English

Grades 5 and 6: Literary Exploration and Expression

Year-long / Required in 5^th and 6^th grade 

In the 5^th and 6^th grade integrated English class, reading focuses on an exploration of active reading skills and evaluation of literary elements. Students are encouraged to build habits toward becoming life-long readers, and read fiction and non-fiction books as a class, in small groups, and individually with an emphasis on sampling a variety of genres, including short stories, realistic fiction, poetry, non-fiction, mythology, and more. In-class workshops and mini-lessons introduce students to tools to help them read their independent reading books deeply and thoughtfully. Students practice reading skills and show their thinking in a Reader’s Notebook.  

Writing focuses on developing a commitment to the full writing process. Through a variety of projects, including creative stories, personal narratives, literary responses, poetry, and information writing, students explore the steps of brainstorming, prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. Emphasis is placed on crafting a clear thesis and providing evidence to support claims. The emphasis placed on writing at Forest Ridge challenges students to write effectively in all areas of their curriculum. Grammar and vocab lessons are intertwined in both reading and writing lessons with the support of the online learning tool, IXL. 

Grade level: 5, 6
Credits earned: 1 MS English

Grade Seven: Exploration of Self & Society 

Year-long / Required in 7^th grade 

The seventh-grade English program works to further introduce students to the discipline of language arts and to foster a community of readers and writers. The course continues development in conventions, composition, reading, vocabulary, and speaking and listening skills. Throughout the year, students read a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts independently and in small groups. In the spring, students participate in an interactive study of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and they conclude the year with the development of a creative writing project. 

Grade level: 7
Credits earned: 1 MS English

Grade Seven: Exploration of Self & Society 

Semester / Required in 7^th grade 

This course demystifies the use of the basic building blocks of powerful writing and helps students harness the power of a well-crafted sentence alongside thoughtful word choice. What is a predicate? What’s the difference between the subject and the object? Why does this author’s writing style appeal to me while that author’s writing style is confusing? We’ll explore how it all comes back to how sentences are built and organized for the purpose of communicating complex meaning. Students will study sentence structure and variation with the aim of building strong paragraphs, and eventually essays. Practicing crafting main idea and thesis sentences alongside mentor texts from familiar and respected authors, while engaging in practice with elaboration and formulating compelling transition. This is foundational work leading to confidence in formulating longer, cohesive essays for a variety of purposes. 

Grade level: 7
Credits earned: 1 MS Writing

Grade Eight: Identity, Rights, and Power 

Year-long / Required in 8^th grade 

In eighth-grade English, students begin the year with a survey of short stories with a focus on analyzing the use of literary devices and elements in discussion and writing. They then extend these skills to novel, drama, and non-fiction study. Students also engage in year-long vocabulary and conventions practice. Throughout the year, a thematic focus on identity, rights, and power offers opportunities for cross-curricular explorations with social studies and religion.  

Grade level: 8
Credits earned: 1 MS English

Grade Eight Writing: Growing Our Academic Voice 

Year-long / Required in 8^th grade 

8^th grade writing prepares students for success in academic writing for upper school and beyond. Students develop their academic voices by tackling three major essay styles that they will encounter again and again in their academic career: argumentative, analytical, and the ever-daunting research paper. Through teacher-led modeling, exploring exemplar texts, frequent peer and teacher review, and breaking down major pieces of each essay into digestible chunks, students will move forward from this course with confidence and a renewed sense of their own academic voice. In particular, we will focus on the building blocks of rhetoric and persuasion, literary analysis, and author choice, exposing students to foundational genres of academic writing. This course will also focus on the mechanics and “nitty-gritty” of academic writing that can be a challenge point for students, including embedding direct quotes and MLA citations/formatting. 8th grade writing is anchored in student choice – students will be able to select topics, current events, and reading materials for writing prompts, igniting their passions and interests as they build new academic writing skills. 

Grade level: 8
Credits earned: 0.5 MS Writing

Year-long / Required in 9th grade

This freshman year course bridges Middle and Upper School English, building a strong foundation in close reading of a range of literary texts to develop critical and analytical skills, and on writing in a variety of modes for a variety of purposes. Students practice the stages of the writing process for both academic and personal writing. Through reflection, self-evaluation, and conferencing, students will develop their own writing goals and strategies. Emphasis on imagination and engagement as readers and writers is paired with encouragement to explore the expressive possibilities of language and communication. Students will learn to ask provocative questions of literature, of each other, and of their thinking and writing.

Prerequisite: None

Grade level:  9

Credits earned: 1.0 English

Year-long / Required 

Please note that this is a 2-period, co-curricular class. 

In this integrated English and Social Studies course, students will explore the diversity of the American people and their patchwork of voices and perspectives through multiple sources and artforms. This course will critically examine the various stories of American identity told in history and literature. We will begin with an exploration of the foundations of the United States; the majority of the course will then investigate the Reconstruction Era through modern day. Students will build habits as independent readers, focusing on comprehension and close reading. Students will further develop their writing skills, with a focus on clarity and well-supported claims. Written work will include in-class writing, primary and secondary source analyses, and a culminating research project. Students will advance their speaking and listening skills through dialogue and presentations.

Prerequisite: None 
Grade level: 10
Credit earned: 1.0 English and 1.0 Social Studies

One Semester

With a focus on literature created in languages other than English, this course will add more international voices to your reading experience. You will practice close reading, analysis and writing about works of prose and poetry, both as they reflect their social and political contexts and as they reflect their writers’ unique voices and visions. We will also consider the art of translation across language and culture.

Prerequisite: None
Grade level: 11, 12
Credits earned: 0.5 English

Desire and revenge, love and envy, wisdom and grievous error! In this course you will have close encounters with the admirable, the detestable, and the foolish in human nature. Our study of Shakespeare will encompass language, dramatic structure, character, psychology, art, history, and performance. Expect to gain skill and confidence as a reader and writer and to find yourself habitually speaking in iambic pentameter.

Prerequisite: None
Grade level: 11, 12
Credits earned: 0.5 English

Prerequisite: None
Grade level: 11
Credits earned: 0.5 English
 

One Semester

Students will examine the historical rise of complex fictional world settings in popular media, particularly in fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction. Students will practice identifying what elements make a complex fictional world a success amongst consumers. They will also observe stories that have failed to capture the imagination of readers long-term, providing calculated suggested edits based on the students’ perception of what makes a complex world successful. Students will then hone their creative writing skills in a long-term semester project to create a fictional novella of their own. Students must determine what elements build adequate buy-in for readers, as well as how to create a convincing setting, protagonist, and antagonist. Students will be expected to review and practice research skills to produce a believable and reputable final product. They will also exercise independent creativity in the composition of a complex world of their very own. Lastly, students will practice collaborative skills in a weekly writing workshop where they share their work in progress with their peers. The goal of this course is to polish college-level writing skills, give students confidence in their close reading skills, engage in problem-based learning, and encourage students to create a product with pride and independence.

Prerequisite: None
Grade level: 11, 12 
Credit earned: 0.5 English

One Semester

Students will analyze elements of Fantasy and Science Fiction, differentiating between the genres and defining attributes that constitute each. After practicing this knowledge, students will apply the content to texts in each genre to identify fantastical and fictional elements that explain, describe, or allude to real-world issues. Students will discuss radical and prophetic leadership, diversity of culture, language, and thought, and the intricacies of interpersonal relationships in novels like Dune and The Fellowship of the Ring. The goal of this course is to encourage students to apply their consumption and creation of fantasy and fiction practically to social and political issues, articulating the theme of a narrative itself as well as the role a popular narrative’s theme has in influencing the reader and society at large. As society shapes our stories, our stories also shape society.

Prerequisite: None
Grade level: 11, 12 
Credit earned: 0.5 English

One Semester

Students will exercise their analytical and argumentative skills by engaging with a variety of persuasive, informative, and entertaining media while investigating the delineations between each category of author’s purpose. While the course will primarily focus on literary texts, students will also be exposed to visual art, performance art, and film. The course will begin with an introduction to formal logic, assessing students’ ability to identify weak or fallacious reasoning in argumentative texts. Students will then apply these rhetorical skills to close readings of informational texts, evaluating authorial and evidential reliability, as well as how appeals are employed to engage the reader of the text. Lastly, students will appraise media meant strictly for entertainment, drawing on their exposure to texts from multiple genres and perspectives featuring diverse methods of argumentation and dissemination of information throughout the semester. The goal of this course is to encourage critical reading, emboldening students to actively participate in (rather than passively consume) media as a practical, everyday life skill and a college-preparatory skill.

Prerequisite: None
Grade level: 11, 12
Credit earned: 0.5 English

One Semester

The Advanced Genre Studies course takes a deep dive into a single genre. In this semester-length course, we make a comparative study of poetic traditions in different parts of the world, then focus on the works of one or two poets to study how they developed their art. Students will hone their reading, writing, and discussion skills in a student-centered environment that promotes independence and serious inquiry. Students will have opportunities to demonstrate their understanding and ability to develop a persuasive argument in both written and oral analyses; they will also practice writing poetry and explore their own creative processes as writers.

Prerequisite:  None
Grade level: 11, 12
Credit earned: 0.5 English

One Semester

In this course, we examine the role of storytelling in challenging cultural norms. We’ll focus on voices that have been historically underrepresented both in the U.S. and abroad, whose work subverts the dominant narrative. This Socratic Seminar encourages critical and comparative thinking and offers students the opportunity to engage deeply with issues such as the role of art/the artist in society, and the politics and power of representation on-screen and on the page. We will examine the techniques used by writers and film makers to construct powerful stories and study the underlying theory present in both mediums. Students will hone their analytical skills in discussion and writing and will apply various critical lenses as they investigate both film and text. This course will culminate in a major project that will have both a creative and an analytic component, and will be completed in cooperation with the Digital Media Lab.

Prerequisite:  None
Grade level: 11, 12
Credit earned: 0.5 English

One Semester

This course is offered every other school year. It will be offered next in the 2024-25 school year. Please note that this is a 2-period, co-curricular class.

False historical beliefs are pervasive in our culture. Students in this interdisciplinary course will apply critical thinking as they examine historical and literary texts through varied analytical lenses, considering various critical readings of a given text. Students will cultivate deep understandings of perspective through the lens of myths, misconceptions, and manipulations of the past. Course topics include myths about Westward expansion, race, Native American genocide, Colonialism, and Antisemitism. We will examine the ways people manipulate the past, common techniques used to perpetuate problematic myths and claims about the past, and how and why the past has been appropriated throughout time. Students will discuss, reflect upon, and write about how myths, misconceptions, and manipulations of the past influence ideas about their society and culture. An important focus of this class will be the methods and evidence used by scholars to interpret past peoples and events – specifically critical thinking, interpretative, and analytical skills used to disprove inaccurate and problematic claims about the past. Students will learn about these methods and apply them in their own analytical writing and presentations throughout the course, including assignments to help students be more critical consumers of information as they examine their own beliefs about history. This course is part of the Matteo Ricci Institute through Seattle University, and students may earn college credit.

Prerequisite:  None
Grade level: 11, 12
Credit earned: 0.5 English and 0.5 Social Studies

One Semester

“This King Shakespeare does he not shine, in crowned sovereignty, over us all, as the noblest, gentlest, yet strongest of rallying-signs; indestructible; really more valuable in that point of view than any other means or appliance whatsoever? We can fancy him as radiant aloft over all Nations of Englishmen, thousand years hence.” –Thomas Carlyle, The Hero as Poet (1841)

This course is designed to introduce students to an array of early modern English plays written by William Shakespeare’s – often more popular – contemporaries. We will then discuss whether or not such critical praise for Shakespeare – very much like Carlyle’s aforementioned 19th century paean – which has been widely accepted by readers for ages, is really deserved. As such, time-honored notions of the Bard’s supreme standing in the English literary canon will no longer be sacrosanct. Naturally, we will become familiar with the historical and cultural circumstances surrounding the production of a given piece of literature, and also explore the development and expression of some fundamental ideas, assumptions, myths, and beliefs that still influence literature and society today.

Prerequisite:  None
Grade level: 11, 12
Credit earned: 0.5 English

One Semester

"The fact is that anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days. If you can't make something out of a little experience, you probably won't be able to make it out of a lot." - Flannery O'Connor

Writers of a well-crafted short story are experts at "making something out of a little experience." When closely examined, the perfect short story delivers the same emotional catharsis as a well-written novel. Students will explore the short story form, traversing both the globe and societal customs in the process. Students will become familiar with the historical and cultural circumstances surrounding the production of each given text and will explore the development and expression of some fundamental ideas, assumptions, myths, and beliefs that still influence literature and society today.

Prerequisite:  None
Grade level: 11, 12
Credit earned: 0.5 English

One or multiple semesters

This course is open to students who want to improve their writing skills. Students may enroll for one or multiple semesters. They will learn about different academic writing forms, writing techniques, and academic vocabulary. Through examination of writing samples and daily discussions, students will expand their understanding of the writing process. This class will also give students an opportunity to work on current writing assignments, either individually or within a small peer group. By the end of their enrollment in the course, students will be confident expressing academic ideas in writing, integrating quotations, and engaging in the editing process. This course is graded on a pass/fail scale and is not calculated into a student’s GPA.

Prerequisite: None (students will be recommended by English teacher) 
Grade level: Open to all students
Credit earned: 0.5 English and 1.0 Elective

One Semester

This semester course is open to anyone who wishes to explore the craft and practice of creative writing. Whether you’re well into your tenth chapter or have never written anything longer than a tweet, this class will encourage you to stretch your creative muscles. You will experience reading and writing fiction, poetry, personal narrative, and drama in a workshop setting. The course will include individual and class critiques of work, as well as discussion of the techniques writers use to make their words leap off the page! This course is graded on a pass/fail scale and is not calculated into a student’s GPA.

Prerequisite: None
Grade level: Open to all students
Credit earned: 0.5 Elective

Year-long

This course provides continued support for students at the advanced level of English language development. This course works on developing the language skills, critical thinking, and learning strategies required for academic success. Language growth will be monitored through the WIDA ACCESS test taken once a year during the second semester. This course is graded on a pass/fail scale and is not calculated into a student’s GPA.

Prerequisite: Intermediate English Language Development or Expanding score on the WIDA
Grade level: ELL Students 9,10, 11, 12
Credit earned: 1.0 Elective