English

This is a non-credit course specifically designed for students in grades 9 through 12 who are in jeopardy of not passing the Common Core Regents English exam. Students will receive intensive individualized instruction in reading and writing skills.

The English Language Arts program for ninth grade includes a focus on literature, language, rhetoric, synthesis, and composition. These are among the skills needed for the Common Core English Regents Exam which they will take in eleventh grade. Students will read poetry, short stories, novels, plays, and non-fiction. Students will engage in inquiry research and will write a formal researched synthesis essay.

The English Language Arts program at this level will encompass world literature, which will in many ways parallel the global studies program in grade ten. The texts will provide access to diverse cultures across time and space. Students will improve their writing skills through both creative and critical writing assignments.Students will write essays that parallel the Common Core English Regents exam. Language study will include exercises in grammar, usage, and vocabulary throughout the year.

This AP Seminar course focuses on skills necessary for college and career in the form of research, argument, communication, presentation, and teamwork skills.  Students will study a variety of different real-world issues and demonstrate their skills through argumentation and presentation both within groups and individually.  The course provides students with the opportunity to become confident writers and thinkers while studying topics of personal interest through project based experiences.  Students will practice close reading, synthesis of information from a variety of sources, development of voice through written essays and the creation and delivery of oral and visual presentations, and work individually and with a team. 

The English Language Arts program in grade 11 will emphasize structure, style, and theme in both literature and writing as the students prepare to take the Common Core English Regents exam in June. Students will primarily study American Literature and nonfiction. Writing skills will continue to be developed through the writing of literary analysis and essays. Language study will include exercises in grammar, usage, and vocabulary throughout the year.

This AP English course focuses on the study of argument. Students examine the interactions among subject, authorial purpose, audience needs, and the resources of the English language including rhetorical appeals, techniques, and modes of discourse. Students will gain proficiency in rhetorical analysis of fiction and nonfiction across time and culture and create their own free and researched arguments with sophistication and complexity. They will gain awareness of the rhetorical messages that affect us as citizens and consumers analyzing the connotative meanings of words and the cultural, political, or historical contexts of various texts. The course also prepares students for the Common Core English Regents exam, which also requires students to write a rhetorical analysis of a text and a researched argument essay. The Advanced Placement exam is required of all students.

The focus at this level is on refining student writing skills using the writing process and developing and organizing writing in clear, coherent and persuasive language with a strong personal voice. Students will study novels and works of various genres and literary periods with a focus on a close reading of these works, considering the work’s style, structure and themes. Students will read actively to produce various writing forms, including essays and creative writing. A research paper will be required.

This course teaches students strategies of critical academic writing in various genres, including analysis, argument, and researched writing. The course challenges students to understand that effective communication requires people to be aware of the complex factors that shape every rhetorical context, including issues of power, history, difference, and community; and that writing as a process involves reflection and revision. This writing course is a site of active learning where students have responsibility for their own progress and for that of their peers. Students write formal papers for each major unit, in addition to various informal writing assignments and a culminating portfolio. This is a college course offered through Syracuse University.  Students who choose to enroll and pay the (discounted) fee for SU credit will receive three college credits.

Students explore varieties of creative nonfiction, such as memoir; biography; the personal essay; travel, science, and food writing; and “new  journalism.”  As its name suggests, creative nonfiction borrows elements from fiction and poetry (e.g., description, scene construction, dialogue, etc.) yet still aims to tell the truth. For a writer to “tell it slant,” however, is to acknowledge the ways in which one’s subjective viewpoint shapes what counts as “the truth” in telling a story about one’s own or another’s experiences. Students will have the opportunity to experiment with style, genre, and subject in a writing studio environment and to read varied examples of contemporary creative nonfiction. Students will craft and workshop their own creative nonfiction compositions. This is a college course offered through Syracuse University.  Students who choose to enroll and pay the (discounted) fee for SU credit will receive three college credits.

This course is intended for students who have mastered the skills of expository writing and who now wish the opportunity to create original poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Regular journal writing is required. In addition, there is assigned reading of models in poetry and selections from writers of fiction. This would be a great opportunity for students to discover their own personal voice and to express their ideas in new ways.

This course introduces students to emerging technologies and time-tested storytelling techniques in video production and media arts. Students will gain practical experience in media news gathering, working as part of a team to produce news reports and complete newscasts.  Students will work to produce a daily newscast, and learn to write effective news stories, take advantage of print and digital sources, and develop presentation skills. By the end of the course, students will be able to demonstrate accurate, fair, and factual oral and written communication skills in reporting, possess the ability to create video-based projects, and gain a comprehensive understanding of fundamental concepts and theories in the presentation of news.  This course may be taken multiple semesters.