English Instruction at Santa Catalina School

In the English department, we direct our curriculum toward developing the students' use of language as a tool for thought, for we hope ultimately to make them independent and productive thinkers. In practice, the English curriculum has two basic elements - literature and writing - since they are the best ways to stimulate and measure the students' progress in learning to think.

It is our goal in Freshman year to help each girl reach a minimum level of competence in the uses of language for communication-that is, in grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing - and, we hope, to begin developing her skills in using language as a tool of thought.

Sophomore year includes instruction and practice in the process of writing, including personal, analytical, persuasive, and report writing. The course also includes a detailed discussion of techniques for writing about literature and an introduction to American literature.

Junior year begins to stress the development of the students' thinking in abstract and complex areas.

Senior year, in many respects, is a time of preparing for the challenges and demands of college. As much as possible, classes are run on a college level. Teachers expect more initiative and independence of Seniors. We study the literature of ideas, and we discuss philosophical as well as ethical and aesthetic issues.

Curriculum

Open All Close All

Creative Writing

Creative Writing will focus on trying several exercises to generate fresh material and working in several genres to expand students' experiences in writing. Units will focus on poetry, the short story, drama, and an extended project of the student's choice. We will also study writing by successful authors (both published and unpublished) and work with the creative writing texts of Natalie Goldberg and Anne Lamott. Lastly, students will read and respond to the work of other students in the class with and eye toward improving their editing skills and helping each other grow as writers. Course Outcomes: Upon completion of this course students will be able to: 1. write in a variety of poetic forms including the sonnet, the ode, the villanelle, the sestina, and the haiku; 2. compose original observations and descriptions in poetic language; 3. create and develop conflict and resolution in short narrative; 4. create and develop original characters; 5. write effective dramatic writing and prepare it for performance; 6. read/ perform their written work with confidence; 7. refine and edit their creative writing; 8. sustain long term writing projects; 9. read and respond to the work of their peers using constructive language.

Dramatic Literature

This course surveys the history of drama from the ancient Greek amphitheater to the contemporary stage and film. We begin by reading the tragedies and comedies of the golden age of Athens and then trace the development of dramatic literature through the medieval morality and mystery plays to the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries and the 17th/18th Century comedy of manners. From the 19th and early 20th Centuries, we will read such writers as Ibsen, Chekhov, Shaw, and Pirandello before beginning our exploration of modern developments in drama, including the giants of American drama, Multicultural and Feminist theater, the post-modern theater-of-the-absurd, and AIDS drama. The course will include a performance component, to be developed by the students in consultation with the instructor, and we will end the year with a consideration of film as an extension of "dramatic literature." As throughout our English curriculum, this course seeks to develop students' skills in reading, performance, critical thinking, composition, and both written and oral interpretation of literature.

English 1

Freshman English provides an introduction to literature and composition. The course introduces the four basic genres of literature: poetry, drama, fiction (both short stories and novels), and nonfiction. It also lays a foundation for understanding the development of the Western tradition in literature, beginning with the Greeks-notably Sophoclean tragedy-and continuing through the Renaissance, particularly Shakespeare, and the Victorian period to the contemporary. It delves deeply into the authors' aesthetics and techniques as well as theme and character analysis. The literature provides topics as well as models for composition. The course develops the essay-both analytical and personal-with emphasis on thesis and proof, structure and organization, and the elements of style. We begin with the essay form and work on generating and defending theses, on refining style, and on developing a personal voice in writing.

English 2

Sophomore English, in both the standard and the honors sections, provides an introduction to American literature including works of fiction, drama, and poetry. The course also aims to refine the student's ability to organize her writing effectively, to read and think critically, and to express her ideas deliberately. Designed as a writing through literature course, students will use American literature as a springboard to writing, responding to text with both analytical and expository essays. Students will respond to the text with class discussion and with writing. While gaining insight into each author's intention and contribution to American literature is important to success, the course puts equal focus on the student's ability to communicate clearly and logically as they experiment in developing their own ideas. Students will also be expected to take a leading role in class discussions. We will enjoy occasional sessions of peer review, an opportunity for students to respond directly to each other's writing. This will allow participants to appreciate how a classmate pursues a similar task and offer students the opportunity to directly assist one another at this sometimes challenging business of becoming better writers.

English 2 Honors

Sophomore English, in both the standard and the honors sections, provides an introduction to American literature including works of fiction, drama, and poetry. The course also aims to refine the student's ability to organize her writing effectively, to read and think critically, and to express her ideas deliberately. Designed as a writing through literature course, students will use American literature as a springboard to writing, responding to text with both analytical and expository essays. Students will respond to the text with class discussion and with writing. While gaining insight into each author's intention and contribution to American literature is important to success, the course puts equal focus on the student's ability to communicate clearly and logically as they experiment in developing their own ideas. Students will also be expected to take a leading role in class discussions. We will enjoy occasional sessions of peer review, an opportunity for students to respond directly to each other's writing. This will allow participants to appreciate how a classmate pursues a similar task and offer students the opportunity to directly assist one another at this sometimes challenging business of becoming better writers.

English 3

This course provides a survey of some of the most important and engaging works in the tradition of English Literature. Including works of fiction, drama, autobiography, and poetry, the course introduces students to specific authors and their texts--and also to the historical and cultural contexts in which these texts were produced. The course seeks to develop students' skills in reading, performance, critical thinking, composition, and both written and oral interpretation of literature.

English 4: World Literature

The purpose of this course is to expose the students to a broad range of literature written in languages other than English and to thus expose them to various cultures from around the world. Special stress has been placed on certain classic works of literature that have had strong influence on our culture in its multiplex form and on our contemporary literature. Several papers will be written in this course, but the emphasis will be on reading and understanding literature rather than on composition. The primary theme of this course will be an examination of what each culture values in human endeavor, and, where applicable, what each culture expects from its heroes or heroines.

English Language and Composition Advanced Placement

This course has a dual identity. Its primary identity is as the junior honors English class, and as such it fits into the general English curriculum and all of its goals, being primarily literature centered. Works of literature are read, discussed, and written about. The secondary purpose of the course is to prepare the students for the AP English Language and Composition exam, which consists of: 1. a multiple choice section in which prose passages are read critically and closely and questions are asked to determine the student's ability to understand the meaning and the techniques of the author and to make correct inferences from the reading and 2. an essay section in which the student writes two essays analyzing the style of given passages and a third essay making a persuasive argument.