English
The study of English is more than reading books
and learning to write. Learning is focused on using reading and writing
to think critically, to make informed decisions, and to express the ideas
of self and of others. In the first three levels (English 9-11), students
are exposed to a variety of genres, to the literature of America, and
to the literature of world cultures. In their final year of English,
students select courses that challenge and engage active learning. Students
explore a variety of voices from the canon and from the contemporary
world.
Required Sequence (Full year courses required prior to
enrollment in senior courses)
English I or I Honors: Coming of Age/Classics
English II or II Honors: American Literature
English III or III Honors: World Literature
0010/ ENGLISH I: Coming of Age
Grade 9 Level III
Prerequisites:none
1 credit
This course has three focus areas: literature, language fundamentals, and
writing. In the literature component, students read from a wide variety
of texts including To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men.
Literary study is focused on coming of age themes: adolescence, friendship
and betrayal, prejudice, and courage. The language component consists of
vocabulary development and a thorough review of G.U.M. (grammar, usage,
and mechanics). The writing component includes journal writing and the five-paragraph
essay. Formal papers focus on responses to literature, narratives, persuasive
essays, and library research skills.
Reading/writing level: All abilities.
0015/ ENGLISH I HONORS: Coming of Age
Grade 9
Level II
Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation 1 credit
Mandatory summer reading and writing assignment
This course has three focus areas: literature, language fundamentals, and
writing. Through mini-lectures, discussion, and small group work, students
will explore coming of age themes: adolescence, friendship and betrayal,
prejudice, and courage. This class requires a fast pace and includes an
extensive reading list such as: The Odyssey, “Romeo and Juliet”, To
Kill a Mockingbird and contemporary fiction and non-fiction. Students
will continue to develop skills in vocabulary, parts of speech, and G.U.M.
(grammar, usage, and mechanics). Formal writing focuses on journal writing,
persuasive writing, creative writing, and responses to literature. Emphasis
will be placed on the five-paragraph essay structure. Students are required
to complete summer reading and writing assignments that constitute a significant
portion of their 1st quarter grade.
Reading/writing level: Advanced
0026/ ENGLISH II: American Literature
Grade 10 Level III
Prerequisite: English I 1 credit
English II emphasizes reading, writing, and reacting to American issues
and institutions as revealed in America’s literature, visual art, music,
and popular culture. Students will continue to develop research methods
using MLA style
conventions. Readings may include the works of Poe, Melville, Twain,
Hawthorne, Emerson, Thoreau, Fitzgerald, as well as a variety of contemporary
American authors.
Reading/writing level: All abilities
0027/ENGLISH II HONORS:
American LIterature
Grade 10 Level II
Prerequisite: English I 1 credit
Teacher recommendation, mandatory summer reading and writing assignment.
English II Honors emphasizes reading, writing, and reacting to American
issues and institutions as revealed in American literature, visual art,
music and popular culture. Students will develop more sophisticated research
skills, continue to master MLA style conventions, and engage in in-depth
projects demanding more advanced research and writing skills. Students
are required to complete summer reading and writing assignments that constitute
a significant portion of their 1st quarter grade.
Reading/writing level: Advanced
0031/ ENGLISH III: World Literature
Grade 11 Level III
Prerequisite: English I and II 1 credit
This course builds on the 10th grade curriculum by intensifying the focus
on reading, critical thinking, and explanatory and analytical writing. First
semester will focus primarily on the foundations of Western Literature and
ancient epics of Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and The Illiad, through
the age of Greek tragedy, and the Renaissance expressed through Dante’s Inferno and
Shakespeare’s plays. Second semester the literature will focus on the world,
looking at the historical background and cultural perspectives of Asia,
Africa, and Latin America as expressed through short stories, plays, and
novels. The study of vocabulary will continue and research skills will be
included in the analysis of literature.
Reading/writing level: All abilities
0032/ ENGLISH III HONORS:
World Literature
Grade 11 Level II
Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation 1 credit
English I & II plus a mandatory summer reading and writing assignment.
This course focuses on representative works of world literature from Antiquity,
the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Age of Romanticism and Realism to
contemporary world literature. The course emphasizes the study and consideration
of the literary, cultural, and human significance of selected great works
of western and non-western literary traditions. Works include classics such
as The Iliad, Dante’s Inferno and A Tale of Two Cities as
well as contemporary fiction such as The Poisonwood Bible, The Kite
Runner and To Live. An important goal of the class is to promote
an understanding of the works in their cultural/historical contexts and
of the enduring human values that unite the different literary traditions.
Students will also study grammar and its relationship to effective expression
and prepare for the verbal sections of the SAT examination. Research skills
will be enhanced during a major research project. Students are required
to complete summer reading and writing assignments that constitute a significant
portion of their 1st quarter grade.
Reading/writing level: Advanced
The Senior Year
The Senior English program at Woodstock Union High School seeks to provide students with opportunities for specialized study of literature and the humanities. In particular, the courses focus on film, poetry, writing, and literature. The electives can be taken in either semester, two in the fall and two in the spring. This senior experience culminates a four-year curriculum intended to meet the state requirement of four years of English for a high school diploma, as well as provide the essential skills and experiences described by the Vermont Framework.
0034/ ENGLISH IV: Creative Writing
Grade 12 Level III
Prerequisite: English I, II, III ½ credit
This writing workshop will focus on the art of fiction and the art of
poetry through thought-provoking instruction, examples from a variety of
published and unpublished pieces, and exploration of a variety of writing
and poetry exercises and activities. Each writer will experiment with diverse
writing styles and learn to manipulate words and lines, metaphors and similes,
rhyme and meter. Students will be expected to write during each class block
and to participate in a workshop environment that includes reading original
works aloud and working with peers in writing conferences.
Writing level: Advanced
0058/ENGLISH IV: World Religions
Grade 12 Level III
Prerequisite: English I, II, III
½ credit
This course focuses on five of the world’s religious traditions:
Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Through the perspective
of humanities, students will explore how people articulate the symbols,
tenets and practices of their faith in the context of the questions and
challenges of our world.
Reading/writing level: Intermediate
0038/ ENGLISH IV: Composition
Grade 12 Level III
Prerequisite: English I, II, III ½ credit
In this composition course, the students will enhance and
improve their written expression. They will be asked to complete a variety
of assignments designed to explore different forms of writing: personal,
narrative, analytical, definition, process, compare/contrast, and persuasive
essays. Students will draft, revise, and edit each of these types of essays
for successful completion of this course.
Reading/writing level: All abilities
0056/ ENGLISH IV: Philosophy I
Grade 12 Level III
Prerequisite: English I, II, III
½ credit
Philosophy I is a semester course. It is open to seniors who wish to
ask some essential questions about who they are and about the world in which
they live. Students will explore the roles of reason, perception and feeling
and how those standards shape their relations with the world and with each
other. Philosophy I addresses the ancient world of thought and how our lives
derive meaning from it. Close reading of primary texts is important, and
class participation is vital.
Reading/writing level: Advanced
0057/ ENGLISH IV: Philosophy II
Grade 12 Level III
Prerequisite: English I, II, III
½ credit
Philosophy II is a continuation of Philosophy I and open to seniors who
wish to ask some essential questions about who they are and about the world
in which they live. Students will explore the roles of reason, perception
and feeling and how those standards shape their relations with the world
and with each other. Philosophy II addresses Early Modern to Post Modern
thought. Close reading of primary texts is important, and class participation
is vital.
Reading/writing level: Advanced
0037/ ENGLISH IV: Diverse Voices
Grade 12 Level III
Prerequisite: English I, II, III ½ credit
This semester course will focus on non-canonical texts. It will cover
works written by authors of a variety of backgrounds and cultures. Authors
may be Hispanic, African, female or contemporary. Each student will develop
an individual reading contract for the semester from a reading list, and
in conference with the teacher. The course will be individually paced providing
an opportunity to pursue personal reading interests and writing responses.
Reading/writing level: All abilities
0033 /ENGLISH IV: Honors
Grade 12 Level II
Prerequisite: Teacher recommendation; 1 credit
Completion of English I, II, III; mandatory summer reading and writing
assignment.
English IV Honors is designed to prepare students for the work that will
be required of them at the college level. The literature-based reading will
include such titles as Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Frankenstein by
Mary Shelley, King Lear by Shakespeare in the 1st semester, while
focusing on more contemporary works by Toni Morrison and other modern authors
during the 2nd half of the year. Students will also hone their analytical,
independent and critical reading skills. This class strongly emphasizes
writing, in particular those methods, forms and processes that will be necessary
for higher academic classes. Students are required to complete summer reading
and writing assignments that constitute a significant portion of their 1st
quarter grade.
Reading/writing level: Advanced
045/ PUBLICATIONS
Grades 10, 11, 12 No credit
Prerequisite: Acceptance of application
This extra-curricular activity involves the creation of the WUHS yearbook.
Students will work on skills that include desktop publishing, page layouts,
solicitation of advertisements, and photography. Each student will be responsible
for work on the publication. This activity is for students who have a strong
desire to produce the high school yearbook and who have a willingness to
see a project through to its completion.
Reading/writing level: All abilities
73/ English IV: American Literature and the
Environment
Grade 12 Level III
Prerequisite: Completion of English I, II, III ½ credit
Students will focus on the representation of nature in American literature,
with attention to both aesthetic and cultural implications. In this survey
of American Literature and the Environment, students will examine the philosophies
of the natural environment, its uses and misuses and the ways in which conservation
is reflected in selected literary works. Readings includes works by Thoreau,
Emerson, Faulkner, Gary Snyder, Edward Abbey, Barry Lopez, and Bill Bryson.
These themes include: society’s role as preservationist and destructor,
as well as the ever changing face of our earth. The students will look at
the way language expresses the intense qualities of Nature and how Nature
inspires writers. This course strives to apply the nature of the passionate
writer to the actuality of the nature found outside our Woodstock doors.
Students will read, write and explore the environment around them.
Reading/writing level: All abilities
40 / ENGLISH IV: Advanced Placement:
Literature & Composition
Grade 12 Level I
Prerequisite: Teacher and Department 1 credit
Chair recommendations and a mandatory summer reading and writing assignment
due mid-August.
This course is intended to provide a challenge and an opportunity for
serious students to work with more depth and independence than in other
high school English courses. Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition
is part of a national program of college-level courses and exams for secondary
students. Literary analysis of various genres (short stories, novels, poetry,
essays and plays) is emphasized as well as skills in written and oral expression.
Students are invited to participate in this course based upon the recommendation
of English teachers and previous achievement in English courses. Students
are expected to complete the summer reading assignment by mid-August and
to take the AP exam in May.
Reading/writing level: Advanced
0013/ Journalism
Prerequisite: Completion of Level III
English I, II, or III with a grade ½ credit
of a “B” or better or approval by the teacher. This course does not replace
English II or III, but may be taken concurrently with them. It may also serve
as a senior English option for one semester.
This course provides the opportunity for students to experience the world
of journalism through planning, writing, editing, photography, layout, and
design. We will also explore the First Amendment and the media’s role in
relation to this freedom. A primary emphasis will be placed on journalistic
writing in a variety of different styles including: news stories, editorials,
features, specific interest-columns, and magazine articles. Grammar, usage,
and mechanics skills will be taught and reinforced in the editing process.
Students will also learn and participate in the publication cycle from idea
to assignment, to writing and then layout and publication. Photography ideas
and tips will also be offered as a part of the course. It is expected that
each student will submit several articles for and participate in the publication
process of the school newspaper, What’s the Buzz? , but outside
publication possibilities will also be explored.
Reading/writing level: All abilities