The English program at Oak Hill is organized thematically. Courses explore essential questions about identity, the acquisition of power, and what it means to be human. The students learn reading strategies that promote close reading and analysis, and they understand the importance of marking up the text. There is a heavy emphasis on writing, both analytical and expository. Students learn how to develop an argument and support it with evidence from the text. They learn to write essays that include strong claims and sophisticated analysis. There is also an emphasis on learning how to conduct research, develop a working thesis, and write an extensive research paper. Students read a wide variety of texts from both the traditional literary canon and more contemporary selections. The texts students read represent a wide variety of cultures and backgrounds and genres. Along with the emphasis on literary analysis and writing, students also learn vocabulary both in the context of what they are reading and from the SAT. Grammar instruction includes identifying and correcting the common mistakes in the students’ writing, and learning grammar and punctuation rules. Students are given feedback on their writing in the form of teacher/student conferences, and student/student conferences.
The following are outlines of the courses offered this year.
Advanced English
This year we will examine a variety of texts from Early Modern England to the Contemporary American period that invite us to think critically about race, class, gender and the ways in which these social constructs shape our identities. We will closely explore these rather broad themes through writing, discussion and other creative endeavors. During this course you will develop critical reading skills and learn to write analytically. You will also develop a deeper understanding of different literary movements (Early Modern, Victorian, Modernism, Contemporary etc.). There will be an emphasis on poetry as well as literary elements and techniques, in preparation for AP English Literature coursework. The course will culminate in a ten-page research paper about the rhetoric of food politics, in preparation for AP Language and Composition and/or undergraduate writing and more importantly, a lifelong understanding of the powerful nature of language.
Texts: The Awakening, A Doll’s House, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, The Great Gatsby, How to Read Novels Like a Professor, a selection of poetry and personal essays, Interpreter of Maladies, Othello
Classics and Composition
This year we will examine a variety of texts from Early Modern England to the Contemporary American period that invite us to think critically about the power, identity and The American Dream. The first semester we will exam authority as a motif and in the spring we will examine the power structure of the American Dream. We will closely explore these rather broad ideas through writing, discussion and other creative endeavors. During this course you will develop critical reading skills and learn to write analytically. There will be an emphasis on writing as process and this includes close attention to invention, composing, revision, editing and reflection. We will review basic literary elements and study literary techniques, with particular attention to symbols, motifs and themes. Although the main focus will be on analytical writing, there will be several creative and narrative assignments as well as continuous journaling. The course culminates in a ten-page research paper investigating the rhetoric of globalization.
Texts: Fahrenheit 451, Death of a Salesman, The Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, Our Twisted Hero, Branded, Macbeth
Advanced Placement English Language and Composition
This course is about reading, writing, and analyzing rhetoric as citizens of the world. We will examine a number of non-fiction texts in order to understand, analyze, and conduct rhetorical analysis. We will also use these texts as models for our own writing. We will learn specific strategies to become powerful readers that do more than de-code letters on the page, but think actively as we read a text. We will understand not only what a writer’s purpose is, but how he or she achieves that purpose through an extensive study of rhetoric and how language works. We will have opportunities in class to write for a variety of purposes including: narrative, expository, analytical, and persuasive. We will also write in a number of different styles including: memoir, journalist, satirical, and informative.
Texts: What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures, Everything’s an Argument, Nickel and Dimed, Into the Wild, a selection of non-fiction essays, 50 Essays