Throughout the semester, students will study graphic narrative: the combination of images and text to convey meaning. This storytelling medium is explored for its cultural significance; the influence of digital technology on the design, distribution and consumption of graphic novels and the thematic links among the primary texts will speak to issues of cultural memory, nostalgia, and identity. 

Students in Honors English create Body Biographies of Henry V characters -- using Shakespeare’s language and symbols to identify the most distinctive and telling traits of a single character!

Sports Literature explores the integral role sports have in our culture; often leading the way for change. The culminating project in this course is the creation of a piece of sports literature, which the students deliver live in class at the end of the semester. Projects include brief plays and event sports poems in the style of Casey at the Bat.

The Science Fiction course is filled with interesting and entertaining literature! The class introduces students to new concepts and engenders serious consideration of the future; issues they are likely to face, both personally and in society in years to come.

Sophomore American Literature students make time capsules inspired by their reading of the Thornton Wilder play, Our Town. A theme of the play is that even the smallest things matter and that every day is “important enough.” Each student contributes one item that represents who they are and what is important to them at this time in their lives. 

In celebration of Black History Month, students in freshmen English were tasked with writing letters to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We took excerpts from those letters and created one piece that represents the project.

A few of our students were happy to share their poetry collections with you!

• Close to You by Nicole Plavec
• Dreams Among Nightmares by Amy Ogle
• Efflorescence by Emma Lesyk
• You Can Flourish or Perish by Katelyn Staron

Here are 2 outstanding videos from our AP Language & Composition students for their final project.  Both of the videos are about A Tale of Two Cities which is the summer reading novel for the rising AP students next year.

Rather than a typical slideshow presentation, students were tasked with giving a presentation that gives the class a demonstration about one of the slices of 19th-century culture/history served in the book.

This course offers fundamentals in grammar and writing that complements and is offered in conjunction with Freshmen English 106 CP2. Designed for students who need  strengthening in grammar, vocabulary and study skills, the class also focuses on in-class reading assignments and writing prompts. Students enrolled in this course do not take a world language in their freshmen year.

This literature, project, and activity-based course introduces students to the rich complexity of World Literature and
varied literary genres such as poetry, novels, drama, the epic and the short story, focusing on the basics in reading,
oral, and written communication. Novels include, but are not limited to canonical texts, such as Animal Farm, and
more contemporary texts, such as The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. Students study grammar and vocabulary and apply this knowledge in developing skills in process analysis, compare and contrast, and descriptive essays, as well as oral presentations.

Sophomore English primarily explores, but is not limited to the unique heritage of American Literature. This course takes the student on a journey through the literary genres and stylistic movements from the 1600’s to present day that make up the rich and varied American literary canon, from The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass to modern texts, including The Secret Life of Bees. Through an examination of major writers, students continue to develop reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, literary interpretation and critical thinking skills. Students continue to develop their writing skills with narrative essays, precis, definition, and literary analysis essays, as well as oral presentations.

This course offers an introduction to the major literary movements and writers of Great Britain beginning in
the Anglo-Saxon Period followed by Medieval, Renaissance, Elizabethan, Restoration and Modern 20th Century eras. Through an examination of major British writers, students continue to develop reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, literary interpretation and critical thinking skills. Students are expected to apply this knowledge in analytical, expository, creative, division, classification, synthesis, and research writing as well as in oral presentations.

This course will include the reading, discussion, and research of Gothic Literature; primarily that of 19th-century
American and Romantic and Victorian era British authors. It will include conventions of the genre, and examinations of the social and historical issues writers used dark and mysterious stories to expose and critique. Authors will include Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edith Wharton, Robert Browning, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Mary Shelley. Analyses will focus on issues of race, gender, class, and religion, and will examine themes such as imagination, marginalization, and social justice.

This course will include the reading, discussion, and research of Dystopian Literature, including the work of George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Margaret Atwood and others. Students will explore the social and political choices individuals and societies make that create nightmarish scenarios and examine the ways fictional and real societies dehumanize people. It will include small and large group discussion, analysis and synthesis, formal literary writing, and oral presentations.

This course will include the reading, discussion, and research, primarily of the work of William Shakespeare and various other poets. Students will become familiar with several major plays and investigate their historical significance, as well as their continued relevance and thematic universality. The poets will include, but will not be limited to Shakespeare. Students will explore the poem as a form of art, and become familiar with various forms of poetry from different periods. Students will learn various methods of reading poetry and the analysis of poets and
poems.

In Graphic Novel, students will study graphic narrative: the combination of images and text to convey meaning.
This storytelling medium will be explored for its cultural significance; the influence of digital technology on the
design, distribution and consumption of graphic novels and the thematic links among the primary texts will speak
to issues of cultural memory, nostalgia, and identity. The second semester Creative Writing course teaches students
the elements of creative writing, including short story, poetry, expository essay, and character study through weekly
writing assignments, peer editing, and story conferencing.

Historically, women have been marginalized in terms of human and political rights. This course begins with a
consideration of the historical events for this marginalization and the literature and art of women in response to it.
This course introduces students to female authors of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and critical theory from around the world. The second half of this course provides an introduction to the academic study of the multicultural genre through poetry, fiction, non-fiction, plays and music to gain an understanding of the historical and social development of writers of different ethnic, cultural, and racial backgrounds.

This course offers a broad introduction to the study of Irish literature, history and culture. Students will gain a grounding in: Irish storytelling since the early Christian period, including through music and song, the history of the conquest of Ireland and Irish independence movements, the role of the Irish language in culture, the famine and its social and political aftermath, the history of religious difference, the relationship between Britain and Ireland, the work of major literary figures such as Swift, Joyce, Yeats, Beckett and Heaney, contemporary Ireland and the Irish economy. Film and Literature is a comparative study of films and the literary sources upon which they are based. Special attention is given to the practical and theoretical problems of adapting literature to film and the basic differences between the two. The course explores how character development, plot, narrative, symbols, and language are translated from literary texts to film, and considers the limitations of film adaptation. Students read, analyze, and respond critically to literature and films in class discussions, examinations, and essays. Standards for English/Language Arts, is a study of how literature is adapted for film or media.

This course will prepare students to conduct themselves in a professional setting, including college, internships, and job interviews. Students will research, discuss and practice professional writing, speaking, presenting, and professional decorum. Areas of concentration include professional writing skills, including all forms of professional written material, both print and electronic. Students will practice their speaking, presenting and interview skills through research, study and practical application. Writing assignments will include how to write a resume, cover letter, memo, email, thank you letter, persuasive letter, mission statement and business proposal.

The objective of this course is to allow students to investigate the issue of censorship in schools from multiple perspectives. In the process, students will investigate the reasons why various works of literature have been banned and why there are hundreds of attempts every year to also ban lessons or educational materials from classrooms, school libraries, and districts across the United States. Students will learn to argue in defense of and against the varied works to be studied within the course. These investigations will require historical, social, and psychological understanding on the part of the students, so that they may understand the psyche of literary censorship.

The first half of this course studies the development of the short story, including history, plot, character, setting, point-of-view, narration, tone, style and theme. The class includes literary analysis as well as writing an original short story and oral presentations. The second half of this course examines the intricate and powerful effect war has on citizens. Students analyze both fiction and nonfiction prose and poetry that provides insight into the psyche and emotions of war-torn people. The course explores psychological, emotional, and historical effects of tragedy and explores subjects such as beauty amid violence, loss, fear and horror, patriotism, dehumanization, and identity through a compilation of short stories, poems, and novels.

The first half of the courses examines the unique relationship between sports and society through literature by contemporary authors, columnists and other media. The course affords students the opportunity to examine the historical influence sports has on society and the impact it plays on developing character through universal themes of struggle, conflict, victory and defeat. The second half of this course includes a selection of genres within Science Fiction literature including apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic, dying earth, military, time travel, space colonization and social science fiction. Students explore differences between science fiction and other fantastical works, identify and analyze techniques used to convey imaginary places, beings and ideas, and discuss/compare the evolution of science fiction from its original models to more modern works.

Broadcast Journalism is a unique course offering at SJHS that is open to all grades. Students learn all aspects of broadcasting through hands-on operation of a real television studio. Subject areas include research, writing, producing, recording, and airing news, features, public service, and entertainment. Students become proficient in performance and the operation of all studio equipment in the planning, production, and delivery of a daily program for the entire SJ community. This course meets before school at 7:00 a.m.
* This course satisfies both an English and Fine Arts credit.

AP English Language and Composition mirrors a college-level rhetoric and writing curriculum. The focus is on evidence-based analytic and argumentative essays. Students will be required to evaluate, synthesize, and cite research
to support their arguments. Students also read and analyze rhetorical elements in non-fiction texts from a cross
section of time periods. Students will have the option to take the AP exam which will be administered in May. Pre-course summer assignments are required.

AP English Literature and Composition mirrors an introductory college-level literary analysis course. College Board has redesigned the course to focus on close reading and critical analysis of works of literary merit from the 17th century to modern day, including units on Short Fiction, Poetry, and Long Fiction and Drama. Students learn to dissect a work’s structure, style, and themes, as well as its use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone. Students will have the option to take the AP exam which will be administered in May. Pre-course summer assignments are required.