english

In an attempt to serve the college-bound student, the English Department has designed four regular courses, two accelerated Honors English courses and an AP class.  The development of a graduating senior with a deep respect for intellectual values - an educated young woman who can demonstrate competence in the areas of reading, writing, listening, speaking, and critical thinking - forms the focus of all English course activities.         

SUMMER READING
Each student should complete a "summer reading" prior to the first day of class. Please follow this link to a complete list.

ENGLISH I - WORLD LITERATURE
(Grade 9)English I offers intensive work in the areas of grammar, composition, literature, and vocabulary.  The vocabulary workbook, Wordly Wise Book 6, begins a four-year sequential study of words, as well as Latin and Greek roots and prefixes.  Diane Hacker’s Rules for Writers is a grammar and composition handbook the girls will use for four years.  The primary source for the study of literature is Prentice-Hall's anthology, entitled Platinum.  This text integrates reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. The selections in the anthology are organized by genre to encourage comprehensive study of the types of literature.  The following units in the literature anthology will be covered:  The Short Story, Drama (supplemented by Romeo and Juliet), Nonfiction, Poetry, the Heroic Tradition (supplemented by Edith Hamilton's Mythology and Homer’s The Odyssey), and the Novel. Compositions are assigned on a frequent basis.  The writing process during this year focuses on prewriting, drafting and revising, and the final project.  Students write extensively and hone their skills by attempting many styles: exposition, description, narration, and argumentation.  The emphasis is on how to write clearly, concisely, and effectively.  

ENGLISH II - BRITISH LITERATURE

(Grade 10) The two semester sophomore course addresses the traditional triad of language, literature and composition.  Language lessons will include weekly vocabulary assignments in Wordly Wise, additional vocabulary that students encounter in literary selections and a survey of grammar and usage.  Literature consists of three novels, a Greek drama unit, two Shakespearean plays and additional prose and verse selections. All told, the literary works provide a generic survey of the canon from medieval through modern times.  Composition study includes an intensive approach to the writing process by precept and practice, using a booklet entitled Principles of English Composition, Rules for Writers and other materials.  Students will build on their ninth grade experience with the multi-paragraph essay, learning to go beyond the three-pronged thesis to alternative argumentative and analytical models.  Literary analysis is an important dimension of advanced composition, and the in-class essay written on a literary topic from one of several prepared outlines is a significant developmental skill for E.T.S. experiences and for college preparation.  A primary goal is that students be able to write an impromptu essay during a forty-minute block from a supplied prompt.

ENGLISH III - AMERICAN LITERATURE

(Grade 11) English III provides the student with a comprehensive view of American literature spanning from Native American literature and the Colonial Period to contemporary American literature.  Various literary eras are studied, including Romanticism, Transcendentalism, Realism, and Modernism, Post Modernism and Multi-Cultural Literature.  The student will be aware of the characteristics of these eras and several major works and writers from each time period.  Included in the course are numerous papers in which the student will work on analysis and critical thinking skills, while continuing to build on basic composition skills as well.  Proper use and citation of primary and secondary sources for literary analysis will be emphasized using Diane Hacker’s Rules for Writers handbook.  Primary concentration will be placed on MLA format.  The primary text is Prentice-Hall's The American Experience.  In addition to the anthology, students read Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Cather’s A Lost Lady, Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, The Catcher in The Rye by J.D. Salinger, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, and Mark Twain's Adventures of  Huckleberry Finn and T.C. Boyle’s The Tortilla Curtain.  Work on the vocabulary series continues with Wordly Wise Book 8.

ENGLISH IV - WORLD CLASSICS

English IV examines a variety of literature and is a culmination of secondary English instruction and a reinforcement of previous instruction. The course covers British, American, multi-cultural and world literature, ranging from classical texts, such as Shakespeare's Hamlet, to such contemporary work as Khaled Hosseinis’ The Kite Runner, and various multi-cultural authors. These diverse texts will bring a depth and breadth to the world literary experience by exploring contemporary and universal themes through the major genres.  The student will write numerous compositions and continue to build on critical thinking, reading, and writing skills in relation to the works covered.  An extensive critical research paper is required for completion of the course.  Students will complete the vocabulary building program with Wordly Wise, Book 9 and continue with grammar and composition work using Diane Hacker’s Rules for Writers reference guide. 

AMERICAN LITERATURE HONORS, SENIOR ENGLISH HONORS AND AP ENGLISH

These courses are designed for those students who have demonstrated competency in the levels of knowledge, comprehension and oral expression.  These courses have been developed to promote application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation between the reader and the text.

Honors American Literature Requirements:

1. The student will receive a grade of 92% or better for the first three quarters of 10th grade English.
2. The student will have an 87% or better G.P.A.
3. Class size will be limited to 15.  Students will be accepted in order of their rank in their present English class. Depending on the talents of a particular class, the administration may schedule two sections of Honors American Literature.

Senior English Honors Requirements

1. The student will receive a grade of 90% or better for the first three quarters of  the 11th grade English
2. The student will have an 87% or better GPA
3. The class size will be limited to 15.  Students will be accepted in order of their present English class.  Depending on the talents of a particular class, the administration may schedule two sections of Senior English Honors.
   

AP Literature Requirements:

1. The student will receive a grade of 93% or better for the first three quarters of 11th grade English.
2. The student will have an 87% or better G.P.A.
3. The student will score no less than a 27 on the verbal or reading section of the ACT.
4. Class size will be limited to 15.  Students will be accepted in order of their rank in their present English class as well as their performance on the ACT. Depending on the talents of a particular class, the administration may schedule two sections of A.P. English.

ENGLISH III AMERICAN LITERATURE HONORS

(Grade 11) American Literature Honors requires additional reading, writing, and further analysis of the literary works covered in American Literature (English III). Short stories written by Willa Cather, Sarah Orne Jewett, Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton, Mark Twain and Edgar Allen Poe will be analyzed. Students will also read and discuss American plays written by Eugene O’Neill, Lillian Hellman, Tennessee Williams and Authur Miller. Work with the vocabulary series continues with Wordly Wise, Book 8.

ENGLISH IV - WORLD CLASSICS HONORS

Senior English Honors examines a variety of literature and is designed as a culmination of secondary English instruction. The vocabulary workbook Wordly Wise Book 9 concludes our four year sequential vocabulary study. Hacker’s Rules for Writers will be essential when the students write their Senior Seminar essays. First semester is devoted to the canon of world literature and includes works such as The Odyssey, The Canterbury Tales, Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, A Doll’s House and The Awakening. Second semester will focus on contemporary works of literature including The Old Man and the Sea, Of Mice and Men, A Raisin in the Sun, The Joy Luck Club, The Kite Runner, and Sula. A Senior Seminar paper is required of all second semester seniors.

AP ENGLISH

(Grade 12) AP English has three main objectives:  (1) to improve the student's analytical writing, (2) to improve the student's analysis of various literary genres, and (3) to acquaint the student with various types of criticism. All AP English students must take the National Advanced Placement in English exam administered in early May.  The cost for this exam is around $75.00.

First semester begins with The Odyssey and then explores The Canterbury Tales, the poetry of Marlowe and Shakespeare, the dramas of Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice, the metaphysical poets Donne, Herrick, and Jonson and Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.  Second semester includes the critical study of works by, Chopin, Shelley, Wilde, Ellison, Hosseini, and Morrison.  A seminar project is required of each student.  Wordly Wise Book 9 completes our vocabulary building series.

Mr. Thomas Becker

English III, Drama, Forensics

Mr. Dan Daly

English II

Mrs. Mary Moeschler

English I, AP Literature

Mrs. Cristina Hiddleston

Engish III

Mrs. Kate Sommer

English IV, Senior Honors English, Creative Writing,

Journalism

Click here for the Summer Reading List.