Skills developed include vocabulary, spelling, reading, discussion, sentence structure, and punctuation. 10 Students are exposed to a broad spectrum of literary genres, a variety of writing experiences, sentence structure and punctuation, spelling, and vocabulary study. Students also experience a variety of learning techniques including cooperative learning groups, independent projects, and multimedia presentations. Active learning is encouraged as students expand their capacity to respond to language and to increase their communication skills. This course covers the regular freshman curriculum, but has some additional literary excerpts as a result of a special connection with the freshman world history course offered through the Social Studies department.
Students study literature and history in an integrated context.
Several field trips and special projects are scheduled throughout the year to facilitate the integration of literature, history, music, and art. This is the first course in a sequence leading to the Advanced Placement English courses. Students are introduced to various types of literature from Homer, Sophocles, and Greek mythology through the Bible, Shakespeare, contemporary novels, short stories, plays, and poetry which expose them to the literary traditions which form the foundations of Western Civilization. Students also study literary concepts and write in a variety of domains, including expository, narrative, and creative. Vocabulary and standard written English lessons are also included.