ENGLISH

LACHSA English curriculum emphasizes foundation work in English/Language Arts skills in the first two years. Students in English 9 will complete readings in a variety of genres, including novels, short stories, and a Shakespeare play, emphasizing comprehension of elements of plot, character and theme. Students will also complete basic multi-paragraph expository essays as they recognize the role of theses, topic sentences, paragraph form, and introductions and conclusions in supporting written arguments. Students will build their ability to recognize the relevance of the details they read to answering specific questions about works, working from the level of individual facts to paragraphs, and ultimately, full-length essays.

The first semester of English 10 builds on the skills developed in the English 9 course. Students will take notes, outline, and write frequently as they practice making meaning from specific passages in their reading and interpreting their possible significance. The second semester of English 10 provides an opportunity for students to make choices about how to best apply their developing writing skills with increased expectations on the volume and depth of readings from a variety of world literature sources. Students explore the connections between a variety of cultural and historical contexts and their own experiences as they draw on both literary and theatrical techniques in an interdisciplinary effort to identify larger themes and implications of texts they read. Prerequisite: Completion of English 9.

In addition to the curriculum in English 10, the honors sections provide prepared and interested students with an accelerated pace, more challenging workload, and more independent writing challenges which push students to master concepts quickly and immediately put them to use in writing about works studied, and subjecting their work to regular public sharing and whole-class critiques. Students in honors sections tend to write longer assignments, engage in greater depth of independent revision, and complete more advanced challenges in mastering specific skills of standard written English. Prerequisite: A or B in English 9.

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The English 11 course focuses on American literature and builds on the skills developed in English 9 and English 10. Students will read text for details, using those text details in written responses to literature.  They will build vocabulary and fluency in English language conventions from their exposure to a variety of styles of literature. In addition, students will create expository essays around coherent, specific thesis statements, which students support with quoted and well-explained text.  They will also complete at least one research paper. Prerequisite: Completion of English 10.

In addition to the work outlined in English 11, AP English 11 places a much greater emphasis on independent text analysis, especially stylistic analysis of prose non-fiction and rhetorical strategies.  Students will master college-level grammar and language skills including sentence combining, a broad range of sentence types, use of context-specific transition sentences and phrases, and expanded introductions and conclusions. As a tie-in with the concurrent AP US History class, students will complete regular detailed summary essays of self-selected opinionated articles on topics of their choosing. Students will complete at least 10 writing assignments per semester as they practice their skills. Prerequisite: A or B in English 10.

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The English 12 course focuses on British literature: Students will read text for details, using those text details in written responses to literature. Students will continue to build vocabulary and fluency in English language conventions from their exposure to poetry, drama, and novels. In addition, students will create expository essays around coherent, specific thesis statements, which students will support with quoted and well-explained text. They will also complete at least one research paper. Prerequisite: Completion of English 11.

In addition to the work outlined in English 12, students will read at least 4 novels or plays each semester. There will be a much greater emphasis on analysis, especially an in-depth poetry analysis.  Students will review to mastery specific college-level grammar and language skills including sentence combining, a broad range of sentence types, use of context-specific transition sentences and phrases, and expanded introductions and conclusions. Finally, through a final 4-week research project, students will learn to narrow a research question, then outline and complete a clearly organized 6-8 page informative report, using university databases and other scholarly sources. Recommended Prerequisite: A or B in English 11.

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Click HERE for 2024 summer assignment.