Course Title:  English 9 (CP or Honors)   

Course Length:  Full Year / Credits: 5 

Prerequisite:  Eighth Grade English

Students will read literary works from all genres: the novel, short story, drama, poetry, and nonfiction. Careful analysis of themes and ideas will accompany the study of literature, with an overarching focus on forging identity. Writing, including instruction in the Modern Language Association (MLA) format for writing and basic research skills, will be a major component of the course. Students will also develop competency in public speaking, listening, and viewing.

Course Title:  English 10 (CP or Honors)

Course Length:  Full Year / Credits: 5

Prerequisite:  English 9

Students will read a broad sampling of British and world literature to explore heritage, themes, the influence of place on a culture, and conflicts. Literature is studied in depth and becomes the basis of research and writing assignments. Accent is on further development of analytical reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills, as well as note-taking and the use of primary and secondary sources for research. Research-based papers are required throughout the year.

Course Title:  English 11 (CP)

Course Length:  Full Year / Credits: 5

Prerequisite:  English 10

This course offers a close study of both the historical context and progression of American literature as well as the art of argument and analysis. Students will be expected to take a critical approach to American literature while understanding that our culture is marked by literary movements that mold and reflect American life. Students will learn to recognize and use a variety of rhetorical techniques and strategies while analyzing texts ranging from poems and speeches to stories and films. After utilizing close reading methods to assess audience, purpose, and strategies, students will employ these same devices in their own argument, narrative, and expository writing. A formal research paper and/or project is required.

Course Title:  Advanced Placement English Language and Composition (AP)

Course Length:  Full Year / Credits: 5 

Prerequisite: 73 in Honors English 10 or 93 in first 3 marking periods in CP English 10 and teacher recommendation

The AP English Language and Composition course is designed to help students become skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts, and to become skilled writers who can compose for a variety of purposes. Through their writing and reading in this course, students should become aware of the interactions among a writer’s subjects and purposes and audience expectations, as well as the way the resources of language contribute to effective writing. Additionally, students will study pieces from American literature through a rhetorical lens. Students enrolled in AP classes are expected to take the AP exam. 

Course Title:  English 12 (A): Contemporary Literature & Society: Problems & Solutions (Academic or CP)

Course Length:  Full Year / Credits: 5 

Prerequisite:  English 11

Students will explore issues involving race, gender, religion, sexuality, poverty, war, scientific advances, and others, on the local, national, and global levels. Discussions, readings (full texts and excerpts), films, essays, and articles will be analyzed in order to assess and synthesize these issues. Students will further explore contemporary issues through a variety of writing tasks, research-based assignments, and student-directed problem-based tasks. Students will make an effort to remedy these problems through five hours of pre-approved, required community-based or individual projects and service each marking period. As a course requirement, all seniors will successfully complete a research paper/project that is reflective of the objectives of the particular course. 

Course Title: English 12 (B):  Understanding Graphic Novels and Visual Texts (Academic)

Course Length:  Full Year / Credits: 5

Prerequisite:  English 11

Through the exploration of visual narratives and texts, this course, Understanding Graphic Novels and Visual Texts, will foster life-long learners and act as a pathway to discover and analyze how visual storytelling can act as a window, as well as a mirror, for all learners. By senior year, students have been practicing their Language Arts skills for three years, and this provides all learners, especially visual learners, with the opportunity to apply those skills to a new and contemporary medium: graphic novels, comic books, photography, paintings, and other visual texts. Students will work with a variety of styles, topics, and structures while also analyzing the impact of those choices and how the forms have evolved over time. Students will also apply their knowledge of craft, structure, voice, and form by creating their own visual narrative incorporating research on a given topic.  As a course requirement, all seniors will successfully complete a research paper/project that is reflective of the objectives of the particular course. 

Course Title:  CP English 12 (C): Psychology in Literature (CP)

Course Length:  Full Year / Credits: 5 

Prerequisite:  English 11

This course focuses on the application of psychological theory to literature noted for its psychological themes. The works explore the issues of identity, self-discovery, the unconscious mind, and the challenges of adjustment. Students will be required to write frequent analytical papers applying critical thinking to these issues. Significant reading is also required in this course. As a course requirement, all seniors will successfully complete a research paper/project that is reflective of the objectives of the particular course. 

Course Title:  English 12 (D): Film as Literature (CP)

Course Length:  Full Year / Credits: 5 

Prerequisite:  English 11

Film as Literature is a course that equips students with the language and skills needed to analyze any film they encounter in and beyond the classroom.  Students will develop a discerning and critical eye as they consider the various artistic choices within a cinematic text.   This will include an exploration of how narrative devices, cinematography, sound design, acting, and other cinematic elements coalesce into a work that resonates with audiences.  Students will have frequent screenings of films followed by discussion and critique, with the ultimate goal of cultivating an understanding and appreciation of film as a complex, multi-faceted artistic medium.  As a course requirement, all seniors will successfully complete a research paper/project that is reflective of the objectives of the particular course. 

Course Title:  CP English 12 (E): Truth is Stranger than Fiction: The Study of Nonfiction and Memoir (CP)

Course Length:  Full Year / Credits: 5 

Prerequisite:  English 11

This course is an exploration of the power of nonfiction to tell a story and present an argument. Students will explore how factual events become the impetus for story-telling. Reading selections will allow students to investigate how their areas of interest, such as math, science, history, and art, are treated by nonfiction writers. Students will have ample opportunity to select their own course of study and project development based on their individual interests. The course will also explore creative nonfiction and memoir. Students will understand and interpret the work of the writers not only through reading and critical analysis but also through imitation and modeling, trying out the strategies and structures of the works being read on projects of the students’ own devising. As a course requirement, all seniors will successfully complete a research paper/project that is reflective of the objectives of the particular course.

Course Title:  CP English 12 (F): Women’s Studies:  A Survey of History, Film and Literature (CP)

Course Length:  Full Year / Credits: 5 

Prerequisite:  English 11

The goal of Women’s Studies is to have students shed light on the invisible cultural systems which influence all aspects of their lives.  Throughout their time in this course, students will critically explore and apply 5 theoretical frameworks including gender as a social construct, the male gaze/the body, patriarchy, the power of talk, and the Other.  Using these lenses, students will examine a range of texts, including but not limited to, academic commentary, documentaries, popular media and their lived experiences.  As a culminating project, students will conduct a senior research paper where they will examine a substantial text via the aforementioned theoretical frameworks and document associated implications.  

Course Title:  CP English 12 (G): Who are Our Heroes and Heroines? Tests of Courage (CP)

Course Length:  Full Year / Credits: 5

Prerequisite:  English 11

This course will address elements of heroism as protagonists overcome the conflicts and difficulties inherent in their worlds. As men and women strive to find their identities and foster a sense of dignity and self-worth, they must overcome obstacles and forge ahead utilizing their inner strengths. Some find their own, quiet ways of persevering, whereas others are more overt. The recent focus on respect, bullying, and harassment has revealed that not all opportunities to “stand up and be counted” are realized, casting a shadow on the inner strengths of perpetrators and bystanders, and leaving victims wondering where to turn. How the inner strengths of all parties emerge will be a focus of the course. Significant reading will be required, as well as film analysis and frequent formal essay writing. As a course requirement, all seniors will successfully complete a research paper/project that is reflective of the objectives of the particular course. 

Course Title:  CP English 12 (H): Sports in Literature (CP)

Course Length:  Full Year / Credits: 5

Prerequisite:  English 11

This multimedia course will provide students with an opportunity to reflect on sports in our society. Students will analyze prominent figures, controversies, events, changes, and movements associated with sports through a variety of mediums- including but not limited to works of fiction and non-fiction, documentaries, podcasts, interviews, essays, and websites. Students will analyze their personal relationship with sports, as well as how sports impact our society daily, and the ways in which those impacts transcend the game. 

Course Title:  Advanced Placement English Literature & Composition (AP)

Course Length:  Full Year / Credits: 5

Prerequisite:  73 in AP English Language or 93 in first 3 marking periods in CP English 11 and teacher recommendation

The AP English Literature and Composition course will engage students in careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through the close reading of selected texts, students will deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. Students will consider a work’s structure, style, and themes, as well as such elements as figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone. Students enrolled in AP classes are expected to take the AP exam. As a course requirement, all seniors will successfully complete a research paper/project that is reflective of the objectives of the particular course. 

ELECTIVES:

Course Title:  Public Speaking

Course Length:  Half Year / Credits: 2.5

Prerequisite:  English 9

Through practical experience, the student will be able to develop and refine skills needed to present formal speeches and reports. By delivering impromptu talks, as well as structured speeches, the student should develop better listening skills as well. This course is available to students in grades 10 through 12.

Course Title:  Creative Writing 

Course Length:  Half Year / Credits: 2.5

Prerequisite:  English 9

Through process writing, journal use, and free writing, students explore their creative voices in poetry, playwriting, and the short story. Using personal experience and observation, students in this class develop skills in manipulating and using language, revision, and peer and self-evaluation. By working with models of literary work, students read and then interpret assignments in their individual fashion. Students must submit one “perfected” piece to our literary magazine. The course is designed to help the fledgling writer, as well as the more experienced writer, in grades 10 through 12.  

Course is eligible for Concurrent Enrollment.

Course Title: Advanced Creative Writing

Course Length:  Half Year / Credits: 2.5

Prerequisite:  Creative Writing 

Through more extended process writing, journal use, and free writing, students explore their creative voices in advanced poetry and prose writing. Using personal experience and observation, students in this class apply their skills in manipulating and using language, revision, and peer and self-evaluation. By working with model texts and literary works, students read and then interpret assignments, progressing in their ability to find personal voices and to apply more innovative writing techniques. Students must submit two “perfected” pieces to our literary magazine. The course is designed to help the more experienced and passionate writers from grades 10-12. 

 Course is eligible for Concurrent Enrollment.

Course Title:  Introduction to Journalism: Print, Online, and Photo 

Course Length:  Full Year / Credits: 5

Prerequisite:  None

Introduction to Journalism: Print, Online, and Photo  will serve as an introduction to the history, ethics, and production of journalism in America. Students will have an understanding of the way journalism has been impacted by history and how it impacts our society then and now by studying the history and evolution of journalism. The students will conduct interviews, engage in meaningful research, and develop their journalistic writing skills throughout the year by producing their own authentic pieces and publications. The students should finish the year as critical consumers of news media and be responsible producers of news and stories. This course is an elective for students in grades 9-12.

Course Title: The Olympian Yearbook 

Course Length: Full Year / Credits: 5

Prerequisite: None

The Olympian Yearbook is a full-color record of Sparta High School student life throughout the year and is completely produced by students.  Students in Yearbook are involved in all aspects of digital publishing, including but not limited to the following: design layout, writing, photography, proofreading, and editing.  In addition to the creative side of the course, members are taught marketing, publicity, and sales to fulfill the requirement of obtaining business ads to help sustain the publication.  Cooperation, dedication, time management, and responsibility are all essential elements of the Yearbook publication and provide invaluable life lessons.  The four major functions of the Yearbook are to summarize the year's events through pictures and a theme; to feature a variety of student activities with added emphasis on seniors; to give worthwhile educational training to student staff members; and to build good will, giving a true, comprehensive picture of what the school is accomplishing in a given year. If you are a writer, photographer, have a creative mind or enjoy sales/marketing/publicity, join the yearbook class! Open to all students grade 9-12.

Course Title:  SAT Prep-English: Rethinking and Rereading

Course Length:  Half Year / Credits: 2.5

Prerequisite:  English 9

SAT Prep: Rethinking Rereading is a course designed to provide standardized test prep by revisiting texts previously read and studied in the classroom. The recently revised SAT was crafted to conform to national literacy standards, which has placed a renewed emphasis on the art of close reading. This will serve as the central focus of Rethinking Rereading. Students will engage in the kind of rhetorical and grammatical analysis needed to achieve success on the language and writing sections of the SAT and ACT. Additionally, students will be asked to explore alternative meanings for those stories with which they are already well familiar. This close inspection of narrative craft is required in both the SAT and ACT reading components. A typical weekly schedule will follow this basic pattern: Monday will be given over to the study and application of language and grammar; Tuesday through Thursday will be devoted to students’ attempts at re-imagining meaning, i.e., critical reading; while Friday will be spent in taking actual SAT and ACT practice tests. The course will be graded Pass/Fail.