English Department

The courses in the English department prepare students for college through a variety of literature selections including summer assignments, and composition development. Course work increases in intensity with continual emphasis on mature reading comprehension and literary interpretation and growth in composition skills from simple one paragraph essays to multi-paragraph essays and research papers.

ENGLISH I

English I provide students with an introduction to the various genres of literature: the short story, novel, poetry, and drama. Students write a minimum of one essay per quarter emphasizing sentence construction and paragraph format.

ENGLISH II

English II builds on the literary introduction provided in the freshman year. Continued literary selections enhance the students’ background and aid both comprehension and literary interpretation. Students refine their composition skills with an emphasis on exposition and argumentation in preparation for GEE 21 LEA.

ENGLISH III

English III is a study of American literature. It is unique in its approach to America authors exposing students to a variety of cultures that range from the beginnings of American literature up to and including contemporary authors with a range of African, Chinese, Vietnamese, Hispanic heritages. In addition to essays of longer length, students learn the process of writing a research paper.

ENGLISH IV

English IV is a study of the literature of Great Britain from the beginning oral tradition of Beowulf to contemporary English, Irish, Scottish, South African authors. Students begin the year writing a college application essay and continue with additional essays of a college preparatory nature. This course additionally contains a research project.

AP ENGLISH LITERATURE

The AP English Literature and Composition course is designed to engage students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through the close reading of selected texts, students can deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. As they read, students should consider a work's structure, style, and themes, as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone.

AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE

The AP English Language and Composition course is designed to help students become skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts and to become skilled writers who can compose for a variety of purposes. By their writing and reading in this course, students should become aware of the interactions among a writer's purposes, audience expectations, and subjects, as well as the way generic conventions and the resources of language contribute to effective writing.

PUBLICATIONS I

Publication I is an elective open to either juniors or seniors. Enrollment in this class requires participation on the school newspaper, The Roneagle Speaks. Students apprentice as reporters and learn the techniques of writing for a newspaper.

PUBLICATIONS II

Publications I is a prerequisite for Publications II. Students enrolled in this class become the editors and staff of The Roneagle Speaks.

SPEECH I

Speech I is a course devoted to public speaking and communications and is a course requirement for all freshmen. Students practice speaking techniques in a classroom setting.

SPEECH II

Speech II is a drama course responsible for two productions at school. Prerequisites for this course are Speech I and a recommendation from the Drama/Speech teacher. This course is an elective.

SPEECH III

Speech III students participate in debate and discussion. This course is an elective.

TELEVISION I

Because communication is essential to the understanding of the self and others, for the sharing cognitive and emotional experiences, for spontaneous self-expression, for the expression of creativity, and as a percept of civilization in a democratic society, the study of speech is essential for developing each student’s inherent abilities. The Speech Communication/Theatre Arts curriculum provides students with the opportunity to listen and communicate effectively, to develop clear persuasive skills, to analyze arguments and marshal them in an orderly sequence, to enhance the understanding of drama media, and to develop artistic expression.

This course introduces the student to a basic theoretical and practical knowledge of television production emphasizing an awareness of the process of production.

PREREQUISITES:

Mastery of all basic Grade Level Expectations in Reading, English, and Mathematics in 9th grade.

TELEVISION II

The student actively participates in a variety of on-camera performances. Technical and aesthetic aspects of television are studied, discussed, written, and produced