All courses are a length of one year unless otherwise specified.

ELA Course Progression.  Some 8th grade students have earned credit for English I Honors which would place the freshman course in English II Honors.

English I Honors  Q

English 1 focuses on the close reading and careful analysis of complex literary and informational texts, and the compositional process. Students develop skill in reading analytically, speaking and listening, language, and composition.  Emphasis is placed on key ideas and details, author's craft and structure, integration of knowledge and ideas, the range of reading and level of text complexity, vocabulary development, student research, and the process and production of various modes of writing.

Prerequisite      M/J Language Arts 3 (any level)

 English II Honors  Q

This course focuses on the close reading and careful analysis of complex literary and informational texts, and the compositional process.  Students develop skill in reading analytically, speaking and listening, language, and composition.  Emphasis is placed on key ideas and details, author's craft and structure, integration of knowledge and ideas, the range of reading and level of text complexity, vocabulary development, student research, and the process and production of various modes of writing.

Prerequisite      English I (any level)

English III Honors  Q

This course focuses on the study of literature, language, and composition.  Emphasis is placed on developing an understanding of major authors, periods, features, and themes of American literature and on using the writing process to produce specified types of papers, including literary analysis, the persuasive essay, and the brief research paper.  Speaking and listening skills, vocabulary development, study skills, and reference skills are also included.

Prerequisite      English II (any level)

English IV Honors  Q

This course focuses on the close reading and careful analysis of complex literary (with emphasis on British and world literature) and informational texts, and the compositional process.  Students develop skill in reading analytically, speaking and listening, language, and composition.  Emphasis is placed on key ideas and details, authors’ craft and structure, integration of knowledge and ideas, the range of reading and level of text complexity, vocabulary development, student research, and the process and production of various modes of writing.

Prerequisite      English III (any level)

 Advanced Placement English:  Language & Composition Q *

The purpose of the AP English Language and Composition course is to enable students to read complex texts with understanding and to write prose of sufficient richness and complexity to communicate effectively with mature readers. AP English Language and Composition engages students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Both their writing and their reading should make students aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects, as well as the way genre conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing. As well as engaging in varied writing tasks, students become acquainted with a wide variety of prose styles from many disciplines and historical periods and gain understanding of the connections between writing and interpretive skill in reading. The purpose of the AP English Language and Composition course is to enable students to read complex texts with understanding and to write prose of sufficient richness and complexity to communicate effectively with mature readers. AP English Language and Composition engages students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of rhetorical contexts and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Both their writing and their reading should make students aware of the interactions among a writer’s purposes, audience expectations, and subjects, as well as the way genre conventions and the resources of language contribute to effectiveness in writing. As well as engaging in varied writing tasks, students become acquainted with a wide variety of prose styles from many disciplines and historical periods and gain understanding of the connections between writing and interpretive skill in reading.

AP Language and Composition may take the place of the English III (or other appropriate) requirement.  AP courses involve higher levels of complexity, greater depth, and more reading and writing than traditional courses.  AP courses are recommended for students with either an average English grade of at least a C or enrollment in AVID, though this is not a requirement.  Students are required to take the Advanced Placement examination.

Prerequisite      English Honors II

Advanced Placement English: Literature & Composition Q *

AP English Literature and Composition engages students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature, and poetry and fiction. Through the close reading of selected texts, students deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. As they read, students consider a work’s structure, style and themes, as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism and tone.   Reading in an AP course is both wide and deep. This reading necessarily builds upon and complements the reading done in previous English courses so that by the time students complete their AP course, they will have read works from several genres and periods — from the 16th to the 21st century. Writing is an integral part of the AP English Literature and Composition course and exam. Writing assignments focus on the critical analysis of literature and include expository, analytical and argumentative essays.  By the time students complete their AP course, they will have read works from several genres and periods — from the 16th to the 21st century. Writing is an integral part of the AP English Literature and Composition course and exam. Writing assignments focus on the critical analysis of literature and poetry, and include expository, analytical and argumentative essays.

AP Literature and Composition may take the place of the English IV (or other appropriate) requirement.  AP courses involve higher levels of complexity, greater depth, and more reading and writing than traditional courses.  AP courses are recommended for students with either an average English grade of at least a C or enrollment in AVID, though this is not a requirement.  Students are required to take the Advanced Placement examination.

Prerequisite      English Honors III or AP English Language

AP Disclaimer: Students enrolled in AP Language and/ or AP Literature will be required to complete a summer reading assignment. The summer reading assignment will be delivered shortly before the examination period at the close of second semester. Students may borrow the book from the school, from a public library, or purchase the book.