Seniors

Students can choose English 12 or AP English Literature and Composition.

English 12 is divided into three rotations:  

Writing for Different Purposes and Different Audiences:  Using The Bedford Reader as its primary text, this course, modeled after a freshman composition course in college, reviews the principles of the writing process and of using sources for writing, as well as the different patterns of development used to produce strong essays. Reading and reacting to each selection in writing and then revising those drafts are the cornerstone of this course. Through the study of different works that investigate the challenges in life as they affect us and those around us—we gain a deeper understanding of who we are and are able to communicate this clearly through our own compositions. The following texts are used:

The Bedford Reader:  Bedford/St. Martin’s - X.J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, Jane E. Aaron

The Color of Water - James McBride

The Things They Carried – Tim O’Brien

Fences - August Wilson

 

Public Speaking: Communication is at the heart of everything we do. With the understanding that public speaking is a skill that we all require, this course has been designed to give each student the self–confidence needed to deliver an intelligent, ethical and well-organized speech by employing all of the tools necessary for clear and accurate communication. Sample speeches are analyzed and watched (on film), but this course is mainly a practical, experiential one in which the students are taught the basics about informative, persuasive, commemorative and introductory speeches, but then must use these fundamentals in presentations of their own, as well as evaluations of other student speeches. All students should leave this class with the ability to be engaging speakers and the awareness necessary to be attentive listeners. The following text is used:

The Art of Public Speaking,  by Stephen E. Lucas

Film Criticism

AP English Literature and Composition:  

This is a college level course designed to prepare students for the AP Literature and Composition Exam.  Students are required to read widely and deeply. We ask two major questions of each work we study: What is the author trying to say, and how does he or she say it?  We keep these questions in mind as we deal with theme (the “what”) and style (the “how”). The syllabus includes works from the 16th to the 21st centuries. We pay particular attention to the concerns of the authors and poets of the 20th century, a time when both theme and style were affected by the drastic and rapid changes in the world.  Selections are made from the following texts:

How to Read Literature Like a Professor - Thomas C. Foster

Structure, Sound & Sense – Perrine

The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver

Heart of Darkness and the Congo Diary- Joseph Conrad

Hamlet – William Shakespeare

The Stranger – Albert Camus

The Metamorphosis – Franz Kafka