• ENGLISH

    Below are the typical English course selections at each grade level. Check course descriptions for course details and prerequisites. Please contact the department chairperson if you have any questions.

    Chairperson: Carrie Silva
     
     
      Grade 9 Grade 10 Grade 11 Grade 12
     Required
     English 9R
     English 9H
     English 10R
     English 10H
     AND
     Writing Lab (1/2cr)
     English 11R
     English 11AP
     English 12R
     English 12AP
     

    ENGLISH 9R - 1 year, 1 credit
    The goal of English 9 and English 9 Honors is to transition our middle school ELA learners into more advanced readers and writers in accordance with the Common Core College and Career Standards. As a means to meet this benchmark, the course is based upon College Board’s official Pre-Advanced Placement program, SpringBoard, for students in grade 9. The overarching theme for the ninth grade is Coming of Age; accordingly, units of study each quarter will cover this topic through related literary units such as “Coming of Age,” "Defining Style,” “Poetic Voices," “ and “Interpreting Drama Through Performances.” The outside texts we cover during our year will support our exploration of this theme and will include The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Anthem, by Ayn Rand, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Formal Assessments in the 9th grade will include a wide array of reading and writing tasks: weekly individual Reader's Notebooks for the outside reading, cooperative group projects, argumentative and synthesis essays, and MLA research papers.

    ENGLISH 9H - 1 year, 1 credit
    This course offers a rigorous introduction to some of the world’s great literature. A spectrum of genres and styles is covered through the in-depth study and interpretation of literature. Also stressed is learning and applying the terminology of language, literature and poetry, with the goal of using this specialized vocabulary to strengthen critical analysis. Close attention is devoted to writing expository essays and critical lens responses in which the categories of meaning, development, organization, language use and mechanics are evaluated. Students are encouraged to strive for clarity and precision in both written and oral expression. Creative assignments and presentations are included in the required work. Note: Due to the demands of the required reading and writing, English 9 Honors is intended for students who have demonstrated a high level of achievement in English.
     
    ENGLISH 10R - 1 year, 1 credit
    As a continuation of grade 9, English 10 and English 10 Honors classes are focused on developing the reading, writing, and analytical skills required by the Common Core Standards. During our course, we will read a variety of materials using selections from the College Board’s official pre-AP (Advanced Placement) course SpringBoard for grade 10, which follows the central theme of Culture, and includes specific units “Voices of a Modern Culture,” “Cultural Conversations,” and “Community.” During our course, we will examine a variety of literature including Lorraine Hansberry’s drama A Raisin in the Sun, John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, and George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Additionally, we will supplement these readings with selections of poetry, fiction, and informational articles. Students will compose personal, creative, analytical, and argumentative writing assignments designed to prepare them for next year’s New York State Common Core Regents examination in English. The course will culminate in an MLA research paper assignment.

    ENGLISH 10H - 1 year, 1 credit
    Offered to students who expect to pursue advanced placement (college-level) courses in English in grades eleven and twelve, this course focuses on reading literature perceptively and on expressing oneself clearly and effectively in both speaking and writing. Special emphasis is placed on writing sophisticated, analytical essays and on formulating and supporting a thesis – the cornerstone of all essay-writing. The course is aimed at refining the grammar and writing skills of the advanced-level writer; it is not the course for a student who struggles with effectively translating his/her thoughts into the written word. The literature that is used as a springboard for the written assignments is mainly British, and includes an accompanying study of the history of England, as appropriate, in order to create a clear and “rounded” concept of the humanities. Ultimately, the class is demanding and moves at a rapid pace, so as to prepare students for the academic challenges that await them in the college-level courses that are English 11 and 12 AP. A summer reading assignment is a requirement of this course.

    ENGLISH 11R - 1 year, 1 credit
    English 11 expands upon the Common Core skills necessary to prepare students for college and career readiness. During our course, students will sample a wealth of literary and non-fiction writing based upon the four focus-units of study: “Defining the American Dream” “Justice in America,” “An American Journey,” and “The Pursuit of Happiness” found within the College Board text Springboard for grade 11 students. Within each unit, students will read a variety of poetry, short stories, historical accounts and news articles in conjunction with our literary anchor texts, including Arthur Miller’s drama The Crucible, Larry Watson’s novel Montana 1948, Khaled Housseni’s novel The Kite Runner and a student-choice memoir selection. In connection with these readings, students will compose a variety of personal, analytical, and argumentative writing assignments designed to prepare them for the New York State Common Core Regents Exam in English. The course culminates in both the Common Core Regents examination and a final MLA research paper assignment.

    ENGLISH 11AP / LANGUAGE & COMPOSITION I - 1 year, 1 credit
    English 11 AP (Composition and Literature I) is designed to meet the requirements of the State University of New York ACE (Advanced College Experience) program offered through Westchester Community College. Additionally, students will also prepare to take the College Board Advanced Placement English Language and Composition exam at the end of the year. In this college-level, credit-bearing course, students will be given frequent opportunities to work with the rhetorical situation, examining the authors’ purposes as well as the audiences and the subjects in texts. Students will write in a variety of modes for a variety of audiences, developing a sense of personal style and an ability to analyze and articulate how the resources of language operate in any given text. Because our students live in a highly visual world, we will also study the rhetoric of visual media such as photographs, films, advertisements, and comic strips. In addition to the analysis of short fiction, media, speeches and nonfiction articles, our study will also include analytical examinations of lengthier works including Jay Heinrich’s Thank You For Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About The Art of Persuasion, Ayn Rand’s novel The Fountainhead and John Krakauer’s nonfictional work Into the Wild. The course will culminate in the Advanced Placement exam and an MLA research paper. Course prerequisites apply. Students are required to take the Advanced Placement examination.


    ENGLISH 12R – 1 year, 1 credit
    English 12 is focused on continuing and developing the reading, writing, research, and analytical skills required by the Common Core Standards. During our course we will read a variety of materials using the American novel, autobiographical, and major dramatic works, as well as other literary and informational texts. Anchor texts for our year-long unit of study will include Alice Walker’s novel The Color Purple, Tennessee William’s drama A Streetcar Named Desire and Piri Thomas’s autobiography Down These Mean Streets. Students will compose a variety of personal, creative, and analytical writing assignments designed to prepare them for college and career readiness. Students will also focus on the college application and essay writing process, resume and cover letter writing, and job interviewing skills. Additionally, students will write a midyear and end-of-year MLA Style research paper and complete a media-based presentation on their chosen research topic.

    ENGLISH 12 AP / LITERATUE & COMPOSITION II– 1 year, 1 credit
    Students in Advanced Composition and Literature II will experience a continuation of Composition and Literature I, the college-level, credit-bearing English course sequence offered through the SUNY ACE program. With a focus on introducing students to a more formal, analytical approach to our rich literary history, the course will survey specific periods of literary importance, ranging from the English Renaissance to the American post-modern period. Anchor selections, which may include Thomas C. Foster’s guide How to Read Literature Like a College Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, and Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved, will expose students to the diverse nature of our writing traditions and provide them with the appropriate intellectual rigor. Throughout the year, students will also be exposed to a wide-range of literature, including poetry, prose, primary sources, secondary historical background readings, and literary criticisms. Students will engage in a variety of writing activities, including formal and informal essays, MLA research assignments, as well as WIKI and other technology-based projects. Students also prepare for the AP Literature and Composition exam in May through reading comprehension practice and timed in-class essay writing assignments. The course will culminate in the Advanced Placement exam and a final interdisciplinary MLA research paper. Course prerequisites apply. Students are required to take the Advanced Placement examination.

    WRITING LAB (AIS)
    Our Writing Lab is available every day during students’ lunch periods. The class focuses on strengthening students’ writing skills by exposing students to a number of different, practical writing assignments. The lab addresses all the steps of the writing process—brainstorming, organizing, rough-drafting, proofreading & editing—and offers instruction in practical grammar skills in order to help empower students as editors of their own writing. This course is a requirement for tenth-grade students.