English

Welcome to the English department.

  The English Language Arts (ELA) standards insist that instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language be a shared responsibility within the school. The grades 6–12 standards are divided into two sections, one for ELA and the other for history/social studies, science, and technical subjects. This interdisciplinary approach to literacy is based on research indicating that students who are college and career ready must be proficient in reading complex text from many disciplines. To support this, the Common Core Sstandards for ELA:

• Have more of a focus on increasing the complexity of the texts students read and discuss, and developing skills in argumentative writing and research.
• Emphasize speaking and listening skills as an avenue to evaluate, integrate and present information from many sources.
• Call for increased use of technology/multi-media to gather and publish information.

 - Reading standards

• Introduce reading material of increasing complexity and require the progressive development of reading comprehension.
• Mandate certain critical types of content for all students, including classic myths and stories from around the world, foundational U.S. documents, seminal works of American literature, and the writings of Shakespeare.
• Propose that students read a diverse array of classic and contemporary literature as well as challenging informational texts in a range of subjects. The standards include sample texts to illustrate the expectations, but leave curriculum decisions other than the mandated content above to states, districts, and schools students.

- Writing standards

• Prepare students to write logical arguments based on substantive claims, sound reasoning, and relevant evidence, including at the early grades.
• Require research—both short, focused projects (such as those commonly required in the workplace) and longer term in depth research.
• Provide annotated samples of student writing and help establish adequate performance levels in writing arguments, informational/explanatory texts, and narratives in the various grades.

- Speaking and Listening standards

• Require that students gain, evaluate, and present increasingly complex information, ideas, and evidence through listening and speaking as well as through media.
• Call for formal and informal presentations, including academic discussion in one-on-one, small-group, and whole-class settings.

- Language standards

• Expect that students will grow their vocabularies through a mix of conversations, direct instruction, and reading. The standards will help students determine word meanings, appreciate the nuances of words, and steadily expand their repertoire of words and phrases.
• Recognize that students must be able to use formal English in their writing and speaking but that they must also be able to make informed, skillful choices among the many ways to express themselves through language.
• Include strands for vocabulary and conventions, not because skills in these areas should be handled in isolation but because their use extends across reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

SPRINGBOARD, a national curriculum created by the AP College Board, offers a diverse rigorous curriculum, based on the Common core Standards and embedded Advanced Placement and College Readiness standards.

9th GRADE ENGLISH Course Code: ENG 101, 102Grade Level: 9Length of Class: Year-long Credit: 1.0 English Pre-requisite: None 

The study of literature, including novels, short stories, drama and non-fiction, will serve as a focus for each student to develop his or her writing skills. Student writing will include expository pieces, multi-paragraph essays of persuasion and literary analysis, autobiography/biography, as well as other forms of narrative writing.  Continuing development of communication skills is addressed through active-listening practice and a variety of oral presentations, including formal and informal speeches and individual and group presentations.

10th GRADE ENGLISH Course Code: ENG 201, 202Grade Level: 10 Length of Class: Year-long Credit: 1.0 English Pre-requisite: 9th grade English 

Students will develop and practice skills in reading, writing and communication while examining a variety of literature, including novels, short stories, poetry, nonfiction and drama. Student writing will include a literary analysis, a persuasive research essay using Modern Language Association (MLA) format, a compareand-contrast essay and in-class writings.  

Communication skill development continues to be addressed through activelistening practice and a variety of oral presentations.Vocabulary, grammar and spelling will be included in the context of specific writing projects.  

LITERATURE, LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITIONCourse Code: ENG 211, 212;                      Eng341/342Grade Level: 10, 11Length of Class: Year-longCredit: 1.0 EnglishPre-requisite: 9/10 grade English or Assessment

As a suggested pre-requisite for Advanced Placement English, this yearlong course focuses on developing and practicing skills in reading, writing, critical thinking, vocabulary and communication through the study of British literature.  Major areas of study include classic works from early to modern British literature, such as epics, novels, poetry, drama and short stories.  Student writing will include an extended personal essay, literary analysis essays, a synthesis essay, poetry explication and an argumentative scholarly research paper.  Students are expected to write both in- and out-of-class essays that will be assessed at a higher standard than in the regular curriculum.  Communication skill development will be addressed through a variety of oral presentations and student-led discussion groups.  Students will have opportunities to refine and apply their technology skills to written work and assigned projects.  

AMERICAN LITERATURE Course Code: ENG 321, 322Grade Level: 11 Length of Class: Semester Credit: .5 English Pre-requisite: 10th grade English 

This English class focuses on areas of major importance within the study of American literature. Through reading American novels, plays and poetry, students will analyze this country’s experience as it is presented through literature. A special emphasis will be placed on surveying the variety of cultural and ethnic experiences in American society. The course will emphasize critical thinking, exposition and reading comprehension skills through written, spoken and multimedia responses.   

Junior and Senior English classes offer students a variety of choices.Fall Semester Juniors:American Literature or A.P. Language and Composition or A.P. Literature and CompositionSpring Semester Juniors:Any literature elective or A.P. Language and Composition or A.P. Literature and CompositionWORLD LITERATURE Course Code: ENG 422Grade Level: 11, 12 Length of Class: Semester Credit: .5 English Literature Elective Pre-requisite: 10th grade English

This course focuses on contemporary literature from around the world to help prepare students for college. Students will read, analyze, discuss, write and create projects as they explore through literature the experiences and ideas of writers from a variety of cultures. In addition, students 8 Squalicum High School will complete a research project using Modern Language Association (MLA) formatting. This course fulfills the literature requirement. 

HUMANITIES Course Code: ENG 411, 412 Grade Level: 11, 12 Length of Class: Semester Credit: .5 English Literature Elective Pre-requisite: 10th grade English 

  Humanities is an exploration of literature, language, art, human issues and problems, self-discovery and the big questions that have forever perplexed and driven the human race.  We will study visual, musical and of course, literary art - the very expressions of being human.  From Greek mythology to Star Wars, we will follow common threads in literature.   Students will both read and write in a variety of 

forms, with emphasis on a research project using MLA formatting. This course fulfills the literature requirement.

NORTHWEST LITERATURECourse Code: ENG 370Grade Level: 11, 12 Length of Class: Semester Credit: .5 English Literature Elective Pre-requisite: 10th grade English

Northwest Literature focuses on the important writers, themes and environments that have generated a uniquely Northwest genre of literature. Special attention will be placed on Northwest culture, beginning with the Native American traditions, through the early settlers, the rise of Northwest citylife, the environmental movement and the development of a distinctive Northwest voice made famous by its great writers, musicians and artists. This course fulfills the literature requirement.   

WORLD LITERATURE/PHILOSOPHY Course Code: ENG 424 Grade Level: 11, 12 Length of Class: Semester Credit: .5 English Literature ElectivePre-requisite:  10th grade English

This course introduces students  to the questions and answers presented by Western philosophy over the last 4,000 years. In preparation for college, students will be asked to pose their own essential questions while surveying world literature, comparing their own assertions and conclusions with well-known writers and philosophers. In addition, students will complete a research project using Modern Language Association (MLA) formatting. This course fulfills the literature requirement.   

Mr. Best

Ms. Campbell

Ms. Cushman

Mr. Dolmatz

Mrs. Ericksen

Ms. Lantz

Mr. McAuliffe

Mr. Miltenberger

Mrs. Nyman

Ms. Thorsen

Mr. Wilson

To Kill a Mockingbird/ Literary Analysis

Persuasive Research Essay

Publishing Guidelines 

Creative Commons access for music clips