English Language Arts

Course Title: English I (P)

Course Number: 1002-1003, 1002FA-1003FA, 1002MAA-1003MAA, 1002AOS-1003AOS

Grade Level: 9

Elective /Required: Required

Length/Credits: Year/10 credits

Prerequisites: 7-9th grade reading ability and writing competency

Meets UC/CSU A-G category: “B” English

Course Description: English 1 is a college preparation course aimed at reinforcing and further developing the critical reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language abilities of 9th graders. The course offers instruction in a variety of literary genres, expository and informational text, and composition (including the writing process and various writing domains – narrative, critical analysis of literature, informational and analytical essays, research papers, and argumentative and persuasive essays). Course content focuses on developing independent and proficient readers and writers through the use of a variety of increasingly complex text, opportunities for academic classroom discourse and the integration of academic vocabulary and Standard English conventions (syntax and diction). Emphasis is placed on the development of college and career readiness skills - communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. This course is aligned to California Content Standards for 9th grade English/Language Arts.

Course Title: English II (P)

Course Number: 1022-1023, 1022MAA-1023MAA, 1022AOS-1023AOS

Grade Level: 10

Elective/Required: Required

Length/Credits: Year/10 credits

Prerequisites: English I

Meets UC/CSU A-G category: “B” English

Course Description: English 2 is an integrated English/language arts program emphasizing reading, writing, listening, speaking, and researching for a variety of purposes in a variety of settings. The course of study explores ideas, considers strategies, and broadens student perspectives via a thorough exploration of narrative and expository literature. Poetry, novel, short story, drama, speech, memoir, and essay are the principle genres used as vehicles of study. Course content focuses on developing independent and proficient readers and writers through the use of a variety of increasingly complex text, opportunities for academic classroom discourse and the integration of academic vocabulary and standard English conventions (syntax and diction). Emphasis is on analyzing literature in greater depth, analyzing career-related and other informational discourse, and completing increasingly complex writing assignments. English 2 places particular emphasis on the development of college and career readiness skills - communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. This course is aligned to California Content Standards for 9th grade English/Language Arts.

Course Title: American Literature and Composition (P)

Course Number: 1118-1119, 1118MAA-1119MAA

Grade Level: 11

Elective/Required: Required

Length/Credits: Year/10 credits

Prerequisites: English 2

Meets UC/CSU A-G category: “B” English

Course Description: This course is a survey of American Literature. Content explores how American literature reflects different aspects of the American dream and how it has shaped our cultural identity. Writing styles and literary analysis are emphasized. Instruction requires that students compare and contrast ideas and themes as they learn to interpret and analyze literature and informational text within a variety of topics, themes and genres. Symbolism, tone, and reflection of the historical significance of any given work are explored. Academic language and explicit vocabulary enrichment is an important component of the course. The Standard English/Language Arts conventions (grammar) studied will encompass and go beyond that covered in English 1 and 2 courses. The study of conventions is connected directly to the production of a variety of text types with a focus on written analysis and the improvement of communication skills.

Course Title: AP English Language and Composition (P)

Course Number: 1202-1203

Grade Level: 11

Elective/Required: Elective

Length/Credits: Year/10 credits

Prerequisites: English II Honors or approval of teacher

Meets UC/CSU A-G category: “B” English

Course Description: This course engages students in becoming skilled readers of American prose written in a variety of genres, periods, disciplines and rhetorical contexts and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes and audiences. Both their writing and their reading should make students aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects as well as the way conventions and resourceful use of language contribute to effective prose. Students study and develop oral presentations, conduct research and document sources, peer edit, and practice for the verbal sections of the SAT and the Advanced Placement English Language and Composition Exam. The course is aligned with the California Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

Course Title: Expository Reading and Writing (P)

Course Number: 1056-1057, 1056MAA-1057MAA

Grade Level: 12

Elective/Required: Required

Length/Credits: Year/10 credits

Prerequisites: American Literature and Composition

Meets UC/CSU A-G category: “B” English

Course Description: The Expository Reading and Writing Course prepares college-bound seniors for the literacy demands of higher education. This year long, rhetoric-based course advances proficiencies in expository analytical and argumentative reading and writing. Instruction focuses on providing a process to assist students in reading, comprehending, and responding to nonfiction and literary text. Course content provides instruction in research methods and documentation conventions. Course texts include contemporary essays, newspaper and magazine articles, editorials, reports, biographies, memos, assorted public documents, and other non-fiction texts. Course material includes the study of two full-length works. The course is aligned with the California Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

Course Title: English 1 Honors (P)

Course Number: 1006-1007, 1006MAA-1007MAA, 1006AOS-1007AOS

Grade Level: 9

Elective /Required: Elective

Length/Credits: Year/10 credits

Prerequisites: 9^th grade or above reading ability and writing competency or approval of teacher

Meets UC/CSU A-G category: “B” English

Course Description: This challenging course provides content similar to a college preparatory English I course, but differs in depth, complexity and pacing as an aligned pre-AP class. Emphasis is placed on the development of college and career readiness skills - communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. A focus on the higher-level thinking skills requires students to exhibit responsibility and maturity in their approaches to learning. This course allows students to read complex texts with understanding and to write in a variety of forms in order to communicate effectively. Students will also be responsible for oral presentations, MLA research projects, and extensive outside reading. The course is aligned with the California Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

Course Title: English II Honors (P)

Course Number: 1026-1027, 1026MAA-1027MAA, 1026AOS-1027AOS

Grade Level: 10

Elective/Required: Elective

Length/Credits: Year /10 credits

Prerequisites: English I Honors or approval of teacher

Meets UC/CSU A-G category: “B” English

Course Description: English II Honors is an integrated pre-AP English/language arts program emphasizing reading, writing, listening, speaking, and researching for a variety of purposes in a variety of settings. This course of study explores ideas, considers strategies, and broadens student perspectives via a thorough exploration of narrative and expository literature. Poetry, novel, short story, drama, speech, memoir, and essay are the principle genres used as vehicles of study. Emphasis is on analyzing literature in greater depth, analyzing career-related and other informational discourse, and completing increasingly complex writing assignments.

Course Title: AP English Literature and Composition (P)

Course Number: 1206-1207

Grade Level: 11-12

Elective/Required: Elective

Length/Credits: Year/10 credits

Prerequisites: AP English Language or approval of teacher

Meets UC/CSU A-G category: “B” English

Course Description: In order to be aligned with the national Advanced Placement stipulations, this course is a university level course and the subject matter will be approached as such. The course includes intensive study of representative works from various genres and periods, concentrating on works of recognized literary merit. Besides considering a work’s literary artistry, the social and historical values it reflects and embodies will be studied. This attention to both textual detail and historical context will provide a foundation for oral and written interpretation. The AP English Literature and Composition (P) course is designed to provide a broad spectrum of literature so that students might critically evaluate subject matter and themselves. The course is aligned with the California Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

Course Title: Dual Enrollment COS English 1 and English 2

Course Number: 8249DE

Grade Level: 12

Elective/Required: Required

Length/Credits: Year/10 credits (6 college units)

Prerequisites: Completion of AP Language or American Lit with a "B" or higher.

Meets UC/CSU A-G category: “B” English

Course Description: (ENG 1) College Reading and Composition is a first-year course created to support your development as a college-educated reader and writer. This course offers you an opportunity to explore texts from a variety of diverse voices and enter into conversations with creative thinkers. We will empower you to make choices in your writing that strengthen your voice as a scholar and persuade your audience. You will reflect on your writing practices to figure out what writing strategies work best for you. In this course, you will develop research strategies, learn how to find credible information, and incorporate those sources into your writing to support your arguments. (ENG 2)This course gives students the opportunity to study and apply logic and cogent thinking to written and oral communication, as well as develop advanced writing skills. Students learn to recognize logical fallacies, analyze others' arguments, and produce their own arguments and solutions to problems, using primary and secondary research. This course requires substantial writing of a minimum of 6,000 words.

Course Title: Journalism I (P)

Course Number: 1302-1303

Grade Level: 10-12

Elective/Required: Elective

Length/Credits: Year/10 credits

Prerequisites: Reading and writing skills at grade level

Meets UC/CSU A-G category: “G” Elective

Course Description: In this course, students learn to write tight, accurate accounts of events. They learn to track, think about, and discuss current events. Students learn interviewing techniques, copy editing skills, journalistic ethics, computer layout skills and issues regarding freedom and responsibility of the news media in addition to the mechanical skills mentioned. Students will learn advertising layouts, design, and promotion.

Course Title: Journalism II (P)

Course Number: 1306-1307

Grade Level: 11-12

Elective/Required: Elective

Length/Credits: Year/10 credits

Prerequisites: Journalism I

Meets UC/CSU A-G category: “G” Elective

Course Description: Journalism II is a year-long program that offers students the opportunity to build on skills learned in Journalism 1 and to work at an advanced level while planning, researching, writing, revising, and editing work that will be published in campus publications that the class will produce multiple times during the school year, and that are aimed at a diverse audience of students and community members outside of the classroom. Journalism II provides in-depth experience in the type of skills, duties, and challenges offered by universities in a major or minor in journalism or expected in the workplace in employment in the field of journalism. During the process of planning through publishing, opportunities exist for students to develop their skills in writing, editing, photography, advertising sales, business management, and leadership while deepening their knowledge of ethics and legalities in American journalism and mastering journalistic standards for writing and publication. Course work will include generating and discussing ideas for news and feature stories; interviewing, shooting photos, and writing for news articles; editing news articles and publication pages; participating in critiques and story conferences; designing and laying out pages; and participating in and sometimes leading instructional activities and tutorials.

Course Title: Speech 1 (P)

Course Number: 1322-1323

Grade Level: 11-12

Elective /Required: Elective

Length/Credits: Year /10 credits

Prerequisites: Ninth grade reading ability and writing competency or approval of teacher

Meets UC/CSU A-G category: “G” Elective

Course Description: This course covers aspects of communication and its function in contemporary public settings. This will be accomplished through a series of oral presentations designed to enhance fundamental communication skills such as: research, organization, reasoning and logic, listening, interpretation of literature, and editing. =