Language Arts Courses

Language Arts 6

Course Overview: This is designed as a two-semester course that focuses on a variety of contemporary text; literary, expository, and informational. Each unit in the course contains diverse lessons; Skills, Literary/Expository, Informational, Communication, Grammar, and Writing lessons. This course introduces the student to literary skills such as plot, setting, characterization, and theme. Course topics include: Genre Studies, such as adventure, fantasy, and mystery; World Literature, stories from such places as China, Vietnam, and Europe; Literary Analysis of Drama, which includes teleplays and radio plays; Analyzing Nonfiction, such as speeches, biographies, and memoirs; and Reading Comprehension of Informational Text, such as websites, health documents, and environmental documents. Throughout the course are focused Skills Lessons that teach students how to analyze and evaluate text for success on standardized tests. The Writing Process is taught in each essay. Essays included are Expository, Narrative, Literary Analysis, Creative, and Functional.

Language Arts 7

Course Overview: This is designed as a two-semester course that uses a variety of text to teach literary and reading comprehension skills. Each unit contains: Skills Lessons, prepares students to learn skills necessary for standardized testing; Informational Lessons introduce students to real-life topics that connect to the literary text; Communication Lessons, topics include Propaganda vs. Ethical Reasoning, Visual Literacy, Effective Listening Skills, and Censorship; Grammar Lessons, topics include Subject-Verb Agreement, Research Guidelines, Prepositional Phrases, Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement, and End Marks; and Writing Lessons, essays are taught using the Writing Process, topics include Persuasive Essay, Expressive Writing, Expository Essay, and Research Paper. Unit topics include literary skills such as Plot, Setting, Theme and Style. Additional topics include: Literary Criticism; World Literature; Tale, Legends, and Myths; Drama and Reading Comprehension of Informational Documents.

Language Arts 8

Course Overview: This two–semester course uses diverse and contemporary text in order to prepare students for high school. Some authors represented in the course include; Gary Soto, Toni Cade, Ray Bradbury, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nikki Giovanni, Roald Dahl, and Desmond Tutu. Each unit contains Skills Lessons, Literary and Expository Text Lessons, Informational Lessons, Communication Lessons, Grammar Lessons, and Writing Lessons. Literary skills targeted in the course include: Plot, emphasis on structure, conflict, and subplots; Character, topics include character traits, character motivation, and biographical characters; Setting, which focuses on tone, mood, and writer’s message; and Theme, with an emphasis on recurring themes, symbolism, and identifying theme. Units in the course include: Poetry and Prose, which covers sensory imagery, different forms of poetry, and sound devices; Literary Criticism, topics covered include author’s viewpoint and aesthetic approach; World Literature, stories from Japan, Africa, and Mayan culture; American Folk Tales; Drama; and Informational Materials. Essays included in the course cover Functional Writing, Literary Analysis, Comparison-Contrast, and Informational.

Language Arts 9

Course Overview: This is a two-semester course that focuses on a variety of text: literary, expository, and informational. Each unit in the course contains different lessons: Skills, Literary/Expository, Informational, Communication, Grammar, and Writing lessons. This course covers literary skills such as Plot – flashback and foreshadowing, Setting – time and sequence, Characterization - dialogue, Theme – universal theme, Style – figurative language, and Narrator – different types. Units include topics such as: Literary Analysis-Poetry; Autobiographies, Essays and Personal Accounts; and World Literature, theme is origin myths. Students also learn classics such as Homer’s The Odyssey and William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Informational Text reading skills are taught using consumer, workplace, technical, and public documents. Writing Lessons cover The Writing Process and also include a Research Workshop. Essay topics in the course include Business Letter, Research Paper, Literary Analysis Essay, Persuasive Essay, and Personal Narrative Essay.

Language Arts 10

Course Overview: This is a two-semester course that focuses on preparing students for success on state exit exams. Each unit contains: Skills Lessons which prepares students to learn skills necessary for standardized testing; Informational Lessons which introduce students to real-life topics that connect to the literary text; Communication Lessons, topics include Debate, Analysis of Formal Speech, Visual Media Analysis, and Mass Media and Public Opinion; Grammar Lessons, topics include Subject-Verb Agreement, Modifiers, Active and Passive Voice, Main and Subordinate Clauses, and Sentence Structure; and Writing Lessons, essays are taught using the Writing Process, topics include Autobiographical Narrative Essay, Persuasive Essay, Descriptive Essay, Expository Essay, and Letter to the Editor. Unit topics include: Literary Analysis of Poetry; Evaluate and Clarify Expository Text; World Literature – theme Social Responsibility; Legends, Epics, and Myths – Antigone, The Sword and The Stone; Drama – Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar; and Reading Comprehension – Informational text.

Language Arts 11

Course Overview: This two-semester course’s main emphasis is American Literature. The course is structured chronologically by time period and literary era. Each unit contains introductory lessons that set the stage for the student to understand the background and historical events that impacted American literary and expository text. Topics include: Origins 2000 BC -1620; Slave Narratives; Puritan Style and Sermon; Romanticism and Transcendentalism; Realism; The Harlem Renaissance; Modernism; and Contemporary Literature. Authors represented include, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Frederick Douglass, Chief Joseph, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, Nathanial Hawthorne, Kate Chopin, Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Thurston, Martin Luther King Jr., Amy Tan, and Judith Ortiz Cofer. The course also contains a World Literature unit with stories from The Middle East, India, Japan, and Argentina. The course is rounded out by including Informational, Communication, Grammar, and Writing Lessons throughout each unit.

Language Arts 12

Course Overview: This is a two-semester British Literature based course. The course is organized by chronological time period that includes: Anglo-Saxon and Old English Period: 449-1066; The Medieval Period: 1066-1485; The Renaissance 1485-1660; 17th & 18th Centuries (Restoration & Enlightenment): 1660-1798; Romantic Period 1798-1832; Victorian Period: 1832-1901; and Modern Period: 1901-1950. Each unit contains an introduction to the time period using a timeline and background lecture that discusses the philosophical, political, religious, ethical, and social influences of each time period. Authors represented include Homer, Chaucer, Boccaccio, William Shakespeare, Francesco Petrarch, Mary Wollstonecraft, Queen Elizabeth I, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Elizabeth Barret Browning, Robert Browning, and Virginia Woolf. The course also contains a World Literature unit with stories from India, Europe, China, and Spain. The course also includes Informational Lessons, Communication lessons, Grammar Lessons, and Writing Lessons.

Classics Novels

Course Overview: Includes thirteen classic novels and two author study courses. Novel titles include Red Badge of Courage, The Three Musketeers, Call of the Wild, Midsummer' Night's Dream, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, 1984, Gulliver's Travels, Jane Eyre, Robinson Crusoe, House of the Seven Gables, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Mrs. Dalloway, and Heart of Darkness. The two author study courses are Jorge Luis Borges and Flannery O’Connor. All reading material is included in an online format for the student. Novel courses include lectures, web activities, journals, homework/ practice, quizzes, and a test.