| LANGUAGE ARTS |
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The advanced and academic classes generally use the
same basic materials, but they differ in pace and complexity.
The advanced classes write longer, more sophisticated essays and read
additional novels and plays. Many
of the skills and concepts introduced in the ninth grade appear in the tenth
through the twelfth grades. The students, however, become more mature in their
writing and thinking, and more skilled in comprehending and analyzing
literature. As the ninth graders write sentences, paragraphs, and essays
about character, plot, theme, figurative language, and personal experiences, so
do the students in grades ten, eleven and twelve. The classroom teacher may elect to teach separate units in
grammar, composition and literature, or to integrate these throughout the year. **APPLIED COMMUNICATIONS Credit: l Grade: 10,
11, 12
Course Length: Term Since more demands are made upon students as they
enter the workforce, this course will provide opportunities for students to
improve communication skills. These
skills include forms of technical writing along with the traditional elements of
a language arts curriculum, e.g., process writing, oral communication, and
problem solving and analysis. CONTEMPORARY FILM/VISUAL LITERACY Credit: l Grade: 9,
10, 11, 12
Course Length: Term Contemporary film will enable students to
analyze, interpret, critique, and even create various forms of visual media.
The class will include exposure to the various file genres.
Deeper analysis and interpretations of film will occur when students are
exposed to significant elements of filmmaking.
Students enjoy discussing films they have seen or the acting, directing,
soundtrack, script, etc., will gain even deeper and more lasting appreciation of
film and all visual media. CREATIVE WRITING Credit: l Grade: 9,
10, 11, 12
Course Length: Term Do you keep a journal?
Do you like to write letters? Have
you written a poem, or wanted to? This
course will give you the opportunity to develop your own written “voice” and
explore your experience in writing beyond the essays and assignments in a
typical English class. You’ll
create your own book in this class, filled with your poems, a short story, and
some nonfiction word-art, too. Through
your own writing and the examples we’ll study, you’ll gain insights into the
creative process, from inspiration to final revision. DRAMA/THEATER I Credit: l Grade: 9,
10, 11, 12
Course Length: Term This class enables students to develop an
appreciation of theater as an audience member, as well as, a participant.
It covers areas of performance (monologue to group play), theater
exercises, pantomime, improvisation, characterization, script analysis, a
history of theater, literature, dramatic criticism, technical theater and
production demands. The diversity
of material helps students appreciate, respect, and demand good theater.
Students will be responsible for comprehension of terms and historical
periods, literature and theatrical vocabulary.
Students will perform individually and in groups.
This course serves as a foundation for performance and interpretation of
dramatic art. DRAMA II/THEATER II Credit: l Grade: 9,
10, 11, 12
Course Length: Term Prerequisite:
English teacher
recommendation.
This class is designed and offered for the advanced theatre students. Because of the diversity of prior knowledge and experience in theatrical arts this class will benefit the student who has 1) taken the first course and is ready for more advanced work or 2) the student with extensive experience that seeks to use that experience in a more detailed and disciplined manner. This course will focus on the intricacies of directing a play from start to finish. The students will concentrate on individual projects with supplemental activities designed to generate creative, collaboration between students. The culminating project will be student-directed plays presented for the public. ENGLISH I ADVANCED Credit: l Grade: 9
Course Length: Term Prerequisites:
Recommendation of
English teacher
at Woodford
County Middle
School; Completion
of Summer Reading Program requirements. This course is designed to give students who
are academically advanced in language arts an opportunity to move at a faster
pace, to study literature in greater depth, to have an intense program of
writing, and to prepare for the senior advanced placement classes.
Students will read major works and collections in literature, make
written and oral evaluations, study vocabulary, write papers, complete one
research project, present reviews, and make oral presentations. ENGLISH I Credit: l Grade: 9
Course Length: Term This course develops students’ ability in
reading, writing, speaking, and
thinking. Students study a variety
of types of literature and respond both orally and in writing. Students refine their abilities in grammar usage through
practice and composition. Students’
writing experiences include practice in the stages of the writing process and in
the four basic writing types. Students
will read and react to novels, plays, poems, and short stories.
Practice in writing includes composing essays, letters, and practice in
the steps of research. Students will complete a review of parts of speech, parts of
the sentence, phrases, clauses, punctuation, and capitalization.
Vocabulary exercises are also part of the course. ENGLISH II ADVANCED Credit: l Grade: 10
Course Length: Term Prerequisite:
English I; English
I teacher
recommendation; completion
of Summer Reading Program
requirements. This course is designed to give students who
are academically talented in language arts an opportunity to move at a faster
pace, to study literature in greater depth, to have an intense program of
writing, and to prepare for the advanced placement class. Students will read and study many important works and plays
in addition to selections from the student anthology. Course participants experience the stages of the writing
process and practice in the four basic writing types. ENGLISH II Credit: l Grade: 10
Course Length: Term Prerequisites:
English I In this course, students extend their reading
and writing skills by studying and writing about novels, plays, poetry, short
stories and various forms of nonfiction. Students
learn grammar, mechanics and usage primarily through the various modes of
writing such as description, narration, and exposition.
Students will read numerous novels and plays in addition to selections
from the anthology. ENGLISH III ADVANCED Credit: l Grade: 11
Course Length: Term Prerequisites:
English II; English
teacher recommendation;
completion of
Summer Reading Program
requirements. In this course, students continue to refine
their reading, writing, and thinking skills.
They will study the various genres of literature and write about the
literature that they study as well as about other topics relevant to their
lives. Students will read a
wide variety of material in preparation for the advanced placement class.
Course participants write extensively and read and analyze tests. ENGLISH III Credit: l Grade: 11
Course Length: Term Prerequisite: English
II. This course will further students’ competencies in both written and spoken language. Students are taught to develop positive attitudes toward writing, to generate ideas about which to write, and to write appropriately for given audiences and purposes. Students will apply the appropriate grammar and usage of the English language. Students will study American literature within the context of the American Studies curriculum from a historical and cultural standpoint. The course includes American literature selections from the Colonial Period to the Modern Period. Students will also read novels and plays by American authors. Mechanics and usage are taught within the context of students’ compositions and as the need arises. Writing activities will include essays, short stories, poems, journals, letters, descriptive paragraphs, literary analysis and transactive writing pieces. ADVANCED COMPOSITION Credit: l Grade: 12
Course Length: Term Prerequisite: English
III; English teacher recommendation.
NOTE: This
course is to be scheduled with English IV A. P. The Advanced Composition course is designed for those
college-bound students who wish to acquire sophisticated writing skills in the
areas of analysis, argument, persuasion, and exposition.
The students will also write personal, narrative, creative, and technical
pieces appropriate for the writing portfolio.
Additional readings may be required to aid the writer with the
acquisition of these skills. Students
will write several essays and one research paper.
In addition, the students review grammar, usage and mechanics. ENGLISH IV A. P. Credit: l Grade: 12 Course Length: Term Prerequisites: Advanced Composition, English teacher recommendation; completion of Summer Reading Program requirements. In an Advanced Placement course in English Literature
and Composition, students are engaged in the careful reading of literary works.
Through such study, they sharpen their awareness of language and their
understanding of the writer’s craft. They
develop critical standards for the independent appreciation of any literary
work, and they increase their sensitivity to literature as shared experience.
To achieve these goals, students study the individual work, its language,
characters, action, and themes. They
consider its structure, meaning and value and its relationship to contemporary
experience as well as to the times in which it was written.
In an A. P. course in English Literature and Composition, students are
involved in both the study and practice of writing and the study of literature.
They will learn to use the modes of discourse and to recognize the assumptions
underlying various rhetorical strategies. Through
speaking, listening, and reading, but chiefly through the experience of their
own writing, students will become more aware of the resources of language:
connotation, metaphor, irony, syntax, and tone.
Writing assignments should focus on critical analysis of literature and
should include essays in exposition and argument.
Although much of the writing in the course will be about literature,
speaking and writing about different kinds of subjects should further develop
the students’ sense of how style, subject and audience are related.
Assignments in personal narrative and the writing of stories, poems or
plays might also be appropriate. The
desired goals are the honest and effective use of language and the organization
of ideas in a clear, coherent, and persuasive way. In addition to intensive study of numerous novels and plays,
students will read short stories, poetry and nonfiction.
Students take practice advanced placement examinations, write numerous
in-class essays and do structured activities to refine reading speed,
comprehension, and vocabulary. ENGLISH IV Credit: l Grade: 12
Course Length: Term Prerequisite: English
III. This course offers continued refinement of
pupil’s abilities in language arts skills.
Content includes appropriate experiences in composition and the
historical, cultural and aesthetic significance of English and world literature.
Special attention to writing about literature is given in this
pre-college curriculum. Language
and mechanics concerns are dealt within the context of student writing.
Vocabulary study is intended to
enhance the students’ composition skills.
Students will read novels and plays in addition to selections from the
anthology. Students will write
essays and a research paper. Students
will complete a senior Writing Portfolio.
*ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Credit: l Grade: 9,
10, 11, 12
Course Length: Term This is a survey course, exploring various types of
speech situations. Much time is
spent on self-awareness and self-improvement, as well as on small group
discussion. The areas of
informative, inspirational, entertaining and persuasive speeches, town hall and
panel discussions, interviews, debate and special occasion speeches are covered.
Students will prepare and deliver speeches in these areas. READING FOR PLEASURE Credit: l Grade: 9,
10, 11, 12
Course Length: Term This course allows students not exposed to
reading on a daily basis to develop a love and appreciation for literature.
Students already accustomed to reading for pleasure are afforded the
opportunity to pursue the activity further.
Through guided teacher recommendations, students will be allowed to
explore a variety of authors and texts, improve reading comprehension skills,
and develop a love for reading. The following courses will be offered every
other year. *This
course will be offered for the 2001-2002 school year:
Oral Communications **This
course is scheduled to be offered for the 2002-2003 school year. Applied Communications |