English 12 is the capstone course for students who have progressed to their
senior year in high school. It enables students to use what they have learned
and helps them make connections to their lives beyond high school in
post-secondary education or at work.
The Senior Writing Project will be an important part of this process.
A major goal of this course is for all students to attain the highest level of
college and career readiness. Students need to use English fluently and
accurately to meet the demands of society and the workplace. This course will
serve them well as it prepares students to approach a wide range of texts
(literary and non-literary) in various genres and media to build an
understanding of the many dimensions of human experience. Furthermore,
students need a command of language and an appreciation of the richness of
literature for self-fulfillment and to accomplish their own purposes.
Additionally, this course serves a practical function by ensuring that all
students have met state standards for graduation and have the skills to meet
the requirements set for post-secondary endeavors.
English 12 Syllabus
Major British Writers and Social Issues in Literature
Overview:
English 12 is a course designed to allow students the opportunity to read,
interpret, and analyze various works the instructors have selected to
demonstrate major concepts, themes, intellectual trends, and literary forms
found throughout the course of English literary history. Students will study
works from the very beginnings of English literature in the Anglo-Saxon era to
the modern and post-modern works of the twentieth and twenty-
first centuries. In addition to the study of English literary history,
students will also be required to create and present a major research project.
Students will also complete various short writing and public speaking projects
on a variety of subjects.
Class Activities:
Writing: Students will build their critical thinking and writing skills
through the completion of various writing assignments, including essays
analyzing literary works, satiric essays, personal/college application essays,
character analyses, and a research project. Students
will also be expected to explain personal responses to literary works, compare
or assess different works and ideas, and express and explain original ideas.
Speaking/Listening: Students will be expected to participate in class
discussions and present information, both individually and in groups.
Grammar: Grammar and sentence diagramming will be reviewed and sentences
analyzed in
order to help students refine their writing skills.
Vocabulary: Students will develop vocabulary through the study of literature,
SAT vocabulary lists, and the Sadlier Vocabulary Texts, volume F. Students
will be expected to demonstrate their mastery of vocabulary words through
announced quizzes and various expository or creative writing assignments.
Texts and Units:
Main Text: Adventures in English Literature
Other Works: Othello by William Shakespeare
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee
The Stranger by Albert Camus
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
Fences by August Wilson
Main Units:Anglo-Saxon Literature and Old English
The Middle Ages
The Renaissance
The Seventeenth Century
The Restoration and the Early Eighteenth Century
The Age of Johnson/The Age of Sensibility
Romanticism
The Victorian Age
The Twentieth Century
World Literature
Strand: Society and Literature