The goal of the English/Language Arts curriculum is for all students to achieve English language literacy in order to be college and career ready. This is accomplished through a sequential, comprehensive curriculum that develops lifelong, critical thinkers who approach problem solving with confidence.

Students may receive tutoring from SHS English teachers on the afternoons below:

Click the link below to view the Alabama Course of Study for English Language Arts: 

AL Course of Study - ELA

Students who will be taking English second semester will be tested on their summer/winter reading book January 28th (first book for AP/DE) and February 5th (CPR/CPA/Honors/AP/DE).

See below for the list of classes and books.  

9^th grade CPR (regular): Monster by Walter Dean Myers

9^th grade CPA (advanced): The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney

9^th grade Pre-AP: Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

(Read all three)

-A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry *

-The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams*

*Link to text can be found on shspartans.com

10^th grade CPR (regular): The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

10^th grade CPA (advanced): Lord of the Flies by William Golding

10^th grade Pre-AP: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

(Read both) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

11^th grade CPR (regular):  The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

11^th grade CPA (advanced): Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

11^th grade Dual Enrollment: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

(Read both)  In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

12^th grade CPR (regular): The Call of the Wild by Jack London

12^th grade CPA (advanced): Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

12^th grade Dual Enrollment: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

 (Read both)                         

 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Books to purchase/read:

1-How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster

2-EITHER Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë OR Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

3-D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d’Aulaires

Reading List

• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (journal due and test given TBA)
• In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (journal due and test given TBA)
• Choose ONE of the listed AP recommended nonfiction books:

(journal due and in-class essay TBA)

1. First Assignment: Dialectical journal of ONE book from the following list of AP recommended nonfiction—due TBA

* INTO THE WILD by John Krakauer

*AMAZING GRACE by Jonathon Kazol

* THE RIGHT STUFF by Tom Wolfe

* FAST FOOD NATION by Eric Schlosser

* NICKEL AND DIMED: ON (NOT) GETTING BY IN AMERICA by Barbara Ehrenreich

* OVERACHIEVERS: THE SECRET LIVES OF DRIVEN KIDS by Alexandra Robbins

* THERE ARE NO CHILDREN HERE by Alex Kotlowitz

* KABUL BEAUTY SCHOOL: AN AMERICAN WOMAN GOES BEHIND THE VEIL by Deborah Rodriguez

* SHE SAID YES: THE UNLIKELY MARTYRDOM OF CASSIE BERNALL by Misty Bernall

* THE ZOOKEEPER’S WIFE: A WAR STORY by Diane Ackerman

* ESCAPE by Carolyn Jessop

* THE GLASS CASTLE by Jeannette Walls

* BEAUTIFUL BOY: A FATHER’S JOURNEY THROUGH HIS SON’S ADDICTION by David Sheff

* THE INNOCENT MAN by John Grisham

* FREAKONOMICS by Malcolm Gladwell

*YOUNG MEN AND FIRE by Norman Maclean

*GENERATION ME:  WHY TODAY’S YOUNG AMERICANS ARE MORE CONFIDENT , ASSERTIVE, ENTITLED—AND MORE MISERABLE THAN EVER BEFORE by Jean M. Twenge

*PROFILES IN COURAGE by John F. Kennedy

Assignment:  As you read, keep a dialectical journal (directions to follow).  You should write these journals in one notebook.  DO NOT TYPE YOUR JOURNALS.  These journals will consist of quotations to which you will respond critically. Please label and date journals appropriately.  The journal is a 100 point quiz grade.

Select ONE quotation or passage for approximately every 15 pages of your free choice book. Respond to the quotations, focusing on the ways in which the author uses language to create effect.  What is it about the language that stands out and makes the passage distinctive?  How does the passage reflect the author’s style and reveal larger themes in the work?  I expect responses to be developed thoughtfully and intellectually and should be approximately 50 words in length (a solid paragraph).  Because you are being asked to analyze and interpret your reading, it is important that you do not substitute sparknotes or other summaries or condensations.  The best way to be successful with these assignments is to actually read.  You are building a knowledge bank that is integral to being able to pass the AP Exam!  The dialectical journals should be constructed in the following manner:

            Quote                                                                          Response

“Write the quote from the book                                  Your response and analysis of the quote

on the left side of the paper with                                should be written on the opposite side

the correct MLA citation” (176).                                of the page.  You can see the list following

                                                                            for several ways you may respond to the text

                                                                             and you only need to use one per entry but

                                                                                      make sure to use a variety.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS!

Choose passages from the book that:

o Seem significant, powerful, thought-provoking, or puzzling

o Remind you of your own life or something you’ve seen before

o Make you realize something you hadn’t realized before

o Contain confusing language or unfamiliar vocabulary

o Describe events you find surprising or confusing

o Show structural shifts or turns in the plot 

o Demonstrate patterns in the text such as recurring images, ideas, details, colors, symbols, or motifs

o Demonstrate something specific about the writer’s style

o Illustrate shifting perspectives or time sequence shifts 

o Demonstrate effective or creative use of literary devices

Write meaningful responses to the passages:

 Write one full paragraph (five or more sentences) in response to each passage from the text.

 It should include ideas, insights, questions, reflections, and/or comments

 It should be specific and detailed

 DO NOT SUMMARIZE THE PLOT OR PARAPHRASE THE PASSAGE.

 Responses may include:

o Personal reactions to passages, characters, and/or situations

o Explanations of what passages make you think or feel

o Analyses of the uses of stylistic or literary devices (tone, structure [short or long sentences], high-level vocabulary, figurative language, symbolism, imagery, etc.)

o Explanations of how passages reveal information about important points

o Connections/comparisons between different characters or events in the text, between passages or sections of the text, or to a different text 

o Analyses of the relationships of passages to the story as a whole

o Analyses of author’s attitude, tone, etc.

o Explanations of how the text affects you as a reader

o Questions about the beliefs and values implied in the text    

            o Argue with or speak to the character or author

1. Second Assignment: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury—dialectical journal with 10 entries from throughout text (same instructions as above); journal due and test given on August 24^th.

III.  Third Assignment:  In Cold Blood by Truman Capote—dialectical journal with 15 entries from throughout text (same instruction as above); journal due and test given on August 31^st.