Audio Storytelling

147--Audio Storytelling                            Half Year                                      ½  credit 

Recommended: 11th and 12th grade 

Prerequisite: English 10 

This course is an approved senior English elective if taken during the student’s senior year. 

This course is for students interested in storytelling, both fiction and nonfiction, out loud or through audio media. Early stories were brought to the public by oral storytellers, bards and minstrels, and the world has returned to that medium in audiobook and podcasts, etc. In this class, students will develop several audio productions, using materials ranging from cell phone recording to high tech audio equipment. These productions will include at least a short opinion piece, a current/historical news report, an adapted children’s story, and a final audio production of your choice. This class is available for all four grade levels for English elective credit. 

Quest Literature

122--Quest Literature                             Half Year                                      ½  credit 

Recommended: 11th and 12th grade

Prerequisite: English 10 

This course is an approved senior English elective if taken during the student's senior year. 

From the knights questing for the Holy Grail to Odysseus's epic journey to return home to more contemporary searches for identity or purpose, the quest motif has long fascinated readers. This course will explore both classic and contemporary quest literature, such as Tim O'Brien's quest for truth and courage in The Things They Carried, Oskar Schell's search for the lock in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, and Amir's journey towards redemption in The Kite Runner. 

Creative Writing Fiction

112—Creative Writing Fiction               Half Year                                      ½  credit 

Recommended: 11th and 12th grade

Prerequisite: English 10 

This course is an approved senior English elective if taken during the student's senior year. 

Creative Writing Fiction uses mentor texts from literary masters past and present in a workshop model to develop student writing abilities across specific fiction genres, including short story, drama and poetry. For each one, students will learn to apply the best methods, techniques and literary devices to the writing genre. Each major unit has a culminating product, possibly including a fully-developed short story; an anthology of original and selected poems; and a one act play. Students will have the opportunity to tap their creative brains to share ideas and stories, and use real author strategies to develop them into completed, publishable work. 

Mythology II

 153- Mythology II               Half Year       ½  credit

Recommended: 11th and 12th grade

Prerequisite: English 10

This course is an approved senior English elective if taken during the student’s senior year.

Did you know that gang wars are older than you think–and date back to Sumerian mythology and two rival sister goddesses: one who ruled the land of the living and one who ruled the land of the dead?  Or that Orpheus in Greek mythology wasn’t the only one who ventured into the Underworld to retrieve the woman he loved?  A Japanese god named Izanagi did the same thing–but his story ends in bitterness and resentment.  In Latin American countries, parents threatened their children with stories of a bogeyman called el Cuco in order to make them behave, and used the legend of La Llorona to warn children not to go wandering in the forest or near rivers after dark. In this course, we will be studying world mythology, which may include mythology from the following cultures or countries: Egyptian, Babylonian, Sumerian, African, Hindu, Japanese, Chinese, Native American, Latin American, Incan, Aztec, and Mayan, focusing on the major gods and goddesses, heroes, archetypes, and cultural messages. 

Film and Literature

134 - Film and Literature                                Half Year                                         ½  credit 

Recommended: 11th and 12th grade

Prerequisite: English 10 

This course is an approved senior English elective if taken during the student’s senior year.

This course is an approved senior English elective if taken during the student’s senior year.  This course will examine the increasingly complex relationship between the moving image and the printed page. As media becomes ever more prevalent in all of our lives, it is important to recognize that film and its related media have a language that can and ought to be recognized, parsed, analyzed, and deeply understood. There will be high level reading of film study texts, film journal articles and film reviews. Students will be required to be active participants in film viewings and discussion. Student writings will include their own reviews of films they watch outside of class sessions, analyses of the dramatic, cinematic, narrative aspects of films, and comparisons of literary works and their cinematic adaptations. Concepts and information to be studied in this class will also include:  Narrative structures common to both film and fiction will be analyzed: for example, plot structure, characterization, point of view, setting, motif, symbolism, flashback and flash forward, irony, parody, and satire. As well, we will examine the translational issues inherent in converting non-fiction literature into documentary and/or docudrama productions. The history of film and film genres will also be studied.

Short Fiction

158 - Short Fiction                         Half Year                     ½  credit

Recommended:  11th and 12th grade

Prerequisite: English 10

This course is an approved senior English elective if taken during the student’s senior year.

This course is for students interested in exploring 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.

College Composition 

157--College Composition         Half Year                       ½  credit

Recommended: 12th grade

Prerequisite: American Lit A&B or AP Language & Composition

This course is an approved senior English elective if taken during the student’s senior year.

*An Early College Class (3 NHTI credits) 

In this course, students learn to write clearly and effectively for defined audiences through a variety of strategies. Emphasis is on the writing process from pre-writing through drafting, revising, and editing. Students gain confidence through learning the basic principles in writing essays and documented papers. Students become aware of the variety of strategies, behaviors, habits, and attitudes and choose those that help them improve. Through the Early College at Your High School program, students are eligible to receive college credit at NHTI.