Course Information:

• Grade Level: 9; *This course is required for all freshmen unless enrolled in an Honors/AP English course

• Length: Year

• Class Fee: $10

• Prerequisite: None

• NCAA, HEAR

Course Description:

English I focuses on strengthening student’s reading skills and preparing all students for high school. Students will build upon prior knowledge and grow in their persuasive, expository, narrative, and analytical writing skills. Students will read a variety of short stories, poems, and novels for the purpose of analyzing literary elements and author’s purpose, among other topics. The coursework will focus on grammar, sentence structures, paragraph writing, and text citation as a foundational starting point for all other high school essay writing. Research projects of both short and longer duration will be undertaken. This class will introduce students to close reading, a task which incorporates critical reading, thinking, and justifying skills. Students must pass this semester course in order to move on to an elective English course or higher level English courses.

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 9 

• Length: Year

• Class Fee: $10

• Prerequisite: Recommendation from 8th grade English teacher

• NCAA, HEAR

Course Description:

Honors English I is an accelerated course for students capable of an in-depth study of language arts. The course requires students have a strong background in reading and writing skills and the capability and motivation to complete some independent study. Students must pass both semesters of this course in order to fulfill graduation requirements.

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 10; *This course is required for all sophomores unless enrolled in an Honors/AP English course 

• Length: Year

• Class Fee: $10

• Prerequisite: English 1 or English 1 Honors

• NCAA, HEAR

Course Description: 

English I focuses on strengthening student’s reading skills and preparing all students for high school. Students will build upon prior knowledge and grow in their persuasive, expository, narrative, and analytical writing skills. Students will read a variety of short stories, poems, and novels for the purpose of analyzing literary elements and author’s purpose, among other topics. The coursework will focus on grammar, sentence structures, paragraph writing, and text citation as a foundational starting point for all other high school essay writing. Research projects of both short and longer duration will be undertaken. This class will introduce students to close reading, a task which incorporates critical reading, thinking, and justifying skills. Students must pass this semester course in order to move on to an elective English course or higher level English courses.

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 10 

• Length: Year

• Class Fee: $10

• Prerequisite: teacher approval required

• NCAA, HEAR

Course Description: 

Honors English II is an accelerated course for students capable of an in-depth study of language arts. The course requires students to have a strong background in reading and writing skills and the capability and motivation to complete some independent study. Students must pass both semesters of this course in order to fulfill graduation requirements.

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 11; *This course is required for all juniors unless enrolled in an Honors/AP English course

• Length: Year

• Class Fee: $10

• Prerequisite: English I and English II

• NCAA, HEAR

Course Description: 

Students will be exposed to American culture, heritage, and history through the study of literature. In addition, students will refine their writing skills by analyzing short stories, poetry, and novels of the last 250 years. Students will effectively communicate ideas and maturely comprehend and analyze works of literature to generate insightful ideas about our present society. 

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 11-12 

• Length: Year

• Class Fee: $106 - includes AP exam fee

• Prerequisite: Successful completion of English I & II & teacher approval required

• NCAA, HEAR

Course Description:

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. The course cultivates the rhetorical understanding and use of written language by directing students’ attention to writer/reader interactions in their reading and writing of various formal and informal genres (e.g., memos, letters, advertisements, political satires, personal narratives, scientific arguments, cultural critiques, research reports). The course introduces students to the literacy expectations of higher education by cultivating essential academic skills such as critical inquiry, deliberation, argument, reading, writing, listening, and speaking. NOTE: Students should take either English III or AP Language & Composition, NOT both.

*Students should expect to spend 2-3 hours per week on work outside of this class.

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 12

• Length: Year

• Class Fee: $10

• Prerequisite: English I, English II, and English III or AP Language and Composition or AP English Literature & Composition

• NCAA, HEAR

Course Description: 

This course is a college preparatory English course which includes the study of world literature, vocabulary development, grammar study, and research.  This class offers insight into the human condition and serves as models for students' own thinking and writing.  For students planning to attend a four-year college, this is the recommended course.

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 12

• Length: Year

• Class Fee: $106 - includes AP exam fee

• Prerequisite: Teacher approval required

• NCAA, HEAR

Course Description: 

AP English Literature and Composition is an introductory college-level literary analysis course. Students cultivate their understanding of literature through reading and analyzing texts as they explore concepts like character, setting, structure, perspective, figurative language, and literary analysis in the context of literary works. This course's day to day work relies heavily on whole class discussions about the texts read (poetry, short stories, dramas, novels).

Taking the AP Exam in the Spring is an expectation of the course, which the instructor will help prepare you for. Doing well on the AP Lit Exam could potentially earn you credit for preliminary English courses in College/University, but even more importantly the skills you hone and experience you gain will extend far beyond Graduation.

You should take AP Lit. It'll be fun.

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 10-12

• Length: Semester

• Class Fee: None

• Prerequisite: English 1

• NCAA, HEAR

Course Description: 

In Creative Writing, students write their own short stories, poetry, and novels over the course of the semester, and will have a portfolio of work collected by the end of the course. 

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 11-12

• Length: Semester

• Class Fee: None

• Prerequisite: C or better in English 1 & 2

• HEAR

Course Description: 

Technical Writing teaches students how to apply existing knowledge of the English language to produce professional, communication-driven documents suitable for the business world. Students will learn how to write resumes, business letters, process-analysis reports, proposals, descriptions, and other communication-driven documents that are used in the business world. Students will read technical writing and nonfiction pieces as models as they learn to write in these modes. In addition, students will practice communication skills for interviews and public speeches. The focus of the class is to prepare students for the entry-level business world immediately following high school, and/or the first years of a post-secondary education. The focus will be on preparing and perfecting a portfolio of technical writing pieces that will be completed by the end of the semester of learning, headlined by a functional resume that can be used immediately.

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 9-12

• Length: Semester

• Class Fee: None

• Prerequisite: None

Course Description:

Mythology is a one semester English course for 9th-12th grade students. Students who take Mythology must also sign up for a regular English class. This elective course focuses on the myths, folklore, and legends of various countries and cultures. Consideration is given to the sensitivity of the importance of these beliefs to members of these cultures. The readings and activities will focus on how the major figures and creation stories in these myths coincide and answer questions about the nature of the world and of human behavior.

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 11-12

• Length: Semester

• Class Fee: None

• Prerequisite: None

Course Description: 

"Film and Literature will explore the adaptation of traditional written literature into film, and will emphasize the shift in emphasis in storytelling to include soundtracks, lighting, and the other things that differentiate the way film tells a story. Essential writing skills will focus on the comparison and contrast between the ways that stories change when told using the different media, and how the opportunities to choose particular actors and lighting and other artistic considerations give directors more leeway in storytelling. "

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 9-12

• Length: Semester

• Class Fee: None

• Prerequisite: 

  • Approved VRHS CE Application and Dean of CE Approval Application and details can be found at bit.ly/vrconcurrent.

  • Test scores: Accuplacer Writing Score 246+, PSAT/SAT 470, EdReady 90

• NCAA, HEAR

Course Description: 

Emphasizes the planning, writing, and revising of compositions, including the development of critical and logical thinking skills. This course includes a wide variety of compositions that stress analytical, evaluative, and persuasive/argumentative writing.

This class is available on the VRHS campus. Passing this class with a C or higher will give you 1 high school English credit that is weighted on a 5.0 scale and 3 college credits. This class is a Guaranteed Transfer class in Colorado and may transfer to out-of-state schools. GT-CO1

Most students should not take this class in addition to AP Language and Composition. 

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 9-12

• Length: Semester

• Class Fee: None

• Prerequisite: 

  • ENG 1021 or AP Language and Composition Exam Score of 3 or higher

• NCAA, HEAR

Course Description: 

Expands and refines the objectives of English Composition I. Emphasizes critical/logical thinking and reading, problem definition, research strategies, and writing analytical, evaluative, and/or argumentative compositions.

This class is available on the VRHS campus. Passing this class with a C or higher will give you 1 high school English credit that is weighted on a 5.0 scale and 3 college credits. This class is a Guaranteed Transfer class in Colorado and may transfer to out-of-state schools. GT-CO1

Most students should not take this class in addition to AP Language and Composition. 

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 9-12

• Length: Semester

• Class Fee: None

• Prerequisite: ENG 1021 or AP Language and Composition Exam Score of 3 or higher

• NCAA, HEAR

Course Description: 

Introduces fiction, poetry, and drama. This course emphasizes active and responsive reading.

This class is available on the VRHS campus. Passing this class with a C or higher will give you 1 high school English credit that is weighted on a 5.0 scale and 3 college credits. This class is a Guaranteed Transfer class in Colorado and may transfer to out-of-state schools. GT-AH2

Most students should not take this class in addition to AP Language and Composition. 

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 9-12

• Length: Semester

• Class Fee: None

• Prerequisite: Prerequisite: ENG 1021 or AP Language and Composition Exam Score of 3 or higher

• NCAA, HEAR

Course Description:

Introduces an interdisciplinary approach to world mythology. This course illustrates and connects common themes in mythology to world religion, philosophy, art, literature, music, and contemporary culture using various interpretive methods.

This class is available on the VRHS campus. Passing this class with a C or higher will give you 1 high school English credit that is weighted on a 5.0 scale and 3 college credits. This class is a Guaranteed Transfer class in Colorado and may transfer to out-of-state schools. GT-AH2

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 9-12

• Length: Semester

• Class Fee: None

• Prerequisite: ENG 1021 or AP Language and Composition Exam Score of 3 or higher

• NCAA, HEAR

Course Description: 

Combines the basic theory of speech communication with public speech performance skills. Emphasis is on speech delivery, preparation, organization, support, and audience analysis and delivery.

This class is available on the VRHS campus. Passing this class with a C or higher will give you 1 high school English credit that is weighted on a 5.0 scale and 3 college credits. This class is a Guaranteed Transfer class in Colorado and may transfer to out-of-state schools. 

Course Information:

• Grade Level: 9-12

• Length: Semester

• Class Fee: None

• Prerequisite: ENG 1021 or AP Language and Composition Exam Score of 3 or higher

• NCAA, HEAR

Course Description: 

Examines the communication involved in interpersonal relationships occurring in family, social, and career situations. Relevant concepts include self-concept, perception, listening, nonverbal communication, and conflict.

This class is available on the VRHS campus. Passing this class with a C or higher will give you 1 high school English credit that is weighted on a 5.0 scale and 3 college credits. This class is a Guaranteed Transfer GT-SS3 class in Colorado and may transfer to out-of-state schools.