ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
Required Courses
English 9
Grade: 9
English 9 focuses mainly on three areas:
mature and fluid writing, reading and appreciating literature, and vocabulary
growth. Students will be able to write thematic papers of short to moderate
lengths, to discuss abstract concepts in writing, and to appreciate and discuss
literature selections on a deeper level than plot and main characters alone.
Students will demonstrate a broadened vocabulary (with attention to Latin and
Greek derivations) and will utilize with ease a good (collegiate) dictionary.
The course presupposes a strong familiarity of English grammar, but regular
grammar review continues to play an important part in the class.
World Literature I
Grade: 10
All three genres of literature—drama, novels, and poetry—will be
examined closely in this course. Particular care, however, will be taken with
the writing about the literature. Style is key. In addition to continuing
the concepts learned in English 9—varying sentence types and dress-ups—students
will learn how to decorate their compositions with an array of time-tested
literary techniques, such as: metaphor, simile, alliteration, dramatic opening
and closing, word/phrase repetition, analogy, wordplay, anecdote, allusion, and
dual parts of speech.
American Literature
Grade: 11
American Literature
is a study of our nation's literature from Colonial times to the present. The
worldview and philosophy of each author is analyzed. The student’s ability to
critique the literature and philosophy of each author will be developed through
the study of Puritanism, Deism, Romanticism, Transcendentalism, Realism,
Naturalism, modern Pessimism, and Post-modernism. This course will provide the
student with an overview of the development of literature and thought in
World Literature II
Grade: 12
World Literature II
is a survey via extensive reading of representative
authors in all major British literary periods: Old English, Middle English,
Tudor, Stuart, Neoclassical, Romantic, and Victorian. The worldview of each
period and of individual authors is analyzed and evaluated. The critical
emphasis is on structure (grammatical, syntactical, and stylistic) and content
(analysis and evaluation of period and author worldview), helping the student to
become conversant with important elements of culture deriving from English
literature. It will also provide them with the skills necessary to read,
analyze, and evaluate literature.
Electives
AP English Language and Composition
Grade: 11
The AP Language and Composition course trains
students to become skilled readers and writers in diverse genres and modes of
composition. As stated in the Advanced Placement Course Description for the
English exams, the AP Language and Composition course's purpose is "to enable
students to read complex texts with understanding and to write prose of
sufficient richness and complexity to communicate effectively with mature
readers." Through the process of reading, writing, and discussing texts,
students will become skilled in composing for different audiences and purposes.
Students will learn to understand and appreciate the diverse ways that authors
make meaning in both oral and written texts. Students will identify literary
structures and conventions and effectively use them in their own writing. They
will learn to identify and evaluate the choices that they and their peers have
made in the composition process and increase their revision skills. By engaging
in conversation and debate, students will judge the validity and persuasiveness
of different works. As the course progresses, students will become aware of
their own composition process through self-assessment and evaluations by peers
and the instructor. These skills will allow the student to read critically and
write effectively in different modes in the college classroom and beyond.
AP English Literature
Grade: 12
AP English Literature
challenges students to read and interpret a wide range of imaginative works. The
course invites students to explore a variety of genres and literary periods and
to write clearly about the literature they encounter. On a daily basis, the
class will read critically, think clearly, and write concisely; and by the end
of the course, students will have cultivated a rich understanding of literary
works and acquired a set of analytical skills they will use throughout their
lives.
This course offers students frequent practice interpreting and
writing about literature. Students should feel comfortable analyzing the
structure of a poem or story, the themes of a drama, or the style of an essay.
They should also be able to identify various literary devices, such as
figurative language or imagery, and to explain how those devices help to create
meaning in a particular text. Students will write often, at least once a week,
although their assignments will vary considerably. Some might be informal and
exploratory; others might include research or work with literary criticism;
still others might be timed, so students can practice writing under conditions
similar to those of the AP Exam.
Creative Writing
Grade: 9-12
Creative Writing will teach students how to plan, organize and write a variety of literary forms including: poetry (free verse, blank verse, and sonnets), drama, sitcom, vignettes, short story, and chapters for a novel. In addition to regularly scheduled assignments, the class will study the art of writing from the point of view of writers themselves: Annie Dillard’s On Writing, Anne Lamont’s Bird by Bird, and Writers on Writing, ed. by John Darnton. Students will also be expected to critique other students’ work as well as make revisions based on suggestions. (Semester Course)
Great Women Authors A/B
Grade: 9-12
Great Women Authors is designed to enhance students’ literary experience and appreciation by surveying a range of classic works not covered in required reading lists. Students will be introduced to additional novels by female authors already in the TCA curriculum, such as Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility and Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. In addition, we will examine further poetry by Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. We will introduce additional authors of merit such as the British contemporary of C.S. Lewis, Dorothy L. Sayers, known for her mystery novels that featured her detective character Lord Peter Wimsey. Dorothy Sayers also wrote essays exhorting the benefits of classical education, such as “The Lost Tools of Learning,” which serves as one of the foundational tenets of the TCA teaching philosophy. In addition to reading and appreciating fine literature, students will learn the historical and social background of the authors, write themes, discuss abstract concepts in writing, and discuss literature selections on a deeper level than plot and main characters alone. (Each letter, A, B, stands for a different semester)
Intro. to Journalism
Grade: 9-11
Note: This course is a
pre-requisite for Newspaper and Yearbook Production courses.
During
Introduction to Journalism, students will learn all aspects of
journalistic writing and production with emphasis on copy, design and
photography. Students will practice interviewing techniques, write headlines and
subheads and use the inverted pyramid format. Students will gain useful
technical skills by learning to use Adobe PageMaker software, word-processing
and photo manipulation software, digital camera, CD writer and scanner. Students
will learn rules of layout and design, effective use of photography and caption
writing. Students will also learn the business aspects of journalism: creating
and managing a budget to balance production costs with income from ad sales.
Students will be coached in conducting themselves professionally in their
interactions with outside businesses. Elements of both newspaper and yearbook
will be taught. Students will also be exposed to other communications career
opportunities in print, radio, television, publishing and business, such as:
public relations, advertising, publicity, free-lance, editorial, management,
etc. Guest speakers and field trips will be incorporated into the curriculum.
Newspaper Production II, III, IV
Grade: 10-12
Prerequisites: Intro to Journalism and Instructor Permission
Newspaper Production—a theory-plus-production course reinforces the core
fundamentals and refines the marketable skills learned in Intro to Journalism.
This class is responsible for the monthly production of The Classical Academy
High School Newspaper, The Titanium. Students will write news stories,
features and columns, and report student and school activities. Students will be
responsible for editing news stories, creating newspaper layout and design, as
well as selling advertising. Staff positions will be function-driven with
students specializing in positions as: designers, writers, photographers, or
editors, business and sales managers. An organizational chart will be determined
each year, with staff members reporting to student editors who will determine
the content and coordinate production of one newspaper each month
(approximately). Publication deadlines are crucial, and students must learn to
work with others in a responsible, timely and cooperative way. Students are
required to attend work sessions outside of regular class hours, especially
during deadline week.
Yearbook Production II, III, IV
Grade: 10-12
Prerequisites: Intro to Journalism and Instructor Permission
Yearbook Production—a theory-plus-production course reinforces the core
fundamentals and refines the marketable skills learned in Intro to Journalism.
Students in this class are responsible for the production of The Classical
Academy High School Yearbook, The Torch. Students will create a yearbook,
understanding its function as both a memory book and an historical record of the
current school year. Students will identify and complete the necessary tasks to
produce the yearbook, including: developing a concept, reporting and writing,
photography, design, production, and funding. Staff positions will be
function-driven, with students
specializing in positions as: designers, writers, photographers, or editors,
business and sales managers. An organizational chart will be determined each
year, with staff members reporting to student editors who will coordinate the
creation and production of the book. Yearbook deadlines are crucial, and
students must learn to work with others in a responsible, timely and cooperative
way. Students are required to attend work sessions outside of regular class
hours, especially during deadline season.
Shakespeare A/B
Grade:
9-12
Each section of this year-long course covers a detailed study of at least five of Shakespeare’s plays. This study will include reading and dramatizations, close textual analysis, projects, and library research. This course should be taken by students who want to increase their reading skills and writing abilities, both creative and expository, through the study of the world’s most admired playwright. (Each letter, A, B, etc., stand for a different semester course)
C.S. Lewis
Grade: 11-12
This course focuses on the life and writings of C. S. Lewis. Schooled in the classics and trained as a young man by a militant atheist and brilliant logician, Lewis serves as a model for persuasive rhetoric. His short book, Mere Christianity, has sold more than twenty million copies and is considered by scholars to be one of the greatest defenses of the Christian worldview. This course on Lewis will analyze the clarity of his logic and argument, as well as the impact that such winsome discourse can have, regardless of the worldview of the writer. His writings will be examined against the backdrop of the scientific worldview prevalent among many of his contemporaries.
Required Course
Rhetoric
Grade: 12
Rhetoric is a
course in logical disagreement and argumentation, emphasizing the practical
application of ethical thinking and reasoning to the realm of public affairs.
Stress is placed upon current issues and controversies. Rhetoric
integrates the principles of logic and ethics with events current in the world
outside the school. The students will learn to write cogent letters to the
editor, debate various philosophical and political issues amongst themselves,
learn the rules of formal debate, and organize and arrange a public community
debate. Care will be taken to ensure that the students’ application of debate
tools is consistent with lessons learned in previous courses.
As a culminating activity in Rhetoric, seniors
will be asked to present a rhetorical thesis before an adult board of
evaluators. First semester, this panel will play the role of a neutral board;
the second semester, they will act as one hostile to the thesis.
Rhetoric provides the students with the means to advance a
logical and ethical point of view within the established boundaries of public
discussion. The purpose of the course is to equip students for the Disputatio
(disputation), both formal and informal.