English Course Offerings

Honors English I:  Survey of Literature

9th

English I, Survey of Literature, is the first of four required courses in the English sequence and serves as a foundation for further English coursework. Students will read, write, and respond to increasingly challenging texts. Within the context of thematic units, students will study the following genres: short story, novel, poetry, drama, nonfiction, and film. They will apply their understanding of language and the writing process to develop organized and coherent responses to literature, express their personal ideas, describe situations or events, and inform and persuade their audiences. Using elements of the craft of writing, students will refine written, oral, and visual representations in response to literature. Through the writing process and effective composition strategies, students will refine grammar and usage skills. Students will also engage in inquiry to develop research-based products in collaboration with their Biology course. These reading and writing skills will help set the foundation for further coursework in English. This course is designed to help students meet and exceed the Common Core Standards and prepare them for future work in college.

Honors English II:  World Literature

10th

World Literature is the second of four required courses in the English sequence. Students will become adept at analyzing increasingly challenging text and using elements of the writer’s craft to refine written, oral, and visual representations in response to world literature. World Literature encompasses a rich body of work ranging from the early and classical oral traditions to the voices of post-colonial groups, and to the modern diversity of today’s society, reflecting the complex and interwoven voices of global perspectives. Students will read and respond in a variety of ways to works by influential writers. They will explore and analyze world literature within its historical and cultural framework. This, in turn, will help to create a deeper knowledge and understanding of world events. Building on their understanding of historical events as taught in English I, students will be able to meet or exceed expectations for Key Performance Indicators. KPIs are developed to meet Common Core Standards and prepare students for SAT and college skills.

Honors English III:  American Literature

11th 

American Literature and Composition is the third of four required courses in the English sequence. Students will become adept at analyzing increasingly challenging text and using elements of the writer’s craft to refine written, oral, and visual representations in response to American literature. American literature encompasses a rich body of work ranging from the Native American oral traditions to the voices of post-colonial groups, and to the modern diversity of today’s society, reflecting the complex and interwoven voices of American men and women. Students will read and respond in a variety of ways to works by influential writers. They will explore and analyze American literature within its historical and cultural framework. This, in turn, will help to create a deeper knowledge and understanding of the American heritage.

Honors African American & Latin American Literature 

12th

In this literature class, 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, English II, and English III. Students will evaluate the multiple vantage points of the African American and Latin American experience, issues of representation, and the cultural and historical context of African American and Latin American literature. Students will express themselves in multiple writing formats including narratives,  investigative reports, literary analyses, and research  papers. 

Advanced Placement English Language & Composition

12th

AP English Language and Composition engages students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts and in becoming complex writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Both their writing and their reading should make students aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects as well as the way generic conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing. This course will give students a learning experience equivalent to a typical undergraduate introduction to his or her first composition class. Through close reading of nonfiction texts, students will understand how writers use language to provide meaning and make text-to-text, text to self, and text to world connections. We will analyze and evaluate style and structure, rhetorical strategies, diction, figurative language, imagery, selection of detail, language and syntax. Students will create and support arguments throughout the course. We will examine the expository, analytical, and argumentative writing that forms the basis of academic and professional communications as well as on the personal and reflective writing that fosters writing facility in any context. Additionally, students will write a variety of essays in preparation for success on the AP Language & Composition exam.

Advanced Placement English Literature & Composition

11th & 12th

The AP English Literature and Composition course “engages students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature.” Through the close reading of selected texts, students will deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. This course follows the guidelines in the AP English Course Description. Over the course of the year, students will engage in careful reading and critical analysis of literary texts spanning various genres and periods- from the 16th-21st century. We will study literature from various regions of the world and immerse ourselves in the details of these texts to understand the societies depicted within them. We will also see how literature can reflect social, historical, and cultural values. We will critically analyze literature through discussions as well as essays. During class, we will develop a wide vocabulary, the ability to read complex texts, and the ability to write organically using effective rhetoric. Students will become better readers, writers, and communicators by the end of the course. Additionally, students will write a variety of essays in preparation for success on the AP Literary & Composition exam.

English 160- UIC English Course*

12th

As a citizen of the world, you are a part of a network of social issues; some of which directly affect you and some affect those around you! In this course, we will individually and collectively explore what it means to be a part of our cultures, communities, city, and nation; we’ll also analyze how history affects the present. From argumentative writing and personal narratives to interviews and analysis, we will look closely at how social issues shape our lives. Through reading and writing, as well as personal connections to social issues, our discussions will center on what campaigns for change exist and how we might participate in those campaigns.

One important goal of this course is to advance our abilities as writers and thinkers. We will analyze the impact of story in relation to personal experiences. We will write in various genres, not only to develop our skills as writers, but to further our engagement in the community and the country around us. As a whole, we will discover what it means to be a productive, empowered citizen of a society and learn from one another as we write about its impact. 

*Upon successful completion, students may earn college course credit for English 160 from UIC.