ENGLISH
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson |
| |
Studying literature allows us to explore, discover, and recreate the many complex relationships and experiences that make us human. It allows us deeper and more meaningful insight into the ways that we think, feel, respond and react to all of the intricate conflicts and tensions that we encounter every day. In the words of Brock University professor John Lye, “…literature explores the texture and meaning of human experience in a complex, compelling way, and leads us to insight and rich reflection, hence wisdom, concerning our lives and the nature of human experience.”1 Such knowledge builds the creativity and imagination necessary to make our own paths instead of following the one already worn.
In English/Language Arts classes students read extensively in multiple genres from American, British and other world literature. Literary periods begin as early as the Anglo-Saxon period in British literature and continue into the modern period in all genres. As students learn literary forms and terms associated with selections being read, they interpret the possible influences of the historical context on a literary work.
In addition to studying literature, students also plan, draft, and complete written compositions on a regular basis. Students edit their papers for clarity, engaging language, and the correct use of the conventions and mechanics of written English to produce final, error-free drafts.
Course Offerings
English SOL 1 and 2
This course is designed for the immigrant student whose primary language is not English. Emphasis is on development of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in English. Students’ cultural backgrounds are considered and incorporated with instruction. A maximum of two of the four units of English required for graduation may be English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). Credits of ESOL which are not counted toward the graduation requirement in English may be counted as electives in meeting state graduation requirements.
Students are selected for this course through diagnostic testing.
Practical Writing for ESL
ESL Practical Writing is a course designed for students who are currently in the ESL program or who have been in ESL in the past. It is intended for sophomore and junior level students to aide them in the acquisition of writing skills. The class will have a focus on TAKS preparation while learning writing skills.
English II
English II students read extensively in multiple genres from world literature including selected stories, dramas, novels, and poetry originally written in English or translated to English from oriental, classical Greek, European, African, South American, and North American cultures. Students learn literary forms and terms associated with selections being read. Students interpret the possible influences of the historical context on a literary work.
An emphasis is placed on persuasive forms of writing such as logical arguments, expressions of opinion, and personal forms of writing. These personal forms of writing may include a response to literature, a reflective essay, or an autobiographical narrative.
Novels:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
English II Pre-AP
Pre-AP focuses on some of the effects and ramifications of power through literature, poetry, and drama. The ideas that power struggles, perceptions, and possessions is universal—a concept that closely mimics their own teenage lives—enables students to make close personal connections with the literature. The units for this curriculum have been carefully selected to examine the effects of power from all angles, good or bad, allowing students to realize how truly powerful literature and life can be.
Novels:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (summer reading)
1984 by George Orwell (summer reading)
English III
The English III course covers American literature beginning with the Native American period through Modernism. It also includes SAT vocabulary preparation, 6-Trait writing skills, writing responses to open-ended questions, and a thorough review of grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Additionally, reading, listening, speaking, and media awareness are developed on a continuing basis throughout the year.
Novel: The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
English III AP
The English III AP course is designed for the study of composition and rhetoric at an advanced level in preparation for the Advanced Placement Exam in English Language and Composition. The course focuses on challenging the students’ critical reading, writing, and thinking skills through the study of fiction and non-fiction texts, with an emphasis on the relationship between the writer’s content, method, and purpose. Students entering the course are expected to have highly developed reading and writing skills. American Literature and its multiple perspectives, styles, and genres form the basis of the coursework.
Novels:
The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - Frederick Douglass
Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck
English IV
English IV students read extensively in multiple genres primarily from British literature. Study begins with the Anglo-Saxon period and continues through the medieval period, the English renaissance, the romantic period, the Victorian period, and concludes with the modern and post-modern period. Students learn literary forms and terms associated with selections being read while interpreting the possible influences of the historical context on a literary work.
Novels:
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
1984 by George Orwell
Student selected novel from modern period
English IV AP
This is a college-level class for high-performing readers and writers. The basic purposes of the course are to enable students to read complex texts related to the theme of conflicts with understanding, write prose of sufficient richness and complexity to communicate effectively with mature readers, and deepen students’ understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. This course also includes an intense study of grammar and etymology, a fall research paper, and the expectation that students take the College Board Examination in Literature and Composition for college credit. The exam requires a fee paid by the student.
English IV Dual Credit
Dual Credit is an English Composition course offered at Pearland High School through Alvin Community College. Students can earn college credit for English 1301 and 1302 at ACC as well as satisfying their English requirement for PHS. Dual Credit courses require a fee paid to ACC before students can earn credit for the course. Each semester is a new course and requires a separate payment.
Eligibility requirements: Students must score at least a 2200 on the English/Language Arts TAKS test with a minimum score of 3 on the writing portion, or they must pass the Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA). Students must receive approval from the administration prior to enrollment.
In the first semester, students study writing, rhetoric and their conventions, emphasizing the organization of materials to produce coherent, unified essays, which support thesis statements. This course also emphasizes critical thinking skills to express ideas in clear, concise language that is grammatically correct, interesting, and relevant in purpose for a specific audience.
During the second semester, students study poetry and drama to analyze the main principles of effective writing, synthesizing and evaluating critics’ interpretations of poetry, drama, or a classic work of literature to produce coherent, unified research papers, which support thesis statements. This course focuses on using MLA guidelines in the formation of a thesis-driven research paper that integrates original thought with the conversations of outside criticism and demonstrates a mastery of writing conventions through the writing process.
SAT/PSAT/ACT Preparation
This is a one semester course designed to provide students with test information and to sharpen the student’s test taking skills for the SAT, PSAT, or the ACT. The course stresses the importance of critical reading and trains the student with verbal strategies and math strategies to improve performance on these College Board exams. The student will spend nine weeks on the math portion of the exam and nine weeks on the verbal portion of the exam.
Reading 1
Reading improvement is a basic course designed to help students to improve both their overall reading abilities and their attitudes towards reading. Students eligible for this course will improve the skills needed for comprehension and will increase their vocabularies. This is a required course for students who read two years below grade level or who have not mastered the reading portion of the TAKS. Students are placed in and exited from the program through established criteria.
Reading 2
Reading 2 is a basic course continuing the Reading 1 course for students who need additional reading improvement or who have not mastered the reading portion of the TAKS. Students are placed in and exited from the program through established criteria.
Reading/Cross-Age Tutoring
The Cross-Age Tutoring Program is a unique reading program that allows high school students to mentor to elementary students. This program is built on a proven fact that, “He who teaches learns the most.” The high school students are trained in various methods of teaching vocabulary, asking questions to improve comprehension, and identifying and correcting reading errors. This course emphasizes the mentor as a role model - one who shows interest, concern and caring for a younger person. Students are placed in and exited from the program through established criteria.
1 Lye, John. On the Uses of Studying Literature. http://www.brocku.ca/english/jlye/uses.html.
.....Meet our Department Members:
