Curriculum Structure

• All courses weave the strands of literacy together: reading, writing, speaking, listening, acquiring information and media.
• Our curriculum framework is based on backwards design or Understanding by Design.  Therefore, it is essential that students are aware of the objectives or targets they are working towards all the time.
• Our emphasis should be on depth of learning as opposed to mass of learning which is evident by the metacognition and reflection demanded of students.
• We use assessment not just to measure student achievement towards objectives or daily targets but also as a part of the learning process (Assessment of Learning and Assessment for Learning). 
• This approach supports the department goal that students will identify how one step of the learning process has impacted another. 
• Courses have negotiables and non-negotiables.  Non-negotiables are assessments, units, or materials that courses are required to complete.  This approach ensures a common experience for all students taking the course and establishes the foundation or building blocks from one course to the next. 
• Because students have common experiences, teachers can help students identify how steps in learning that took place in previous courses builds towards current learning.  The negotiables are assessments, units, or materials that teachers may want to bring to the course to allow for flexibility and individuality.
• Additionally, with the emphasis on testing inspired by No Child Left Behind, it is the philosophy of the department that testing strategies should be woven into all courses.  When a question on an exam, test or quiz is similar to one a student might encounter on an AP exam or an ACT test, teachers help students recognize these situations.

Freshmen Courses    Core Concepts:   Identity and Responsibility   Umbrella Questions:   How do I define myself?    How do I take responsibility for my decisions and actions?

PATTERNS OF COMMUNICATION Patterns of Communication, a full year course, requires that students in the first semester engage in learning activities that lead to discovery of their abilities as a learner. In the second semester students continue this process, but also integrate activities that lead to responsible learning and action. The broad objective of the course is to teach skills and habits that will enable students to become lifelong learners. Students focus on strategies that lead to effective reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. In addition, students use viewing experiences to associate literature, film, and real life experiences. All the activities help students set clear purposes for the strategy that the student wishes to use in the learning environment.   ENRICHED PATTERNS OF COMMUNICATION Enriched Patterns of Communication is a year-long course for freshmen who have excellent skills in writing and literary analysis. Consequently, the level of writing and of literary analysis is more complex than other freshman Communication Arts classes. Expectations for student writing are high and require commitment and diligence. Students will read and analyze short stories, poetry, novels, drama, and non-fiction.   Students will prepare a portfolio and complete semester projects. Reading strategies, thinking skills, and study skills are taught as a basis for effective writing. Viewing, speaking, and listening strategies will also be a focus. The skills required for the rigorous reading, speaking and writing expectations will require a student to be committed to the learning process, to be self-motivated, and to perform at a degree of complexity consistent with the enriched level. While students are encouraged to challenge themselves, students should consider their entire schedule not just the single course, when determining whether or not to take an enriched, AP or other weighted course.

Sophomore Courses    Core Concepts:  The Emerging Self and Constructing a Role        Umbrella Questions:   What is my role in a variety of communities?   How do I experience rites of passage?

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION Written Communication, a semester course, continues the reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing strategies begun in Patterns of Communication. Developing writing skills in tenth grade requires that student's construct meaning from literary works and from life experiences. Students will write frequently and will produce products for different purposes and structures. In addition, students should continue to become aware of themselves as writers who seek to communicate through expressive, transactional, and literary pieces for a variety of audiences. All sophomores, unless approved for Print Communication, or Enriched Written Communication must take this course.     ENRICHED WRITTEN COMMUNICATION Enriched Written Communication is a semester course for sophomores who have excellent skills in writing and literary analysis. Students will read and analyze novels as well as produce a variety of writing on a frequent basis. The skills needed for the rigorous reading, writing, speaking, listening, and technology expectations will require a student to be committed to the learning process, to be self-motivated, and to achieve at a degree of complexity consistent with the enriched level. While we encourage students to stretch themselves, students should consider their entire schedule (not just the single course) when determining whether or not to take an enriched, AP or other weighted course.     PRINT COMMUNICATION Sophomores seeking to strengthen their writing skills in print journalism take this one semester course instead of Written Communication during the 2nd semester. The course includes interviewing, researching, and writing for the school newspaper, and applying effective speaking techniques learned in Speech Communication. Articles written may be published in the school newspaper. Students who wish to be considered for an editorial position on the school newspaper must take this course. Students who wish to take this course must take Speech Communication first semester as Print Communication is ONLY offered second semester.     ENRICHED PRINT COMMUNICATION This 1st semester course is designed for enriched sophomores who seek to challenge their intellectual abilities in the field of media communication. Though the course parallels the objectives of Enriched Written Communication offered during the sophomore year, it provides an alternative for those who wish to further their knowledge and expertise in the area of print and broadcast journalism. Students will not only write for publication but will also write and produce for cable television. The skills required for the rigorous reading and writing expectations will require a student to be committed to the learning process, to be self-motivated, and to achieve at a degree of complexity consistent with the enriched level. While we encourage students to stretch themselves, students should consider their entire schedule (not just the single course) when determining whether or not to take an enriched, AP or other weighted course.     SPEECH COMMUNICATION This class emphasizes the development of basic skills in effective speaking, critical thinking, reading strategies, researching, and critical listening. Students will participate in self-assessment of their speeches as well as provide formal, written feedback for peers, with a focus on rhetorical analysis. Speech Communication is required of all 10th grade students and it is offered both semesters. Registration of students is alphabetical depending upon an even split of the sophomore class.

Junior Courses    Core Concepts:    Origins and First Encounters, Creating Community,  Developing an Individual Identity,  American Dream: Illusion vs. Reality        Umbrella Questions:    How does language help us clarify human experience and contribute responsibly to our multifaceted society? What does it mean to be an American?

AMERICAN LITERATURE/COMPOSITION This two-semester course is required for juniors, emphasizing the study of United States literature. The course focuses on examining how language helps us clarify our experience as members of the United States community and how language helps us contribute responsibly to our multi-faceted society. Students will examine literature related to the following concepts: Origins and First Encounters; Creating Community; Developing an Individual Identity; The American Dream, and America's Growing Pains. The junior year continues the expressive, literary, and transactional writing strands used during the ninth and tenth grade years.  AMERICAN STUDIES What does it mean to be an American? This two-semester, interdisciplinary, team-taught course traces the development of major American literary movements and places them within the context of United States history. The course is organized around themes and essential questions, allowing students to gain a deeper understanding of important literary and historical issues. Students will examine the changing role of the individual while tracing the development of American ideals and institutions. Individual and team assignments will challenge students to address the course question. Strong reading and writing skills are needed. The class will be taught in a two-hour block and meets the requirements for American Literature (Communication Arts) and United States History (Social Sciences). Students will earn one grade for the class; however, it will count as two credits.   ADVANCED PLACEMENT LANGUAGE This is a two-semester course for juniors who have excellent skills in writing, reading, and analysis, and a strong enthusiasm for the communication arts. This course will emphasize all areas of communication, including literary readings, both formal and informal types or writings, and oral work. Like its counterpart, American Literature, the course examines the cultural heritage of the United States and the manner in which that heritage continues to be reflected in contemporary American life, literature, and values. In addition this course will prepare students for the Advanced Placement Language and Composition exam, and will focus on close reading of nonfiction texts using rhetorical analysis, synthesis, and argument. First and third quarters are pass/fail. There is required summer reading. While we encourage students to stretch themselves, students should consider their entire schedule (not just the single course) when determining whether or not to take an enriched, AP, or other weighted course.

Senior Courses Core Concepts:  Becoming a Global Citizen        Umbrella Questions:   How do I define myself as a global citizen?  How do I take responsibility for my decisions and actions  as part of a global community?

TRADITIONS IN COMMUNICATION Traditions in Communication is a course that is framed around the study of four traditions in literature and the arts. Two traditions will be studied per semester. The first semester: The Epic Tradition and The Comic Tradition. The second semester: The Tragic Tradition and the Lyric Tradition. Each unit will include reading both classic and contemporary literature, informal and/or formal writing, film study, and study of other art forms.   ESSAY WRITING Essay Writing is a course designed for college bound students who need or desire a stronger foundation in writing process, principle, and purpose. Emphasis will be on the various ways writing can communicate self, meaning, and intent. Students will learn to establish ownership of their writing through instruction in voice, audience, and style. Students will also learn how to select the appropriate written form for the given purpose, identify individual strengths and weaknesses as a writer, and establish a writing philosophy that will be appropriate to their future needs. First quarter is Pass/Fail.   ENRICHED ESSAY WRITING Enriched Essay Writing is a weighted course designed for highly motivated college bound students who are looking to expand their comfort with writing in anticipation of collegiate expectations. Emphasis will be on the philosophical concept of writing as a declaration and students will be asked to maximize their talents as writers as they discover the far-reaching applications of the writing process. Students will create meaningful pieces, challenge their skills as writers, and build towards a competency that will enable them to be effective written communicators in any realm. While we encourage students to stretch themselves, students should consider their entire schedule (not just the single course) when determining whether or not to take an enriched, AP or other weighted course. First and third quarters are Pass/Fail.   ENGLISH LITERATURE A study of representative English authors designed to develop the student's ability to understand and appreciate the major literary works of the following periods: the Anglo-Saxon Age, Medieval England, The Elizabethan Age, the Romantic Revolt, the Victorian Age, and 20th Century British Literature. To offer the student a historical as well as a literary perspective, the course follows both a chronological and thematic approach. Students who take this course are encouraged to take the AP Literature Exam. While we encourage students to stretch themselves, students should consider their entire schedule (not just the single course) when determining whether or not to take an enriched, AP or other weighted course.   HUMANITIES Humanities is a weighted course recommended for students comfortable working independently or in group settings. This course includes a chronological survey of major written works of Western Civilization, both literary and philosophical. The analysis of these writings is supplemented with the study of painting, sculpture, architecture, and music. The study of themes, research essays, and visual art projects allow students to understand the interrelationships of these complimentary art forms as a means to evaluate contemporary culture. While we encourage students to stretch themselves, students should consider their entire schedule (not just the single course) when determining whether or not to take an enriched, AP, or other weighted course.   ADVANCED PLACEMENT LITERATURE/COMPOSITION This full year course is appropriate for students who have demonstrated strong aptitude in communication arts skills. Students should display an enthusiasm for reading and discussing literature, proficiency when examining artistic and philosophical questions related to literary studies, and an interest in writing about literature in a variety of formats. The course will provide a study of world literature with a focus on a variety of genres, including poetry, drama, novels, and short stories. Students will learn to enhance their abilities to derive meaning from the text, to explore diverse literary styles, and to develop more sophisticated responses to literature. Some attention will be given to expectations for the Advanced Placement Literature examination as well as the composition of the college essay. First quarter is pass/fail. Summer reading is required. While we encourage students stretch themselves, students should consider their entire schedule (not just the single course) when determining whether or not to take an enriched, AP, or other weighted course. Click below for a PDF of the 2007 Summer Reading Assignment: AP Literature and Composition summer reading

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