Language Arts 

Offers students the opportunity to develop and improve their technique and individual style in poetry, short story, drama, essays, and other forms of prose. The emphasis of the courses is on writing; however, students may study exemplary representations and authors to obtain a fuller appreciation of the form and craft. Although most creative writing classes cover several expressive forms, others concentrate exclusively on one particular form (such as poetry or playwriting). 

 This course integrates grammar, writing, and literature instruction.  The student is introduced to a variety of literature including short story, poetry, novella, and novel.  The student is also introduced to a variety of writing, including compare and contrast and expository. This course is designed to prepare students for future high school courses as well as admission to a university or career readiness.

 This course extends skills and concepts taught in English 9 with an emphasis on grammar, writing, and literature instruction. The student is introduced to a variety of literature including short stories and novels, and the student is taught to analyze that literature.  The student is also introduced to a variety of writing including narrative and research.  This course is designed to prepare students for future high school courses as well as admission to a university or career readiness.  

This course continues to develop students’ writing skills, emphasizing clear, logical writing patterns, word choice, and usage, as students write essays and begin to learn the techniques of writing research papers. Students read works of literature associated with American history, which often form the backbone of the writing assignments. (This class is integrated with our American history classes.) Literary conventions and stylistic devices may receive greater emphasis than in previous courses. 

This course blends composition and literature into a cohesive whole as students write critical and comparative analyses of selected literature, continuing to develop their language arts skills. Mastery of grammar, usage, and mechanics is emphasized. Typically, students primarily write multi-paragraph compositions, but they may also write a short research paper.

This course is the College English Composition I. It  is designed to prepare seniors to write for college and for future careers. This course provides instruction in writing with emphasis on grammatical correctness, acceptable usage, effective organization, expression of ideas, and rhetorical strategies. Assigned reading, research, and expository writing are required. 

It is designed to expose students to a rich selection of literature and then encourage them to respond using the spoken and written word.  This course emphasizes expository writing and will stress grammar, syntax, and mechanics to enhance writing style. 

Students will develop the basic techniques of debate while researching the current topic for competitive tournaments.  Debate teaches students six very important skills to be used in any career they pursue:  research skills, listening skills, note-taking skills, organizational skills, logical thinking skills, and oral communication skills.

This course offers a variety of events to interest anyone.  Students develop a presentation form speaking, reading, or acting categories and prepare for tournament competition.  It provides students an opportunity to meet new people while perfecting communication and performance skills. 

 Speech is an elementary course in the study and practice of the basic principles of speech and interpersonal communication with emphasis on critical thinking, the creative and intelligent selection of material, organization and oral presentation.

This course satisfies the 1/2 unit credit speech requirement at CHS.  It places great emphasis on organization, outlining ideas, and research skills.  Students have many opportunities to speak in this class.  Other subjects covered are stage fright, persuasion, interpersonal communication and nonverbal communication.