English

Honors English I – Introduction to Literature and Language

Course Number: 184101H

Prerequisites: n/a

Credits: 1

Students will learn the fundamentals of literature and rhetoric by reading and analyzing a broad range of genres- including novels, drama, short stories, poetry, and essays, as well as informational readings. Students will write in analytical, argumentative, and creative styles, gaining a variety of writing skills through modeling, editing, and revision. The successful completion of a research paper is required in this course. Core texts include Romeo and Juliet, Oedipus Rex, Things Fall Apart, and Fahrenheit 451. 

Honors English II - American Literature and Language

Course Number: 184201H

Prerequisites: English I or English I competency

Credits: 1

Students will evaluate and analyze a variety of American writings from colonial America through modern periods while reflecting on American identities. Students will continue to write in analytical, argumentative, and creative styles, improving on a variety of writing skills through modeling, editing, and revision. The successful completion of a research paper and a persuasive speech is required in this course. Core texts include The Crucible, The Great Gatsby, and Their Eyes Were Watching God. 

Honors U.S. History/Honors English II - American Experiences

Course Number: 196201H

Prerequisites: English I or English I competency; World Studies or AP Human Geography

Credits: 2

Homework Expectation: Weekly homework is variable for students. A majority of assignments are able to be completed IN CLASS if students are on-task. The maximum amount of homework for the course on a week basis is 120-240 minutes (2-4 hours) but subject to change. 

Assessment Retake Policy: Students are able to revise any assignment AFTER meeting with one/both teachers and receiving/responding to the guided feedback. Students are allowed to retake ONCE.

Grading Categories: 100% Summative; 0% Formative     

American Experience is a course that encourages sophomore students to appreciate the richness and diversity of the United States by analyzing it from interwoven historical and literary lenses. Using novels, films, poems, plays, primary sources, short stories and more; students will engage in an inquiry-based study of American Narratives that will allow a more complete understanding of the historical contexts that underpin current U.S. events. Texts will explore the historical diversity of American experiences, including the American experiences of Indigenous, LGBTQ, African, Asian and Latinx people. Students will develop their reading, writing, and speaking, through a variety of activities and assessments as they utilize the integrated disciplines of English and History to become more literate and compassionate citizens. Students will also develop their innovation and presentation skills through research projects, including the CPS required tenth grade service learning project. American Experience is a team-taught, double-period course. The course is limited to two sections. This will fulfill the sophomore US History, English II, and service learning project requirements. This course will assess students and provide feedback in alignment with proficiency-based learning models. This will allow students to demonstrate mastery of skills and concepts while receiving robust feedback for growth.       

AP English Language and Composition

Course Number: 175101A

Prerequisites: English II

Credits: 1

Students in AP English Language and Composition engage in becoming skilled readers of nonfiction prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Students become aware, in both their writing and their reading, of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects as well as the way conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing. Students learn to write prose of sufficient richness and complexity to communicate effectively with mature readers. In addition, the informed use of research materials and the ability to synthesize varied sources (to evaluate, use, and cite sources) are integral parts of the course. Students move past assignments that allow for the uncritical citation of sources and, instead, take up projects that call on them to evaluate the legitimacy and purpose of sources used. Core texts include numerous essays, speeches, and nonfiction short pieces, as well as longer texts like Outliers, Justice, and memoirs. All AP Language students will complete a writing assignment over the summer.  This course serves as English III credit. 

Honors English III - Contemporary Literature and Language

Course Number: 184301H

Prerequisites: English II

Credits: 1

Students will explore contemporary political and social issues through mostly nonfiction texts. Students will build writing skills that will help prepare them for the rigors of freshmen college composition courses. They will develop skills in argument, rhetorical analysis, and synthesis through readings, discussions, and research, as well to learn various modes of writing. This course is akin to an Honors class version of AP Language, covering a similar skills set, but with more of a focus on writing as a process. Students will write argument essays, rhetorical analysis, op-eds, reviews, extended definition essays, synthesis, memoirs, and college essays. Core texts include numerous essays, speeches, and nonfiction pieces. Students will also participate in reading and writing preparation as well as independent choice reading.  

Honors Latin American Literature 

Course Number: 168101H

Prerequisites: English II

Credits: 1

This core English course meets the graduation requirement for English III.  Students in this course examine texts by writers of Latin American ancestry.  By examining various genres through literary, historical, social, political, and artistic perspectives, students will develop their skills as highly proficient readers and writers.  Students in this course complete rigorous creative and academic writing assignments, including an interdisciplinary research project.  Students are challenged to develop their own understanding of the course's themes in a global context and expand their appreciation of writing. Students use the course work to improve their skills in rhetoric, writing, and text analysis based on the Common Core Standards, which naturally align with the Illinois state standards.  Students also develop their critical-thinking ability: the well-reasoned problem-solving process where one examines evidence and decides what to believe, communicate, or do. Core texts include the work of Alvarez, Cisneros, Diaz, Garcia, and various speeches, essays, and literary criticism.  This course serves as English III credit. 

AP English Literature and Composition

Course Number: 170101A

Prerequisites: English III

Credits: 1

In this college-level course, students read carefully and critically to analyze literature, developing skills in analyzing and evaluating structure, style, themes, figurative language, tone, and purpose. Students analyze a variety of literature selections representative of a number of genres from writers of the world, with an emphasis on British Literature, and demonstrate an appreciation for the written word.  Students write to understand, to explain, and to evaluate, using different modes of writing including, but not limited to, timed and prompt-based writings and essays developed through the writing and revision process.  All essays and class discussion respond to literature (in content, in cultural/sociological/historical context, in style, in literary analysis) in a manner that is persuasive, argumentative, expository, or analytical/interpretive, whether the essay is modeled on the literature (such as through writing one's own satirical essay) or directly responding to the literature through quotes and analysis of the material.  Possible texts include Jane Eyre, Hamlet, Invisible Man, and As I Lay Dying. All AP Literature students are required to read The Awakening over the summer, with a possible writing assignment attached. This course serves as English IV credit. 

Dual Credit African American Literature            

Course Number: 184721A

Prerequisites: English III; For Dual Credit: Minimum GPA of 2.5, 90% attendance rate, and CCC RTW placement test score 6+ 

Credits: 1                       

Applying thematic historical contexts, students in the African American Literature course deconstruct texts and other forms of media from the 1800s to modern times to evaluate how African Americans have been portrayed in the media, community, politics and other governing bodies in the United States. Students will apply educational theory and literary criticism in various forms: essays, research papers, and oral presentations, to understand multiple vantage points of African American experience. Students will demonstrate the synthesis of rhetorical effect using literary devices. Students will be immersed in the use of the Socratic Method in facilitating an environment of excavation and dialogue.  Students will write an extensive, cross-curricular research paper, demonstrating mastery of research skills and effective written language. Students will read works from the following authors: Baldwin, Baraka, Clark, Dumas, Hansberry, Hurston, Hughes, Okorafor, Larsen, Lorde, Morrison, Wilson, and Woodson. This course serves as English IV credit. Dual credit will be offered through City Colleges of Chicago for both semesters. 

Dual Credit College Rhetoric and Composition           

Course Number: 184511A

Prerequisites: English III; For Dual Credit: Minimum GPA of 2.5, 90% attendance rate, and CCC RTW placement test score 6+ 

Credits: 1  

This course will help students develop rhetorical genre awareness— the sense that different situations and different academic disciplines shape the conventions of effective writing and communication. They will be able to explore and research multiple genres to develop meta-awareness and practice improving their communication in those genres. They will be able to use the flexible mindsets to succeed in their discipline-specific college major and across multiple “real-world” communication styles. They will investigate the ways language usage has shaped their identity and their community, as well as how different discourses are used to maintain as well as to disrupt systems of power. Each semester will culminate in a reflective portfolio. Core texts include numerous essays, speeches, and nonfiction short pieces, as well as longer texts like Naming What We Know and Writing About Writing.  This course serves as English IV credit. Dual credit will be offered through City Colleges of Chicago for both semesters.

Dual Credit World Literature 

Course Number: 131511A

Prerequisites: English III; For Dual Credit: Minimum GPA of 2.5, 90% attendance rate, and CCC RTW placement test score 6+ 

Credits: 1                

Students read and examine world literature, using advanced techniques of composition to analyze a variety of literary genres. Students evaluate the language used in the various readings, and investigate the cultural and historical contexts that produced the works under study. Students complete an extensive, cross-curricular research paper, demonstrating mastery of research skills and effective written language. Students also prepare for the ACT, SAT, and college entrance exams. Core texts in this class include Half of a Yellow Sun, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, and Othello, among other various novels, poetry, short stories, and nonfiction. In order to be eligible for dual credit, students must have an unweighted GPA of 3.0 or higher. There may be a summer assignment with this course. Dual credit will be offered through City Colleges of Chicago for first semester. 

Honors Asian-American Literature

Course Number: 166101H

Prerequisites: English III

Credits: 1

This course is an introduction to Asian American Studies and Asian American Literature. In a mix of both fiction and nonfiction texts, students will explore important concepts and issues related to Asianness in America, including Orientalism, the model minority myth, intersectionality, solidarity with other minority groups, white supremacy, Asian immigrant experience, Asian media in the US, and more. Students will also engage in student interest-driven group and individual research topics related to Asianness. This course aims to prepare students for post-secondary education with a particular focus on collegiate academic skills, like close reading and argumentative writing, and collegiate behavioral skills, like collaboration, metacognition, organization, and work ethic. This course serves as English IV credit. 

Honors Creative Writing 

Course Number: 143101H

Prerequisites: English I and English II

Credits: 1 **This course does NOT meet English graduation requirements.**

Creative Writing is an elective for Seniors, Juniors, and Sophomores who have completed English II.  We will learn to plot short stories, develop characters, write flash fiction, script comic books, craft memoirs, explore fundamentals of poetry, and play with different poetic forms such as the Bop, Corridos, Sijos, Tankas, Ghazals, Rubais, and spoken word. Creative Writing is workshop based, which provides students with time to write and review work in class. Most importantly, students have a lot of freedom to pursue their own creative interests and are reminded that writing can be fun. 

Honors Film Studies

Course Number: 195101H

Prerequisites: English I and English II

Credits: 1 **This course does NOT meet English graduation requirements.**

In this course, students will work to become skilled readers of films as texts; introducing them to film analysis, cinematic elements, and genre and narrative structure. Readings and coursework will enable students to analyze the rhetoric of cinema and look critically at the various ways films construct meaning (narrative, mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound and editing). Students will engage in multiple written responses to film, both analytically and critically. Building upon skills from other English classes, this class will teach students to critically discuss and write about films from various genres and time periods. They will write a variety of different film analysis papers. Units include: Early Cinema, Introduction of Sound, Sci-Fi, Westerns, Comedies, individual director studies and more. 

Find more information on the AP Capstone Diploma here.