Course Descriptions English Department Mission Statement
The study of English seeks to create a dialogue between the student and language through literature, drama, poetry, and other media. As the act of storytelling is central to the human experience, this is a lifelong relationship. Students are encouraged to develop habits of thoughtful reflection, critical analysis, creativity, fearless imagination, rigor, and clear expression of their emerging voices. Above all, this course of study provides a space where students may examine their sense of conscience and compassion through their growing understanding of community, world, and self.
English 9
English 10
English 9 introduces students to a variety of literary genres including short stories, novels, and poetry with an emphasis on personal writing and class discussion as strategies for exploring literature and its connections with lived experience. Units incorporate relevant nonfiction both to build background knowledge and to develop annotation and summary skills. The course reviews grammar and usage, sentence structure, and paragraph development, and includes practice in a range of writing forms: from personal responses to fiction to more formal academic prose and student-authored short fiction. This course is taught in a combined section with English 10, with students working through complementary and rotating texts concurrently, a structure that reflects Hyde’s commitment to discussion-driven learning and takes full advantage of our intentionally small class sizes.
English 10 advances students’ reading and writing skills with a deepened emphasis on understanding literary works within their historical and cultural contexts, the time, place, and circumstances that shaped both the writer and the text. Units draw on major American and other English-language authors and incorporate relevant nonfiction to build background knowledge and develop annotation and summary strategies. The course deepens students’ command of grammar and usage, with particular attention to complex sentence construction and the development of coherent, well-structured paragraphs. This course is taught in a combined section with English 9, with students working through complementary and rotating texts concurrently, a structure that reflects Hyde’s commitment to discussion- driven learning and takes full advantage of our intentionally small class sizes.
14
Powered by FlippingBook