ENGLISH AND COMMUNICATIONS

Media Production

The purpose of this course is to provide a project-based visual arts program, guiding students to achieve the standards in the media arts and career technical training, by providing students with the technical instruction and practical experiences for business and entertainment. Students experience both the creative and technical aspects of media production. Instruction in media production includes software applications, set up and operation of camera, sound, and lighting equipment. Interdisciplinary experiences and arts activities lead to refining a personal aesthetic, and a heightened understanding of career opportunities in art and arts-related fields. Through hands-on, project based learning, students will build problem solving skills that will be valuable for years to come!

English 7
All grade 7 students will take this required course. No prerequisites. No units of credit. Only seat time is required. Students must pass this course before moving to the next level of English. The course will meet every day for 40 weeks. A local final exam will be given. All students must also take the State Examination in English Language Arts in January of their seventh grade year. This course has a balance of a variety of genres of literature and writing styles. Literature focuses on contemporary and historical fiction, as well as a variety of nonfiction, myths, fables, and poetry. Emphasis is given to reading comprehension, listening comprehension, and note taking skills. Literature varies, and may include: Streams to the River, River to the Sea, My Brother Sam Is Dead, The Pushcart War, Behind Rebel Lines, A Wrinkle in Time, The Shadow of a Bull, Snowbound, and student selected titles for study in Literature Groups. Course also includes daily response journals, weekly vocabulary, and a variety of writing assignments. Team teaching and collaboration with 7/8 Reading Teacher is provided.

English 8
All grade 8 students will take this required course. Prerequisite: successful completion of English 7. No units of credit. Only seat time is required. Students must pass this course before moving to the next level of English. The course will meet every day for 40 weeks. A local final exam will be given. All students must also take the State Examination in English Language Arts in January of their eighth grade year. A natural balance of reading and writing is provided. Informative, descriptive, expository, and narrative writing through content journals and essay writing. Strong emphasis on preparation for NYS ELA 8 exam. Thematic literature units that explore many difference genres, such as science fiction, historical fiction, realistic fiction, biography, poetry, etc. Novels may include The Giver, The Outsiders, No Promises In The Wind, etc., as well as novels of the students' choosing for varied projects and Literature Group study. Projects include varied presentations of reading responses and a multi-genre research assignment. Regular writing in content journals and weekly vocabulary study are also an integral part of the course. Team teaching and collaboration with 7/8 Reading Teacher is provided.

English 9
All grade 9 students will take this required course. One unit of credit granted. Students must pass this course before moving to the next level of English. The course will meet every day for 40 weeks. A local final exam will be given. Reinforces and adds to the basic skills taught in English 7 and 8 classes. Emphasis is given to writing and responding to multicultural literature. Literature includes Of Mice and Men, The Odyssey, The Hobbit, Animal Farm, To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet, various myths and poetry. Course includes weekly essay writing and many group driven projects.

English 10
All grade 10 students will take this required course. Prerequisite: successful completion of English 9. One unit of credit granted. Students must pass this course before moving to the next level of English. The course will meet every day for 40 weeks. A local final exam will be given. Reinforces and adds to all basic skills taught in English 7, 8 and 9. Emphasis on reading and writing tasks that will prepare students for the English 11 Regents. Students read and analyze several texts from New York's 10th grade ELA modules. It involves a poetry unit including "The Passionate Shepard to His Love" along with other related poems. We read excerpts from Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club" and B. G. Bissinger's "Friday Night Lights." There is also an inquiry research unit where students read excerpts from "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" and develop argumentative research papers on related topics. We conclude the year with Shakespeare's Macbeth, supplemented with Machiavelli's "The Prince" and E. B. White's "Death of a Pig."

English 11 R
All grade 11 students will take this required course. Prerequisite: successful completion of English 10. One unit of credit granted. Students must pass this course before moving to the next level of English. The course will meet every day for 40 weeks. A local final exam will be given. In addition, the students must take the New York State English Regents. All students must pass this exam (65 or higher) as a graduation requirement. In addition to passing the Regents exam, the student must also pass the course (65 or higher) in order to be eligible for graduation. This course reinforces and adds to the skills taught in 9th and 10th grade English. The focus of the course work in this class is American Literature. The material begins with Puritan literature and finishes up with more contemporary American Literature. Some works covered are The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, As I Lay Dying, Fallen Angels, A Streetcar Name Desire. Along with novels and short stories, the course offers a poetry unit examining American poets throughout history. This course ends with taking the NYS English Regents exam. There is extensive student preparation throughout the school year focusing on strategies that will help students understand the exam question, as well as be successful on the test. Weekly vocabulary quizzes.

English 12 "College Now" (English 111: College Writing)
An elective course for seniors. Prerequisite: successful completion of English 11. Admission into this course requires teacher approval. One-half unit of credit is granted. This course is usually offered during the fall semesters. The course will meet every day for 20 weeks. A local final exam will be given. Students can also earn college credits (please see your counselor for details). College Now English is a concurrent enrollment program through Herkimer County Community College. Students in this class are officially enrolled as part-time students at HCCC, with a reduced tuition for the course, and will receive college credit for the class as long as the student receives a grade of C or better. These credits are transferable to almost every college the students are looking at attending. This course is designed as an intensive writing course that covers the following stages of writing: brainstorming and discussion, research, organization, writing, revising and editing. Students produce at least 10 pages of formal prose intended for a critical reader as well as at least 15 pages of informal work such as a personal journal. Students work in rhetorical forms and write a research paper. (There is a fee for this course as it is part of our concurrent enrollment College Now program through HCCC).


English 12 "College Now" (English 112: Introduction to Literature)
An elective course for seniors. Prerequisite: successful completion of English 11. Admission into this course requires teacher approval. One-half unit of credit is granted. This course is usually offered during the spring semesters. The course will meet every day for 20 weeks. A local final exam will be given. Students can also earn college credits (please see your counselor for details). College Now English is a concurrent enrollment program through Herkimer County Community College. Students in this class are officially enrolled as part-time students at HCCC, with a reduced tuition for the course, and will receive college credit for the class as long as the student receives a grade of C or better. These credits are transferable to almost every college the students are looking at attending. This course is designed as an introduction to literary genres leading to a greater appreciation of fiction, poetry and drama. This course will offer an overview of writing throughout history leading up to contemporary and modern authors. This is a reading intensive class, concentrating on class discussion of the readings and written analysis of the literature covered. Texts covered: Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Hamlet, Crime and Punishment, Native Son, Song of Solomon, A Raisin in the Sun, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Doctor Faustus, The Stranger, Candide, Metaphysical, Romantic, Victorian and Contemporary Poetry. (There is a fee for this course as it is part of our concurrent enrollment College Now program through HCCC).

English 12/College Prep
All students not taking College Now English as seniors, must take this course. Prerequisite: successful completion of English 11. One unit of credit is granted. A student must pass this course in order to graduate. The course will meet every day for 40 weeks. A local final exam will be given. This course is a combination of literature and writing. In this course students will read novels, short stories and poetry, as well as criticism on these pieces of literature. Students will also write frequently in an attempt to better their writing skills, preparing them for college writing assignments. Instruction in the writing process, focusing on brainstorming, research and revising, will be provided. Formal written work will include critical commentary and analysis of texts in comparison to other criticisms, as well as a research assignment. Some of the readings include One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Stranger,, Maus I, Maus II, Into Thin Air, Into The Wild, Macbeth, The Ballad of the Sad Café.

Literacy Lab 7-8

Required for all 7th and 8th grade students. Targeted instruction is given based on student's level of achievement and ability. No units of credit granted. No Prerequisites. The course will provide individualized instruction on a one-to-one or small group basis.Recommended grade level: all 7th and 8th grade students in need of this service. No final exam given. This program is a whole literacy experience including four components of reading, writing, listening and speaking. A variety of literature, with a focus on nonfiction, is used to teach strategies to improve reading comprehension, increase word knowledge and develop critical thinking skills. Writing as a process is stressed with many opportunities to respond to reading, relate opinions and make personal connections. Collaborative group work and discussion provides experiences to enhance reading and writing. Literacy Lab 7-8 provides practice for the specific format of the State ELA exam given each year.

Literacy Lab 9-12
Required for all students in grades 9-11 who have yet to achieve mastery levels in English Language Arts. Students in grade 12 who have yet to pass the NYS Regents Exam in English are also required to take the lab. Labs are targeted instruction delivered based on students demonstrated levels of achievement. No units of credit granted. No prerequisites. The course will provide individualized instruction on a one-to-one or small group basis. Recommended grade level: all 9th thru 12th grade students in striving for mastery levels on state exams. No final exam given. This individualized program will teach students a wide range of strategies to improve reading comprehension, increase word knowledge and develop critical thinking skills. Priority will be given to students who need help in preparing for the Comprehensive English Regents. In addition to reading, this instruction will also focus on writing as a process. Strengthening writing skills and writing a coherent well-thought-out essay will be a priority.

Battle of the Books (NO PLANS TO OFFER FOR 2019-20)
Elective offered to grades 9,10 and 11. Battle of the Books is an elective course for avid readers who have a competitive streak. Students will read a variety of fifteen current fiction and nonfiction books, as well as one classic text. The goal is to read as many of the assigned books as possible before March, when a local competition is held against neighboring district teams who have read the same books. In class, students prepare for “battle” by intensive reading, discussion, and studying of key elements in each text, as well as memorizing titles and author pronunciations. Students will also learn how to identify significant quotes and themes in literature. Following the battles in March, students will wrap up the year by digging further into a favorite new author’s work and mimicking writing styles in their own creative story-writing.

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