English

Open to: 9th Grade

Course Length: Two Semesters

Teacher approval?  N/A 

Course and Grade Prerequisites: None

Examining the issues and questions associated with coming of age, students of English I will study a variety of literary forms, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and short stories. Specifically, students will apply their understandings of literary terms to these texts and will develop their close reading and analytical skills. In the descriptive, expository and persuasive modes, students will write multi-paragraph essays that explain their understandings from their readings, with particular focus on the process of composition: pre-writing, drafting and revision. In their writing, students will apply their comprehension of English grammar, including parts of speech and a variety of grammatical structures. This course fulfills the 9th Grade requirement for English.

Open to: 9th Grade

Course Length: Two Semesters

Teacher approval?  N/A 

Course and Grade Prerequisites: Placement Exam Score 170+ on National Percentile HSPT, or Petition and Portfolio

*See “Requirements for Taking Honors and Advanced Placement Courses” at the beginning of this Catalog.  Students of English I will study a variety of literary forms including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and short stories. Students will encounter coming of age texts through studying the four major literary genres: epic, tragic, lyric, and comic.  We use the heroic journey as a lens through which to interpret the texts falling within the epic genre. Through the study of literature, students will be introduced to literary terms, close reading skills, and literary analysis. Students will learn to write multi-paragraph essays analyzing and writing persuasively on an assigned text with a primary focus on paragraph development and the writing process. Students will be instructed in the usage of English grammar throughout the year including the parts of speech as well as a focus on simple, complex, compound, and compound-complex sentences. This course fulfills the 9th grade requirement for English.

Open to: 10th Grade

Course Length: Two Semesters

Teacher approval? None 

Course and Grade Prerequisites: Completion of English I or English I(H)

English II is a year-long course that will focus on the themes of culture and identity in contemporary literature. Students will explore the foundations of culture and the challenges of forging an individual identity within the pre-established norms, beliefs, and values of a particular society. Issues of race, gender, class, and ethnicity will be discussed within the context of the spiritual, emotional, and physical health (SEPH) curriculum designed specifically for Jesuit High School sophomores. Students will study diverse cultural identities, including the unique challenges presented to teenagers by American contemporary culture, through an integrated program, which includes critical reading, research skills, analytical writing, grammar, vocabulary development, speaking, and listening. This course fulfills the 10th Grade requirement for English.

Open to: 10th Grade

Course Length: Two Semesters

Teacher approval? Yes 

Course and Grade Prerequisites: Completion of English I(H). Students in English I will need to follow the application process for admission to determine if Honors placement is appropriate for them.

*See “Requirements for Taking Honors and Advanced Placement Courses” at the beginning of this Catalog. English II Honors is a year-long course that focuses on the relationship between culture and identity.  Students will explore the foundations of culture and the challenges of forging an individual identity within the pre-established norms, beliefs, and values of a particular society.  The course addresses the foundations of diverse cultures – with a particular focus on the unique challenges presented to teenagers by contemporary American culture.  We will discuss issues of race, gender, class, and ethnicity within the context of the spiritual, emotional, and physical health (SEPH) curriculum designed specifically for Jesuit High School sophomores.

Students can expect a rigorous, integrated program, which includes not only critical reading, but also analytical writing, grammar instruction, research skills, vocabulary development, speaking skills, and listening skills.  The course includes a range of genres including novels, nonfiction, drama, short stories, essays, poetry, graphic novels, and film. In addition to the course texts, students read one independently-selected novel in the second semester. This course fulfills the 10th grade requirement for English.

Students who enroll in this course should, simply put, love English class and want to devote particular attention and time to the study of English.  Successful English II Honors students are committed to:

• • reading deeply and actively (annotating)

  • participating regularly in class

  • engaging in an ongoing process of essay drafting and revision

  • conferencing with the teacher about their writing

  • developing their analytic writing skills.    

Open to: 11th Grade

Course Length: Two Semesters

Teacher approval? None 

Course and Grade Prerequisites: Completion of English II or English II(H). 

The English III curriculum focuses on American literary movements: Folklore, Puritanism, Romanticism, Transcendentalism, Realism, Modernism, and Postmodernism. Literary analysis develops critical thinking, reading, and writing skills. The research paper reinforces library and research skills in a fully-documented and fully-developed paper. Vocabulary development and conventions of language receive continued emphasis. This course fulfills the 11th grade requirement for English.

Open to: 11th Grade

Course Length: Two Semesters

Teacher approval? Yes: Teacher Recommendation

Course and Grade Prerequisites: Completion of English II(H). Students in English II will need to follow the application process for admission to determine if AP placement is appropriate for them.

*See “Requirements for Taking Honors and Advanced Placement Courses” at the beginning of this Catalog. Advanced Placement English Language and Composition is an 11th grade advanced course at Jesuit High School.  It adheres to the curricular requirements as established by the College Board through wide-ranging exposure to mediums of literature including, but not limited to, nonfiction, fiction, poetry, visual rhetoric, etc.  The course is an intensive survey course centered on nonfiction rhetorical writing while incorporating and focusing on rhetorical strategies within all forms of argument. The course involves writing essays that proceed through several stages or drafts, with revision aided by peers and the teacher.  In addition, writing will also be established in informal contexts (journal keeping, etc.) and through time-limited assessment.  The class will incorporate research in both the term essays during the first two terms as well as a research paper during the fifth term. Final exam timed essays will account for the third and sixth term. Through research, students will become proficient in synthesizing secondary articles with primary texts, citing properly, and furthering their understanding of rhetorical strategies. This course fulfills the 11th grade requirement for English.

Open to: 12th Grade

Course Length: Two semesters

Teacher approval? None 

Course and Grade Prerequisites: Completion of AP English III:  Language & Composition. English III or English III(H). Students in English III will need to follow the application process for admission to determine if AP placement is appropriate for them.

*See “Requirements for Taking Honors and Advanced Placement Courses” at the beginning of this Catalog.  Advanced Placement English Literature is a college-level class taught under the guidelines of the College Board in preparation for the A.P. examination in May. The central goal of Advanced Placement English is to deepen a student’s understanding of how writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. Students are expected to read widely and deeply while considering a work’s structure, style, theme, syntax, diction, and tone. Works of various genres and literary periods will be studied. In-depth writing assignments, vigorous classroom participation, and commitment to course objectives are expected. This course fulfills the 12th grade requirement for English and offers dual credit with Portland Community College, giving the opportunity to earn college credit.

Open to: 12th Grade

Course Length: One Semester

Teacher approval? None 

Course and Grade Prerequisites: Completion of English III or AP English III. 

If you were to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, which course would you take? “Defense Against the Dark Arts” of course!  You would learn ancient, mythical, forbidden words & concepts that would captivate your listeners and suffuse you with emotional & cognitive power to engage & combat some of the most challenging issues of the day! Have you ever tried to do the right thing, but the world around you seems to be conspiring against you? Have you yearned to be a great hero, but find yourself becoming more like the monster? Have you struggled to identify your own “inner dragon” & the means to slay it? Thus, shall you accept your fate or engage your freewill? Come join our quest! 

First, students will gain a foundation in basic mythological & ancient English cultural concepts via Crash Course Mythology & Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth. Next, students will read [The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden & Miracle at St. Anna by James McBride] & view [Beowulf, A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness, & Attack on Titan to name a few] ancient & contemporary fantastical stories & films, integrating their personal context to create magically meaningful, personally empowering, and culturally relevant products. 

Small group work and class discussions will make up the main approach for our daily questing. Differentiation of assessment will be employed throughout with a combined focus on analytical, reflective, oral, & creative/artistic composition. Students who take this class in 1st semester will engage in narrative writing to support development of their college essays. Students who take this class in 2nd semester will engage in the Senior Project, an in-depth research and writing project that culminates in a robust presentation. 

As with any course we will adjust our tasks and expectations as a cooperative crew accordingly to maximize the success of our quest, knowing that “the winds and tides” of each semester will ebb and flow - -so we will adjust our sails accordingly! 

Watch an introduction to the class here.

Open to: 12th Grade

Course Length: One Semester

Teacher approval? None 

Course and Grade Prerequisites: Completion of English III or AP English III. 

What if you discovered that time stopped in a room in your house? How would you use your newfound, limitless time?

What if an apocalyptic event decimated civilization as we know it? How would you find meaning in what remained?

What if you woke up on board an alien spacecraft, with the world as you knew it destroyed? How would you retain your humanity, and what does "humanity" even mean?

Speculative fiction has considered these, and countless other, "what-ifs."

Sometimes called a "supergenre," speculative fiction can be science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, dystopian/utopian fiction... so long as it asks: "What if?" Unbound by the norms of our universe, speculative fiction can expand our minds, offering limitless possibilities for, and criticisms of, life as we know it and life as we can imagine it.

 In this course, students will explore a variety of speculative fiction, including novels, short fiction, poetry, and a visual album. Discussion and small group collaboration will make up the majority of our semester-long exploration. 

 What if you registered for this course?

Students who take this class in 1st semester will engage in narrative writing to support development of their college essays. Students who take this class in 2nd semester will engage in the Senior Project, an in-depth research and writing project that culminates in a robust presentation. 

Open to: 12th Grade

Course Length: One Semester

Teacher approval? None 

Course and Grade Prerequisites: Completion of English III or AP English III. 

 This class creates an opportunity for students to explore the universal skills of reading deeply and writing effectively while designing their own projects based on specific interests related to other content areas and individual interest. During this class, we will learn the value of researching deeply, discussing information literacy, learning to distinguish credible information and credible sources, synthesizing information and research, creating and presenting effective arguments, and honing design and presentation skills. The RWD course will provide time and space to delve deeply into your curiosity.  

Students who take this class in 1st semester will engage in narrative writing to support development of their college essays. Students who take this class in 2nd semester will engage in the Senior Project, an in-depth research and writing project that culminates in a robust presentation.

Open to: 12th Grade

Course Length: One Semester

Teacher approval? None 

Course and Grade Prerequisites: Completion of English III or AP English III. 

This course will focus on fiction and non-fiction pieces written by a variety of female voices who discuss topics that deeply affect the daily experience of people in all walks of life in the 21st century. We will explore how a diversity of female perspectives and experiences on race, gender, faith, class, ability, sexuality, and body image can add richness and depth to the larger social dialogue. Students will continue to hone their analysis, communication and deliberation skills as they delve into the ideas and arguments raised by these female voices.  

Students who take this class in 1st semester will engage in narrative writing to support development of their college essays. Students who take this class in 2nd semester will engage in the Senior Project, an in-depth research project that culminates in a robust presentation. Students in both semesters will engage in deep reading, analytical writing, group projects, and discussion.

Health, Wellness, and Justice is an English class focused on addressing current societal issues connected to the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power, and resources at global, national and local levels. Along with economic and political policies and systems, we will look at social norms and policies and their impact on people, specifically in the United States. This class is focused on looking at health inequities, and access to food, resources, power, health care, etc.  Much of this class will be based on the Social Determinants of Health.  We will read some non-fiction texts as a class, and have small group novel groups on different topics related to the overarching theme. 

Students who take this class in 1st semester will engage in narrative writing to support development of their college essays.  If you have this class during Semester 2, we will engage in  the Senior Research Project, an in-depth research project that culminates in a robust presentation.

Open to: 10th, 11th, and 12th Grade

Course Length: Two Semesters

Teacher approval? Yes

Couse and Grade Prerequisites: Application Required

This course provides students with public speaking practice and explores the nature of leadership, group dynamics, and communication in many forms. Students will gain an understanding of the American legal system and will compete interscholastically as members of Jesuit’s Mock Trial Team. Students make a number of formal speeches which are critiqued by the teacher and classmates. In addition, students develop writing and listening skills, practice critical thinking, and learn to use presentation technology. Students who register for this course should have an interest in current events and must be willing to attend weekend Mock Trial scrimmages and competitions. This course fulfills an elective graduation requirement.