The English program emphasizes the development of skills in reading, writing, and oral expression. The program strives to foster a love of reading. Students write frequently in a variety of modes. Highlights include a mythology unit that culminates with a dramatic performance and a creative writing unit done in preparation for National Poetry Month in April.

The sixth grade curriculum utilizes an interdisciplinary approach, linking language arts and reading with geography and science. Students utilize individual white boards and markers for instruction in grammar and usage. They put this instruction to use in a wide range of writing assignments, from creative writing to informational writing. Writing exercises and assigned reading often link to what students are learning in geography and science; this allows students to integrate research skills learned in English class with work in other academic areas. Spelling and vocabulary units are also an important part of the sixth grade curriculum. In the first trimester, students enjoy creating crazy spelling stories and sharing them in class. Vocabulary units are focused on contextual clues, synonyms and antonyms, and analogies. In addition to assigned reading, students are also required to read at least one book per month independently. Students choose their own books from lists that include Maine Student Book Award books, books from specific genres, and books that support the geography study units.

Seventh grade English is an exploration of literature and composition. Students begin the year with discussions of study skills, and then move on to analyzing modes of literature, including works of short fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Early in the term, writing assignments encourage students to explore their own strengths as writers in a creative writing unit based on the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark. At mid-year students encounter their first play by Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew. Their reading and dramatization of scenes from the play is designed to enrich their understanding of Shakespeare’s world. Throughout the year, seventh graders have weekly lessons in vocabulary, with emphasis on understanding words in context, as well as lessons in grammar and usage. Weekly reading assignments are varied in length and in theme. Students are encouraged to choose outside reading books, and a short, silent reading period is included before each day’s class.

Composition is the focal point of the eighth grade English course. In the eighth grade, students begin to write longer expository essays, employing topics from their reading as well as from experience. Interdisciplinary work with the History Department is an important element of the course, and as the year progresses, students work on several writing assignments that correlate with their work in American history, using such books as Inherit the Wind and Across Five Aprils. In the spring, students also read Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible and study the Salem Witch Trials and the McCarthy trials of the 1950s. In conjunction with this, the class journeys to Salem, Massachusetts, to walk through the sites which they have studied during this unit. Throughout the year, eighth graders learn to argue important social and ethical issues in academic debate, which provides students with opportunities to synthesize ideas and to speak in larger groups. Eighth grade students also study Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

This course is an introduction to composition and literature. During the year, students study and respond to different literary genres, including the short story, drama, poetry, novels, and essays. Literature in 9th grade is read to inspire joy and wonder, to introduce students to new ideas, cultures and perspectives, and to help develop close reading skills. Students slip into the mind of an autistic child, Christopher Boone, as they read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and learn about determination and perseverance as they read Jeannette Walls’s memoir, The Glass Castle. Students follow Odysseus on his journey in Homer’s The Odyssey and meet immigrants in a collection of short stories featured in America Street. With every book, students question, reread, analyze, and discuss ideas. Class discussions reinforce comprehension and increasingly focus on analysis as the year progresses. Freshmen write often in 9th grade English. A freshman’s writing portfolio at the end of the year is bursting with strong and varied writing. Students may create their own newspaper based in the 1500’s as they read Romeo and Juliet. Or, they may write a series of journal entries from the point of view of a young, British boy as they read Lord of the Flies. Students may write news and feature articles, original short stories, poetry, both narrative and expository essays, or a research paper. Visitors stopping by a freshman English class may find students in a writing workshop – free writing in class or working as a class in a computer lab; engaged in a writing mini-lesson focusing on anything from style to grammar and mechanics; or conferring with a teacher or fellow writer in the editing process. In every class, freshman students are actively engaged in their learning. English I also emphasizes vocabulary, critical thinking and the development of research and study skills.
Required of all 9th grade students. 

Tenth grade English is a multi-genre literature and composition course designed to help students see literature in the context of its historical period. Much of the literature selected for each class is chosen as a companion to the historical periods studied in the sophomore history courses. Students are asked to consider what they read from both a literary and an historical perspective. Discussions touch on how literature reflects the values of specific cultures and how it can act as a tool to look critically at cultural practices and beliefs. Themes discussed include the tensions between the individual and society, assumptions about class and gender, and the relative value placed on rationality and imagination. The writing curriculum offers students exposure to a range of writing challenges: critical essays, poetry, satire, personal narrative, stylistic imitations, editorials, and research-based analysis. Students also work on their public speaking skills in class presentations and debate. Among the works students will read are Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, Alexandra Fuller’s Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Yann Martell’s Life of Pi, Susan Glaspell’s Trifles, and George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, Dai Sijie’s Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress and Garrison Keillor’s anthology Good Poems.
Required of all 10th grade students.

Since most juniors also take United States history, the readings in this course focus primarily on American literature, with students often examining the historical context of the assigned readings. Thus, while reading The Narrative of Frederick Douglass and Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, students may also examine primary sources that outline the conflicting arguments of slaveholders and abolitionists in the 19th century. During a unit on Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed, students are asked to envision themselves living in the minimum wage workplace, learning how to create a monthly budget and calculate the cost of living from a “real world” perspective. Students also have a chance to explore drama through Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire and Shakespeare’s Othello, both of which are primarily read aloud (and occasionally acted out) by students in class. Writing assignments throughout the year serve to reinforce students’ comprehension of the main texts, such as when they write an obituary for the title character of The Great Gatsby or reflect on their own “true” life stories in imitation of a chapter of Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried. Though many such assignments are creative in nature, increased emphasis is placed on the refinement of expository writing skills and on analysis of literature; students also study vocabulary and grammar throughout the year.
Required of all 11th grade students not taking AP Language and Composition.

Students in this course prepare for the challenging AP Language and Composition exam given in May. The course is the equivalent of an introductory college composition course, with a focus on expository, analytical, and argumentative writing. In the first trimester, students learn how to analyze an author’s use of rhetorical techniques, as well as how to write and think creatively about language. During one unit, for example, students study great speeches from throughout history, ranging from Pericles’ Peloponnesian War funeral oration to Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address to Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream,” and also have a chance to write and present speeches of their own. As the year progresses, students focus increasingly on how to craft a persuasive argument, supporting their opinions with primary and secondary source material as well as personal observations and experience. Students also spend some time studying the rhetoric of advertising during a unit that culminates in a group project in which students create an ad campaign for a product of their own invention. After identifying a potential audience for their product and planning out their methods of persuasion, students then film a TV ad, record a radio ad, and construct a print ad that attempt to successfully sell their product to their intended audience. Writing assignments in the course are frequent and often complex, and readings consist primarily of non-fiction essays, though some fiction, such The Things They Carried and Hamlet, is studied as well. Finally, a healthy knowledge of current events is encouraged in students and fostered throughout the year through regular discussions of topical issues that invite dialogue and debate. Since discussion of this sort is central to the course, students reticent about speaking and analyzing ideas should consider the regular English III course.
Departmental recommendation required.

This course prepares students for reading and writing at the college level. Through reading and writing in response to the texts, English IV challenges students to ask “Who am I, where is my place in the world, and whom do I hope to become?” In the first trimester, students will explore the summer reading books, John Hersey’s Hiroshima and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and read George Orwell’s 1984 and Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus, focusing on how the individual survives when faced with adversity in an often flawed society. In the second trimester, students will look at the roots of power in Shakespeare’s Richard III and continue to explore the theme of the individual and society while reading about modern India in Arvand Adiga’s White Tiger. Towards the end of the year, students will study the issue of personal identity and the family through memoir (Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior) and drama (Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman). In the third trimester, students will complete a biography/autobiography project, a kind of “senior thesis.” In the course of this project, students will do research and practice interview skills before taping an interview with a subject, typically an older family member, friend, or acquaintance who has been a powerful influence in the student’s life. The student will seek to clarify the subject’s impact on her/his life, reflecting on how another person’s stories may influence one’s one life. The resulting biography/autobiography demonstrates a student’s mastery of the research and composition skills needed for success in college.
Required of all 12th grade students not taking AP Literature and Composition.

Students in this course prepare for the AP Literature and Composition examination in May. The course is the equivalent of an introductory college course in the literary analysis of poetry, drama and prose fiction. Students will begin the year reviewing the summer reading via an essay-writing workshop. In their study of the novel, students will focus on close reading skills in preparation for writing the concise essays and answering the challenging multiple choice questions characteristic of the exam. The course will also expose them to a variety of voices from many cultures and traditions. Throughout the year students will read The Plot against America, Things Fall Apart, and Frankenstein. The study of drama will focus on Shakespeare’s The Tempest and two more contemporary plays, A Raisin in the Sun and Glengarry Glen Ross. Students also read a variety of short stories from Best American Short Stories of the Century, and refine their understanding of style through a series of prose imitations. Throughout the year, students read a wide variety of poems, from Shakespeare’s sonnets to more contemporary poets. Short exercises in recognizing key poetic elements such as tone, point of view, structure, and imagery prepare students to write formal poetry explications and perform well on the multiple choice section of the AP Exam. AP Literature is for the student who has already demonstrated a strong interest in and aptitude for reading and writing about literature. A willingness to be an active participant in class discussion is also important.
Departmental recommendation required.