Description: Our Grade 6 English Language Arts course supports you as a reader, writer, thinker, speaker, and listener. This course takes an integrated approach to language arts; giving you opportunities and skills to analyze poetry, memoir, essay, narrative, newspaper writing, and visuals. Our Grade 6 English Language Arts course asks you to consider why your voice matters and how you can use your stories and passions to make a positive difference in the world. Throughout the course, you will make connections between literature, course themes, and your own lived experiences. You will write creative and expository works, practice research skills, and think critically about text, ideas, and a variety of issues.

Prerequisites: None

Description: Our Grade 6 English Language Arts course supports you as a reader, writer, thinker, speaker, and listener. This course takes an integrated approach to language arts; giving you opportunities and skills to analyze poetry, memoir, essay, narrative, newspaper writing, and visuals. Our Grade 6 English Language Arts course asks you to consider why your voice matters and how you can use your stories and passions to make a positive difference in the world. Throughout the course, you will make connections between literature, course themes, and your own lived experiences. You will write creative and expository works, practice research skills, and think critically about text, ideas, and a variety of issues.

Prerequisites: None

Description: Our Grade 7 Language Arts course supports you as you develop as a reader, writer, thinker, speaker, and listener. This course takes an integrated approach to genre studies, giving you opportunities and skills to analyze narratives, poetry, essay, nonfiction writing, and visuals. In the second semester, you also will study a novel. Our Grade 7 Language Arts course asks how we can use hope to overcome challenges, and how we can learn from each other to make a positive difference in our communities. You will use active reading strategies to understand, enjoy, and respond to literature; develop creative and critical thinking skills; experiment with multimedia and art activities; and use the writing process to write creative and analytical pieces.

Prerequisites: None

Description: Our Grade 7 Language Arts course supports you as you develop as a reader, writer, thinker, speaker, and listener. This course takes an integrated approach to genre studies, giving you opportunities and skills to analyze narratives, poetry, essay, nonfiction writing, and visuals. In the second semester, you also will study a novel. Our Grade 7 Language Arts course asks how we can use hope to overcome challenges, and how we can learn from each other to make a positive difference in our communities. You will use active reading strategies to understand, enjoy, and respond to literature; develop creative and critical thinking skills; experiment with multimedia and art activities; and use the writing process to write creative and analytical pieces.

Prerequisites: None

Description: Our Grade 8 Language Arts course supports you as you develop as a reader, writer, thinker, speaker, and listener. This course takes a thematic approach to genre studies, giving you opportunities and skills to analyze narratives, poetry, essay, nonfiction writing, and visuals. In the second semester, you also will study a novel. Our Grade 8 Language Arts course asks how we can honor our identity as we become leaders in our communities. You will use close reading strategies to understand, enjoy, and respond to literature; develop creative and critical thinking skills; experiment with multimedia and art activities; and use the writing process to write creative and analytical pieces.

Prerequisites: None

Description: Our Grade 8 Language Arts course supports you as you develop as a reader, writer, thinker, speaker, and listener. This course takes a thematic approach to genre studies, giving you opportunities and skills to analyze narratives, poetry, essay, nonfiction writing, and visuals. In the second semester, you also will study a novel. Our Grade 8 Language Arts course asks how we can honor our identity as we become leaders in our communities. You will use close reading strategies to understand, enjoy, and respond to literature; develop creative and critical thinking skills; experiment with multimedia and art activities; and use the writing process to write creative and analytical pieces.

Prerequisites: None

Description: Storytelling is a strong human urge. We seem to feel compelled to create, with words, worlds and situations and characters. This ability, this compulsion to create?language?is what separates us from the other creatures of the earth. Imaginative writing is a rewarding, valuable activity?one that you can enjoy for a lifetime, not just during your school years. The joy of creation enhances our daily lives, helping us to grow and define ourselves. Recent studies indicate that the more you write, the better you write. This course in short story writing, therefore, should help you not only in this class, but in all your classes that require writing. Clear communication skills are in great demand in our world; our world runs on words. And certainly, imaginative, creative people are always in demand. The ability to create and to imagine new solutions or unique ways of seeing and solving problems is a valuable asset. This course is designed to improve your creative writing skills by giving you lots of writing practice. There are three short stories due in this course as well as several practice writing assignments.

Prerequisites: None; Grade level recommendation: 10 or above

Description: Many of the lessons in this course will help you to improve the skills you already have, even those you are unaware of, and connect them to real-world situations. While this course is graded and an integral part of your academic career, our intention is to provide you with the power to meet your goals after graduation by implementing several useful techniques, resources, and processes introduced in the lessons. More than just another course on the path toward graduation, CTSS provides you with tools to achieve lifetime success.

Prerequisites: None; Grade level recommendation: 9 or above

Description: Welcome to English 10A! This 10th grade English course introduces students to core literature skills, readying them for college and career. This course is rich in feedback, allowing you multiple opportunities to develop mastery. The course is first and foremost founded on the readings which range from short stories and poetry to informational articles and essays. You are guided through these readings through activities that allow you to practice by sharing your initial thoughts and ideas on a reading, receive immediate feedback to confirm what you know and learn from mistakes, preparing you as well as possible for quizzes and exams. There will be regular work on vocabulary and grammar as well as writing assignments or presentations for each lesson. Our hope is that you find the work enjoyable, easy to manage, that you feel supported, and that you are able to learn and grow!

Prerequisites: English 9A & 9B or full grade 9 equivalent

Description: Welcome to English 10B! This 10th grade English course builds on the skills introduced in English 9A, 9B, and 10A. The course is first and foremost founded on the readings which range from short stories and poetry to informational articles and essays. You are guided through these readings through activities that allow you to practice by sharing your initial thoughts and ideas on a reading, receive immediate feedback to confirm what you know and learn from mistakes, preparing you as well as possible for quizzes and exams. There will be regular work on vocabulary and grammar as well as writing assignments or presentations for each lesson. Our hope is that you find the work enjoyable, easy to manage, that you feel supported, and that you are able to learn and grow!

Prerequisites: English 10A or grade 10 first semester equivalent

Description: 11th grade English builds on everything you've learned in the past about reading and interpreting literature as well as language and writing.  In 11th grade, there is a major focus on American Literature.  In this first half of the course, we will follow the timeline from Native American literature all the way up to the start of the Civil War.  We will spend a lot of time on active reading strategies for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and historical documents.  In the writing department, you will get regular opportunities to respond to readings and writing assignments will focus on personal connections to the readings.

Prerequisites: English 10A & 10B or full grade 10 equivalent

Description: 11th grade English B continues our look at American Literature starting with just after the Civil War, working through movements on Regionalism, Realism, Modernism, all the way through to contemporary literature. We will also spend considerable time reading "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller in the second half of the course. Throughout the course, you will strengthen your skills in reading poetry, nonfiction, and short fiction, with work on literary skills, vocabulary, and grammar with multiple opportunities to write in response to what you are reading.

Prerequisites: English 11A or grade 11 first semester equivalent

Description: 12th grade English builds on everything you've learned in the past about reading and interpreting literature as well as language and writing. In 12th grade, there is a major focus on British Literature. In this first half of the course, we will follow the timeline from Anglo-Saxon literature with "Beowulf" all the way up to Shakespeare's "Macbeth." We will spend a lot of time on active reading strategies for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and historical documents. In the writing department, you will get regular opportunities to respond to readings and writing assignments will focus on analysis of the readings.

Prerequisites: English 11A & 11B or full grade 11 credit equivalent

Description: 12th grade English builds on everything you've learned in the past about reading and interpreting literature as well as language and writing. In 12th grade, there is a major focus on British Literature. As the culmination of our high school language arts sequence, English 12B will give you one more opportunity to hone your skills as a reader, writer, thinker, speaker, and listener. Through the lens of British literature, you will explore the common themes that unite us throughout history. We will spend a lot of time on active reading strategies for fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and historical documents. In the writing department, you will get regular opportunities to respond to readings and writing assignments will focus on analyzing the readings. As you do, you will consider why your voice matters and how you can use their stories and passions to make a positive difference in the world.

Prerequisites: English 12A or grade 12 first semester equivalent

Description: Welcome to English 9A! This 9th grade English course introduces you to core literature skills to prepare you for college and career. This course is rich in feedback, allowing you multiple opportunities to develop mastery. The course is first and foremost founded on the readings which range from short stories and poetry to informational articles and essays. You are guided through these readings through activities that allow you to practice by sharing your initial thoughts and ideas on reading, receive timely feedback to confirm what you know, and learn from mistakes, preparing you as well as possible for quizzes and exams. There will be regular work on vocabulary and grammar as well as writing assignments or presentations for each lesson. Our hope is that you find the work enjoyable, easy to manage, that you feel supported, and that you are able to learn and grow! Here are the main course objectives: be able to read, interpret, and analyze a variety of texts be able to recognize, understand, and interpret the meaning of literary devices such as figurative language, story and poem structure, author's purpose, and structures of different types of writing be able to respond to literature in writing that is well organized with an introduction, body with supporting details, and conclusion

Prerequisites: None

Description: Welcome to English 9B! This 9th grade English course introduces students to core literature skills, readying them for college and career. This course is rich in feedback, allowing you multiple opportunities to develop mastery. The course is first and foremost founded on the readings which range from short stories and poetry to informational articles and essays. You are guided through these readings through activities that allow you to practice by sharing your initial thoughts and ideas on reading, receive immediate feedback to confirm what you know, and learn from mistakes, preparing you as well as possible for quizzes and exams. There will be regular work on vocabulary and grammar as well as writing assignments or presentations for each lesson. Our hope is that you find the work enjoyable, easy to manage, that you feel supported, and that you are able to learn and grow! Here are the main course objectives: be able to read, interpret, and analyze a variety of texts be able to recognize, understand, and interpret the meaning of literary devices such as figurative language, story and poem structure, author's purpose, and structures of different types of writing be able to respond to literature in writing that is well organized with an introduction, body with supporting details, and conclusion

Prerequisites: None

Description: In this course, you will learn research skills using the library and online resources. We will practice different search strategies and techniques to evaluate information so that you can use information resources as genuine learning tools and become successful students and researchers.

Prerequisites: None; Grade level recommendation: 9 or above

Description: Speech 1 is a performance-based course that introduces students to the tools and skills of successful communication. Through engagement and practice, Speech 1 will guide students as they express their thoughts and feelings effectively for a public speaking environment. Students will create and utilize skills in written, verbal and nonverbal communication with intentionality. Speech 1 provides an introductory experience into the art and science of clear communication, encouraging and empowering students to communicate with various audiences in different situations. Students will practice and develop techniques to create and deliver informative, persuasive and entertaining speeches and to communicate their ideas in our global conversation.

Prerequisites: None