English Language Arts

(2) Semester Course:  2.5 credits/semester

Open to:  Grade 9                                      

Prerequisites: 8th grade teacher recommendation

College prep Foundations in English (grade 9) is designed for the student in need of individual assistance in writing, reading, and oral interpretation.  In this course, students will closely examine fiction, non-fiction, drama, and poetry to develop reading skills and reinforce knowledge of literary and rhetorical techniques. They will compose and revise explanatory, narrative, and argumentative writing. The revision process is stressed in all written work. Grammar, usage, and composition training will strengthen writing skills, and formal and informal presentations will strengthen speaking and listening skills. There will be focused vocabulary instruction.  Longer texts may include, but are not limited to, Lord of the Flies, The Hunger Games, and the play Romeo and Juliet.

The course objectives are taught each year according to each student’s instructional level.

(2) Semester Course:  2.5 credits/semester

Open to:  Grade 9

Prerequisites:  8th grade teacher recommendation

In English 9, students will closely examine fiction, non-fiction, drama, and poetry to develop reading skills and reinforce knowledge of literary and rhetorical techniques. They will compose and revise explanatory, narrative, and argumentative writing. Grammar, usage, and composition training will strengthen writing skills, and formal and informal presentations will strengthen speaking and listening skills. Focused vocabulary instruction prepares students for pre-college testing. Longer texts may include, but are not limited to, The House on Mango Street, Life of Pi, Lord of the Flies, Harry Potter, and the play Romeo and Juliet.  

Curriculum Units and Learning Outcomes:

This I Believe
Short Stories
House on Mango Street
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (CP) or Life of Pi (Honors)
I-Search
Lord of the Flies
Romeo and Juliet

(2) Semester Course:  2.5 credits/semester

Open to:  Grade 10                                                   

Prerequisites: 9th grade teacher recommendation

Foundations in English (grade 10) is a college prep course that stresses practical application of reading, writing, speaking, and listening to everyday life situations. Class literature may include Of Mice and Men, Night, and Animal Farm, along with shorter works in various literary genres, including the short story, poetry, essays, and drama. Students will also study Othello. In addition to writing assignments derived from literature and vocabulary, students will work on MCAS-styled essays and open responses.  Vocabulary is based on literary terms and common words found on the ACTs and SATs.

The course objectives are taught each year according to each student’s instructional level.

(2) Semester Course: 2.5 credits/semester

Open to:  Grade 10

Prerequisites: 9th grade teacher recommendation

English 10 builds on the foundations established in English 9, developing oral, written, and analytical skill through analysis of classical and contemporary literature. Students will analyze the logic and evidence used by authors to construct arguments, and organize ideas for critical essays using original theses and paragraphs designed to build effective arguments. Students work independently and collaboratively to brainstorm creative and analytical essays, and to improve writing through peer editing. Revision exercises focus student attention on topic development, organization, level of detail, language/style, sentence structure, grammar and usage, and mechanics. Vocabulary instruction will prepare students for pre-college testing and MCAS.

Texts may include, but are not limited to, Night, Maus, Animal Farm,  Othello, The Metamorphosis, In the Time of the Butterflies, 1984, Antigone, The Secret Life of Bees, and Of Mice and Men. In addition, students will read selected short stories and poetry.

Curriculum Units and Learning Outcomes (CP):

Animal Farm
Vocabulary
The Secret Life of Bees
Poetry Unit
The Giving Tree
Of Mice and Men
Othello
Grammar
World War II: Night and Maus

Curriculum Units and Learning Outcomes (Honors):

In the Time of the Butterflies
1984
Vocabulary
The Metamorphosis
Poetry Unit
The Giving Tree
Of Mice and Men
Othello
Grammar
World War II: Night and Maus

(2) Semester Course:   2.5 credits/semester

Open to:  Grade 11

Prerequisites:  English 10 teacher recommendation

American Literature is a college readiness course designed to explore the idea of what it means to be an American. The American Dream, core American values, and American culture are integral themes of the course. Novels, short stories, essays and plays may include, but are not limited to, The Crucible, several works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, readings from the transcendentalists, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Awakening,The Great Gatsby, Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Catcher in the Rye, The Glass Castle, and Everything I Never Told You. Students will deepen their understanding of these literary works by exploring their historical contexts. The writing component emphasizes the need to approach writing as a three-part process of pre-writing, preliminary draft, and final revised copy. Research will be a major component of the course, and students will write a literary criticism research paper. Writing assignments are designed to prepare students for the level of language maturity needed in college.

(CP) Curriculum Units and Learning Outcomes:

Early America: The Crucible
Romanticism
Transcendentalism
Regionalism: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Realism
The Great Gatsby/Modernism
The Harlem Renaissance
Postmodernism: The Catcher in the Rye
Rhetoric
Contemporary America: Everything I Never Told You

(Honors) Curriculum Units and Learning Outcomes:

Early America: The Crucible
The Scarlet Letter
Transcendentalism
Regionalism: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Awakening
The Great Gatsby/Modernism
Modernism: Short Stories by Ernest Hemingway
The Harlem Renaissance: Their Eyes Were Watching God
Research Paper
Memoir: The Glass Castle

Semester Course:    2.5 credits

Open to:  Grade 12

Prerequisites:  None

This course will examine the challenges, problems, and opportunities of war, that great crisis of human civilization which causes normal rules and values to collapse into conflict and disorder. Beginning with an examination of ancient warrior cultures and proceeding to a close analysis of portrayals of modern war, students will read some of the great works of the canon of war literature, seeking to understand both the experiences portrayed by these works and the authors’ goals and techniques in attempting to capture and convey them. Possible texts include Homer’s Iliad, Shakespeare’s Henry V or Macbeth, Stephen Crane’s Red Badge of Courage, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, and a selection of short fiction and poetry.

Curriculum Units and Learning Outcomes:

Homer’s World: The Iliad and Warrior Cultures
Macbeth: A Warrior Trapped in a Culture of Guilt
'The Sorrow and the Pity': Modern War, Modern Literature, and the 20th Century

Semester Course: 2.5 credits

Open to:  Grade 12

Prerequisites:  None

This is a course designed to expand and enrich our experience and enjoyment of an art form that most of us already know and love: the movies. We will begin the semester by re-examining basic concepts familiar from more traditional English classes, focusing on the special problems and opportunities presented by Characterization and Storytelling in film. Since film is primarily a visual medium, the large middle section of the course will be devoted to various technical aspects of visual storytelling. We will conclude the semester with a brief examination of the role of sound and music in film.  We will screen a new movie in class roughly once a cycle, using these films as the basis of our exploration of important concepts together and of major assessments in which students analyze a film independently or in collaboration with a small group.

Curriculum Units and Learning Outcomes:

Characterization In Film
Storytelling in Film
Mise-en-Scène
Visual Storytelling: Cinematography
Visual Storytelling: Editing

Semester Course:  2.5 credits

Open to:  Grade 12

Prerequisites:  None

This course focuses on nonfiction literature and personal/reflective writing as a means to learning more about one’s self and today’s world. The class reads a variety of nonfiction pieces such as Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie and Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, along with supplementary articles/essays from a variety of other nonfiction authors. Students compose a variety of personal pieces in the form of journals and narrative essays, along with creating multimedia projects, all of which are designed to explore how personal experience connects to one’s beliefs/feelings. There also will be an emphasis on how written and verbal communication outside of the academic setting can benefit one’s performance in the workplace.

Curriculum Units and Learning Outcomes:

Into the Wild
Tuesdays with Morrie

(2) Semester Course :    2.5 credits/semester

Open to:  Grades 11-12

Prerequisites:  Teacher recommendation

Advanced Placement English Language and Composition, a college-level course, will prepare students to take the Advanced Placement English Language and Composition test. Coursework will involve college-level work in composition as well as continued development of critical and analytical skills.  Emphasis is placed on the expository, analytical, and argumentative writing that forms the basis of academic and professional communication. This course gives students the practice and supportive criticism necessary to make them flexible writers who can compose in a variety of modes and for a variety of purposes.  Both their reading and writing should make them aware of the interaction between authorial purpose, audience needs, the subject itself, and the resources of language, such as syntax, word choice, and tone. Papers of critical analysis will be required. The Riverside Reader and the Student’s Book of College English, both college level texts, will be used. To prepare for the course, students will have to read Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman and Writers on Writing before school opens in the fall.  Outside reading will include Machiavelli’s The Prince and The Great Gatsby.

Curriculum Units and Learning Outcomes:

Introduction to Rhetoric
Politics and Power
Social Issues and Otherness
Economics and Rhetoric
Test Preparation

(2) Semester Course 2.5 credits/semester

Open to:  Grade 12

Prerequisites:  Teacher recommendation

Advanced Placement English Literature is a college-level, senior course that prepares students to take the Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition test. The course emphasizes the development of skills in critical reading of literature, and in writing about literature and related ideas.  Coursework involves clarification of poetry and prose; thematic analysis of works in all literary genres; and the rhetorical analysis of selected works or passages, through both in‑class and out‑of‑class writing. To prepare for the course, students will have to read Tracks by Louise Erdrich before school opens in the fall. Course readings include, but are not limited to: Jane Eyre by Bronte, The Wide Sargasso Sea by Rhys, The Stranger by Camus, and As I Lay Dying by Faulkner. The history of tragedy through drama includes, but is not limited to: Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, Hamlet by Shakespeare, and Waiting for Godot by Beckett. Analysis of poetry relies on Sound and Sense in Poetry by Perinne.

Curriculum Units and Learning Outcomes:

'How To Read, What To Do': Tracks and Fences as Case Study
Piece of Work and Man's Peace: Hamlet and the Renaissance
Pride and Prejudice and The Enlightenment
Romanticism, Redemption, and Dostoevsky
'The Shock of the New': Faulkner, As I Lay Dying, & The Modern World

Semester Course 2.5 credits

Open to:  Grade 12

Prerequisites:  None

The course will focus on contemporary literature published from 1945 until the present. Significant to the study will be how contemporary authors create an overall sense of identity for their characters and speakers in an increasingly complex society—a society in which the nature of truth is often questioned.  Students in the class will interact with a variety of genres and media that reflect the contemporary experience. Texts may include Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Mamet’s Oleanna, Irving’s The World According to Garp, Yoshimoto’s Kitchen, O’Brien’s In the Lake of the Woods, and selected short stories from authors such as Alison, Braverman, Carver, and Oates.

Curriculum Units and Learning Outcomes:

Oleanna
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Postmodernism
Short Stories

Semester Course:  2.5 credits

Open to:  Grade 12

Prerequisites:  None

This course provides students with opportunities to examine models of good writing and compose pieces in various genres, including memoir, short stories, poetry and essays.  Creative Writing welcomes students at all levels and of all abilities. Students in this course should have an interest in writing, a willingness to present their writing to the class for discussion, and a desire to submit their work for publication. The process of revision will be emphasized in the course.

Curriculum Units and Learning Outcomes:

Getting Started
Writer’s Tools
What I Want my Words to do to You
Short Stories
Screenwriting
Poetry

Semester course: 2.5 credits

Open to:  Grade 12

Prerequisites:  None

In this hybrid course, students will read literature from African-American, Latino/a American, and Asian-American authors, engaging in discussions concerning the issue of identity and the American experience.   We will look at the role that language plays in one’s identity and how it can be used to both liberate and entrap a person. Students will examine how literature and media influence identity and how we relate within society, paying close attention to the issues of race, gender, and class.  There will be one online session in a seven-day rotation, so the student must be prepared for this level of independence in a course. Possible texts include readings from Frederick Douglass, W.E.B.Du Bois, and Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, media (television, film, popular music, advertising, etc.), various non-fiction pieces, Julia Alvarez’s How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents.  A media literacy unit is a component of this course, and students will engage in research throughout the semester.

Curriculum Units and Learning Outcomes:

Douglass, Du Bois, and Ellison (earlier America)
The Bluest Eye (intersection of race, gender, and class)
Media Literacy
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (Gender, culture, class, and immigration)

Semester Course:  2.5 credits

Open to: 12

Prerequisites:  None

This course introduces students to the practice of journalism in the digital age. Students learn how to write news and feature stories and develop multimedia content for publication on HHS Press, our student newspaper and news website. Students study the history and language of journalism; develop skills in writing, designing and editing for a variety of media; understand news and the process of publication; and become more critical readers and media consumers.

Curriculum Units and Learning Outcomes:

Feature Writing Basics
Journalistic Writing Basics
News Fundamentals
Photojournalism Basics
Feature Writing Basics

(2) Semester Course: 2.5 credits/semester

Open to: Grades 9-12 

Prerequisites: Teacher recommendation

The general English curriculum enables students to develop skills and work toward progression of their English language and literacy proficiencies. The course objectives are taught each year according to each student’s instructional level.

(2) Semester Course: 2.5 credits/semester  

Open to: Foundational ELs & SLIFE          

Prerequisites: None                                            

ELE English is designed to provide the language of the content area of English language arts to foundational and SLIFE students in the English Learner Education program.  Through this course, students will work toward progression of their English language and literacy proficiencies in the domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing within the English language arts content area.  Advancement in usage of linguistic complexity, language conventions, and academic vocabulary will be the focus of this course for English learners.

Content for this course is based on WIDA standards and tailored to the needs of the students who are assigned.

* EL = English Learner           

*SLIFE = Student with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education

(2) Semester Course   2.5 credits/semester

Open to: Foundational English Learner

Prerequisites:  None       

Foundational ELD (English Language Development) is a mandatory course for foundational level students in the English Learner Education program.  This course is designed to develop the academic vocabulary, language conventions, and linguistic complexity of English learners. Through this course, students will work toward the development of their language and literacy proficiencies in English in the domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Content for this course is based on WIDA standards and tailored to the needs of the students who are assigned.

(2) Semester Course  2.5 credits/semester  

Open to: Transitional English Learners             Prerequisites: None

Transitional ELD (English Language Development) is a mandatory course for transitional level students in the English Learner Education program.  This course is designed to advance the academic vocabulary, language conventions, and linguistic complexity of English learners in the domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  Through this course, students will work toward the progression of their language and literacy proficiencies in English, as well as toward exit from the English Learner Education program.

Content for this course is based on WIDA standards and tailored to the needs of the students who are assigned.

Semester Course

Open to:  Grades 9-12 2.5 credits

Prerequisites:  None

The emphasis of this course is placed on the study of communication and the practice of public speaking. The course includes practical application of speech communications in everyday life, interpersonal communication, group dynamics, self-awareness and self-confidence as well as looking at communications as story, as a form of education, and as a persuasive tool.

Semester Course 2.5 credits

Open to:  Grades 11-12                                                  

Prerequisites:  Public Speaking or permission from instructor

Building upon the foundational skills mastered in Public Speaking, students will further their development as a public speaker in a variety of settings. This will be done through a combination of speaking, writing, and reading assignments. Specifically, students will outline, develop, and deliver manuscript and extemporaneous speeches incorporating relevant sources. They will learn how to develop and deliver messages that are appropriate and effective for a variety of purposes and audiences.  The course includes units on debate, media supported presentations, motivational speech, and creating a TED talk. Each student will be required to present a 10 - 13 minute memorized TED talk by the end of the semester to an invited audience.

 Semester Course  2.5 credits

Open to:  Grades 11-12                                       

Prerequisites:  None

While students may be well equipped intellectually to handle the demands of a rigorous college academic program, many are lacking the basic skills that will ensure a smooth transition from living at home to being on their own.  This course will focus on helping students develop basic skills in the areas of general housekeeping, meal preparation, health and hygiene, budgeting and managing finances, negotiating public transportation and communication practices (both interpersonal and intrapersonal).