Using the tools they have gained in previous English classes, students will explore different genres and techniques in film as well as how those concepts are connected to literature. Units include Musicals, Comedy, Westerns, Film Noir, Drama, and Screenwriting. Students will discuss, write, and create multimodal projects around the films viewed in class. At the end of every unit, students will take an essay test contemplating the films they've viewed and the cinematic movements that helped define them.

The course will work through various literary movements in American Literature chronologically. Students will regularly write thesis-driven analysis paragraphs for a chosen text from each unit. Units will be divided by movements and students will receive some historical context within which to frame each movement. Students will continue using MLA style in writing and evidence to support ideas. At the end of every unit, students will take an essay test contemplating the texts they've read and the literary movement that helped define them.

The course will work through various literary movements in British Literature chronologically. Students will be exposed to major works, including Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, selected Shakespeare plays, Jane Austen, Wuthering Heights, A Tale of Two Cities, and Pygmalion. Students will continue honing their written and rhetorical analysis skills by using MLA style in writing assignments. Students will write 4 major essays throughout the year.

Students will read, analyze, and write about different styles of text including short stories, novels, poetry, drama, and nonfiction. They will be introduced to classic literature, including The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Fahrenheit 451, and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and will practice writing short essays and creative writing projects throughout the year to prepare them for higher level courses. Students will sharpen their critical discussion and rhetorical analysis skills by taking part in class discussions daily.

This course is designed to gradually build students to learn at a high school level. This course helps students build key skills around rhetorical analysis. Students will be required to write one major critical analysis essay and a few shorter essays. They will also deepen their understanding of literary concepts in preparation for high school, as well as looking at texts that feature more complex concepts. Digital citizenship skills will be emphasized throughout this course.

This course is designed to continue building stamina while reading and writing, while also expanding on key skills regarding critical thinking, analysis, discussion, active reading, and using textual evidence to support an idea about the text. Students will write short paragraph-responses regularly by the end of the year, using evidence to support their ideas. Grammar and mechanics will be strongly emphasized in writing.

Students will become more used to writing independently; reading and analyzing a text; using basic documentation and textual evidence to support opinions; and discussing a text on a deeper level in a small group or in the classroom setting. Students will complete a Grammar and Mechanics units while reading fiction and nonfiction texts.