upon our ninth and tenth-grade foundation courses. Since students can only choose ONE semester of eleventh grade English, they should carefully select their preferred course. 

Twelfth Grade English

Twelfth grade students may elect two quarter-long English electives, each nine weeks in length. Students must choose at least one literature elective. For their second course, they may choose a second literature elective or a writing elective. Please see the course descriptions below to guide you in making the best choice. All upper-level electives challenge students to examine texts through close reading using multiple lenses of literary criticism and all engage students in varied and challenging writing assignments. 

11/12 English Honors Credit

Students seeking challenge beyond the already rigorous college prep curriculum may earn honors credit in any English literature course in eleventh or twelfth grade by enrolling in the honors section, where they will complete independent readings (novels, non-fiction, poetry, and short story), annotating additional texts, meet with other honors students to discuss texts, and complete timed analytical in-class essays or analytical essays outside of class.

11/12 English AP Credit

In order to earn AP credit, students must complete TWO literature classes at the honors level--one semester-long course in their junior year and one quarter-long literature course in their senior year, and all assignments within these courses to complete the AP Portfolio, meeting College Board Advanced Placement standards. Each semester or quarter-long course requires reading an independent text; annotating the work(s); discussing it with other honors students; and writing lengthy essays outside of class and completing in-class, analytical essay responses. These essay prompts are similar to open-ended questions from the national AP Literature and Composition test but adjusted to encompass the themes, symbols, and meanings of the AP literature options in ARHS courses. 

Course Descriptions:

Writing and Literature (0023) (English 9)

Credits: 4

Prerequisite: None. Students may select the honors option after experiencing several weeks of class.

In this introductory writing and literature course, students read a variety of genres including an epic, modern drama, autobiography, a graphic novel, short stories, and poetry. All are selected to acquaint them with examples of great literature from ancient to modern and contemporary times.  The texts include: Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street, Marjane Satrapis’s Persepolis, Dashka Slater’s The 57 Bus, Jacqueline Woodson’s Red At The Bone, and Elie Wiesel’s Night. These works serve as models for students’ own compositions; students experiment with a variety of personal, analytical, and imaginative pieces. Fundamentals of grammar and usage, paragraph and essay development, voice and style, and the responsible use of outside sources for research assignments are introduced and reinforced.  

Literature, Writing, and Public Speaking (0025) (English 10)

Credits: 4

Prerequisite: English 9.  Students may select the honors option after experiencing several weeks of class.

In Literature, Writing, and Public Speaking, required for all tenth graders, students will study literature as social criticism, focusing on texts written by Black, Asian, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBTQ, and disabled writers. Their study will be framed by essential social justice questions about culture and belonging, power and voice, identity, and oppression and liberation. Students will read Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, August Wilson’s Fences, Rebekah Tauusig’s Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body; Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You, Jimmy Santiago Baca’s A Place To Stand, Jacob Tobia’s Sissy, and contemporary living poets. All students will learn to deconstruct complex literary themes, symbolism, and figurative language; craft analytical, creative, and reflective papers for a writing portfolio; and participate in class discussion with their peers. Students will master the art of public speaking, learning to write and speak with passion, in order to perform lively persuasive, emotional, and informative speeches.

ELEVENTH GRADE LITERATURE COURSE OPTIONS

These courses are semester-long. Students may take ONE.

African-American Literature 11 (010a)

African-American Literature/Honors 11 (010b)

Credits: 4

Prerequisite:  English 10

In African-American Literature students study major texts written by Black authors and then work with a community of writers and activists to analyze literature and film. The primary texts are: Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Song of Solomon, Richard Wright’s Native Son, Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, and Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me. The major texts are supplemented with close analysis of Ava DuVernay’s documentary 13th, Spike Lee’s feature film Malcolm X, poetry, short stories, and essays, providing a rich cultural and historical context for literary analysis. Throughout the course, students will address the systemic, structural, institutional racism of slavery, colonialism, and mass incarceration by studying literary resistance, activism and radicalism. In addition to reading and thinking about racial justice, students will become part of a connected community of writers, actively engaged in the world of literary analysis.

American Literature and Nature 11 (012a)

American Literature & Nature/Honors 11 (012b)

Credits: 4

Prerequisite: English 10

Through a variety of voices, genres, and media, this class will explore the tension between the myth of the "American Dream" as it exists alongside the "American Reality" via Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony, Frederick Douglass’s Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and selections from Emerson and Thoreau, as well as an assortment of poetry, articles, and film. Students will not only learn about nature as a symbol in literature, but they will also keep a nature journal where they will deepen their own connection to and understanding of the natural world.

American Literature and Society 11 (015a)

American Literature and Society/Honors 11 (015b)

Credits: 4

Prerequisite: English 10

The American Dream: Truth or Illusion? American Literature and Society examines the culture of the United States as interpreted by writers representing a variety of viewpoints and backgrounds. Students discuss and write about significant themes rooted in the American experience: identity (explicitly based on race, class and gender), individuality, the immigrant experience, and alienation, with particular focus on the American Dream. The course texts include classic and contemporary novels, short stories, poetry, drama, and film. Texts include: F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Toni Morrison’s Sula, Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home, and the musical Hamilton.

Contemporary Literature 11 (0252a)

Contemporary Literature/Honors 11 (0252b)

Credits: 4

Prerequisite: English 10

Contemporary Literature covers novels, short stories, and poems written by authors of a variety of races, ethnicities, backgrounds, and classes; each text we study was published within the last 20 years. Through their study of literature, students will critically question and discuss complexities regarding immigration, dislocation, discrimination, intergenerational trauma, family dynamics, personal freedom, social responsibility, and the resilience of the human spirit. Main texts include Station 11, by Emily St. John Mandel, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, Citizen Illegal by Jose Oliverez, Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward, The Leavers by Lisa Ko, and There, There by Tommy Orange. Honors texts vary year to year.

LGBTQ Literature 11 (020a)

LGBTQ Literature/Honors 11  (020b)

Credits: 4

Prerequisite:  English 10

The resilience, resistance, and revolution in the queer community is inspiring. The LGBTQ Literature class is divided into five major sections, moving in chronological order from the mid-1900s to the present day. Primary texts were written by LGBTQ authors during eras of legal and social oppression; conformity and self-loathing; anger and activism; and finally, pride and acceptance. The course focuses on renowned modern and contemporary American literature, including James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, Rita Mae Brown’s Rubyfruit Jungle or Isabel Miller’s Patience and Sarah, Gabby Rivera’s Juliet Takes a Breath, and Amy Ellis Nutt’s Becoming Nicole. The honors text is Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. Each unit includes a combination of critical essays, poetry, short stories, and film, providing a rich cultural and historical context for literary analysis. 

TWELFTH GRADE QUARTER-LONG LITERATURE COURSE OPTIONS 

Students should choose at least one literature elective. The other elective choice can be another literature elective OR a writing elective (in section following this one). Students cannot select a senior version of a course they previously took in junior year (African American Literature in 11th and then again in 12th, for example).

African-American Literature 12 (0363)

African-American Literature/Honors 12 (0363b)

Credits: 2

Prerequisite:  English 11. Open to grade 12.

In African-American Literature students study major texts written by Black authors and then work with a community of writers, artists and activists to construct creative and analytical responses to literature and film. The course will pull from any of the following texts: Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing, Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Song of Solomon, Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy, Claudia Rankine’s Citizen, and Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me. The major texts may be supplemented with close analysis of Ava DuVernay’s documentary 13th, Spike Lee’s feature film Malcolm X, poetry, short stories, and essays, providing a rich cultural and historical context for literary analysis. Throughout the course, students will address the systemic, structural, institutional racism of slavery, colonialism, mass incarceration by studying literary resistance, activism and radicalism. Contemporary Black voices of excellence will also inspire students’ creative projects. 

Ancient and Medieval Literature & Philosophy 12 (013a)

Ancient and Medieval Literature & Philosophy/Honors 12 (013b)  

Credits: 2

Prerequisite:  English 11. Open to grade 12

This quarter-long course samples some of the landmark-texts that define the still-evolving cultures of East and West, from the ancient cradles of civilization in Mesopotamia, India, China, and Greece to the almost-modern medieval worlds of Europe, the Middle East, and Japan.  Readings include epics, drama, poetry, prose, and religious writings. The course texts include the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Ramayana, Tao Te Ching, the Bacchae, Plato's Symposium, Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji, Dante Alighieri’s The Inferno, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Study and discussion will address both the texts and the historical periods that inspired them. By contrasting parallel readings from different cultural backgrounds, students will examine the values that are universal and the beliefs that distinguish the intellectual world.

British Literature 12 (0342a)

British Literature/Honors 12 (0342b)

Credits: 2

Prerequisite:  English 11. Open to grade 12

This quarter-long course includes selections of British Literature from its beginnings in the Middle Ages to the present, with a strong emphasis on the expanded literary diversity of the twentieth century. British Literature spans over a thousand years, from its beginnings in the early Middle Ages to the present; “surveying” this tradition would be an impossible task for a single quarter. Additionally, Britain’s colonial history has had a dramatic effect on what can be considered “British Literature.” This course will take into deep consideration the colonial history of British culture through literature. Students will read a variety of texts with supplemental material to provide historical and cultural context. Response assignments will explore the historical and cultural aspects raised by the texts. Foundational course texts will include: Beowulf and Frankenstein, as well as the contemporary text Exit West.  The honors project is an independent project that  includes a choice from a selection of Booker Prize-winning texts and short-listed nominees.

Disability Justice Literature 12 (0364a)

Disability Justice Literature Honors/12 (0364b)

Credits: 2

Prerequisite:  English 11. Open to grade 12.

Though people with disabilities are the largest minority group in the world, and a sizable percentage of students have diagnosed and undiagnosed disabilities, literature by disabled writers and concepts of disability justice are rarely centered in public school curricula. This quarter-long course will introduce students to important disabled writers and activists; critical moments of disability history in the United States (including activism to pass ADA and 504 legislation and to end institutionalization); and the transformative work of the BIPOC and queer-led Disability Justice Collective over the last two decades. Students will explore social and cultural models of disability; visible and invisible disabilities; ableism and disability justice; and communities of care, especially among disabled people on the margins. Class readings include Year of the Tiger and Disability Visibility, by Alice Wong; The Secret Life Of A Black Aspie, by Anand Prahlad; The Pretty One, by Keah Brown; and Deaf Utopia, by Nyle DiMarco, as well as numerous films that explore the lives and experiences of disabled people. 

LGBTQ Literature 12 (0211a)

LGBTQ Literature/Honors 12 (0211b)

Credits: 2

Prerequisite:  English 11. Open to grade 12.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, and queer people have lived during eras of severe legal and social oppression and social oppression; conformity and self-loathing; anger, activism, and radicalism; and pride and acceptance. The resilience, resistance, and revolution in the queer community is inspiring. In this course, we will focus on the power to survive and thrive, highlighting: transgender people and their families; Black, Latinx, and Jewish queer activism; intersectional feminism; and not only the pain and death of the AIDS epidemic but the healing and community formed in its wake. Featured texts may include any of the following: Giovanni’s Room, by James Baldwin; On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong (honors); Rubyfruit Jungle, by Rita Mae Brown; Juliet Takes A Breath, by Gabby Rivera; and Becoming Nicole, by Amy Ellis Nutt; in addition to a wide range of documentaries, films, and articles.

TWELFTH GRADE QUARTER-LONG WRITING COURSE OPTIONS 

Students may choose one writing course, along with a literature elective (above). They may also choose two literature electives.

Journalistic Writing 12  (035a)

Journalistic Writing/Honors 12 (035b)

Credits: 2

Prerequisite:  English 11. Open to grade 12.

Journalistic Writing is dedicated to helping students to write with clarity and economy, improve organization, and tell compelling stories with accuracy and objectivity. The course often utilizes a workshop format, and its main business is to produce real articles for a real audience.  Students write stories for The Graphic, the award-winning school newspaper, which publishes approximately two times a semester.  Students learn the fundamentals of reporting and interviewing and master news, profile, club, sports, editorial, feature, and investigative styles. They also read extensively in regional and national newspapers, analyze the reporting of current events, and discuss the role of the media in society. The Honors option is an independent, quarter-long reading and writing project.

Creative Writing 12 (036a) 

Creative Writing/Honors 12 (036b)

Credits: 2

Prerequisite:  English 11. Open to grade 12.

This course is designed for students who want to be part of a community of writers, actively engaged in the world of creative writing. Students will write in various genres and styles, including short stories, poetry, monologue/dialogue, and plays. After students generate new material, they will work in groups to learn how to revise deeply.  As they are writing, all students will study mentor texts to develop a deeper understanding of the craft of writing. For the final project, students may choose to explore any genre of interest. Throughout the course, students are strongly encouraged to submit their work for publication to ARHS's literary journal, The Minks. The Honors option is an independent, quarter-long reading and writing project.