English Language Arts (ELA)

All freshmen (starting August 2023) take this course.

Pre-AP English 1 focuses on reading, writing, and language skills that are relevant to students’ current work and essential for students' future to future high school and college coursework. Texts take center stage, preparing students for close, critical reading and analytical writing. The course trains readers to observe small details in a text to arrive at a deeper understanding of the whole. It also trains writers to create complex sentences—building this foundational skill en route to sophisticated, longer-form analyses.

Pre-AP English 1 has four main units:

Unit 1: Telling Details

Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases

Unit 3: Compelling Evidence

Unit 4: Powerful Openings

All sophomores (starting August 2023) take this course unless they opt to take AP Seminar.

Pre-AP English 2 builds on the foundations of Pre-AP English 1. While English 1 introduces the fundamentals of close observation, critical analysis, and the appreciation of author’s craft, English 2 requires students to apply those practices to a new array of nonfiction and literary texts. As readers, students become aware of how poets, playwrights, novelists, and writers of nonfiction manipulate language to serve their purposes. As writers, students compose more nuanced analytical essays while never losing sight of craft and cohesion.

Pre-AP English 2 has four main units:

Unit 1: Argument

Unit 2: Persuasion in Literature

Unit 3: Voice in Synthesis

Unit 4: Purpose in Poetry and Prose

Open to sophomores (starting August 2023) who opt to not take Pre-AP English II; successful completion of freshman English.

Co-requisite:  AP Research in grade 11 or 12 to be eligible for the AP Capstone Diploma; see ELECTIVE COURSES section below.

In this course, students Develop and practice the skills in research, collaboration, and communication necessary in any academic discipline. Students investigate topics in a variety of subject areas, write research-based essays, and design and give presentations both individually and as part of a team.  Skill development includes:  1)  reading and analyzing articles, studies, and other texts;  2) gathering and combining information from sources;  3) viewing an issue from multiple perspectives; and 4) crafting arguments based on evidence.

All juniors take this course unless they are in Honors English III or AP English Language and Composition.

This course explores the themes and techniques of American Literature from the Puritan period to the present. The major focus is literary analysis– in the process of analyzing the American tradition; students react critically to, question, and reflect on our world and its values. The use of a portfolio and journal allows students to put their responses (and question) in writing. A required research paper helps provides the opportunity to learn and apply research techniques in conjunction with a 10-12 page research paper. 

Prerequisite: Successful completion of sophomore English.  

This course is eligible for Dual Enrollment credit with Saint Louis University.

This honors course introduces literary study within the context and theme of Cultural Conflict and Social Justice. Through the reading of a wide variety of genres - including drama, poetry, and fiction - the course engages students in literary ways of knowing. Methods include close reading, comparative textual analysis, and argumentative writing.

Prerequisite: Successful completion of sophomore English.  

This course is eligible for Dual Enrollment credit with Saint Louis University.

This class focuses on language and composition. Students will analyze various genres of American literature and demonstrate their own skill in composition by writing essays in various rhetorical modes. This class is preparation for taking the AP Language and Composition Exam—which all students must take—which tests a student's ability to read critically and to write in the following modes: comparison and contrast, narration/description, classification/division, definition, extended definition, and academic argument. 

All seniors take this course unless they are in H English IV or AP English Literature and Composition.

Co-requisite: ENGLISH IV - Introduction to Science Fiction & Fantasy Literature or ENGLISH IV - Literature, Film, & Composition.

This course goes well beyond the English canon by exploring and acknowledging authors and their works throughout the globe. World Literature is a course that tears down borders, not just physical borders, but borders of gender, religion, and race. Students will read works of fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry by authors around the globe, male and female, of numerous nationalities and belief systems, such as Neruda, Borges, Parra, Chekhov, Basho, Hafiz, Rumi, and Sappho. By the end of the course, students will value the myths, stories, struggles, and cultures of other nations, as well as discover what we all have in common in our journey as human beings. Along with reading various texts, there will be a deeper continuation of our writing with both critical and creative essays. 

Co-requisite:  ENGLISH IV - World Literature.

This course will allow students the opportunity to study the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres of literature from a historical aspect - beginning from the late nineteenth century to the modern day. Students will have the opportunity to study representative works from the genres of Science Fiction (Intro to Genre; Early Sci-Fi/Fantasy; Golden Age; New Age; Present) - the subgenres of Science Fiction (Utopias/Dystopias; Robots/Aliens; Genre Foundations; Space Travel) - and Fantasy (Gothic; Neo-Gothic/Modern; High) by examining their roots, twentieth-century rise, and contemporary status in order to provide students with a solid foundation of genre-based readings that they will be able to use for future college-level writing/literature classes. Students will read works of fiction from various authors who are staples within the genre, such as Huxley, Ellison, Bradbury, Lovecraft, and Asimov. The main overlapping theme discussed throughout the semester will be that of morality and the meaning of life and the purpose of human existence. The course will introduce students to a wide range of texts, including short stories, documentaries, and various literary essays, as well as the opportunity to write their own genre-based critical and creative essays. 

Co-requisite:  ENGLISH IV - World Literature.

This course is designed to provide the high school senior with an introductory study of film as literature based on specific literary works. Film, literature, and composition is a writing, text-based course studying expository, descriptive, critical and analytical writing through the medium of film. This course will be designed around film genres (which may include comedy, tragedy, western, world cinema, noir, horror, documentary and musical) and central themes. Literary technique analysis, historical reliability and content of documentaries, as well as a history of the filmmaking process will be included. Students will be required to watch films outside of class, as the majority of class time will be devoted to analysis through discussion, writing and research.

Successful completion of junior English.

Co-requisite:  HONORS ENGLISH IV - California Dreaming: Place, Culture, & Literature.

This course introduces literary study within the context and theme of nation and identity. Through reading a wide variety of genres - including drama, fiction, and poetry - the course engages students in literary ways of knowing. Methods include close reading, comparative textual analysis, and argumentative and reflective writing.

Successful completion of junior English.

Co-requisite:  HONORS ENGLISH IV - Nation, Identity, & Literature.

California is viewed as a place full of immense promise and opportunity, a place for new beginnings and reinvention. It is also where its harsh realities and conflicting narratives can end those “golden” dreams. This course will investigate how literature and other cultural texts illuminate these contrasting perspectives. Through critical reading, writing, and dialogue, this course will allow students to see and define themselves within the complexities of historical and contemporary California. Students will examine the question of how and why literature is a reflection of a particular place, especially one with such a multitude of voices, experiences, and communities.

Successful completion of junior English.

Students in the AP English course are required to demonstrate excellence in literature, composition, and discussion. Those meeting the requirements of the AP exam may receive college credit and/or placement. AP English IV focuses on literature and composition. This course engages students in the careful reading and critical analysis of various works of literature–novels, drama, and poetry. Through reading, composition and discussion, students become involved in a deeper understanding and appreciation of literary genres and styles in preparation for the AP exam, which all students must take. 

Prerequisite: successful completion of AP Seminar in grade 10 to be eligible for the AP Capstone Diploma.

AP Research, the second course in the AP Capstone™ experience, allows students to deeply explore an academic topic, problem, issue, or idea of individual interest. Students design, plan, and implement a yearlong investigation to address a research question. Through this inquiry, they further the skills they acquired in the AP Seminar course by learning research methodology, employing ethical research practices, and accessing, analyzing, and synthesizing information. Students reflect on their skill development, document their processes, and curate the artifacts of their scholarly work through a process and reflection portfolio. The course culminates in an academic paper of 4,000–5,000 words (accompanied by a performance, exhibit, or product where applicable) and a presentation with an oral defense.