English
English Department
English 1
Grades: 9
Graduation Requirement: English
A-G: B
Prerequisite: Required for all freshmen
English 1 is the foundation for students to learn skills in reading comprehension, writing conventions, and the study of literature. The course challenges the student's ability to reason, synthesize research, and develop writing skills that include: quick writes, reflections, journals, expository and persuasive essays, literary analysis, and research based writing. In addition, the course will study the major genres of writing and their unique components (short story, poetry, novel, drama, and informational texts). Speaking skills are developed through group and class projects and presentations.
English 2
Grades: 10
Graduation Requirement: English
A-G: B
Prerequisite: English 1
Sophomore English is a continuation of foundation skills in reading comprehension, written conventions and the study of literature. There is a heightened emphasis on critical thinking and persuasive techniques. Students will learn to engage with the texts through annotation and evaluation. Persuasive writing is reinforced, and speaking skills are developed through individual and group presentations. The course continues to challenge the students' ability to reason, synthesize research, speak and develop writing skills. In addition, students will continue their study of major genres (short story, poetry, novel, drama, nonfiction and informational texts) with an increased significance on analysis.
English 2 Honors (H)
Grades: 10
Graduation Requirement: English
A-G: B
Prerequisite: English 1 - Grade of "A" in English 1 is recommended for appropriate placement
This is an accelerated course following the same details as English 2 but at a faster pace and higher level of performance. Students study and analyze, through writing and speaking activities, a wide variety of literature in the various genres (short story, poetry, novel, drama, and informational texts). They are also involved in the organized study of the process of writing, including the structures of sentences, paragraphs, expository and persuasive research essays. Students will engage in debating and a mock trial. This course prepares students for AP courses.
NOTE: A summer reading assignment is assigned to aid in successful completion of the class and is the 1st Unit of term.
English 3
Grades: 11
Graduation Requirement: English
A-G: B
Prerequisite: English 2
This course combines the study of language and composition, focusing on American literature (short stories, poetry, novel, drama and informational texts) along with an emphasis on expository, synthesis, and research based writing skills. There is also an emphasis on grammar and preparation for the Community College and CA State Univ. entrance exams. Throughout the term, students will read informational texts to exercise rhetorical devices, and they will use literature to explore universal themes. Analysis of such themes is complex as students delve into style, structure, diction and tone in their reading and writing. Through reflective writing, they will strive toward a higher level of critical analysis. As they explore the characters' relationships in society, they will develop a deeper understanding of their own connections to their world. Speaking skills are developed through group and class discussions and formal speeches.
English 4
Grades: 12
Graduation Requirement: English
A-G: B
Prerequisite: English 3
This course is a college preparatory study of rhetorical, analytical, argumentative and research-based reading and writing conducted through the Expository Reading and Writing curriculum (ERWC) outlined by the California State University System. Students will learn to annotate fictional and informational texts and identify and apply key components of language for each genre of writing. Students will also be exposed to a range of texts, including articles from credible news sources and contemporary literature. Reading, writing and speaking skills in this course are structured to prepare students for the California Community Colleges and CA State University expectations.
AP English Language and Composition (H)
Grades: 11
Graduation Requirement: English
A-G: B
The AP English Language and Composition course focuses on the development and revision of evidence-based analytic and argumentative writing, the rhetorical analysis of nonfiction texts, and the decisions writers make as they compose and revise. Students evaluate, synthesize, and cite research to support their arguments. Additionally, they read and analyze rhetorical elements and their effects in nonfiction texts—including images as forms of text— from a range of disciplines and historical periods.
AP English Literature and Composition (H)
Grades: 12
Graduation Requirement: English
A-G: B
The AP English Literature and Composition course focuses on reading, analyzing, and writing about imaginative literature (fiction, poetry, drama) from various periods. Students engage in close reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature to deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure. As they read, students consider a work’s structure, style, and themes, as well as its use of figurative language, imagery, and symbolism. Writing assignments include expository, analytical, and argumentative essays that require students to analyze and interpret literary works.
English Electives
Creative Writing
Grades: 9-12
Graduation Requirement: Elective
A-G: B
Creative Writing is an introductory yearlong course focused on the major types of creative writing: fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction. No previous experience is required. The purpose of this class is to encourage students to cultivate the habits, attitudes and flexibility of a professional writer in a professional writing community. Students will practice writing like a reader and reading like a writer. Students will learn and practice many techniques to inspire their creative writing, as well as read numerous great shorter published works. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to study an area of creative writing of their own interest. Students will find inspiration, write, revise, submit work for publication, share, workshop and discuss their creative pieces.
Journalism
Grades: 9-12
Graduation Requirement: Vocational Education or Elective
A-G: G
Journalism places an emphasis on critical thinking, research, ethics, communication, and the structure and craft of journalistic writing. Students will produce a school newspaper to cover student life and campus news. Students develop their own story ideas and questions while conducting research and interviews across a range of journalism disciplines, including News, Editorial, Opinion, Features, Sports, and more. They use technology and digital media to create podcasts, YouTube videos, Twitter postings, and more. In addition, students learn the business/advertising/marketing side of journalism by selling advertising to local businesses to help fund Journalism activities, and by creating marketing promotions to foster awareness of the school’s journalism program both on campus and in the community. Students learn the basics of photojournalism, as well as graphic design/web page design. They work alone and in groups, to foster independence, communication, and collaborative skills.
Film Studies
Grades: 9-12
Graduation Requirement: Elective
A-G: G
This course will offer very selective overview of cinema history, and explore the basic tools for analyzing the art of film. Although it specifically examines the social and cultural impact of American film, it does so within a broader context, specifically the comparative framework of American and World Cinema. Throughout the course students will learn how to develop a historical appreciation of film based on a survey of cinematic traditions contained within narrative, documentary, and experimental forms, and acquire a critical, technical and aesthetic vocabulary relating to particular cinematic practices and structures. Students will examine how meaning in films is conditioned by the uses of camera, editing, lighting, sound, mise en scene and acting, and will explore the impact of technological developments on film production, and evaluate the importance of genre and the legacy of individual "auteurs" throughout the development of cinema. The course also incorporates culturally relevant topics and activities, real-world problems, and applications while maintaining a balance of theoretical and historical/cultural context with skills-based content.