FULL YEAR - For Students in grade 9 (Required)

Prerequisites: Students are placed in the appropriate level based on the recommendation of their 8th grade teacher.

The Freshman Program concentrates on developing skills in written expression, critical thinking and literary analysis using poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction. Written expression is emphasized throughout the year, with the goal of enabling students to write essays with an analytical, interpretive, or persuasive thesis using textual support for the claims and inferences in their essays. The course also stresses systemic vocabulary building, the development of oral expression, and grammar review. Technology serves as a tool in this course to develop writing and presentation skills, and to explore thematic issues in the course readings. Core texts are centered around the theme of the Discovery of the Self: Romeo and Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird, a play from The Oedipus Trilogy, and poetry from The Seagull Reader; other texts may include Of Mice and Men, Kindred, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Great Expectations, Hiroshima, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, The Glass Menagerie, A Night to Remember, and Into Thin Air.

PLACEMENT

Initial level placement in Freshman English is based on teacher recommendation; the eighth grade teacher carefully considers a student’s readiness in four areas: language, literature, writing, and work preparation.  It is the strong recommendation of the English teachers that a student not take a class that will add undue stress to a Ninth Grade year already filled with change, challenge, and excitement.  We expect students and parents to make a decision that will offer the most stability and support, as well as academic rigor, for a first year high school student.

We strongly recommend reviewing the two self-evaluation forms below.

• Self-Evaluation Questionnaire
• Time Management Sheet

FULL YEAR - For Students in grade 10 (Required)

Prerequisites: English 121 (H) requires a B- or higher in English 111 (H) or teacher recommendation; English 122 (CP) requires completion of a Freshman English course.

Sophomore English continues to emphasize written expression with the expectation that students will reach a greater level of sophistication in their expository, critical, and narrative writing. Along with detailed attention to the writing process, students learn the skills involved in writing a documented essay and prepare for the English Language Arts portion of the MCAS test. Technology serves as a tool in this course to develop writing and presentation skills, and to explore thematic issues in the course readings. The literature component of the sophomore year features American works in all major genres, centered on the unifying theme of the Individual Identity versus Society.

Core texts are The Catcher in the Rye, The Great Gatsby, Song of Solomon, and excerpts from Walden; other works may include Ethan Frome, Summer, The Bean Trees, The Turn of the Screw, A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman,  The Crucible, The Kite Runner, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, A Gathering of Old Men, and other works of fiction and nonfiction.

PLACEMENT

Placement in Sophomore English for both current and incoming CCHS students is based on the following prerequisites: Sophomore Honors requires a B- or higher in Freshman Honors or teacher recommendation.  Sophomore CP requires completion of a Freshman English course

If a students is new to CCHS, the department also strongly recommends that he or she complete the following self-evaluation assessments:

• Self-Evaluation Questionnaire
• Time Management Sheet

FALL SEMESTER - For Students in Grade 11 - (Required)

Prerequisites:
English 141 (H) requires a B- or higher in English 121 (H) or teacher recommendation; English 142 (CP) requires completion of a Sophomore English course.

Junior English (CP & Honors): Junior English expands students’ ability to use written expression for their expository, critical, and narrative essays. Students read from a variety of genres using a critical lens to analyze literature in class discussions and for assignments outside of the classroom. Students participate in curriculum-centered activities that engage them in critical thinking, and technology serves as a tool in this course to forward projects, presentations, and writing assignments. The literature component of the junior year features all major genres, centered on Justice and Judgment. Among the texts are The Color Purple, Macbeth, The Scarlet Letter, Things Fall Apart, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and other works of fiction and nonfiction.

Twice Told Tales (CP & Honors): Twice-Told Tales endeavors to re-conceive, to reconsider, through history, psychology and literature, the human condition. Students will employ literature as a case study by using literature to analyze transcendent dilemmas within the human condition and specific obstacles due to cultural circumstances. The course integrates two teachers and forty-five students in the same classroom and takes place in two consecutive blocks. The class is co-taught by an English and Social Studies teacher and students receive a total of 5 credits: English (2.5) and Social Studies (2.5).

SPRING SEMESTER
For Students in Grade 11 - (Required)

In the spring semester, all juniors choose from two writing courses: Rhetoric and Advanced Language (Honors), and Writing Workshop (CP).

Rhetoric and Advanced Language (Honors) focuses on effective and persuasive writing and speaking; the students of Rhetoric learn the methods and patterns of clear organization, the function of detail, and the rhetorical quality of words and sentences.  Students learn to use grammar and punctuation as an element of style; they examine professional essays for the function of voice, and develop their own writing voice through imitation and creation.  Students also practice synthesizing critical information with documents-based essay writing.  Students engage in the art of public speaking through activities such as writing and giving speeches or through the basic forensics of formal debate.

WRITING WORKSHOP (CP) is a course designed to reinforce previously taught writing skills with moderate to significant teacher support.  The course, which meets in the Writing Lab, concentrates on the process and techniques of effective writing.  Units include exercises and writing assignments on diction, the audience, point of view, sentence strategy, grammar, paragraphing, and essay writing.  Students keep individual journals for daily writing exercises.  In addition to the primary focus of the course, writing units may include: interviewing, biography, letter writing, and speech writing.

PLACEMENT
Placement in Junior English for both current and incoming CCHS students is based on grades and teacher recommendation.

If a students is new to CCHS, the department also strongly recommends that he or she complete the following self-evaluation assessments:

• Self Evaluation Questionnaire
• Time Management Sheet

FALL SEMESTER - For Students in grade 12 - (Required)

Prerequisites:
English (H) requires a B- or higher in English 141 (H) or teacher recommendation; English (CP) requires completion of a Junior English course.

Senior English (CP & H): This course further expands students’ ability to use written expression for their expository, critical, and narrative essays. Students read from a variety of genres using a critical lens to forward analysis for class discussion and assignments outside of the classroom. Students participate in curriculum-centered activities that engage them in critical thinking, and technology serves as a tool in this course to forward projects, presentations, and writing assignments. The literature component of the senior year features all major genres.

PLACEMENT
Placement in Senior English for both current and incoming CCHS students is based on grades and teacher recommendation.

If a student is new to CCHS, the department also strongly recommends that he or she complete the following self-evaluation assessments:

• Self Evaluation Questionnaire
• Time Management Sheet

SPRING SEMESTER - For Students in grade 12 - (Required)

All second-semester courses for seniors are designed to challenge and engage students of every reading and writing ability; each course offers a range of reading and writing assignments that will prepare students for their post-secondary experiences. These courses each invite seniors to consider the questions and issues that will engage them in life-long learning. Students are inspired to stretch their critical thinking skills and powers of inquiry.

COURSES OFFERED:

• Creative Writing
• Visions of the Future
• World Literature
• Literature and Literacies in a Digital Age

Twice Told Tales CP (English #160) or Honors (English #161)

FALL SEMESTER For students in grade 11

Students may earn CP (English #160) or Honors (English #161) credit for the English portion of the course. The Social Studies portion of the course is unleveled.

Prerequisites: 10 credits in English and successful completion of World Cultures and U.S. History; students must also sign up for Social Studies Course #260

Like Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous book of short stories, which inspires the title of the course, Twice-Told Tales endeavors to re-conceive, to reconsider, through history, psychology and literature, the human condition. Students will employ literature as a case study by using literature to analyze transcendent dilemmas within the human condition and specific obstacles due to cultural circumstances. Students will also examine and excavate literary, historical, and psychological theory centered on the desire to reconcile the outside world with internal reality.  Texts include “Epic of Gilgamesh,” The Bacchae by Euripides, The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino, “The Ballad of Mulan,” Drown by Junot Díaz, "Ways of White Folks by Langston Hughes,” and "V for Vendetta" by Alan Moore.

The course integrates two teachers and forty-five students in the same classroom and takes place in two consecutive blocks. The course is an elective for juniors only. The class is co-taught by an English and Social Studies teacher and students receive a total of 5 credits: English (2.5) and Social Studies (2.5).

Evaluation will be based on preparation for class, written reports, unit tests, individual projects, and a semester exam.

Level Placement

The distinction between the Honors and College Preparatory sections is outlined in each of the course web pages; we also strongly encourage students to consult the two self-evaluation forms provided below.

• Self-Evaluation Questionnaire
• Time Management Sheet

Initial level placement in Freshman English is based on teacher recommendation; the eighth grade teacher carefully considers a student’s readiness in four areas: language, literature, writing, and work preparation.

Subsequent years’ placements are based on prerequisite grades and teacher recommendations.

Core and auxiliary texts for each course are specified below.  Where available, online sources for texts are listed in the left menu or by hovering over the “Course Texts” tab above on any page.

FRESHMAN ENGLISH

Core texts are centered around the “Discovery of the Self”: To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee), Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare), The Oedipus Trilogy (Sophocles), Poetry selections from The Seagull Reader.

Other texts may include I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Angelou), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (Haddon), Hiroshima (Hersey), Into Thin Air (Krakauer), A Night to Remember (Lord), Brighton Beach Memoirs (Simon), Kindred (Spencer), Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck), and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Stevenson).

SOPHOMORE ENGLISH

The literature component of the sophomore year features American works in all major genres, centered on “The Individual Identity versus Society.” Core texts for all students are The Catcher in the Rye (Salinger) and Selections from Walden (Thoreau). Additional core texts for the Honors students are The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) and Song of Solomon (Morrison).

Other texts may include The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Alexie), In the Time of the Butterflies (Alvarez), My Antonia (Cather), Ellen Foster (Gibbons), Six Degrees of Separation (Guare), The Kite Runner (Hosseini), The Bean Trees (Kingsolver), The Crucible (Miller), Death of a Salesman (Miller), Ethan Frome (Wharton), A Streetcar Named Desire (Williams), Fences (Wilson), and other short works of fiction and non-fiction.

JUNIOR ENGLISH

The fall semester literature component of the junior year features all major genres, centered on “Justice and Judgment.”  The core text is Things Fall Apart (Achebe).

Other works may include The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne), Their Eyes Were Watching God (Hurston), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Kesey), Macbeth (Shakespeare), Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare), Othello (Shakespeare), Huckleberry Finn (Twain),  Slaughterhouse-Five (Vonnegut), The Color Purple (Walker), and other works of fiction and non-fiction.

SENIOR ENGLISH

The fall semester literature component of the senior year features all major genres, centered on “The Ways to Tell/Read a Story.”  The core text is The Things They Carried (O’Brien).

Other texts may include: Northanger Abbey (Austen), The Stranger (Camus), Canterbury Tales (Chaucer), Crime and Punishment (Dostoyevsky), Silas Marner (Eliot), Madame Bovary (Flaubert), Lord of the Flies (Golding), The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Kundera), Interpreter of Maladies (Lahiri), Passing (Larsen), Beloved (Morrison), Drinking Coffee Elsewhere (Packer), Hamlet (Shakespeare), Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare), Fires in the Mirror (Smith), and Mrs. Dalloway (Woolf).

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