ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Freshman English encompasses reading, writing, listening, speaking, vocabulary, and grammar with various assignments, activities, essays, and assessments to reinforce these components.  The curriculum involves short stories, novels, poetry, drama, and mythology, with emphasis on vocabulary development, literary analysis, and reading strategies to improve literacy.  A few of the classics include Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado and The Raven, William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, Homer’s Odyssey, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Red Headed League, Daphne du Maurier’s The Birds, and Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird.

Students will read literature from a variety of sources and write for a variety of purposes and audience.  Journal writing and essays are stressed.  Literary terms and analysis of different genres of literature are a focus of this class.

Students will develop their reading and writing skills through an intense curriculum in which writing assignments, projects and weekly vocabulary quizzes are emphasized.  Students will also regularly participate in oral presentations, outside reading and group discussion.  Students should be prepared to hone their writing skills with no less than 10 five paragraph essay and one 1500 word research project.  Students will be expected to be self-motivated and be responsible for completing independent reading and writing.

American Literature is a survey course covering samplings of the major writing from pre-colonial America to contemporary times.  Authors included are Emerson, Thoreau, Poe, Hawthorne, Melville, Whitman,  Dickenson, Twain, Cather, Frost, Steinbeck and many others.  Students are expected to read, discuss and write about poems, essays, stories and novels assigned.

English IV comprises two elements:  composition coursework and a study of British Literature.  The writing-intensive composition coursework focuses on development of organization, voice, fluency, conventions of written English, and the research paper process.  Literature selections include: Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Macbeth, and Pygmalion.

AP English is designed for the highly motivated senior who has indicated the ability and desire to do college-level work in English and to take the college Entrance Examination Board test (optional) in May to qualify for advanced placement and standing or credit in college.  The course requires reading and in-depth critical analysis of literature as well as responsive expository writing.

The Hiltop course exposes students to a variety of real-life experiences that will help prepare them for the working world beyond high school.  Students are required to establish a partnership with the community as they market our yearbook as an advertising product for local businesses.  Students are required to manage money and to work within a strict budget.  The production rate for Hillsboro High School's yearbooks is approximately $24,000.00 per year and continues to grow.  Hiltop also requires students to set short term and long term goals, and to make sure these goals are met within the confines of our three deadlines.  Teamwork is essential as these students must communicate and compromise with each other on a daily basis.  Students also learn about successful photography, journalism, caption writing, use of color, and use of graphics and design.  Yearbook has many different skills to offer students, and it is a fun way to incorporate creativity into one's high school experience.

Students will have the opportunity to build leadership skills and engage in service projects in conjunction with the freshman BRIDGE program.  Students will work with freshmen to develop positive high school relationships and build a strong academic foundation.

Students will work in teams to develop activities for freshmen homerooms.