Students will be placed in this course according to placement test scores, reading diagnostic results and/or teacher recommendation. This course is designed to support the strategic reader through learning strategies for identifying text structure, main ideas and important details. The text strategies can be generalized to all content areas. 

English I Pre-AP (Grade 9)

This is an enriched, enhanced English I curriculum with additional literature that can include, but are not limited to Greek and Latin classics, including canonical works of English and world literature.  Students of this course will receive additional support in textual analysis and deconstruction, and in class essay writing.

English II (Grade 10)

Literature in this course focuses on selections from world literature, classic novels, short stories, poetry and non-fiction. There is special emphasis on development and support of ideas in writing, multi-paragraph essays, research skills, individual speeches, sentence style and structure.

English II Strategic (Grade 10)

Students will be placed in this course according to placement test scores, reading diagnostic results and/or teacher recommendation. This course is designed to support the strategic reader through learning strategies for writing sentences and nine different types of paragraphs.

English II Pre-AP (Grade 10)

This is an enriched, enhanced English II curriculum with additional literature selections that can include, but are not limited to Shakespearean drama including canonical works of English, American, and world literature.  Students of this course will receive additional support in textual analysis and deconstruction, and in class essay writing.

English III (Grade 11)

Literature selections focus on classics of American literature, short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. There is a special emphasis on writing skills applied to literary analysis, research skills, and college entrance tests.

English III Strategic (Grade 11)

Students will be placed in this course according to CAHSEE (California High School Exit Exam) scores, reading diagnostic results and/or teacher recommendation. This course is a skills-based course designed to provide for students who have not successfully completed the CAHSEE.

AP English Language and Composition (Grade 11)

This course provides advanced essay writing skills for college-bound students and prepares for the Advanced Placement exam. Students will learn many of the rhetorical strategies employed by professional and critically acclaimed writers. Students will incorporate these strategies into their own writing. Students critically analyze texts and express their views in both written and oral forms. (Note: AP course carries extra grade point for grade C or better and completion of the College Board end-of-course AP exam.)

English IV (Grade 12)

English IV continues to develop advanced composition, reading, listening, speaking, vocabulary, critical thinking, research, and career development skills.  English IV students are immersed in curriculum generated by the California State University system entitled Expository Reading and Writing whose goal is to bridge the achievement gap between graduating seniors and college freshmen in terms of analysis of non-fiction texts.

English IV Strategic (Grade 12)

Students will be placed in this course according to CAHSEE (California High School Exit Exam) scores, rading diagnostic results and/or teacher recommendation. This course is a skills-based course designed to provide support for students who have not successfully completed the CAHSEE with an emphasis on strategies to help the challenged reader.

English IV -- Film and Literature (Grade 12)

This is an enriched course whereby students will read and analyze English, American, and comparative literature including drama.  In addition, students will reinforce literature study by completing comparative research based on film adaptations of classic literature.

AP Literature and Composition (Grade 12)

Advanced Placement English Literture and Composition presents a challenging approach to the careful study of literature and the study and practice of essay writing. Literature selections will focus on periods and/or genres dating from the Elizabethan to Modern literature. Selections include but are not limited to the following: Shakespeare's Hamlet, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, and Kate Chopin's The Awakening.