English
Overview: The English Department emphasizes the continual development of language-arts related skills, especially those skills necessary for reading challenging literature and writing high-quality expository, creative, and research-based compositions. Preparation for college-level work is obviously the more immediate goal, but engendering a love for good literature and building the confidence that one can express oneself effectively throughout one’s life are also a part of the departmental philosophy. At all levels writing portfolios, group and individual presentations, writing groups and selected projects have been integrated into the curriculum. The department continues to incorporate applications for new technology as a tool for writing, research, and presentation.
English 9/ World Studies I
Full year - 1 credit History and English
This combined course is taught in two separate class periods, but English and History are integrated through examining world cultures, history, and themes. The period of history covered runs from ancient civilizations to the Renaissance and includes both Eastern and Western cultures. Students alto study the art, architecture, and music of the periods and take field trips to the Art Museum. Literature parallels the historical studies and includes such works as Antigone, The Odyssey, Old Testament passages, writings by Confucius, King Arthur stories, and Romeo and Juliet; modern works such as Catcher in the Rye, The Joy Luck Club, and Ishmael are also studied. Composition skills, close reading skills, and vocabulary are stressed, and students complete two research projects and make presentations on them.
English 9 Honors/ World Studies I
Full year - 1 credit History and English
Honors students in this course follow the same curriculum described above but are required to do additional readings and projects. It is expected that these students can work independently(both as individuals and in small groups) and that their reading and writing skills are already strong when the course begins. Honors students’ work is evaluated using more demanding standards than those used for non-honors English.
English 10
Full year - 1 credit
The tenth grade curriculum provides an overview of British literature from the Anglo-Saxon period to the modern age. Major works typically covered include excerpts from Beowulf, Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, a novel by Dickens, Shaw’s Pygmalion or Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, and Orwell’s 1984. For about two months during the second half of the year, students work on their first formal research paper, which involves a trip to the Cleveland Public Library and specialized instruction on every step of the research process. Students also study poetry that reflects a variety of literary movements (romanticism, modernism, etc.), while working to improve their writing skills. Most often, vocabulary is studied in the context of novels and other texts. On-going journal writing provides fertile material for student-generated discussions and writing assignments throughout the year.
English 10 Honors
Full year - 1 credit ~ Prerequisite: Departmental Approval
The tenth grade honors curriculum provides a more in-depth overview of British literature, following the same outline as the non-honors class but requiring more reading and writing assignments that demand a greater level of depth, thoughtfulness, and complexity. More specifically, honors students must write a longer research paper using more sources. Honors students are expected to have advanced reading and writing skills and to maintain interest in and dedication toward all work.
English 11
Full year - 1 credit
The junior English curriculum focuses on American literature, especially masterpieces of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as continuing work with more advanced composition skills. The course emphasizes close textual analysis, but also asks students to consider literature in its historical context, and as interacting with larger social and historical forces beyond the binding. Written assignments include personal responses to literature, creative work (poetry, short stories, etc.), and more formal research papers. Literary works include novels, dramas, short stories, and poetry by Hawthorne, Miller, Emerson, Thoreau, Dickinson, Twain, Chopin, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Hurston, Faulkner, Kerouac, Morrison, and others.
English 11 AP Language & Composition
Full year - 1 credit ~ Prerequisite: Departmental Approval
The junior honors English curriculum follows the same basic outline as described above, but students move at a faster pace, read more books and books that are more difficult, and write essays of greater length and complexity. Since this course is essentially an AP class, students are expected to have a good command of Upper School reading and writing skills, maintain a positive attitude toward the work, and be able to work independently. The authors are essentially the same as those listed above, but students might, for instance, read a novel where the non-honors class reads a couple of short stories; further, students are expected to complete more supplementary readings. Qualified students take part in guided preparation for the AP Language and Composition exam (given in May) at the discretion of the instructor.
English 12
Full year - 1 credit
Senior English is divided into two sections. During the first semester all seniors not in English AP take “Composition for College”, while for the second semester students must select one of the two literature-based courses.
- Composition for College (Required): First semester
Early in the class students read, discuss, and write about the plays that they will see at the Stratford Theatre Festival and/or Shaw Festival in Ontario, Canada. The focus then shifts to working on developing and reinforcing composition skills, both for the writing of essays for college applications and to prepare the student for college-level writing. Texts have included Hall and Birkerts’ Writing Well, Hall and Emblem’s A Writer’s Reader, and Gerald’s Prose Models. Students write a number of essays following the traditional rhetorical modes while working to polish their own writing styles. - Studies in Literature (Required): Second semester
Second semester offerings vary from year to year but have included such courses as: “Love and Loss,” a thematic course examining these issues in dramas, novels, short stories, and poetry from around the world; “The Modern Novel,” a course that uses novels written within the past forty years to explore themes prevalent in contemporary society; and “Women writers in American Culture,” which examines novels, dramas, short stories, and poetry written by American women from Colonial to modern times.
English 12 AP Literature & Composition
Full year - 1 credit ~ Prerequisite: Departmental Approval
This course is designed to offer the equivalent of a college freshman/sophomore level introductory course to composition and literature. While is does help prepare the student for the AP Literature and Composition test, this is not its sole purpose. During first semester, students study and write about the plays we will see at the Stratford Theatre Festival in Ontario, Canada and then undertake an intensive study of the genres of short fiction, drama, and poetry, using Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense, a college-level text. A significant amount of essay writing is required. During the second semester, students split their time between writing a literature-based term paper and on AP-level dramas and longer works of fiction not covered in previous years. These works are organized around a central theme which may change from year to year and encompass such works as Native Son, The Inferno, Othello, All the King’s Men, Equus, The Collector, and The Color Purple. There will be a first-semester examination and students are expected to take the AP exam, but no final exam is required. As with other honors courses, students must come into this course with reading and writing skills of considerable strength and with a positive work ethic.
NOTE: The English Department has available a list of expectations and requirements for honors and AP students.