B: English Courses

English I (required for 9th grade students): 

Students in this course will learn to write and think analytically about the human experience using multiple literary lenses. Through conversation roundtables, creative projects, persuasive essays, and various assignments, students will explore privilege, power, and identity. Core texts represent a diversity in ethnicity, culture, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, and disability. The course incorporates restorative justice methods including circles, dialogues, and personal experience panels. We will examine many types of media, from narrative film and documentary to audiobook and podcast. Along with whole-class texts, students will have the opportunity to select their own text for an independent reading unit and self-guided literary circles.

English II (required for 10th grade students): 

10th grade ELA or “World Literature” focuses on centering non-American literature via the voices of those whose culture and experience has been interrupted by colonial powers of the world over the last two centuries. The four units of this course are loosely one quarter in length and align with the following continents/concepts:

• Quarter 1: Origin stories of the world

• Quarter 2: Literature of the Middle East (Anchor text Persepolis)

• Quarter 3: The African Legacy (Anchor text Homegoing)

• Quarter 4: Latin American Literature (Lit circles where students self select one of the following books– Bless Me Ultima, In the Time of the Butterflies, I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, The Song of The Hummingbird). 

Skills acquired throughout the year include long form essay composition of both expository and argumentative writing, critical thinking skills and analysis, application of literature theory, citing and analyzing text evidence, discussion seminars, on demand writing, group projects and presentations, and grammar/syntax building, and more.

*There is an honors option for this course

English III (required for 11th grade students with a regular, honors, and AP option): 

In this course we will read, write, listen, speak, develop our vocabulary, and express ourselves creatively. Our theme for this year is American Literature, and in accordance with it, we will focus on texts written by people in the United States. We will read a variety of texts including short stories, poetry, novels, and non-fiction. We will work to develop students’ college and career readiness by paying particular attention to critical reading, argumentative writing, discussion, and academic vocabulary. 

*There is an honors option for this course

AP Language and Composition (available to 11th grade): 

In this college level equivalent, year-long course, students will engage in deep study of rhetoric -- the ancient art of persuasion -- examining and applying it in real world contexts, with the goal of earning college credit on the AP exam in May.   

*Please note that there is one section available of this class with 32 seats. Registration is first come, first serve through PowerSchool. 

English IV (12th grade students must take this course or English 1a):

English 12 is a year-long course designed to prepare seniors for the rigor and depth of college-level reading and writing requirements. English 12 course work requires a synthesis of the skills taught through the first three years of the high school English program, emphasizing increasingly sophisticated skills in analysis, discussion, and writing. Students read expansively for comprehension of content and to evaluate authors’ biases and purposes. Students write for a variety of purposes in preparation for college, including application essays, placement assessments, expository analysis of non-fiction, and interpretive literary analysis. Students continue to build writing skills through process draft writing, grammar review, and vocabulary development. The course provides extensive and challenging reading of many literary genres, including nonfiction, poetry, fiction, and drama, ranging from classical through contemporary literature. Classroom discussions will tackle challenging themes, philosophical views, and contemporary issues.

English 1A (College Level- fall semester)

This is a college class held on campus at OSA, for OSA students. Students will receive a full year of credit through the Peralta system; the class is transfer-level and accepted for credit in the UC and CSU systems.

Composition and Reading

Description: Reading and writing expository prose: Critical thinking, identifying logical fallacies, and reasoning inductively and deductively.

*If there are not enough students signed up for the course, it will be canceled. 

*Students with a C or lower in English III will require a letter of recommendation from their English III teacher and a meeting with an academic counselor before signing up for this course

English 1B (College Level- spring semester):

This is a college class held on campus at OSA, for OSA students. Students will receive a full year of credit through the Peralta system; the class is transfer-level and accepted for credit in the UC and CSU systems.

Composition and Reading

Description: Continued expository writing: Careful reading of selected plays, poems, and novels.

*Students must pass English 1A in order to be eligible to take this course. If there are not enough students signed up for the course, it will be canceled. 

*Please note that college courses are separate from Oakland School for the Arts. To get credit for courses, students must request transcripts from the college and submit them to OSA. In addition, OSA does not oversee ECC courses. Students with questions or concerns about community college curriculum, grades, or faculty must reach out directly to those systems.