English

ENGLISH COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

ENGLISH I COLLEGE PREP (Grade 9) (NCAA)

The English I curriculum is designed to introduce the skills necessary for the student to become proficient in a high school language arts program. These skills include the areas of listening, speaking, collaborating, reading, writing, analyzing literature, and researching. Literature will be presented through thematic units that include works from different genres, including the short story, the novel, poetry, drama, and nonfiction. Students will write an I-search paper in the spring semester. The process approach to writing will be emphasized.

ENGLISH I HONORS (Grade 9) (NCAA)

The English I Honors curriculum is designed to introduce the skills necessary for the student to become proficient in the honors track of the high school language arts program. These skills include the areas of listening, speaking, reading, analyzing, researching and writing. Higher order thinking skills will be expected. Students will read and analyze selected works from all genres: short story, novel, poetry, drama and nonfiction. The process approach to writing will be emphasized.

ENGLISH II COLLEGE PREP (Grade 10) (NCAA)

The English II curriculum is designed to reinforce the learning from English I and to introduce a more sophisticated approach to literature and to writing. The process approach to writing will also be emphasized with particular attention to writing for different audiences, analytic and comparative writing, and self-editing. The research paper in its entirety will be taught in this course.

ENGLISH II HONORS (Grade 10) (NCAA)

The English II Honors curriculum is designed to reinforce the learning from English I and to introduce a more sophisticated approach to literature and to writing. The process approach to writing will also be emphasized with particular attention to writing for different audiences, analytic and comparative writing, and self-editing. The research paper in its entirety will be taught in this course. Students will be expected to read independently and extensively.

ENGLISH III COLLEGE PREP (Grade 11) (NCAA)

English III is a study of the various genres of American literature using a thematic approach. The curriculum is designed to reinforce learning from English II and to introduce a more sophisticated approach to literature and to writing. The process approach to writing will continue to be emphasized with particular attention to analytic and comparative writing, style, and self-editing. Research skills will be reviewed with particular attention to the incorporation of literary criticism into student writing.

ENGLISH III HONORS (Grade 11) (NCAA)

The English III Honors curriculum is designed to reinforce the learnings from English II Honors and to introduce a more sophisticated approach to literature and to writing. The literature will be that of American authors. It will be studied chronologically. Selections will be chosen from colonial authors through contemporary authors. The process approach to writing will continue to be emphasized with particular attention to analytic and comparative writing, style, and self-editing. Research skills will be reviewed, and each student will complete several research assignments.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION (Grade 11, 12) (NCAA)

The AP English Language and Composition curriculum is designed to prepare students for the advanced placement examination, which is given in May. The course follows a thematic approach with an emphasis on American literature. Students will focus on complex fiction, essays, letters, and documents, from a variety of disciplines, time periods, and rhetorical modes, to determine, among other things, a writer's purpose and manipulation of the subtleties of language. The course will create writers adept at addressing many writing challenges. Student must take the AP exam to earn AP course credit.

English IV: Race, Culture & Identity (Grade 12) (NCAA)

The English IV CP Curriculum is divided into two semesters, both of which address the theme of identity. In the first semester, students will examine works from a range of sources, and varied genres. Through short stories, film, novels, memoir, and drama, the students will consider how one’s identity is formed and informed by one’s environment. Those environments include diverse cultures, but touch on universal questions of how one sees oneself in relation to others.

In the second semester, students will read works of both fiction and nonfiction, as well as poetry, speeches, and essays, by black and African American writers. Through analysis of varied works, the students will become more informed about the experiences of people of color in the United States. Varied activities include close textual analysis, Socratic seminars, research, and both written and oral presentations. This is a dual enrollment college course offered through Seton Hall University, and students paying the (discounted) fee for Seton Hall University credit will receive a Seton Hall University transcript.

ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION (Grade 11, 12) (NCAA)

The AP English Literature and Composition curriculum is designed to prepare students for the advanced placement examination, which is given in May. The emphasis of the course is the in-depth study of fiction and poetry. The focus of the course will be on British literature, although some American works and world literature will be studied. The process approach to writing will again be emphasized with particular attention to writing for different audiences, analytic and comparative writing, and self-editing and revision. Students will be expected to complete several independent, analytical reading and writing assignments. Student must take the AP exam to earn AP course credit.

HONORS WRITING CULTURE: INTRO TO CREATIVE NONFICTION (SUPA) (Grades 11, 12) (NCAA)

Many 12th grade students decide to take this course instead of English IV CP in order to fulfill NJ Graduation Requirements; in order to use this course in lieu of English IV, students must also take Gender and Literary Theory. This course focuses on the genre of creative nonfiction. Students explore varieties of creative nonfiction, such as memoir; biography; the personal essay; travel, science, and food writing; and “new journalism.” As its name suggests, creative nonfiction borrows elements from fiction and poetry (e.g., description, scene construction, dialogue, etc.) yet still aims to tell the truth. For a writer to “tell it slant,” however, is to acknowledge the ways in which one’s subjective viewpoint shapes what counts as “the truth” in telling a story about one’s own or another’s experiences.

Students will have the opportunity to experiment with style, genre, and subject in a writing studio environment and to read varied examples of contemporary creative nonfiction (e.g., Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Rebecca Skloot’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, George Saunders’ The Braindead Megaphone, etc.). Students will craft and workshop their own creative nonfiction compositions. This is a college course offered through Syracuse University, and students paying the (discounted) fee for SU credit will receive a Syracuse University transcript.

HONORS CLASS AND LITERARY THEORY (SUPA) (Grade 12) (NCAA)

Many 12th grade students decide to take this course instead of English IV CP in order to fulfill NJ Graduation Requirements; in order to use this course in lieu of English IV, students must also take Creative Nonfiction. Class and Literary Text explores concepts such as social stratification, inequality, and the relationship between wealth, privilege and power in providing critical lenses through which to read texts. Fostering a richer understanding of their own implication within these systems of power, this course helps students become better writers and stronger interpretive readers by practicing close reading, evidence-based analysis and argumentation, and independent-inquiry skills. Through interpretive practice, students develop a basic understanding of core concepts of social class, including stratification, inequality, privilege, capitalism and labor.

HONORS GENDER AND LITERARY THEORY (SUPA) (Grade 12) (NCAA)

Many 12th grade students decide to take this course instead of English IV CP in order to fulfill NJ Graduation Requirements; in order to use this course in lieu of English IV, students must also take Creative Nonfiction. Gender & Literary Texts explores the construction and representation of ‘gender,’ especially as it affects the production and reception of literary and other cultural texts. The course foregrounds readers’ interpretive practices, i.e., how we read and make meaning in texts, particularly if we interpret them using the premise that gender is a social construct—rather than a natural, ahistorical “essence” that somehow “expresses” our true “selves.” To examine the ways in which literature participates in the social reproduction of gender, as well as the difference that gender makes in the production and reception of literary texts, students will practice extensive close reading, evidence-based analysis and argumentation, and independent- inquiry. Raising awareness of how meanings are created through acts of critical reading, students will thus learn to analyze the ways texts construct categories of difference, including differences of gender, race and social class.

PUBLIC SPEAKING (SPEECH ARTS) (Grade 10, 11, 12) (NCAA)

Speech Arts is a half-year course that focuses on the art of rhetoric and how effective communication often combines the art of speaking with the art of writing. Students will read ad study exemplary models of effective speeches, such as informative, persuasive, instructional, and entertaining/interpretive. After studying a specific style of speech, students will compose and present original speeches. Class members will develop and demonstrate effective listening skills.

JOURNALISM (Grades 10, 11, 12) (NCAA)

Journalism is a half-year course designed primarily to familiarize students with all aspects of journalistic writing, and to study the role of the media historically and currently. Students will learn the inverted pyramid style of straight news writing in order to make their writing more focused and concise. They will also analyze and write in most of the styles one would find in a daily newspaper including features, editorials, and reviews.

BROADCAST JOURNALISM (Grade 11, 12)

This is a one semester course that allows students to apply principles of video communication and journalism. Students will sharpen their communication skills in such areas as news production, investigative reporting, and broadcast news writing. Students will study the techniques of TV reporting by viewing TV news broadcasts and, using camcorders and editing systems, create their own news program about events and people of Verona High School. In addition, students will use their creative skills to produce short films, commercial advertisements, and music videos. Student will write screenplays, create storyboards, and demonstrate an understanding of visual language to tell their stories. The culmination of the course will be the creation of a senior video for the graduating class.

DRAMA (Grades 9, 10, 11, 12)

Drama is a one semester course that approaches theatrical texts from three different perspectives: acting, directing, and writing. Students will have a chance to experience improvisational acting, short scenes, and full length plays in both performative and critical settings. We explore the building blocks of drama and introduce several acting methods. The course culminates with students writing and directing their own play.

THEATER ARTS (Grades 9, 10, 11, 12)

Theater Arts is a one semester course that approaches theater from a broad, practical perspective. Students will explore the performance, design, production, and composition of theater arts through creative, hands-on projects. The course will culminate in the creation of a complete theatrical production, scaled down to “toy theater” size, for which the students will design and construct the theater space, set, script, costumes, and sound of a short play.