English

Level: H

Credit(s): 1

Semester(s): 2

Typical Grade Level: 11th or 12th

Prerequisites: Successful completion of previous English Course. 

In African-American Literature, students will engage in grade level Common Core State Standards (CCSS) aligned  reading and writing practices through a wide range of literary and informational texts that builds upon English I and English II. Students will evaluate the multiple vantage points of the African-American experience, issues of representation, and the cultural and historical context of African-American literature. Students will express themselves in multiple writing formats including narratives, investigative reports, literary analyses, and research papers. Across all writing formats, students will write in the conventions of the CCSS writing modes. Students will employ academic English in discussion that align to the CCSS for Speaking & Listening. 

Level of Challenge: 3½ - 4

Typical Homework Commitment: 3 Hours Per Week 

Level: H

Credit(s): 1

Semester(s): 2

Typical Grade Level: 11th or 12th

Prerequisites: Successful completion of previous English Course. 

In Latin American Literature, students will engage in grade level Common Core State Standards (CCSS) aligned reading and writing practices through a wide range of literary and informational texts that builds upon English I and English II. Students will evaluate the multiple vantage points of the Latin American experience, issues of representation, and the cultural and historical context of Latin American literature. Students will express themselves in multiple writing formats including narratives, investigative reports, literary analyses, and research papers. Across all writing formats, students will write in the conventions of the CCSS writing modes. Students will employ academic English in discussion that align to the CCSS for Speaking & Listening. In an honors class students will be expected to meet the standards with less teacher scaffolding and more collaborative and independent practice. Although students at all levels of learning will have access to rigorous texts and appropriate experiences, honors level courses may include advanced expectations in the following areas: text complexity, complexity of tasks and responses, and pacing. Students in Latin American Lit Honors will participate in a summer reading project. Honors courses are weighted. 

Level of Challenge: 3½ - 4

Typical Homework Commitment: 3 Hours Per Week 

Level: AP

Credit(s): 1

Semester(s): 2

Typical Grade Level: 11th or 12th

Prerequisites: A or B in previous level content class; Cs and lower must have a teacher recommendation. Maintaining regular attendance is essential to success.

An AP course in English Language and Composition engages students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts, and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. The purpose of the AP English Language and Composition course is to enable students to read complex texts with understanding and to write prose of sufficient richness and complexity to communicate effectively with mature readers.  Nonfiction-centered curriculum focuses on developing argumentative writing by engaging in synthesis and rhetorical modes. 

Level of Challenge: 5

Typical Homework Commitment: 5 Hours Per Week

Level: AP

Credit(s): 1

Semester(s): 2

Typical Grade Level: 12th

Prerequisites: A or B in previous level content class; Cs and lower must have a teacher recommendation. Maintaining  regular attendance is essential. 

This course is designated for motivated students entering the 12th grade with a command of standard English, an interest in exploring and analyzing challenging classical and contemporary literature, and a desire to analyze and interpret dominant literary genres and themes. Students learn and apply methods of literary analysis and write with a variety of purposes to increase precision in expression. Students in AP English Literature and Composition will take the National AP Literature & Composition Examination administered each May for the College Board by the Educational Testing Service.

Level of Challenge: 5

Typical Homework Commitment: 5 hours / week

Level: H

Credit(s): 1

Semester(s): 2

Prerequisites: Successful completion of previous English Course. 

Course Description: 

"The mass media, film, TV, all of these things, are powerful vehicles for maintaining the kinds of systems of domination we live under--imperialism, racism, sexism, etc. Often, there's a denial of this and art is presented as politically neutral, as though it is not shaped by a reality of domination." -bell hooks

In this class, we'll be studying contemporary multimedia texts (movies, essays, and fiction) while exploring questions of race, class, gender, capitalism, and other forces that shape our world in 2020. Our core texts will include some of the greatest film masterpieces of the twentieth century: Moonlight, Parasite, The Florida Project, District 9, Sorry to Bother You, Minding the Gap, and others. Using these films as a jumping-off point, students will discuss a variety of contemporary social issues--from poverty to politics to addiction to education-- evaluating these problems from the perspectives of all stakeholders involved and exploring the relevance of fictional narratives in the real world.

Level of Challenge: 3

Typical Homework Commitment: 1 Hour Per Week

Level: H

Credit(s): 1

Semester(s): 2

Typical Grade Level: 10th-12th

Prerequisites: None.

In the fiction writing portion of this class, we'll be exploring the craft of fiction in all its thrilling complexities: dialogue, characterization, plot development, pacing, scene construction, suspense, action, heartbreak, paragraphing, word choice, beginnings, endings, etc. Students will practice the fundamentals of fiction while working on short stories, plays, poetry, etc. Standout fiction, nonfiction, and poetry writings completed in this class will be published in the Brooks College Prep Literary Magazine.

In the argumentative writing portion of this class, we’ll be studying and critiquing dominant American institutions: institutions that are so entrenched in American life that they control our lives and thought patterns without us completely realizing it; institutions that are so omnipresent that they’ve become “invisible” (the education system, the mass media/smartphones, the criminal justice system, romance/marriage, gender, democracy, etc). We will debate the merits and flaws of these institutions in class discussions and argumentative papers.

Creative writing will support the development of narrative writing as identified in the CCSS. 

Level of Challenge: 3

Typical Homework Commitment: Daily reading and writing.

Level: AP

Credit(s): 2

Semester(s): 1

Typical Grade Level: 11th or 12th (Students Must Be 16)

Prerequisites: Pass CCC Placement Exam Read to Write with a 6 or higher OR SAT Evidence Based Reading & Writing Score of 480+

College credit is awarded with the successful completion of this English Class!  Yes, the course satisfies the high school credit for senior English and also allows students to earn a college credit through the City Colleges of Chicago.  Although similar to Advanced Placement offerings, this course assures that students will learn and apply composition, reading, conversational, and technological skills while addressing relevant and contemporary topics and readings.  Students will complete a writing exam and submit a final portfolio, in addition to maintaining a C or higher in the course to receive college credit. 

Level of Challenge: 4

Typical Homework Commitment: 3 Hours Per Week 

Level: H

Credit(s): 1

Semester(s): 2

Typical Grade Level: 9th / (8th AC Students)

Prerequisites: 8th Grade Language Arts & Selective Enrollment/Placement Testing

In English I students will engage in grade level Common Core State Standards (CCSS) aligned reading and writing practices, through a wide range of literary and informational texts to bridge their learning from middle school to high school. Students will engage in practices to support their emerging mastery of the CCSS for writing in their grade band, and express themselves in multiple writing formats including narratives, investigative reports, literary analyses, and research papers. Across all writing formats, students will write in the conventions of the CCSS writing modes. Students in English I will employ academic English in discussion that align to CCSS for Speaking & Listening. 

Level of Challenge: 4

Typical Homework Commitment: 4 Hours Per Week 

Level: H

Credit(s): 1

Typical Grade Level: 10th

Semester(s): 2

Prerequisites: Successful Completion of English I. 

In English II, students will engage in grade level Common Core State Standards (CCSS) aligned reading and writing practices, through a wide range of literary and informational texts that will build upon English I. Students will engage in practices to support their mastery of the CCSS for Writing in their grade band, and express themselves in multiple writing formats including narratives, investigative reports, literary analyses, and research papers. Across all writing formats, students will write in the conventions of the CCSS writing modes. Students in English II will employ academic English in discussion that align to CCSS for Speaking & Listening.

Level of Challenge: 3

Typical Homework Commitment: 3 Hours Per Week

Level: H

Credit(s): 1

Typical Grade Level: 11th

Semester(s): 2

Prerequisites: Successful Completion of English II. 

In English III, students will engage in grade level Common Core State Standards (CCSS) aligned reading and writing practices, through a wide range of literary and informational texts that will emphasize college and career preparation. Students will engage in practices to support their emerging mastery of the CCSS for Writing in their grade band, and express themselves in multiple writing formats including narratives, investigative reports, literary analyses, and research papers. Across all writing formats, students will write in the conventions of the CCSS writing modes. Students in English III will employ academic English in discussion that align to CCSS for Speaking & Listening. 

Level of Challenge:  3

Typical Homework Commitment: 3 Hours Per Week

Level: H

Credit(s): 1

Semester(s): 2

Typical Grade Level: 12th

Prerequisites: Successful Completion of English III. 

In English IV, students will engage in grade level Common Core State Standards (CCSS) aligned reading and writing practices, through a wide range of literary and informational texts that will prepare them for post-secondary experiences. Students will engage in practices to support their mastery of the CCSS for Writing in their grade band, and express themselves in multiple writing formats including narratives, investigative reports, literary analyses, and research papers. Across all writing formats, students will write in the conventions of the CCSS writing modes. Students in English IV will employ academic English in discussion that align to CCSS for Speaking & Listening. 

In an honors class students will be expected to meet the standards with less teacher scaffolding and more collaborative and independent practice. Although students at all levels of learning will have access to rigorous texts and grade level appropriate experiences, honors level courses may include advanced expectations in the following areas: text complexity, complexity of tasks and responses, and pacing. Students in English IV honors will participate in a summer reading project. Honors courses are weighted.

Level of Challenge: 3 

Typical Homework Commitment:  3 Hours Per Week

Level: R

Credit(s): .5 

Semester(s): 1

Typical Grade Level:  7th 

Prerequisites: None

The objective of this class is to build foundational skills of language and writing.  Students will examine sentence structure and coherent writing.  The students will focus on vocabulary skills by learning greek and latin roots and affixes.  Students will focus on the organizing ideas  for writing and supporting ideas with evidence from the text focus.  Students will read two novels and an assortment of shorter articles and essays and examining figurative language and author's purpose and meaning.    

Level of Challenge: 3-4

Typical Homework Commitment: 2 Hours Per Week

Level: H

Credit(s): 1 

Semester(s): 2

Typical Grade Level: 11th & 12th 

Prerequisites: Junior or Senior; Dual Credit testing and application need to be passed and completed

In this course, students will develop critical and analytical skills needed to be a cinema practitioner. They will be introduced to the basics of film analysis, cinematic formal elements, genre and narrative structure that are aligned to the relevant strands of CCSS. Students will develop the skills to recognize, analyze, describe and enjoy film as an art and entertainment form. To understand how films are constructed to make meaning and engage audiences, students will gain foundational knowledge in the formal elements (narrative, mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound and editing) that make up the film, as well as some fundamental principles of analysis, genre, style, performance and storytelling. Students will enter the course with a story idea and create a screenplay based on that idea as their culminating performance assessment.

Level of Challenge: 3-4 

Typical Homework Commitment: 2 Hours Per Week

Level: R

Credit(s): .5 

Semester(s): 1

Typical Grade Level:  11th and 12th 

Prerequisites: None

 The objective of this class is to expand and broaden the horizons of young people (you), via writing, speaking and listening experiences that range from the narrative, argumentative to informative modes of writing .  Each speech or presentation will expose students to various modes of expressing themselves as well as listening and revision skills. Students will read a novel and write 5-7 speeches or presentations.

Level of Challenge: 3 

Typical Homework Commitment: 1 Hour Per Week