Communication Arts: Freshman Year

Freshman English Course Descriptions:
Overarching theme:  The individual's understanding of him/herself and others

Freshman College Prep:  This skills-based course develops student's proficiencies in the areas of reading, literary analysis, writing, grammar/usage, oral communication, and research.  Students explore the overarching theme through short stories, short essays and articles, novels, poetry and drama.

Core texts include To Kill a Mockingbird and Romeo and Juliet. 

Through literature, students are introduced to various stylistic techniques.  This writing-intensive course includes narrative and expository writing, introduces students to literary analysis, and reinforces grammar and usage skills. 

Students write at least two process essays and at least one in-class essay per semester.  Students will be assessed regularly in the area of full-class and small-group discussions, and they are required to deliver one formal speech per semester.  Vocabulary study and reading instruction are integrated into the study of literature. 

Freshman Accelerated:  This skills-based course develops students' proficiencies in the areas of reading, literary analysis, writing, grammar/usage, oral communication, and research at a faster pace and at a greater level of sophistication than at the college prep level.  Students explore the overarching theme through the study of challenging short stories, short essays and articles, novels, poetry, and drama selected for in-depth analysis. 

Core texts include To Kill a Mockingbird, Julius Caesar, and A Tale of Two Cities.

Through the literature, students are introduced to various stylistic techniques.  This writing intensive course includes narrative and expository writing, introduces students to literary analysis, and reinforces grammar and usage skills.  Students write regularly, producing at least two process essays and at least one in-class essay per semester. 

Participation is a very important element at the accelerated level; students are assessed regularly in the area of full-class and small-group discussions, and they are required to deliver one formal speech per semester.  Formalized vocabulary study is integrated into writing instruction and the study of literature. 

Reading Enrichment:  The focus of this course provides basic instruction in the skills needed for success in high school.  Students enrolled in Reading Enrichment are also enrolled in Freshman College Prep English, thus providing two full periods of English instruction per day for those students. 

This course emphasizes fundamental reading skills, including comprehension, by examining text structure and story development, word recognition, and author purpose.  Writing skills and study skills are taught and reviewed throughout the course. 

This course may be required of some entering freshmen as determined by their 8th grade midyear assessment score and teacher recommendation.

Please consult the Stevenson Coursebook for electives available in the Freshman Year.