While all our classes are centered on the AZ state standards set forth for high school English and literature courses, each year of classes requires some special instruction to prepare the students for their future.

 

Freshman: Our 9th grade classes are centered on allowing the student to transition easily into the high school curriculum both in English as well as other subjects. With a rigorous curriculum in not only novel analysis but functional, expository and persuasive writing and reading, our students generate a basic set of knowledge and skills used across various curricula for the rest of their high school career. A strong student support and parent contact program is in place to ensure their success at the high school level.

 

Sophomores: Students in 10th grade study hard to develop their reading and writing skills in order to successfully pass the AIMS test. While they have until 12th grade to achieve a passing score, we feel that by excelling on the AIMS early they can use the last two years to focus on preparing for college. Our curriculum includes functional, expository, persuasive and novel reading as well as an extensive work in writing using the 6 traits format and other techniques to improve their language arts skills.   

 

Juniors: Our junior level courses are taught in a single class and focuses heavily on an overview of American literature. Through the evaluation and analysis of a wide range of American authors and their works the students further prepare themselves for success in the world of post secondary education, whether that is two year community college or a 4 year university. Students evaluate the use of rhetoric, irony and other literary modes to understand the impact of literature on society in general and their own lives as well.

 

Seniors: Seniors begin their year with a rigorous semester dedicated to the art of research writing and it’s applications in many curricula. Through research, style format training, and writing critiques the students will generate a final product designed to showcase their best in writing, research, and information assimilation. This will prepare them for the form of writing required at all levels of post secondary education. The topic for the research may change each year, but for the 09/10 school year it is: Scientific Advancement, it’s political and economic impacts, and my role in it. The goal is to create a research topic that encourages the students to explore their role in society and culture through different venues. The second half of the year is spent exploring World Literature including mythology, Shakespeare and other famous literary works. This continues to prepare the students for the analytical thinking and evaluation of the written word in a post secondary school setting.