The English Department embraces three goals for our students: to master the New York State Common Core College and Career Readiness Standards in Reading and Writing; to demonstrate this by excelling in the New York State Regents Examination in English Language Arts (Common Core) and to achieve success on the SAT (College Board) Exam, resulting in admission to the colleges of their dreams.
Standard 1: Key Ideas and Details
Students will read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. Students will determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas. Students will analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
Standard 2: Craft and Structure
Students will interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. Students will analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. Students will assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.
Standard 3: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Students will integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words. Students will delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence. Students will analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.
Standard 4: text type and purposes
Standard 5: Research to build and present knowledge
Students will conduct research to answer questions, including self-generated questions, or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate. Students will synthesize multiple sources, demonstrating an understanding of the subject under investigation. Students will gather relevant information from multiple sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas; avoid plagiarism and follow a standard format for citation.
STANDARD 1: COMPREHENSION AND COLLABORATION
Students will initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on complex topics, texts, and issues; express ideas clearly and persuasively, and build on those of others. Students will come to discussions prepared, having read and researched material under study; draw on that preparation by referring to evidence to stimulate a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas. Students will work with peers to set norms for collegial discussions and decision-making, and establish clear goals, deadlines, and individual roles as needed. Students will pose and respond to questions that relate the discussion to broader themes or ideas; actively incorporate others into the discussions; and clarify, verify, or challenge ideas and conclusions. Students will respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement, and, when warranted, qualify or justify personal views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.Honors Academy
Grade 9 | Full-Year Course
The English 9 Honors is designed for students who have demonstrated excellence in English Language Arts, as indicated on standardized tests and elementary school reports. This student-centered course is focused on cultivating higher-order thinking skills. Students will read and analyze texts across a range of genres, including fiction (both novels and short stories), drama, nonfiction essays, and poetry. In addition, English 9 Honors Academy students are required to present several creative projects throughout the year as well as complete an MLA-format research paper.
Prerequisite: Test scores indicating a high degree of competence in English Language Arts.
Grade 9 | Full-Year Course
The English 9 course is designed to introduce students to secondary-level texts from a variety of genres and authors. The English department is deeply committed to teaching across the curriculum—particularly with the Social Studies, Math, Science and Religion departments—by using close reading techniques to explore how figurative language is used in texts. Full-length works are taught with corresponding courses in other disciplines. Students will also learn how to write essays that follow MLA format.
Prerequisite: None
Grade 10 | Full-Year Course
The English 10 course builds upon the foundations laid in English 9. It therefore includes intensive study in the disciplines of reading and writing, which reflect common core standards, citing specific evidence and delineating arguments. Students will also engage in reading higher level text for analysis. Students will continue upon their previous year’s knowledge and research and complete an MLA format research paper. The New York State Common Core English Regents takes place January of junior year, there will be continued practice of skills in preparation for this exam.
Prerequisite: English 9
Grade 10 | Full-Year Course
The English 10 Honors course follows the curriculum for English 10 but is designed for the students who have demonstrated a lively interest in English and have demonstrated high scores in English Language Arts. This course will require additional reading of at least one full length work, as well as various authors and genres. There will be the introduction of ancient Greek tragedians and British literature. To build off of their previous year, the students will be required to complete an MLA format research paper. The New York State Common Core English Regents takes place January of junior year, there will be continued practice of skills in preparation for this exam.
Prerequisite: 9th grade average and teacher/chairperson recommendation/administration approval
Grade 11 | Full-Year Course
The English 11 course builds on the foundations from English 9 and 10 with specific emphasis on argumentative writing for success on the English Common Core Regents exam. This course focuses on American literature and works in conjunction with United States History that the juniors also take. The curriculum is designed to assist in research of nonfiction texts and articles and explain on narrative and expository writing skills. Students will build on their previous knowledge and complete an MLA format research paper.
Prerequisite: English 10
Grade 11 | Full-Year Course
The English 11 Honors course follows the curriculum for grade 11 but is designed for the students who demonstrated both an interest in English and strong competence in the language arts skills, especially in writing and literary analyses. This course focuses on American literature and works in conjunction with United States History that the juniors also take. Students are required to read one additional full length work, while focusing on core writing standard and on fine-tuning argumentative writing skills. Students will also continue to prepare for the English Common Core Regents Exam which takes place in January. Students are required to complete one paper per semester; an MLA format research paper in the fall and literary analysis paper in the spring.
Prerequisite: 10th grade teacher/chair recommendation/administration approval
Grade 11 | Full-Year Course
The Advanced Placement (AP) Language and Composition course focuses on the development and revision of evidence based analytic and argumentative writing and rhetorical analysis of nonfiction texts and articles. The AP Language and Composition course aligns to an introductory college level rhetoric and writing curriculum, which requires students to develop evidence based analytic and argumentative essays. It is assumed that students in this course enjoy reading and analyzing the method/methods by which certain writers practice their craft. A series of novels, essays and short stories will be read and analyzed for the stylistics used as well as the content.. Students will also prepare for the English Common Core Regents Exam. Many colleges will grant credit and appropriate placement to students who do well on the advanced placement examination. This special examination is given in May and an additional fee is required by the College Entrance Board.
Prerequisite: English 10 Honors and a mastery level score of 85% - 100% on the standardized exam administered by Cathedral high school.
Grade 12 | Full-Year Course
British Literature is a course in which selected works from the Anglo-Saxon period to the 21st Century are presented in relation to corresponding historical events and societal changes. Among the authors studied are Dickens, Coleridge, Shelley, Austen, and Huxley. The reading and analysis include works of poetry, fiction, non-fiction and drama.
Shakespeare is the most influential writer of all time, as well as the most popular. His plays, written over 400 years ago, are still enjoyed and teach his audiences about the human condition. The writing components of this course involve techniques of exposition, persuasion, argumentation, and research.
This course will examine the evolution of New York City as a literary construct as well as the city’s emergence and continual reinvention as one of the countries, and the worlds, premier sites of literacy and cultural production.
Students will study famous speeches throughout history and analyze content. The students will also research, prepare and present several different types of speeches including but not limited to; introduction, acceptance, persuasive and demonstrative.
Prerequisite: English 11
Grade 12 | Full-Year Course
The English 12 Honors course will read works of literature and focus on more in depth study and analysis of many choices of writing that deal with the essential questions such as: When people make choices, do they make them based on their own values, or do their decisions sometimes actually contradict their own strongest beliefs? What outside forces and interna; conflicts contribute to a person’s cause of action? The students will explore people in crisis, examine their values, and seek to understand the decisions they make and the factors that go into these choices. There will be continuous building of a strong vocabulary as well as explore creative writing in poetry. The first semester examines the form of the novel, of English and American authorship, of fiction and non-fiction. The next semester is surveys of dramatic works, specifically tragedy, from Shakespeare to modern playwrights. In preparation for college, students will go through the process of producing a literature-based research paper as well as practice college application essays.
Prerequisite: 11th grade teacher/chair recommendation/administration approval
Grade 12 | Full-Year Course
Semester 1 - Written English and Literary Studies I