Grade 9

ENGLISH 9 H (EN310)

Grade 9; 5 credits; One Year Required

This course focuses on types of literature as well as the advanced study of language and composition for the college-bound student. The study of literature includes a well-rounded canon of short stories, poetry, drama, novels, and nonfiction exploring topics including American voices, survival, civil rights, star-crossed romances, journeys of transformation, and our future world. A strong emphasis on the writer’s workshop explores analytical, argumentative, and narrative writing at an advanced level. Written pieces reflect skills in achieving general effect, attention to creativity and voice, organization, supportive details, and the degree to which writing demonstrates attention to grammar and mechanics. Students participate in a variety of collaborative discussions and deliver oral presentations to enhance their speaking and listening skills. Vocabulary and high-stakes test preparation are infused into unit design in partnership with the literature. Instruction is designed to assist the student in building the foundation for language, literature, and composition studies that may be encountered in future coursework.  All English courses have a required district-wide summer reading assignment. 

ENGLISH 9 CP A/B (EN210/110)

Grade 9; 5 credits; One Year Required

This course consists of several integrated areas of learning for the college-bound student. The literature portion is approached thematically and includes short stories, poetry, drama, novels, essays, and nonfiction exploring topics including American voices, survival, civil rights, star-crossed romances, journeys of transformation, and our future world. Reading and language skills are developed utilizing a variety of instructional strategies and online resources. An emphasis on the writer’s workshop explores various approaches to analytical, argumentative, and narrative essays. Students gain experience in the research process and produce a short research paper. Written pieces reflect an awareness of the audience and task, expressive use of language, organization, supportive details, and the degree to which writing demonstrates attention to grammar and mechanics. Students participate in a variety of collaborative discussions and deliver oral presentations to enhance speaking and listening skills. Vocabulary and high-stakes test preparation are infused into unit design in partnership with the literature and also through the use of the Reading Plus/MHRD Reads Program.  Instruction is designed to assist the student in building the foundation for language, literature, and composition studies that may be encountered in future coursework.  All English courses have a required district-wide summer reading assignment. 

Grade 10

ENGLISH 10 H (EN320)

Grade 10; 5 credits; One Year Required; Prerequisite English 9 CPA or Honors 

This course continues the student’s development of literature study at an advanced level for the college-bound student. Composition and language skills become more specialized as students produce writing assignments including various forms of writing including, narrative, explanatory, argumentative, literary analysis, and critical reviews at a more advanced level. Written pieces reflect skills in achieving general effect, attention to creativity and voice, organization, supportive details, and the degree to which writing demonstrates attention to grammar and mechanics. Instruction provides opportunities for students to broaden their scope of learning through close reading skills, organizational ability, and elevated expression in writing. The literature is approached thematically or chronologically by examining America’s literary growth and its contributing voices from around the world through nonfiction, essay, short story, novel, poetry, and drama that explore themes applicable to all people. Vocabulary and high-stakes test preparation are infused into unit design in partnership with the literature. All English courses have a required district-wide summer reading assignment. 

ENGLISH 10 CP A/B (EN220/120)

Grade 10; 5 credits; One Year Required; Prerequisite English 9 CP A/B 

This course, designed for the college-bound student, increases the student’s skills in language, literature, and composition. Reading and language skills are developed utilizing a variety of instructional strategies and online resources. Thorough polishing of writing skills includes exposure to various types of writing including explanatory and argumentative writing, literary-based responses, and narrative persona writing through journaling, letters, and historical reflections. Written pieces reflect an awareness of the audience and task, expressive use of language, organization, supportive details, and the degree to which writing demonstrates attention to grammar and mechanics. Improving reading skills, organizational ability, and control of grammar and mechanics of expression are goals of the instructional methodology. American literature is studied either thematically or chronologically, by examining America’s literary growth and its contributing voices from around the world through nonfiction, essay, short story, novel, poetry, and drama that explore themes applicable to all people. Vocabulary and high-stakes test preparation are infused in unit design in partnership with the literature and also through the use of the Reading Plus/MHRD Reads Program. All English courses have a required district-wide summer reading assignment. 

Grade 11

ADVANCED PLACEMENT LITERATURE & COMPOSITION (EN440)

Grade 11/12; 5 credits; One Year Elective or English Requirement; Prerequisite English 10 Honors

A major objective of the course is to prepare the student to take the Advanced Placement Examination and to receive recognition for college-level achievement in English Literature and Composition. The course offers an intensive study of representative works from several literary genres and periods. The focus of the course is on both the study of literature and the practice of analytical writing. Critical analysis of poetry, drama, short stories, novels, and essays will be combined with the study of literature to emphasize the resources of language, including but not limited to diction, details, imagery, syntax, and tone. Through the course, the student will develop critical standards for the appreciation of literature, the ability to use the modes of discourse, and an understanding of the relationship of literary work to contemporary experience as well as to the times in which it was written. To enroll in this course, students should be recommended by the English Department. Students will also complete a mandatory summer reading assignment in preparation for the course of study throughout the school year in addition to the required district-wide summer reading assignment.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT LANGUAGE & COMPOSITION (EN431)

Grade 11/12; 5 credits; One Year Elective or English Requirement; Prerequisite English 10 Honors

A major objective of the course is to prepare the student to take the Advanced Placement Examination and to receive recognition for college-level achievement in English Language and Composition. AP English Language and Composition focuses on the art of rhetoric and the effective use of language. Students may study novel, short story, autobiography, biography, speeches, satire, and essays in addition to current articles.  AP students examine how language works to evoke emotion through sophisticated reading and the analysis of words, patterns, and structures that create subtle effects of language. Students learn to write about language descriptively and demonstrate knowledge of grammar conventions and structural patterns, as well as an awareness of connotation and shades of meaning in context. Students are prepared to sit for the AP Language and Composition exam, which tests their ability to read critically and to write in the following modes: synthesis, rhetorical analysis, and open argument. The content of the AP Language and Composition course provides a more theory-based focus on the process of interpretation and analysis of arguments and the rhetorical situation. To enroll in this course, students should be recommended by the English Department. Students will also complete a mandatory summer reading assignment in preparation for the course of study throughout the school year in addition to the required district-wide summer reading assignment. 

ENGLISH 11 H (EN330)

Grade 11; 5 credits; One Year Required; Prerequisite English 10 CPA or Honors 

This course is designed to instill in college-bound students an awareness of literature and the development of the human condition through a thematic approach to a variety of contemporary literature pieces in connection to earlier texts of multiple genres. Students will develop an awareness of the historical, cultural, and socio-economic aspects of society studied through collaborative work, independent research, and Socratic discussion. Designed for the student who has demonstrated mastery of basic grammar, sentence structure, paragraph development, and organization, this course will help to refine skills in the preparation of literature-related analytical papers, character studies, and critical reviews, in addition to responses to literary criticism and poetry explication. The writing process will heighten skills in achieving general effect, attention to creativity and voice, organization, supportive details, and the degree to which writing demonstrates attention to grammar and mechanics.  In preparing for college, the student will have frequent writing practice, extensive vocabulary study, and preparation for the NJGPA or equivalent standardized test.  All English courses have a required district-wide summer reading assignment. 

ENGLISH 11 CP A/B (EN230/130)

Grades 11; 5 credits; One Year Required; Prerequisite English 10 CP A/B 

Designed for the college-bound student, this course identifies some of the major themes surrounding the human condition in contemporary literature as well as earlier texts evident in short stories, poems, plays, essays, and novels from around the world through a thematic, multi-genre approach. A balance of literature, language, and composition skills will be provided in order to furnish the student with the skills needed for college and career paths. The course will build upon skills in explanatory, argumentative,  and narrative writing as students learn to develop the thoroughness of their written responses.  Written pieces will demonstrate an awareness of the audience and task, expressive use of language, organization, supportive details, and the degree to which writing demonstrates attention to grammar and mechanics. Refinement of reading skills, organizational ability, and control of grammar and mechanics of expression are goals of the instructional methodology. Along with frequent writing practices, students will enhance vocabulary study and test-taking skills in preparation for the NJSLA or equivalent standardized test.  All English courses have a required district-wide summer reading assignment.