English (HS)

Overview

Students read fascinating and urgent texts, ranging from classic to contemporary, and hone writing and reading skills through practice and revision. Discussions, projects, and writing assignments raise new questions and present real problems, requiring writing and analytical skill sets to address possible solutions.

Preparation for College

Students conclude our program with:

analytical writing skills, including building an argument and thesis and supporting it with detailed evidence and logical, cogent reasoning
firm foundation in grammar and punctuation, along with grammatical tools for creating sophisticated and varied sentences
understanding of their own writing style and ability to revise their own work
ability to speak confidently and listen purposefully in discussions
sense of themselves as readers with particular reading passions
growing sense of their own moral identity, as derived from literature and community
growing sense of themselves as creative writers

Adv. Eng. 12: Mystery, Murder & Madness

Few things captivate the human imagination as much as a good murder, except maybe the mystery leading up to it. At the same time, few things worry us as much as the shadow of mental illness. These topics intersect in the beloved genre of the thriller. This course will survey the psychic draw of crime and horror, the components of a mystery story, and the specter often lurking unacknowledged behind: mental illness. Authors will likely include King, Conan Doyle, Christie, James, Hammet, and a smattering of contemporary authors like Erin Adams and Brendan Slocumb.

Students in an advanced English course will complete extra reading and compose writing assignments responding to different or additional prompts, or writing assignments with longer length requirements, and may complete other additional homework assignments.
Adv. Eng. 12: Sci-Fi by Women Writers

Students in an advanced English course will complete extra reading and compose writing assignments responding to different or additional prompts, or writing assignments with longer length requirements, and may complete other additional homework assignments.

In this course, students will delve into sci-fi texts as written by women over the last 50 years. In a genre so often dominated by men, women authors have been innovating and pushing the boundaries of the genre for many years. Students will explore the intersection between science fiction and fantasy, learn about the genre’s rich history, and experience its transformation over the past several years. Authors may include LeGuin, Chambers, Leckie, Jemisin, Wells, Atwood, as well as several short stories and articles by various other authors within the genre.
AP English Literature

Full year course, with departmental approval. Prerequisite: B+ or higher in 10th and 11th grade English, successful completion of timed in-class essay, and successful completion of summer work.

The AP course in English Literature and Composition engages students in careful reading and critical analysis of texts from the 16th century to the present, focusing on British, European and American works. Students consider structure, language, imagery, historical context and practice through in-class essay writing, the skills of selection, organization, exactness, and stylistic maturity required by the examination. Essay topics are selected from past AP Literature exams. Texts include Crime and Punishment, Song of Solomon, Pride and Prejudice, To the Lighthouse, Ada, The Turn of the Screw, a text on poetry analysis, and a variety of short fiction.
Eng. 12: Creative Writing

This course will introduce students to the writing of short fiction. Beginning with mentor texts and short writing prompts, the course will then shift to be heavily focused on peer workshopping. Workshopping allows students to create a writing community that helps them discover not only their own voice, but to also be inspired by their classmates and learn the critical skill of delivering and incorporating feedback. By the end of the course, students will have completed and revised a short story, as well as contributed to their classmates’ work and writing success.
Eng. 12: Happiness in Literature

How does one find happiness? Is there anything like a universal blueprint towards this most elusive destination? This course will examine the different paths characters take to establish satisfaction and peace in their lives, and what we can learn from their stumbles and triumphs. Through the examination of global novels and a handful of poems and personal essays, students will compare and contrast the pursuit of happiness in literature with the pursuit in life. Authors may include Olive Schreiner, Gustave Flaubert, Yaa Gyasi, Rudolf Anaya, and Tayeb Saleh, among possible others.
Eng. 12: Literary Adaptations

Everything is getting adapted, and the question is, should everything be adapted? What does a story gain or lose when it switches to another medium? This course will explore transformations between the written word and plenty of other genres, from movies to musicals to graphic novels. Authors/texts may include: Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, as well as various musical lyrics and scores (The Outsiders), animated and live action television shows, and movie adaptations of classic texts.
Eng. 12: Mystery, Murder & Madness

Few things captivate the human imagination as much as a good murder, except maybe the mystery leading up to it. At the same time, few things worry us as much as the shadow of mental illness. These topics intersect in the beloved genre of the thriller. This course will survey the psychic draw of crime and horror, the components of a mystery story, and the specter often lurking unacknowledged behind: mental illness. Authors will likely include King, Conan Doyle, Christie, James, Hammet, and a smattering of contemporary authors like Erin Adams and Brendan Slocumb.
Eng. 12: One-Acts Workshop

This course focuses on the process required for generating a successful One-Act play. Through exercises in character development, dramatic structure, conflict, and dialogue, students will come to understand and appreciate the components of a great play. Students will also engage in reading and critiquing the work of published playwrights, in addition to responding to their peers, in a collaborative workshop environment. By term’s end, each student will have crafted at least one finished One-Act play to be produced, directed, and staged by Burke students in early April.
Eng. 12: Sci-Fi by Women Writers

In this course, students will delve into sci-fi texts as written by women over the last 50 years. In a genre so often dominated by men, women authors have been innovating and pushing the boundaries of the genre for many years. Students will explore the intersection between science fiction and fantasy, learn about the genre’s rich history, and experience its transformation over the past several years. Authors may include LeGuin, Chambers, Leckie, Jemisin, Wells, Atwood, as well as several short stories and articles by various other authors within the genre.
English 10: Modern World Literature

In English 10: Modern World Literature, students explore a variety of texts from Latin America, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, in order to broaden their understanding of the increasingly global society in which they live. Study of these texts will allow students to gain insight into the forces that continue to shape literature and culture around the world. The course is designed around a series of themes and key competencies that will help students to reflect on the human experience and attain greater global cultural awareness. Through critical dialogue, formal and creative writing, and projects, students identify and explore global literary perspectives and traditions.
English 11: American Literature

American Literature is a year-long Junior English class that covers influential works of US literature spanning from late 18th century to today. Students examine the ways in which authors manipulate words and use rhetorical and poetic devices to create powerful effects in their readers. Additionally, students explore how literature is a vehicle for social change and how it is used to make sense of an often confusing world. Students in this course take charge of their own learning. They have choice of texts in many of the units and a choice in topic for assignments and projects. American Literature is also characterized by rigorous writing instruction. Students learn and practice the writing process frequently and through a variety of assignments.
English 9: Genres

Through a sustained examination of novels, short stories, drama, poetry, and the epic, ninth graders are introduced to a varied body of writers and styles. These texts allow students to engage the issues that have concerned humanity throughout the ages. Thematic considerations may include justice, identity, coming of age, progress, and nature. Through critical dialogue, formal and creative writing, and research projects, students identify and explore issues and conflicts. Students are encouraged to make thematic connections between the literature and other courses, particularly those in the fine arts and humanities. Specific writers may include Homer, Sartre, Golding, Chekhov, O’Connor, Hughes, Baldwin, and Orwell, among others.