The English Department assumes “primary responsibility” for assisting students in achieving proficiency in Academic Expectations 1 (Writing), 2 (Reading), 4 (Listening) and 9 (Aesthetic Principles). We also acknowledge our collaborative efforts in reinforcing and supporting all of the other academic expectations outlines on page vi of the Program of Studies. The goals and objectives of the course offerings listed below reflect the overall goals of Lexington High School's English program 9-12. In the case where a specific course might concentrate on an additional academic expectation, the number of the expectation addressed is listed under the course title.
All English courses include instruction in the parts of the sentence and paragraph, vocabulary, grammar and usage. Teachers use those terms to comment on students’ oral and written expression. Courses open to juniors and seniors emphasize instruction and practice in those skills which prepare students for the verbal SAT as well as the Advanced Placement Examination in English. All English courses have final examinations of which a minimum of 80% is common to students in all sections of the course; these exams will count as one term’s grade (20% of course grade). All courses require summer reading and/or related projects.
Quick Reference Quide:
Grade 9 Requirement
Courses Open to Sophomores
Courses Open to Juniors
Courses Open to Seniors
010 Literature and Composition I
The purpose of this course is to help students become more effective readers and writers. To this end, students study literature from a variety of genres. Major works include Oedipus Rex, The Odyssey, Romeo and Juliet, Lord of the Flies, and a variety of short stories, essays and poems. While students have the opportunity to write for a variety of purposes, they focus their attention on the expository essay. Students learn to craft better arguments by generating their own thesis statements, gathering and organizing evidence, and revising earlier drafts of their work. To further the development of their reading and writing skills, students study grammar and vocabulary throughout the year. In addition, they complete a Reading Project during the fall in which they select their own series of outside readings and related activities.
Developed and taught in conjunction with the freshman world history course, this course also focuses on the development of study skills. Students learn strategies in both courses for organizing their notebooks, budgeting their time, and planning long- term projects. Students need to use all of these strategies, along with their reading and writing skills, in order to complete major writing tasks in the spring.
The new summer reading list will be available in the Main Office and online after June 1.
018 Hon Literature and Composition II
This accelerated course continues the skill development begun in Literature and Composition I for students who have excelled in expository writing, reading, comprehension, grammar study and vocabulary acquisition. Challenging works from the four major genres provide springboards for frequent and varied writing assignments, primarily independent inquiry and exposition, vocabulary study and grammar instruction. Analytical compositions focus on developing insightful student-generated thesis statements as well as incorporating textual references within unified and coherent supporting paragraphs All students read Macbeth, Frankenstein, and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas. Additionally, teachers may choose texts which include Things Fall Apart, Nectar in A Sieve, Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities. Featured throughout the year is an extensive selection of poetry, short stories and expository writing reflecting differences in style and viewpoint. Students who elect this course assume the responsibility for making the study of English a priority in their academic commitments.
Summer reading: 1984 by George Orwell; The Secret life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
019 Lv 1 Literature and Composition II
This college preparatory course continues the skill development begun in Literature and Composition I. Works from the four major genres generate frequent and varied writing assignments, vocabulary study, grammar instruction. Writing instruction focuses on developing unified, coherent and text-supported paragraphs in essays that respond to teacher- guided thesis statements. Students read Macbeth and Things Fall Apart. Other possible readings include: Frankenstein, Fahrenheit 451, Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Sound of Waves, poetry, essays and other selections at the teacher's discretion.
The new summer reading list will be available in the Main Office and online after June 1.
021 Lv 1 Exploration of Literature and Composition
(paired with Social Studies 108)
Building on the foundation established in the Freshman Literature and Composition I course, Explorations in Literature and Composition takes a more skills-based perspective, helping students to galvanize their understanding of the structure of language, in sentences, paragraphs, and essays. The development of skills will focus on grammar instruction and MCAS preparation. While skill development will play a prominent role, analysis of literature, orally and in writing, will also be important in the class. While students will express themselves through formal essays, they will also have the opportunity to write poetry, journal entries, and other creative pieces.
Summer reading titles will be available in the Main Office and online after June 1.
030 Hon American Studies
(Not Offered 2008-2009)
130 Social Studies
(Not Offered 2008-2009)
031 Lv1 American Studies
(Not Offered 2008-2009)
131 Social Studies
(Not Offered 2008-2009)
020 Hon American Literature
The emphasis in this course is on training in analytical writing and on a thorough understanding of the various genres: short story, novel, essay, poetry and drama. Creative work is included, but emphasis is placed on the precise, well- documented analytical essay and thorough knowledge of usage errors demanded on the SAT and AP exam. This course will demand constant attention to revision for clarity, conciseness and textual evidence. Assignments require at least four hours of homework per week, not including time spent on regular long-term reading assignments.
Students will read works from many American authors including Twain, Fitzgerald, Hawthorne, Dickinson, Whitman, the Transcendentalists, Miller, Hemingway, Hurston, Wharton and Poe. All students will study The Great Gatsby, Ethan Frome, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Death of A Salesman, The Scarlet Letter and several other texts.
Summer reading: Previously, students have read Krakauer's Into the Wild, Morrison's Song of Solomon and Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. The new summer reading list will be available in the Main Office and online after June 1.
023 Lv 1 American Literature
Students examine the breadth and ethnic diversity of American literature through extensive readings of poems, novels, essays, short stories, and plays by a wide variety of writers. In both class discussions and compositions, students will apply critical terminology such as tone, mood, theme, and irony, and articulate the distinguishing features of each genre. Reading assignments cover approximately 20 pages per night. Students will work on writing assignments both at home and in school. These assignments vary in length. Assessments derive from students' reading, writing, grammar exercises and class discussion.
Readings will be selected from Miller: Death of A Salesman; Wharton: Ethan Frome; Hemingway: A Farewell to Arms; Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby; Rolvaag: Giants in the Earth; Twain: Huckleberry Finn; Wilder: Our Town; Morrison: Song of Solomon. Poetry and short stories vary from year to year
Summer reading: Previously, students have read The Catcher in the Rye by Salinger as summer reading for this course. The new summer reading list will be available in the Main Office and online after June 1.
025 Lv 2 American Literature and Society
American Literature and Society has a threefold focus. Students will work together with the teacher to create a learning community that identifies, then reviews and reinforces skills that they have not yet mastered. Secondly, students will identify personal areas of strength and weakness and will work to achieve mastery in the identified areas. Extensive writing and conferencing will be a part of this process. Finally, students will be able to recognize and articulate the common themes and motifs present in American literature.
Works read will include many of these titles: Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby, Miller's Death of a Salesman, essays by Thoreau and Emerson, selected work from the Harlem Renaissance. Students will also read short stories and essays by contemporary writers.
The summer reading list will be available in the Main Office and online after June 1.
Note to Students interested in Advanced Placement Tests
Students may opt to take the Advanced Placement English test at different points in their high school careers. Traditionally, many students have taken the test at the end of their junior year. Students may also take the test in May of their senior year, after taking any of the senior electives. A new course called Advanced Literary Studies will provide focused study toward that end.
REMINDER: These courses carry Level 1 credit; their descriptions depict the range of challenge they offer. Please read the course descriptions carefully and select the course that both appeals to you most and provides you with the academic skills you will need in the future.
040 Art of the Film
This senior course strives to equip students with the skills to achieve film literacy. This literacy is rooted in an understanding that film directors make conscious shot choices; a viewer needs to “read” a film shot by shot the way one reads a book word by word, punctuation mark by punctuation mark. Students learn about shooting and editing early in the course so that they can apply that knowledge while viewing films. In addition to the specific language of film, students examine the filmmaker's use of symbolism, irony, foreshadowing, mood, themes and several other literary devices.
While the course tends to begin with films from the middle of the 20th century, it also goes back to some of the earliest important films and progresses chronologically to films of the latter half of the 20th century. We seek to discern the styles and characteristics of influential directors who have “authored” multiple films: Griffi th, Eisenstein, Ford, Kazan, Hitchcock, and Welles. Articles, reviews, and related readings accompany the films. Writing assignments range from reflective responses to analytical essays and creative projects.
Summer reading: Previously, students have read Dancehall of the Dead by Hillerman as summer reading for this course. The new summer reading list will be available in the Main Office and online after June 1.
Summer assignment: To be announced by June
041 Beginning Semiotics
(Not Offered 2008-2009)
Semiotics is a study of the signs people use to look at what they experience, make sense of that experience, reconstruct it and represent it for others. The course asks students to look for the gaps in their own understandings to uncover the connection between what is and what seems to be. Further, it investigates the relationship among thought, language and communication to address the links between humans and other animals. Semiotics is a highly interactive, discussion-based course. It requires students' daily participation and demands students tie together all of the readings and discussions to see their connection as well as their place in the student's growing understanding of how what people experience translates into meaningful activity. Further, the course requires that students routinely connect what they study in class with what they experience in the world. Unlike other English courses, Semiotics uses literature to unlock ideas about what we perceive as meaningful and how we create systems of shared meaning to organize our lives.
Course readings are short but challenging and abstract, often requiring multiple readings. The course emphasizes critical thinking and the asking of probing questions. Writing includes expository, narrative and creative essays, which often draw from interdisciplinary subjects. Sources of study include: Semiotics 1: Signs, Language, and Reality; Semiotics 2: Communication in Man and Beast; The Silent Language; The Hidden Dimension, Encountering Cultures, The Language Instinct and Word Play
Summer reading: Previously, students have read The Miracle Worker by Gibson and Dancehall of the Dead by Hillerman as summer reading for this course. The new summer reading list will be available in the Main Office and online after June 1.
042 Senior Literature and Composition
Students in this course work on acquiring effective strategies for reading and writing. The course stresses the skills necessary to increase students' inferential comprehension (the process of reading between the lines) and those skills necessary in writing narrative pieces as well as analytical ones. Students read such modern texts as A Dry, White Season, Snow Country, The Blessing Way and Grendel as well as such traditional texts as Hamlet and The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Students can expect to read ten to 20 pages each night, depending on the text. Class discussions of these texts and their issues are based on, but not limited to, students' understanding and insights. Writing is an on-going and essential part of the program, with the writing grade being determined by the teacher and student in a review of the student's portfolio.
Summer reading: Previously, students have read Dancehall of the Dead by Hillerman as summer reading for this course. The new summer reading list will be available in the Main Office and online after June 1.
043 Contemporary Literature
The literature in this course reflects literary responses to contemporary society. The bulk of the selections are novels, complemented by plays, poems and short fiction. Discussion focuses on a number of issues including the extent to which fictions reflects and shapes society and the role of the individual in a complex society. Regular essay assignments focus intensely on literary analysis. Readings include: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Clockwork Orange, and selections from Stephen King.
Summer reading: The Natural by Bernard Malamud.
044 Modern Literature
This course examines the literary and artistic movements of the twentieth century. Class discussions focus not only on poetry and fiction, but also music and art. Authors include but are not limited to, Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Flannery O'Connor, Robert Frost, Elizabeth Bishop and Toni Morrison. Students will write analytic essays, personal essays, poetry and short stories. Students should expect frequent, long-range reading assignments and an emphasis on artistic craft and style in discussion and writing.
Summer reading: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
045 Theology in Literature
Students in Theology in Literature read, and write about, sacred works, philosophy, poetry, and fiction in order to explore the question of what constitutes a religious life. Topics taken up include the relationship between ethics and religion, faith, conversion, pilgrimage, skepticism, existentialism, and mysticism. Texts read in recent years include Genesis, Fear and Trembling, the Bhagavad Gita, Narrow Road to the Interior, Inferno, The Brothers Karamazov, and the poems of Blake and Rumi.
The summer reading list will be available in the Main Office and online after June 1.
046 British Literature
Although British Literature is not a thorough survey course, students read and discuss works in all genres by major British authors, including Chaucer, Shakespeare, Blake, Austen, Wordsworth, Dickens, Wilde, Conrad and various modern writers. Students write expository, narrative and creative papers on both assigned topics and those of their own focus. Daily and long- range reading and frequent journal writing, sometimes assigned and at other times chosen by students, encourage rigorous preparation and understanding.
Summer reading: Previously, students have read The Mayor of Casterbridge by Hardy and Winnie the Pooh by Milne as summer reading for this course. The new summer reading list will be available in the Main Office and online after June 1.
048 Advanced Literary Studies
This course is for selected seniors who are interested in pursuing the critical study of literature and writing. Students will study literature from all genres. The reading list will include work from well known writers from across many time periods and cultures.
This course is intended for sensitive and imaginative readers and writers who give the study of literature their highest priority. The reading and writing assignments will be intense. The course will meet the needs of students for whom rigorous study of many kinds of literature is an enjoyable activity. Too, those enrolled in this class will be expected to write regularly and thoroughly about what they have read.
Students who opt to take this course will be prepared to take the AP Test in English Literature and Composition in May.
Summer reading selections will be available online after June 1.
049 Shakespeare
This course will explore Shakespeare as a major voice of Renaissance England. Students will read six of his plays that have most influenced western literature, exploring one form of the genre each of the first three quarters (Tragedy: Hamlet & Othello; Comedy/Fantasy: Twelfth Night & The Tempest; History: Henry V & Richard III). During the 4th quarter students will form an acting company and select one additional play for study, adaptation, and possible performance. Making Shakespeare accessible and relevant are key components of the design of the course, and seeing multiple film or spoken versions of an act, scene, or play will be one method of developing interpretative skills and building perspective. Contemporary playwrights and poets, the Elizabethan theater, and the art, philosophy and music of Renaissance England will be explored as they provide context for the chosen plays. Shakespeare suggested, “Define, Define, well-educated infant” (Love's Labour's Lost, I.ii.90), and we will. The emphasis will be on Shakespeare's legacy as it has shaped the universal themes, language, archetypes, and critical perspectives of the western literary tradition.
Summer reading selections will be available online after June 1.
051 Writing: Memoir, Fiction, Poetry
This senior elective will involve reading and writing, with students concentrating on both long and short pieces of creative writing throughout the year. A writing workshop model will necessitate students' sharing their writing with class members on a regular basis in order to receive feedback;students in the class will need to be willing to both give and receive criticism. Students will read literature as examples of specific forms as well as books by writers about writing.
The summer reading title(s) will be available in the Main Office and online after June 1.
Posted January 28, 2008 by Steve Ellis
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