English 9 (CCR)

101 - English 9 (CCR) Half Year ½ credit

English 9 is a course designed to strengthen your abilities to express yourselves using each mode of language arts (reading, writing, listening, speaking, and viewing).  This class will encourage you to: think critically; develop your reading and writing skills; improve your grammatical skills; and make informed opinions about literature and express them appropriately. As the introductory course to high school English, this class will teach you the foundations for success in future English classes.

All freshmen and sophomores must take a total of two English 9/10 Electives.  It is required that they take one during their freshman year and a different elective during their sophomore year.  

*Please note that these courses are only open to freshmen and sophomores.*

Digital Age Inquiry

154-Digital Age Inquiry                                 Half Year       ½ credit

Zora Neale Hurston wrote, “Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.” Every day, people all over the world satisfy every curiosity using the tools around them - at every scale - without even realizing that they are using a process that has been around for ages.  In today’s world, we are presented with a constant stream of information that is at an all time high. In this class, we will read, listen, and learn about how important research is to decoding that ongoing feed, whether asking Alexa or Google a question with an easy answer, or examining multiple sources to develop ideas about a topic. Students will examine how bias exists in the media in our everyday lives, as well as how to identify it, verify it, and either incorporate or exclude it from new understanding. Co-taught by both a Library Media Specialist and a content area teacher, this course is offered as an underclassmen elective that will inform student critical thinking in subsequent content area subjects as well as their futures outside of academics. 

Epic Adventure

159--Epic Adventure                                                          Half Year ½ credit

The Epic Adventure course will allow students to explore the art of short fiction through the close reading of diverse and dynamic short stories. The class will focus on developing critical reading and analytical skills by delving into the elements that shape a short story: character development, plot structure, themes, symbolism, and narrative voice. Students will read a range of classic and contemporary works from various authors and cultural perspectives, engaging in thoughtful discussions, written analysis, and creative projects. 

Introduction to Creative Writing

155--Introduction to Creative Writing     Half Year           ½ credit

The Introduction to Creative Writing course will allow students in grades 9 & 10 to dabble in several genres of nonfiction and fiction writing. The class will use mentor texts in a workshop model to develop students' writing abilities across specific genres, such as memoirs, poetry, fairy tales, etc. Students will have the opportunity to tap their creative brains to write ideas and stories, and use real author strategies to develop them into completed, publishable work. Each unit will allow students the opportunity to practice, edit, revise, and submit final written work. Students will also practice expanding their creativity through the use of daily journal prompts, small group discussion, and large group sharing. 

Introduction to Sports and Literature

156-Introduction to Sports and Literature Half Year ½ credit

What makes someone a good coach or mentor or a bad one? How much influence do an athlete’s teammates have on a person? How much can participation in a sport transform someone’s life, and how does playing a sport help athletes to live life to the fullest? What ethical dilemmas does the sports world present?  Students will explore these issues and more in Deadline by Chris Crutcher and other sports books of their choice. We will also read and discuss sports articles, nonfiction, poetry, and film.  Students will be expected to read the texts closely, analyze the literature, participate in class discussions, and complete various writing assignments and performance assessments. 

All juniors who are not taking AP Language and Composition must take American Literature A prior to taking American Literature B.

American Literature A

105-American Literature A Half Year ½ credit

Prerequisite: English 10

American Lit A presents the same material in all sections: we build up the foundational skills that students need to have in the last writing-focused course before graduation.  While senior level courses do contain writing, they are developed around specific types of content and the writing supports that. In American Lit A, we look at how to expand the CER system you have practiced with into usable strategies for mature writing that you will be able to use in your post-high school endeavors. The eleventh grade Common Core standards also make a huge jump in understanding, moving from questions like, “What is the point of view?” to “How does an author’s choice of point of view affect aspects of the story?” To figure all of this out, we first dive into Edgar Allan Poe, reading stories riddled with the gore and horror that students love, and introducing analysis topics like tone, point of view, and symbolism. Then we move into the Transcendentalist period, a group that spent a lot of time outdoors; to discuss these themes, we look at the original essays from the period, but also comics, children’s books, and film. Finally, we round out the semester with The Great Gatsby, using this amazing story to follow a theme and watch how an author develops it over the text. Each unit does have a large summative that is focused generally on writing.

American Literature B: Drama

104 - American Literature B: Drama Half Year ½ credit

Prerequisite: American Literature A

American Lit B: Drama is one of the four options for second semester Junior English. In this section, we read several plays and spend time analyzing them in the same way that we learned in semester one. First we read several short plays to practice, before jumping into reading The Crucible by Arthur Miller.  This play looks closely at a possible cause of the Salem Witch Trials through the eyes of vengeance.  Then we go through several options, either tragic or comic, based on the interests of the class.  While there is a level of writing that mirrors what we establish in semester one, ending with a large research paper, the reading in this course is generally done aloud in class.  Students do not have to be good at reading aloud; there are multiple smaller roles for those who are uncomfortable. 

American Literature B: Novel

102 - American Literature B: Novel       Half Year ½ credit

Prerequisite: American Literature A

American Lit B: Novel is one of the four options for second semester Junior English. In this section, we read several novels of varying length, and analyze them in the same ways we practiced in semester one. We start off with short stories, before getting into reading Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. This very short book follows two men working on a California ranch and the tragedy that strikes after a terrible misunderstanding. We then move through several options based on the interests of the class; some possibilities include a story of a couple in the middle of a hurricane in Florida, an American Indian teenager struggling with leaving the reservation for a white school, a Private Detective investigating a missing treasure, or the classic story of a boy and an escaped slave traveling down the Mississippi. This course offering does include reading at home, but audiobooks are available for all titles. Writing mirrors the analysis done in semester one, ending with a long research paper.

American Literature B: Nonfiction

107 - American Literature B: Nonfiction   Half Year ½ credit

Prerequisite: American Literature A

American Lit B: Nonfiction is one of the four options for second semester Junior English. In this section, we look at several different types of texts, and analyze them in the same ways we practiced in semester one. First, we read several short articles about current topics, then we move into the nonfiction novel In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.  This is the story of the violent murder of an entire family in their rural home.  The murderers were eventually caught, and the book follows both the murderers and the investigators after the fact. After this, we listen to the audio podcast, Serial, which is the true story of a 17-year old high school Junior in Baltimore, Maryland, who is tried and convicted of murdering his girlfriend - a conviction that hinged entirely on the witness account of a single unreliable person.  The final piece of the course is the choice of the class, and could include the true story of a Serial Killer at the World’s Fair, or a book about a young man who sold all of his belongings before taking off to travel the United States. This course offering does include reading and listening at home, but audiobooks are available for all text titles and podcasts are free on multiple platforms. Writing mirrors the analysis done in semester one, ending with a long research paper.

American Literature B: Poetry

American Literature B: Poetry

129 - American Literature B: Poetry Half Year ½ credit

Prerequisite: American Literature A

American Lit B: Poetry is one of the four options for second semester Junior English. In this section, we look at several different types of poems, and analyze them in the same ways we practiced in semester one. Each class opens with a modern piece that we practice reading and discussing, before we move into the lesson for the day.  While poetry can sound scary, this is not just the mushy, flowery poetry that most people think about; instead, we also look at gritty war poetry, rap lyrics, and social criticism that pack meaning into small reading pieces. Because the reading pieces are so small, almost all the reading is done in class, with much writing done at home. All the writing in response to the poetry mirrors the same skills learned in the first semester, ending with a long research paper.