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:  English Language Arts

10th

Honors English II is the second of four required courses in the English sequence. The CPS vision for advanced literacy is elevated and integrated in this Skyline ELA curriculum. It involves five key practices and instructional shifts that drive literacy instruction forward. The key practices are as follows: abundant reading of diverse engaging texts, extensive discussion, frequent process-based writing, rigorous and authentic learning experiences, and communicating and creating content in a modern digital environment. This course was developed to allow access to a variety of learners, and uses varied modes (e.g. pre-, formative, summative and self-assessment measures) and styles of assessment (e.g. performance tasks, process-based writing, creative writing, etc), on high quality, culturally relevant, and rigorous texts that vary over the course of the year. The curriculum materials provide instructional opportunities (questions, tasks, and activities) that grow students’ knowledge of topics and themes while advancing the literacy skills of English I. Students who successfully complete this course should be prepared to demonstrate proficiencies on the department's Key Performance Indicators and the ACT and attempt the rigor of Advanced Placement coursework.  

Honors English III:  American Literature

11th 

Honors American Literature challenges skilled readers, writers, and thinkers to consider not only what the author is saying, but why the writer is saying it, and how they are choosing to respond. We explore what context they were writing in and for what primary audience. This course is designed to prepare students for the English and Reading sections of the SAT as well as provide a solid foundation for future college work. Common Core Standards (CCSS) aligned, this course is designed to meet students’ current academic needs and advance their skills. 

Honors African American & Latin American Literature 

12th

This course will reflect a rigorous, college-level curriculum that is designed to introduce you to a range of literature and multimedia texts created by African and Latine writers. We will explore CLOSE reading techniques by utilizing a variety of texts with a focus on critical perspectives. Throughout the year, we will apply our understanding of language to illuminate literature that explores the complexities of our collective cultures.  We will emphasize creative writing to refine written, oral, and visual representations in response to Latine and African literature. Together, we will engage in deep inquiry that will help set the foundation for further college-level coursework in English. 

Advanced Placement English Language & Composition

12th

An AP English Language and Composition course cultivates the reading and writing skills that students need for college success and for intellectually responsible civic engagement. The course guides students in becoming curious, critical, and responsive readers of diverse texts and becoming flexible, reflective writers of texts addressed to diverse audiences for diverse purposes. The reading and writing students do in the course should deepen and expand their understanding of how written language functions rhetorically: to communicate writers’ intentions and elicit readers’ responses in particular situations (College Board). We practice 3 modes of writing; rhetorical analysis, synthesis, and argument, and study multiple choice questions in preparation for the May 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. As they read, students consider a works' structure, style, and themes, as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism and tone.  This course follows the guidelines in the AP English Course Description, and is graded using the AP Scoring Guides for all three modes of writing (Prose, Poetry, and Literary Argument). Students are expected to take the AP Exam in May. Please note that this class frequently assesses student writing using “cold” prompts under timed conditions. 

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.