English

The English Studies Department

The English Department strives to help every student attain maximum effectiveness as a communicator. This commitment is based on the premise that language is the key that unlocks a student’s potential. Through writing, reading, and discussion, the primary focus is to confront the moral foundations evident in classic and contemporary literature. Organizational skills and research techniques are developed through this program. Students are required to complete four years of an English sequence for graduation. Questions about appropriate leveling should be directed to the Department Chair.

The English Department encourages you to challenge yourselves to read new books, and these summer reading selections will be the texts that begin your work for next year, so be sure to complete your reading by the first day of school. We hope that along with these required summer reading texts, you also read newspapers, magazines, memoirs, novels and biographies to enhance your minds. Below is the list for the Summer of 2024.

For incoming freshmen:

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

For incoming sophomores:

The Rent Collector by Camron Wright

For incoming juniors and seniors:

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

For AP Language and AP Literature:

Complete your reading assignments from Mrs. Kahan and Mrs. Prince

We hope that your summer is filled with new experiences, time outdoors, and a few good books.

For a printable version of this list, click here.

Writing Guidelines

Formatting a Paper According to MLA Guidelines as Seen on OWL Purdue University Website

1” margins on all four sides
Double spacing throughout the paper
Font used is the equivalent of 12 Times New Roman.
Name and page # on each page if document is more than one page
Four line heading on left side of page which includes in this order: student’s name (spelled correctly), instructor’s name (spelled correctly), class name, date (day month year—without punctuation)
Titles of papers are not underlined / italicized (unless they are titles of books or plays), nor are they ever bolded.
Paragraphs are indented.
Works Cited—not underlined, not bolded, and centered on page
Listing(s) on works cited formatted correctly. (This includes alphabetical order if more than one listing, correct margins for each listing, correct punctuation and information within each listing.)
In-text citation(s) formatted correctly.
Quotations of more than four lines are double indented.

Courses Offered

In this course, students will meet for six periods a week to study the basic structure and meaning of the short story, the novel, the Shakespearean play, and poetry. The curriculum uses the official Pre-AP 1 resources from the College Board, including norm-referenced tests. A strong composition and grammar program begins in this course focusing on the writing process, research techniques, and grammatical structure with emphasis on studying diction and syntax. Pre-AP courses are designed to support a variety of learners across levels of reading and composition and are not honors or advanced courses (per College Board rules). A strong composition and grammar program begins in this course focusing on the writing process, research techniques, and grammatical structure with emphasis on studying diction and syntax. The curriculum includes: Romeo and Juliet, Of Mice and Men, The Sunflower, The Odyssey, a science fiction novel, a unit on mythology, and various essays, short stories and poems.

In this skills-focused course, students will meet for six periods a week to develop the skills necessary to be successful in the Pre-AP sophomore class. Students study the basic structure and meaning of the short story, the novel, the memoir, and poetry. A composition and grammar program begins in this course, focusing on the writing skills, research techniques, and grammar and syntax required to be successful sophomore year. The curriculum includes: Our Town, Of Mice and Men, The Sunflower, Fahrenheit 451, The Odyssey, and various essays, articles, short stories, and poems.

Pre-AP 2 English is for regular level students and builds on the foundation of Pre-AP 1 English. Students develop awareness of the writer (poet, novelist, playwright, essayist, reporter, writer of non-fiction) manipulates language to persuade, inform, and entertain. Students will read closely and analyze a range of complex literary and informational texts. They learn to identify textual evidence for support in their discussions and writing, in addition to learning to identify how writers and speaker use specific words and sentence to persuade/change the thoughts, emotions, and actions of readers and listeners. The curriculum uses the official Pre-AP 2 resources from the College Board, including norm-referenced tests.

By the end of each unit, students complete two multiple choice tests as well as a writing tasks where they compose well- crafted and written nuanced analytical paragraphs and essays. To help the students have the vocabulary need for their reading assignments, Membean, the school’s vocabulary program, is integral to this course. Lastly, to help students become life-long readers and explore different types of books, over the course of the year, students will select and read four free choice high school level books, a different genre for each quarter. Pre-AP courses are designed to support a variety of learners across levels of reading and composition and are not honors or advanced courses (per College Board rules).

Prerequisite: Teacher Recommendation, writing sample and high test scores. This course engages students in becoming skilled readers of prose focusing on literature and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. This composition course enables students to read complex texts with understanding and to write prose of sufficient richness and complexity to communicate effectively with mature readers. The study of language itself –differences between oral and written discourse, formal and informal language, historical changes in speech and writing-becomes the basis for this class. Texts include: On Writing Well, The Merchant of Venice, Bartleby the Scrivener, The Things They Carried, As I lay Dying, The Road, The Shallows and Death of a Salesman. Upon completion of this course students should be able to: analyze and interpret samples of good writing, identifying and explaining an author’s use of rhetorical strategies and techniques; apply effective strategies in their own writing; write in a variety of genres and contexts; understand the progression of ideas inherent in American literature. Students are expected to complete a research paper. This course prepares students to take the AP English Language Exam in May.

Homework Requirement: 1.5-2 hours per night

Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation. In this weekly seminar, students will examine a wide range of texts paying close attention to the author’s reality, style of writing, and historical background. Readings include a Shakespeare comedy, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denosovitch, the Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Einstein’s Dreams, Brave New World, The Golem and the Ginni and fairy Tales. Awareness of diction and syntax is stressed.

Homework Requirement: 2 hours per week

Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation. These weekly seminars provide students with additional opportunities to read, write and discuss literature. The junior curriculum is aimed at understanding the American experience. These students read Macbeth, The Autobiography of Fredrick Douglas, The Scarlet Letter, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Walden, Self-Reliance, The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath. Students complete a research paper focusing on the theme of The American Dream. Seminars meet Friday mornings at 7:20 a.m.

Homework Requirement: 1 hour per week

Prerequisite: teacher recommendation, appropriate writing sample, and high standardized test scores.
AP English IV focuses on developing the types of interpretative skills and writing competencies that prepare students for advanced work at the college level and to excel on the AP exam. Selections are drawn from a wide range of historical periods. Students must read widely and reflect on their reading through extensive discussion and writing. Students must assume considerable responsibility for the amount of reading they do outside of class, completing written logs on all readings. Authors covered include Wilde, Shakespeare, Dostoyevsky, Voltaire, Bronte, Ellison, Woolf, Eliot, and Orwell. Each semester, two 800-word analytic papers are required. Expository essays, often based on A.P. test questions, are completed weekly in class. Students complete a portfolio for their final exam.

Homework Requirement: 1.5 hours per night.

Those students not taking AP English as juniors or seniors select a course from the options below. These courses may be taken at grade level or honors level.

This senior elective focuses on journalistic ethics, news writing, editing, advertising, web analysis, and design. Emphasis is placed on interviewing techniques, writing skills, and photography layout. Students examine professional news copy as well as write their own copy with the hope of publishing in The Crown Prints.

Homework Requirement: 2 hours per week

This semester class will explore the impact of literature as it affects moral decisions. Texts will include: A Doll’s House, Metamorphosis, The Nose and The Overcoat, Hamlet, and So Long, See You Tomorrow. Students will also complete original research by creating a 1000 word biography of a living role model. Students will earn honors credit if they read The Picture of Dorian Gray, write a 1500 word paper, and perform 25-30 lines from Hamlet.