English

ENGLISH Course Catalog

8 Semesters/ 40 credits required

All academic courses in this department meet both CSU and UC entrance requirements.

Literature-based English courses offer student-centered classrooms that balance active discussion and collaborative learning with hands-on activities. Reading at all levels offers diverse authorship and perspectives. We work together with religious studies and social studies departments to offer an integrated humanities. We value experiential learning and real world writing experiences.

College Prep Courses

Honors & Advanced Placement Courses

#EN1000 ENGLISH I
10 credits - Grade 9

In English I we explore key concepts of identity, community, and universe of obligation, seeking to understand the human experience through our study of literature. Students reflect, write, discuss, and grow as thinkers who can articulate and analyze their claims, orally, in writing and through experiential projects. We begin small, with the paragraph, and master this microcosm of meaning before we expand to larger sets of claims. Using a range of resources, technological and creative, teachers guide students to think broadly and deeply. Students engage in active reading and annotation of assigned summer text(s).

#EN1000H ENGLISH I HONORS
10 credits - Grade 9
Prerequisite: see eligibility for enrollment in Honors and Advanced Placement courses in English 

In English I Honors, we explore the key concepts of identity, community, and the universe of obligation, seeking to understand the human experience through our study of literature. In honors classes we offer additional literature as well as deeper and more nuanced discussion of the material. Students reflect, write, discuss, and grow as thinkers who can articulate and analyze their claims, orally, in writing and through experiential projects. We begin small, with the paragraph, and master this microcosm of meaning before we expand to larger sets of claims. Using a range of resources, technological and creative, teachers guide students to think broadly and deeply. Students engage in active reading and annotation of assigned summer text(s).

#EN2000 ENGLISH II
10 credits -  Grade 10
Prerequisite:  English I

The English II curriculum includes an interdisciplinary study of human behavior that gives rise to catastrophic events like the Holocaust. The course focuses on themes such as identity, conformity, rebellion, inclusion/exclusion of groups. Through literature we consider a wide range of issues we face in our present reality. Students reflect, write, discuss and continue their growth as thinkers who can articulate and analyze their claims, orally, in writing and through experiential projects. The sophomore research essay is a place for students to fully focus on a single contemporary question. Our reading of literature is infused with opportunities for experiential learning. Students engage in active reading and annotation of assigned summer text(s).

#EN2000H ENGLISH II HONORS
10 credits - Grade 10
Prerequisite: Grade of B or better in previous course or teacher recommendation

The English II Honors curriculum includes an interdisciplinary study of human behavior that gives rise to catastrophic events like the Holocaust. The course focuses on themes such as identity, conformity, rebellion, inclusion/exclusion of groups. Through literature we consider a wide range of issues we face in our present reality. In honors classes we offer additional literature as well as deeper and more nuanced discussion of the material. Students reflect, write, discuss, and continue their growth as thinkers who can articulate and analyze their claims, orally, in writing, and through experiential projects. The sophomore research essay is a place for students to fully focus on a single contemporary question. Our reading of literature is infused with opportunities for experiential learning. Students engage in active reading and annotation of assigned summer text(s).

#EN3000 ENGLISH III
10 credits - Grade 11
Prerequisite:  English II

English III is a junior-level course that uses the lens of language, history and literature to explore ongoing questions about the democratic experiment of freedom and justice. Students examine the literary and rhetorical techniques of writers to learn how purpose, persona and message are created in writing. Likewise, students work extensively on their own writing, focusing on their use of diction, syntax, line of reasoning and tone. They increasingly become more sophisticated in writing with intention. Readings range from early American documents to contemporary and diverse American writing. Students engage in active reading and annotation of assigned summer text(s).

#EN3000AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION AP
10 credits - Grade 11
Prerequisite: Grade of B or better in previous course or teacher recommendation

AP English Language and Composition is a junior-level course that uses the lens of language, history, and literature, to explore ongoing questions about the democratic experiment of freedom and justice. Students examine the literary and rhetorical techniques of writers to learn how purpose, persona, and message are created in writing.Likewise, students work extensively on their own writing, focusing on their use of diction, syntax, line of reasoning, and tone. They increasingly become more sophisticated in their process of writing with intention to reach a writing equivalent to the freshmen college level. Readings range from early American documents through to contemporary and diverse American writing. Students engage in active reading and annotation of assigned summer text(s).

#EN4100AP ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION AP
10 credits - Grade 12
Prerequisite: Grade of B or better in previous course or teacher recommendation 

AP English Literature and Composition is a senior-year course that deepens and challenges students in their skills of reading and writing about literature. The course stresses critical thinking about genre, theme, style, philosophy and history. Assignments emphasize the maturation and refinement of writing skills and voice at a level equivalent to composition assignments at the freshman college level. Projects allow students to explore their ideas in non-linear modes, challenging all sides of their minds. Students engage in active reading and annotation of assigned summer text(s).

Seniors not taking English Literature and Composition AP must take two of the following four electives. You will be directed to choose an alternative course, in case your schedule conflicts.  

#EN4010S BRITISH LITERATURE                  
5 credits -  Grade 12
Prerequisite:  English III

The semester-long British literature course explores a selection of the most significant works by female British authors across multiple time periods. Students examine how and why the novel came to dominate the literary world, the relationship between narrative and social reality (issues of class and gender), the application of psychological realism to the portrayal of characters, and changes in the novel’s form over the course of the centuries. Literary study will be infused with historical applications for a better understanding of the social and historical context of the readings. Students extend their learning through their writing, class presentations and major projects.

#EN4020S INTEGRATING CULTURE, VOICE AND IDENTITY                                      
5 credits - Grade 12
Prerequisite:  English III

In this semester course, students explore authors who write at the intersection of cultures, examining what it means to be a hyphenated or labeled individual and what it means to live at a cultural crossroad in America.  Through the study of novels, memoirs, poetry, short stories and films, students discover how writers define and claim identity. Students extend their learning through their writing, class presentations and major projects.

#EN4030S MONSTERS: OUR DARK MIRROR                                                        
5 credits - Grade 12
Prerequisite:  English III

This semester course explores the societal concept of monsters, both literal and figurative, throughout literature. Using major works of fiction, short stories, poetry and nonfiction, students will contemplate the role monsters have in the development of humankind and how monsters have changed as the fears of society change. Students explore how authors subvert the traditional presentation of heroes by presenting narratives of the antihero and analyze the expectation of monster as the other.

#EN4040S SCIENCE FICTION                                                                 
5 credits - Grade 12
Prerequisite:  English III

Science fiction writers envision the effects of environmental, technical, medical and psychological changes upon human beings.  Their visions predict and question, provoke and inspire.  Students will read and discuss novels and short stories, thinking about the historical and current possibilities of the genre.