Advanced English 10 – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 1.0
Offered to grade: 10
Category: Must meet requirements
Prerequisite: B+ or above in Adv English 9 or A in English 9

As the advanced version of the English 10 course, this course is part of the AP English Pathway and is a prerequisite for taking AP Language and Composition during 11th grade. This course further integrates reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students will engage in communication activities while exploring and making connections with literature. Grammar and

Advanced English 9 – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 1.0
Offered to grade: 9
Category: Must meet requirements
Prerequisite: Administrative recommendation based on the language portions of the DCHS placement exam 

This course is for the student with a high aptitude in English. Units are taught in short stories, the novel, study skills, Media Center, drama, poetry, Greek tragedy, thinking strategies, vocabulary, and composition.

American Literature I – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 0.5
Offered to grades: 11‐12, 1st semester
Category: Elective
Prerequisite: None

This course presents America’s literature as a personal record of our country’s history and heritage. Authors such as Irving, Poe, Hawthorne, Crane, Cather, Melville, Bradstreet, and Lahiri describe a unique American cultural experience from the viewpoint of
diverse writers. Individualized reading, author reports, class discussion, and critical essays help the student better understand and appreciate literature. Selection of authors and content may change at the discretion of the instructor.

American Literature II – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 0.5
Offered to grades: 11‐12, 2nd semester
Category: Elective
Prerequisite: None

This course presents our literature as a personal account of such modern topics as minorities, wars, values, and “growing up” in 20th Century America. Students study authors such as Hemingway, Steinbeck, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Miller, Baldwin, and Oates. Through individualized reading, students create and present author reports, participate in class discussions, and complete writing
assignments.

AP Language and Comp – (RAI, NCAA, DMACC)
Credit: 1.0
Offered to grades: 10‐12
Category: Must meet requirements Prerequisite: B+ or above in Adv English 10 or A or above in English 11

This course offers the college‐bound student an experience in effective reading, writing, and critical thinking. Students will explore rhetoric in all its forms through college‐level readings in multiple genres. There are summer reading and writing requirements; submission of this work will take place within the first week of the course. Successful completion of this course, in addition to sitting for AP English exams, increases the probability that cooperating colleges will excuse students from part or all of the usual freshman English requirements while still granting them full college credit. A required text must be purchased by students for their personal use. (This class fulfills the English 11 requirement but may also be taken after completion of English 11 with an A or above.)

AP Literature and Comp – (RAI, NCAA, DMACC)
Credit: 1.0
Offered to grades: 11‐12
Category: Must meet requirements Prerequisite: B or above in AP Lang & Comp

This course offers college‐bound students an experience in effective reading, writing, and critical thinking through the exploration of multiple genres and the completion of various types of essays. The summer reading requirement is Great Expectations by Charles Dickens; an objective exam and a written response will be completed over this reading by the end of the first week of school.  Successful completion of this course, in addition to sitting for the AP exam, increases the probability that cooperating colleges will excuse students from part or all of the usual freshman English

British Literature I – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 0.5
Offered to grades: 11‐12, 1st semester
Category: Elective
Prerequisite: None

This class puts the student in touch with some classical works and authors that may be unfamiliar to them. This course is a survey of British writing including, but not limited to, the earliest Anglo‐Saxon writing (Beowulf), Medieval Literature (Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales), Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets, Christopher Marlowe, and John Milton (Paradise Lost). This course and British Literature II offer sound reading practice, analytical writing practice, and exposure to some of the classics of cultural literacy. The course incorporates extensive group discussion that will greatly help analysis and study of literature beyond high school.

British Literature II – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 0.5
Offered to grades: 11‐12, 2nd semester
Category: Elective
Prerequisite: None

This course picks up in the 17th and 18th centuries where British Literature I left off. It focuses on authors and works whose ideas and innovation had a strong influence on modern thinkers and writers. Students will look at satire, the Romantic tradition in England, the Victorian era, and 20th Century writing. Authors studied include Jonathan Swift (“A Modest Proposal”), Samuel Taylor Coleridge (“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”), Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities), and George Orwell (1984). An abundance of other writers and poets are scattered throughout.

Creative Writing – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 0.5
Offered to grade: 12
Category: Elective
Prerequisite: None

This course builds on the writing skills learned in previous English courses. This class includes an in‐depth examination of the writing process encompassing brainstorming, editing, proofreading, revising, and workshopping. Students will be responsible for writing short stories, plays, essays, journals, poetry, and other narrative works. Students will be expected to share and critique the writing of
all students involved in the class.
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Dramatic Literature – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 0.5
Offered to grades: 10‐12
Category: Elective
Prerequisite: None

This course involves the study of the written word of playwrights. For centuries, playwrights have written stories that are meant to be brought to life. Students will analyze these plays, as both literary and theatrical critics. Students will gain an understanding of how time period, theatrical conventions, and literary technique create dramatic literature. The course explores the great dramatic literature, uses the art of acting, visual design, and allows the students to analyze a character, story, and their relation to the world.

Early British Literature – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 0.5
Offered to grades: 11-12, 1st semester
Category: Elective
Prerequisite: None

This class puts the student in touch with some classical works and authors that may be unfamiliar to them. This course is a survey of British writing including, but not limited to, the earliest Anglo-Saxon writing (Beowulf), Medieval Literature (Geoffrey Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales), Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets, Christopher Marlowe, and John Milton (Paradise Lost). This course and British Literature II offer sound reading practice, analytical writing practice, and exposure to some of the classics of cultural literacy. The course incorporates extensive group discussion that will greatly help analysis and study of literature beyond high school.

English 10 – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 1.0
Offered to grade: 10
Category: Required
Prerequisite: None

This course further integrates reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students will engage in communication activities while exploring and making connections with literature. Grammar and vocabulary skills will also be enhanced. Students will write narrative, descriptive, expository, persuasive, and informative pieces.

English 11 – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 1.0
Offered to grade: 11
Category: Required
Prerequisite: None

Students will build on skills gained during English 10 by integrating reading, writing, speaking, viewing, and listening while exploring multiple styles/genres of literature and writing: essays, poems, novels, and plays. Thematic connections will be made between creading, writing, and speaking. College and career readiness is at the heart of this final required English course. As a result, writing and speaking experiences are designed with post‐secondary preparation in mind.

English 9 – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 1.0
Offered to grade: 9
Category: Required
Prerequisite: None

This course is an introduction to representative selections of short stories, drama, poetry, and the novel. Units also include Greek classical literature, Shakespeare, language development and usage/grammar, study skills, and the use of library skills. Writing clear sentences, paragraphs, and essays is introduced.

Female Voices in Literature – (RAI, NCAA, SLU)
Credit: 0.5
Offered to grade: 12
Category: Elective
Prerequisite: None

In this course students explore literature by and about women to identify the unique way in which women have contributed to the literary landscapes and movements of the English world. This course is meant to highlight the written work of female authors who are often overlooked and deemphasized in the landscape of Western literature and what these works tell us about society. The focus will be on literature, but will be inclusive of all genres (fiction, autobiography, poetry, essays, etc.); however, student work will also include presentations and written assignments.

Humanities – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 0.5
Offered to grade: 12
Category: Elective
Prerequisite: None

This course will introduce the student to the skills of analysis and response to the humanities, which can lead to a lifetime of appreciation of art and ideas. Within a historical context, students will look at the development of the arts and ideas that define us as human beings: literature, philosophy, painting, sculpture, architecture, music, dance, drama, theatre, opera, religion, and history.  Over the course of the semester, students read 2‐3 novels and produce a variety of essays, both creative and research‐based.

Journalism I – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 0.5
Offered to grades: 10‐11
Category: Elective
Prerequisite: None

Journalism I is an introductory course designed to teach students how to be effective communicators and responsible consumers of news. Students will conduct research and write news stories, feature stories, reviews, sports stories, and editorials. Students will learn to write captions and headlines, edit articles, and design layouts for publications. This course prepares students for staff positions on the school newspaper and yearbook. (Details about subsequent Journalism courses may be found on page 38.)

Modern British Literature – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 0.5
Offered to grades: 11-12, 2nd semester
Category: Elective
Prerequisite: None

This course picks up in the 17th and 18th centuries where British Literature I left off. It focuses on authors and works whose ideas
and innovation had a strong influence on modern thinkers and writers. Students will look at satire, the Romantic tradition in
England, the Victorian era, and 20th Century writing. Authors studied include Jonathan Swift (“A Modest Proposal”), Samuel Taylor
Coleridge (“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”), Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities), and George Orwell (1984). An abundance of
other writers and poets are scattered throughout.
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Strategic Reading – (RAI)
Credit: 0.5
Offered to grade: 12
Category: Elective
Prerequisite: None

Based on the reading workshop model, this course is designed for students who need more practice developing their individual reading lives or do not find enough time to otherwise do the reading they would like to do. Students will read works of their own
choosing from a variety of genres, set personalized reading goals to measure growth throughout the semester, and respond to their reading through multiple written and oral evaluations. This course aims to aid students in cultivating a lifelong appreciation for and habit of reading. To this end, students are expected to learn and develop a variety of reading strategies to help them leave high school as motivated, self‐sufficient readers prepared for future reading demands.

Studies in Poetry – (RAI, NCAA)
Credit: 0.5
Offered to grade: 12
Category: Elective
Prerequisite: None

This course is designed for students with a strong interest in reading, analyzing, writing about, and creating poetry. Students will
approach poetry as both readers and writers; we will study the techniques of writing poetry through the ages and into today with classic and modern pieces. Students will keep a reading journal that includes thoughtful, detailed responses, will write and revise at least one polished poem each week, and will write at least two analytical essays throughout the semester. Final assessments will include a portfolio of students' writing with multiple drafts of each poem and a research project and paper on an individually assigned poet. Students will also be expected to participate in weekly workshop sessions by reading original poetry, reading aloud published poetry by established poets, and by offering thoughtful and critical analysis to other students.