English
The English curriculum focuses on the study of the arts and skills of English. Instruction in these core courses is provided in the areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Central to the program is the understanding, analysis, and interpretation of literature in a variety of modes.
English Course Sequence
Students must take English classes every semester they attend SAS. All students, except those coming to SAS from an ESOL program, must take English 9 and 10. Juniors will take English 11, or, if they wish to challenge themselves, may apply to take Advanced Placement (AP) English Language and Composition. Only those eleventh grade students with a B+ or higher in English 10 will be eligible for this option.
English 9
Number: 41012 Grade: 9 Length: Year Credit: English
This is the freshman English offering. It is a multifaceted, literature-based course that involves basic instruction in the following areas:
Writing – Structure is emphasized and a variety of writing opportunities stemming from the student’s own experiences and observations and from responses to the literature are provided. Those elements of English mechanics which are derived from students’ writings are stressed. Students will write in a variety of modes and styles, including a research paper using primary and/or secondary sources. Vocabulary study is an integral part of the program.
Speaking and Listening – Class reading of literature selections, oral reports, and class discussions in small and large groups all contribute to the enhancement of the students’ speaking and listening skills.
Viewing – Students will develop skills in critical observation and creative representation by viewing videos of films and short subjects and discussing similarities and differences. Students will attend plays when possible.
Literature – Using a genre approach students will study the short story, novel, poetry, drama, nonfiction, and epic. The text used is The Elements of Literature, Level 3. All students will study The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies and The Odyssey. Additional readings will be taken from the following: The Chrysalids, The Good Earth, A Tale of Two Cities and Of Mice and Men.
English 10 - American Literature
Number: 41013 Grade: 10 Length: Year Credit: English
Prerequisites: English 9
The major focus of English 10 is the study of American Literature from 1620 to 1940. Building on the skills developed in the ninth grade, this course will show the relationship between the literature and the historical context in which it was written. The study of various American schools of thought and the skills of comparing and contrasting them based on the literature studied are emphasized.
Writing – In the tenth grade, the form and structure of the short essay are stressed, and the quality of writing is enhanced through the application of the writing process. Students will write in a variety of modes and styles, including a persuasive research paper. Language usage and mechanics instruction focuses on the problems evident in the student’s writing. The study of vocabulary is continued.
Speaking and Listening – At the tenth grade level the department emphasizes class reading and discussion of literary selections, as well as oral reports emphasizing the skills of persuasive speaking.
Viewing – Students will continue to develop skills in critical observation and creative representation by viewing videos of films and short subjects and discussing similarities and differences. Students will attend plays when possible.
Literature – Students will read a variety of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry reflecting the various periods studied from The Elements of Literature (Level 5) text. All students will study The Catcher in the Rye, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby and The Crucible. Additional readings may be taken from The Grapes of Wrath, A Farewell to Arms, The Awakening, Native Son, The Bread Givers, Raisin in the Sun, or The Glass Menagerie.
American Studies
Number: 41014 Grade: 10 Length: Year Credit: Double block/Double credit in
English and US History
Note: There are a limited number of spaces in this course. If more students request the course than can be accommodated, requesting students will be randomly selected for placement in the course.
This course is a thematic study of the American Experience through the lenses of history and literature. Students will analyze the extent to which ideologies, people, literature and events developed and shaped both American history and its contemporary issues. Students will be challenged to think critically and to make thoughtful connections as they draw on a variety of resources to understand the American Experience. This interdisciplinary course will be taught over two blocks and will earn both English and a Social Studies credit.
Writing – Students will develop their writing in a variety of genres, responding insightfully to both literature and history. Using the Six Traits Writing Rubric and the writing process, they will continue to develop their ability to critique, revise and improve their writing. Students will pursue a class-related area of interest that will form the basis of their research paper. Language usage and mechanics instruction will focus on the problems evident in the students’ writing. The study of vocabulary will continue.
Speaking and Listening – Students are expected to participate fully in class discussions, work in small groups, and make at least one formal presentation to the class each semester.
Viewing – Students will continue to develop skills in visual literacy by critically viewing both documentaries and films.
Literature – Students will read a variety of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama reflecting the various periods studied. All students will read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby and The Crucible. The history text will be A History of the United States. These texts will be supplemented with additional poetry, short stories, primary source documents and critical articles.
English 11 - World Literature
Number: 41015 Grade: 11 Length: Year Credit: English
Prerequisite: English 10
The major focus of this course is a survey of World Literature from the ancient epics to the narratives of our time. Using a comparative approach, the curriculum provides a comprehensive view of the historical and cultural cross currents in the various time periods, cultures and philosophical movements. A balanced reading list will include a range of genres (epic, lyric, narrative, novel, essay); works from all major historical periods (Ancient, Classical, Enlightenment, Romanticism, realism, modernism, postmodernism); works by authors of diverse backgrounds, genders, and racial/ethnic origins; and cover as many diverse cultures as possible. The text for the course is World Literature by Holt Rinehart and Winston and the focus is on these recurring key themes: The Hero and his Quest; The Individual and Society; Abuses of Power, and The Conflict of Culture and Values. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie (French novel by a Chinese author) and Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe (Nigerian novel) are the required texts. Other novels may include Cry the Beloved Country by Paxton, Wild Geese by Ogai Mori, House of Spirits by Allende, and Metamophosis by Kafka. The plays range from Oedipus Rex, Doll’s House, and The Tempest. There may also be supplementary readings and film viewing.
AP English Language and Composition
Number: 41028 Grade: 11-12 Length: Year Credit: English
Prerequisite: English 11 or a grade of B+ or higher in English 10 and teacher recommendation
The AP Language and Composition course is primarily a course in both effective writing and critical reading. This course engages students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Readings will involve four general areas: science and technology; government and politics; art and literature; and philosophy and religion. Students planning to take AP Language and Composition as a junior are cautioned: successful completion of the course requires a much greater effort and is significantly more demanding than English 10. It is expected that students who choose the AP Language option as a junior will take AP Literature as their senior year English course.
Senior English Options
The Senior Options continue the development of skills and intensive study of literature of a college preparatory English sequence. The senior options cover diverse bodies of literature, from various periods and cultures. All of the courses, however, involve the development of similar skills: reading, writing, speaking, listening, observing (viewing), and representing. These courses will show the relationship between the literature and its historical and/or philosophical context. Juniors are allowed to take Senior Option courses during their junior year as elective courses along with English 11.
Literature–Students will read a significant body of literature appropriate to the focus of the course (please see individual course descriptions).
Writing–Students will compose a variety of writing assignments, such as personal essays, literary analysis, personal responses, reviews, journal entries, and character sketches. Students will be encouraged to develop an authentic voice and sense of audience. Students will write a minimum of four essays. Students will revise pieces of writing, concentrating on content and organization, and edit to improve diction and mechanics. Students will participate in peer critiquing and editing.
Speaking and Listening–Students will speak in a variety of contexts: speeches and oral presentations, large and small group discussions, dramatic readings, and readers’ theater activities.
British Literature
Number: 41006 Grade: 11-12 Length: Semester Credit: English
Prerequisite: English 11 or concurrent enrollment in English 11
This course is a chronological survey of British literature from the Anglo-Saxon era through the twentieth century. Along with selections from the anthology, readings may include selections from Old and Middle English, such as Beowulf and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets, gothic texts, the Romantic poets, Victorian excerpts from Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen, and selections of twentieth century texts from authors such as Wilfred Owen, James Joyce, W.H. Auden, George Orwell, Samuel Beckett, Ian McEwan and Jon McGregor. Development of writing skills is stressed in assignments ranging from creative pastiches to full-length essays and commentaries.
Contemporary American Literature
Number: 41008 Grade: 11-12 Length: Semester Credit: English
Prerequisite: English 11 or concurrent enrollment in English 11
Contemporary American Literature focuses on literature’s presentation of changing roles, values, and attitudes in post-World War II America. Students will read selected novels, stories and poems, as well as some nonfiction. Readings will be taken from the following: Salinger’s Nine Stories, Potok’s The Chosen, Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Roth’s Goodbye Columbus, Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, and selections from Seven Contemporary Short Novels. Students will all get a chance to read a novel of choice. Students will complete a variety of writing assignments, including critical and expressive writing, and an oral research component.
Asian Literature: An East-West Perspective
Number: 41019 Grade: 11-12 Length: Semester Credit: English
Prerequisite: English 11 or concurrent enrollment in English 11
The focus of this course is on the issues and themes relating to Southeast Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. Within the framework of the course and under teacher direction, students will design their own syllabi, choosing the literary works they wish to cover and their writing topics. Students study Asian writing, American and British writing about Asia and Asians writing in America and Europe. A variety of writing assignments, including critical and expressive writing, a biography and a research paper, are completed and form part of a writing portfolio.
English: Tragedy and Comedy
Number: 41021 Grade: 11-12 Length: Semester Credit: English
Prerequisite: English 11 or concurrent enrollment in English 11
This course focuses on the issues that have engaged the thoughtful attention of ancient and modern dramatists. The human condition is examined from high tragedy to low comedy. The plays are explored as theatrical experiences as well as literary models. Readings will be taken from the following playwrights: Sophocles, Aristophanes, Shakespeare, Ibsen, Shaw, Wilde, Moliere, Sartre, Miller, Stoppard, and Becket. Emphasis is placed on seminar discussions, and on developing student writing skills through varied writing assignments ranging from personal response papers to analytical essays.
Studies in Satire
Number: 41022 Grade: 11-12 Length: Semester Credit: English
Prerequisite: English 11 or concurrent enrollment in English 11
This course is intended to provide students with a broad sense of satire in terms of how it has been defined and practiced. Thus, students will begin by briefly discussing several approaches to explaining the basic concepts of satire. These efforts seek to explain satire’s long and successful run as a literary genre and to clarify just how satire works. After establishing some critical lenses through which to view satire, students will work their way through some classical examples of satire. These examples come from a variety of sources, but the focus will especially be on satire from the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. All the while, each week students will also be keeping tabs on twenty-first century satire. Overall, the course seeks to enhance students’ critical thinking skills by closely analyzing the criticisms inherent in works of satire.
Modern European Literature
Number: 41016 Grade: 11-12 Length: Semester Credit: English
Prerequisite: English 11 or concurrent enrollment in English 11
Modern European Literature focuses on a selection of classic works by European authors from c.1850 to the 1950’s. The course provides the student with the opportunity to examine archetypal themes (i.e., the individual’s search for identity and meaning, the relationship of person to society, the desire for and the fear of freedom) in a variety of literary, philosophical, and cultural contexts. Students will read a significant body of literature from a variety of European countries. Readings will be taken from the following: Man in Literature, Herman Hesse’s Demian, Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck, Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilych, Thomas Mann’s “Tonio Kroger” (from Death in Venice), Albert Camus’ The Stranger, Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Eugene Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, Anton Chekov’s plays, Nikolai Gogol’s The Overcoat, Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, James Joyce’s The Dubliners, George Orwell’s 1984, and Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front.
AP English Language and Composition
Number: 41028 Grade: 11-12 Length: Year Credit: English
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 11 and teacher recommendation
The AP Language and Composition course is designed for juniors and seniors who have demonstrated a high level of success in the areas of writing and critical reading. This course engages students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts and in becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of purposes. Readings will involve four general areas: science and technology; government and politics; art and literature; and philosophy and religion.
AP English Literature and Composition
Number: 41029 Grade: 12 Length: Year Credit: English
Prerequisite: Successful completion of English 11 or AP English Language plus teacher recommendation
This course is designed for seniors who have demonstrated a commitment to the critical study of literature and the study and practice of writing. Through speaking, listening, and reading, but chiefly through the experience of their own writing, students will become more aware of the resources of language and more adept at formal analysis of literature in terms of both form and content. The focus of this course is the in-depth analysis of literature in a variety of modes: Greek drama, Shakespearean drama, the novel, satire, the essay, and poetry. The Advanced Placement curriculum is not specifically prescribed and may vary in content and emphasis from year to year. Works selected for study will represent a variety of modes and periods and are generally recognized as literary classics. |
