English

Focus on mastering English grammar and useage. Consciousness of structure of the language improves reading comprehension, and clarity in speaking and writing. Students practice writing substantive, clearly articulated paragraphs, and reading short stories and novels.

A cultural overview of theater and dramatic literature in three distinct time periods: Greco-Roman, Medieval/Renaissance, and Modern. Three plays are examined: Oedipus the King by Sophocles, Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, and A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry.

Through literature, students build reading comprehension, vocabulary, historical context, use of language and themes. Wide selection of short stories and novels, typically including The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Development of reading comprehension, vocabulary, and a sense for the aesthetic qualities of style.

Year-long course. Exploration of Western Civilization, from roots in Ancient India, Mesopotamia, and Egypt through flourishing in Ancient Greece and the rise of the Judeo-Christian culture. A look at the origins the English language and its early literature through the Middle Ages. Read and analyze texts, examination of literary, cultural, historical, and philosophical significance. Development of literary essay, with special attention to skills of comparison and contrast. Readings include: The Ramayana, Gilgamesh;The Egyptian Book of the Dead; selections from The Tanakh (Old Testament); the Odyssey; Beowulf; Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; The Canterbury Tales.

Main Lesson block. An exploration of poetry as an art form and as a means of communication. Students look at changing styles of poetry through the ages, become familiar with the elements of poetry and work with various poetic forms: haiku, sonnet, terza rima, sestina, and villanelle. Students learn to recognize poetic language - diction, imagery, theme, voice, tone - and understand poetic meaning - metaphor, simile, personification, synecdoche, metonymy, symbol, onomatopoeia. Students read and write poems and create a poetry anthology on a chosen theme, which complements their own poetic creations.

Main Lesson block. Study of Shakespeare's life and a range of his writings (comedy, tragedy and sonnets) with focus on Hamlet. Students engage in a variety of writing styles and critical and dramatic interpretations.

Main Lesson block. Study of medieval epic Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach, a classic about finding ones destiny. Exploration of the themes of love, awakening, beauty, relationships, destiny, and compassion.

Main Lesson block. Exploration of Dante Alighieri's Inferno, the first part of his trilogy the Divine Comedy. Exploration of underpinning of Western thought as expressed in the Middle Ages. Oral reading emphasized.

A writer's workshop. Discussion of the works of selected contemporary essayists. Focus on the essay as a literary form and on producing a portfolio of work, with concentration on the personal essay. Exploration of the five stages of writing: brainstorming an idea, outlining and draft, preparation, revising (sometimes with peer review), and polished final draft.

Study of masters of 19th Century Russian Literature: Pushkin, Dostoevsky, and Tolstoy. Consideration of biographies, writings, political and historical events that helped form Russian self-identity and expression.

Period of European Modernism that preceded and followed the First World War (1914-18). Students engage with the works of Picasso, Kafka, Eliot, Joyce, Proust, Wittgenstein, Bunuel. Creative work in modernist spirit.

Study of philosophical and literary movement of American Transcendentalism. Examination of works by Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, and Dickinson. Close reading and class discussion serve as source material for student writing and artistic work.

12th grade year-long elective. Students explore differences between a story told by an author though the written word, and the visual experience of a film as the "director's medium." Weekly readings and discussion of novel, short story, or play and through prior to film. Students learn film vocabulary, study theme, character development and genre, consider various production elements and more. Examples include: "The Lord of the Flies," "Where the Red Fern Grows," " Of Mice and Men," "The Color Purple," "The Great Gatsby," "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "The Homesman."