English

English I is a course that focuses on rhetorical analysis, examining how writers and speakers craft language to reach a target audience and communicate an intended purpose. Through this language study students will understand and analyze how authors use distinctive genres and styles to engage an audience and communicate universal themes, while developing vocabulary, research skills, writing and grammar skills, as well as formulating organizational and test taking strategies. This course will guide students in close reading and critical analysis of complex texts through the Springboard curriculum.

Unit 1: Telling Details
Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases

Unit 3: Compelling Evidence 

Unit 4: Powerful Openings 

English II offers learners the opportunity to read, interpret, evaluate and respond to a range of texts presented in the Springboard curriculum. This course enables learners to deepen their understanding and appreciation of the ways in which writers use English to express meaning and achieve effects.  English II continues to build upon the skills learned in English I with the Springboard curriculum to provide students with authentic learning connections and experiences between what they have been reading and writing about in class and the real world. Additionally, this course is designed to prepare learners for the state-mandated English II End of Course exam. 

Unit 1: The Power of Argument

Unit 2: Persuasion in Literature 

Unit 3: Voice in Synthesis 

Unit 4: Praise, Mock, Mourn 

In English III, students will explore concepts that have shaped American thought and discourse since its revolution through the study of American literature and rhetoric. To analyze how authors’ perspectives and purposes specifically shape complex ideas in multiple genres, students will read foundational U.S. documents, and quintessential American literature, essays, and poetry. These texts will help students gather evidence to incorporate in writing, speeches, performances, and presentations about the American Dream, what it means to be an American, the freedom of speech, the role of media in a democracy, and literary movements like Transcendentalism and the Harlem Renaissance. In specialized genres such as editorials and satire, students will express how the unique American cultural experience— individuals/groups challenging the views of contemporary society—colors the major American political, philosophical, and literary movements of American history.  This course will guide students in close reading and critical analysis of complex texts through the Springboard curriculum.

Unit 1: The American Dream 

Unit 2: The Power of Persuasion 

Unit 3: American Forums: The Marketplace of Ideas

Unit 4: An American Journey 

Students’ Springboard journey culminates in English IV with a focus on using literary theory to analyze complex texts through multiple perspectives. Throughout the level, students will learn about and apply Archetypal, Cultural, Feminist, Historical, Marxist, and Reader Response Criticism to both literary and informational texts. Students will also use their knowledge of these theories to shed new light on film, photography, and media coverage of newsworthy events. English IV offers many opportunities for students to synthesize their learning through rigorous writing and speaking tasks. Independent research, film study, and presentations go hand in hand with students’ study of print texts, and allow students to develop complex and nuanced understandings of the texts, films, and issues in the course. 

Unit 1: Perception is Everything 

Unit 2: The Collective Perspective 

Unit 3: Evolving Perspectives 

Unit 4: Creating Perspectives