COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Course descriptions are listed by subject area and include prerequisites, if any, the grade level in which the course is offered, and the number of credit hours students may earn. Course sequencing charts are included at the end of each subject area in order for students to determine the academic course level they desire.
ENGLISH
English I |
Grade 9 |
1 Unit |
Prerequisite: None |
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This is the foundation course for all high school English courses. Students engage in various types of literature, practice writing and related skills, and |
participate in activities that foster an appreciation of literature and promote language mastery. |
Honors English I Grade 9 1 Unit Prerequisite: Level 4 on 8 th grade EOG; grade of“ B” or higher in 8 th grade Language Arts, teacher recommendation Students in English I explore the ways that audience, purpose, and context shape oral communication, written communication, and media and technology. While emphasis is placed on communicating for purposes of personal expression, students also engage in meaningful communication for expressive expository, argumentative, and literary purposes. Students will express reflections and reactions to literature and to personal experience and explain meaning, describe processes, and answer research questions. The student will evaluate communication and critique texts and make and support an informed opinion. The students will participate in conversations about and written analysis of literary genres, elements and traditions and use knowledge of language and standard grammatical conventions. Students in the honors course will explore literature more widely and deeply, including more challenging and / or complex print and non-print texts. Honors courses will require students to work as self-directed and reflective learners, both independently and in groups as leaders and collaborators. Higher order thinking skills will be emphasized through interdisciplinary and critical perspectives as reflected in the quality of student performance in oral language, written language and other media / technology.
English II |
Grade 10 |
1 Unit |
Prerequisite: English I |
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In this course, students will read World literature. Students will learn major literary movements and understand how national / international events affected |
the literature of a particular society. Creation myths, Greek drama, and twentieth-century European prose will be analyzed. Writing skills will be |
emphasized. Students will take the NC end-of-course exam at the end of the semester. |
Honors English II Grade 10 1 Unit Prerequisite: Grade of“ B” or higher in English I, teacher recommendation Students in English II will read, discuss and write about both classical and contemporary World literature through which they will identify cultural significance. They will examine pieces of World literature in a cultural context to appreciate the diversity and complexity of world issues and to connect global ideas to their own experiences. Students will continue to explore language for expressive, explanatory, critical, argumentative and literary purposes, although emphasis will be placed on informational contexts. In addition to literature study, students will examine non-literary texts related to cultural studies and research material to use primarily in clarifying their own explanatory responses to situations and literary-based issues. Students will critically interpret and evaluate experiences, literature, language and ideas and use standard grammatical conventions and select features of language appropriate to purpose, audience and context of the work. Students will take the NC end-of-course exam at the end of the semester.
English III |
Grade 11 |
1 Unit |
Prerequisite: English II |
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In this course, students will explore American literature, learn major literary movements and understand how the lives of American authors affected their |
work. Students will improve their grammatical skills, enhance their vocabulary and discover how historical trends shape literature. Students will choose an |
area of interest and then focus on a specific topic. Students will demonstrate their ability to develop a chosen topic, conduct the necessary research and |
write proficiently on that topic using the MLA annotation style. |
Honors English III Grade 11 1 Unit Prerequisite: Level 4 or higher on English II EOC; Grade of“ B” or higher in English II, teacher recommendation Students in English III analyze United States literature as it reflects social perspective and historical significance by continuing to use language for expressive, expository, argumentative and literary purposes. The emphasis in English III is critical analysis of texts through reading, writing, speaking, listening and using media. In addition, the students will relate the experiences of others to their own and research the diversity of American experience. The students will examine relationships between past and present. They will build increasing sophistication in defining issues and using arguments effectively. The students will create products and presentations which maintain standard conventions of written and oral language. Students in the Honors course will explore United States literature more widely and deeply, including more challenging and / or complete print and non-print texts. Students will choose an area of interest and then focus on a specific topic for research.
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