English

Students at Decatur High School must take and pass four English classes to earn a high school diploma. Students are offered access to advanced coursework in the sophomore year, IB coursework beginning in the junior year and continuing into senior year, and AP coursework in the senior year.

9th Grade

Freshman Literature and Composition

Previous Course: 8th-Grade English

Next Course: American Literature

This course focuses on a study of literary genres; the students develop initial understanding of both the structure and the meaning of a literary work. The students explore the effect of the literary form in regards to interpretation. The students will read across the curriculum to develop academic and personal interests in different subjects. While the focus is technical writing in ninth grade literature, the student will also demonstrate competency in a variety of writing genres: narrative, expository, persuasive, and technical. The students will engage in research, timed writings, and the writing process. Instruction in language conventions will occur within the context of reading, writing, and speaking, rather than in isolation. The students demonstrate an understanding of listening, speaking, and viewing skills for a variety of purposes.

10th Grade

American Literature

Previous Course: Freshman Literature and Composition

Next Course: World Literature OR IB Language/Literature HL/SL

This course will survey American works and authors from the new land through contemporary society. This course will prepare the student for specific writing experiences such as exposition, analysis of literature, and literary criticism as well as provide vocabulary development, research skills, and test-taking strategies. All Georgia students must complete .5 units of American Literature to graduate.

11th Grade

World Literature

Previous Course: American Literature

Next Course: Senior English or AP Language and Composition

This course focuses on a study of World Literature; the students develop an understanding of chronological context and the relevance of period structures in literature within world cultures. A focus is to explore the ways the work’s place of origin affects its structure and how the chronology of a literary work affects its meaning. The students develop an understanding of literature as both a culture’s product and a culture-bearer. An exploration of commonalities and differences among works of literature from different times and places in the world is a major component. The students will read across the curriculum to develop academic and personal interests in different subjects.

IB Language and Literature HL/SL Year 1

Previous Course: American Literature

Placement Criteria: 6 or higher in American Literature AND Spring or Fall MAP Reading score 70th percentile or higher

Next Course: IB Language/Literature HL/SL Year 2

The language A: language and literature course aims to develop skills of textual analysis and the understanding that texts, both literary and non-literary, can relate to culturally determined reading practices. The course also encourages students to question the meaning generated by language and texts. An understanding of the ways in which formal elements are used to create meaning in a text is combined with an exploration of how that meaning is affected by reading practices that are culturally defined and by the circumstances of production and reception. The study of literature in translation from other cultures is especially important to IB DP students because it contributes to a global perspective. Texts are chosen from a variety of sources, genres and media.

12th Grade

Senior English

Previous Course: World Literature

IB Language and Literature HL/SL Year 2

Previous Course: IB Language/Literature HL/SL Year 1

AP Language and Composition

Previous Course: World Literature

Admission Criteria: Combined score of 7 or higher when World Literature grade and effort grade are added.

AP English Language and Composition serves as a solid foundation for effective college-level writing with applications in all subject areas. The course teaches students how to write narrative, expository, analytical, and argumentative essays on a variety of subjects. Students read and analyze historic and contemporary works of non-fiction to increase their own awareness of writing styles and techniques. Students benefit from advanced writing instruction that emphasizes revision and feedback from the instructor and their peers and from research opportunities designed to foster the analysis and synthesis of information from a variety of sources. Students learn to employ varied vocabulary and sentence structure, to organize ideas logically, to balance generalization and specifics, to effectively use rhetoric, and to cite sources in accepted formats.

Creative Writing Electives

Creative Writing 1

The study of techniques of writing poetry and short prose through individual and group writing projects. Students create and sell the school’s literary magazine. Creative Writing is available to students in grades 10-12. Creative Writing does not replace a core English class; students who take Creative Writing must still take four years of English.

Creative Writing 2 & 3

Available to all students who have earned a 4 or better in the previous Creative Writing course and (because of the independent work requirements) a 3 or better in the previous Creative Writing effort grade. In Creative Writing 2 & 3, students pursue a directed study and do advanced work built off their learning from previous Creative Writing courses. Creative Writing does not replace a core English class; students who take Creative Writing must still take four years of English.