English Electives - Full Year
SHAKESPEARE FOR PERFORMANCE AND LITERARY ANALYSIS
TH30 / TH30H – A Level / Honors - 1 English Credit - Full Year
Prerequisite: Acting I and Teacher Approval
This class will concentrate on learning to perform Shakespearean drama. The stance, the voice, the rhythms, the rhymes, and the worlds of Shakespeare’s plays will be studied and performed. Characters, plots and themes will be analyzed and discussed. The class will read plays and perform monologues and scenes along with each of them. The senior English students in the class will, in addition, be assigned an informal and a formal essay for each unit in order to engage in a deeper analysis of each play.
BANNED BOOKS AND THE STORIES BEHIND THEM - SWS: Books have been censored and banned throughout history and around the world. Why? What makes a book so powerful to make people and governments fear it? How does banning books impact me?
Grade 12
SWS43 / SWSH43 - A Level / Honors - 1 English Credit
Each year the American Library Association’s list of banned books increases.
This course will explore the reasons behind the banning of books, and the possible legal ramifications of doing so. Books on the list such as The Absolutely True Story of a Part Time Indian, Perks of Being a Wallflower, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Slaughterhouse Five will be read and analyzed, and positions on censorship will be debated. Students will create projects, complete college essays, and have many other opportunities to refine research and writing skills. Honors students will complete the curriculum above, with the addition of reading and writing assignments, research projects and class presentations.
FACING HISTORY AND OURSELVES - SWS: Facing History is an active and continuous process that calls on each of us to connect the choices of the past to those we face today. To build a more just and equitable future, we must face our history in all its complexity: Are you ready to face history with us?
Grade 12 - Full Year
SWS40E / SWS41E – A Level / Honors - 1 English Credit
A project-based, cooperatively taught two credit integrated history and English course. The focus in the fall is the rise of Hitler and the Holocaust through the lens of psychology, propaganda, film, art and novels. During the spring we explore the history and legacy of racism in our culture through science fiction, advertising, children's literature, film, Disney, television, psychology and novels. Students will also complete college essays and scholarship letters. For a full description, see listing in the SWS section.
