English

During their ninth grade year, students examine fiction, drama, poetry, and memoir with a focus on complementary themes: personal identity and growing up. As they read texts both canonical and contemporary, freshmen encounter diverse characters who wrestle with enduring questions: to what extent do we control our hearts, our fates, and how others perceive us, especially as we enter adulthood? In an English I classroom, students might act out scenes from Shakespeare or discuss the impacts of implicit bias on a protagonist and on themselves. Ninth graders also spend significant time honing their analytical and creative writing skills, practicing public speaking, studying the rules of grammar and punctuation, and developing their vocabulary. Full-year, one credit.

Storytelling drives the English II curriculum. Sophomores spend the first semester reading and writing short fiction. Following the guiding premise that nothing in fiction is an accident, students study authorial techniques and employ them in their own writing. Students write original pieces incorporating the elements of storytelling; some may be featured in Voice or included in the sophomore short story competition. In the second semester, the focus shifts from creating fiction to analyzing novels, plays, and poetry. Sophomores also continue to practice public speaking, build vocabulary, master grammar, and refine sentence structure. Full-year, one credit.

In this course, students focus on the creative and controlled uses of language in poetry and prose through the close analysis of short, diverse excerpts from great American writers. As the semester progresses, students read full texts like The Great Gatsby and Flight. Writing assignments are, for the most part, imitative rather than analytical. The aim is for students to develop more flexibility, precision, and control in writing, as well as to acquire an appreciation of the elements of style and the rhetorical strategies authors use to achieve different effects. Semester 1, 1/2 credit.

In this course, eleventh graders continue reading representative works of the best American writing. They explore an array of authors, genres, and periods to consider the full range of the American experience, from the beautiful to the brutal. As they encounter texts through a dynamic mix of class discussions, close-reading activities, and individual presentations, they gain a richer understanding of their national and individual identities. The course also emphasizes public speaking and analytical writing, including nuanced thesis statements, quotation integration, and thoughtful application of grammar and mechanics. NOTE: With additional outside study, some students who take American Masters I and II will be prepared to take the Advanced Placement Exam in Language & Composition. Semester 2, 1/2 credit.

This course is designed for a select group of juniors who have already demonstrated a mature commitment to reading literature as well as a sophisticated mastery of grammar and composition. Through intense study of the elements of fiction, poetry, and drama, these students prepare for the AP Exam in Literature and Composition. They examine a broad spectrum of readings drawn from American and world literature — from the classics to the avant-garde — sharpen their skills of critical evaluation, and deepen their appreciation of the persuasive and artistic power of the written word. This course also requires a public speaking unit. Full-year, one credit.

This course prepares a select group of juniors for the AP Exam in Language and Composition. Students read a variety of fiction and nonfiction to develop their understanding and appreciation of how writers use style, literary devices, and rhetorical strategies to write persuasively. Assignments are energetic and varied. Students craft creative imitations of excerpts from diverse writers, analyze the Aristotelian appeals of television and print advertisements, and ponder Joan Didion’s definition of “self-respect” as they write personal essays and evaluate the complex characters of The Scarlet Letter . They prepare for the May AP Exam with many in-class, AP-style reading quizzes and timed essays. Students build research skills as they craft their own AP synthesis essay prompts, finding and vetting appropriate sources, and share their final products with classmates in oral presentations. After the AP Exam, students continue their public speaking work, performing original poetry and entertaining each other with oral stories and dramatic recitations. Full-year, one credit.

In this seminar-style course, seniors examine diverse masterpieces of drama, fiction, and poetry to gain an enhanced appreciation of the role of great storytelling in humankind's search for meaning. In order to prepare for the rigors of college, students lead in literary discussions, engage in interdisciplinary research, and continue working on their public speaking skills during the Words the Changed the World unit. All seniors, except for those enrolled in Advanced Composition, take this course. Semester 1, 1/2 credit.

Student writers learn best by writing for real audiences, and students in this honors course both write and handle a variety of editing responsibilities for Voice , a news, lifestyle, and literary magazine serving the entire Thayer community. Selected students automatically have a staff position on the publication and continue to edit the magazine second semester after the course ends. Students are selected on the basis of their demonstrated writing skill, ability to handle the responsibility and pressures of publication time constraints, and their commitment to excellence in their work. They need to proofread accurately, write creatively, take constructive criticism in stride and offer it with tact, and be ready and willing to work some evenings when production deadlines loom. Student selection is based on a thorough application process, which includes a longform, magazine-specific application as well as the submission of both literary and artistic portfolios. Throughout Semester 2, students enrolled in Voice need to reserve 30 minutes of their morning Flex Block for bi-monthly meetings. Semester 1, 1/2 credit.

This course is designed to empower students to become more honest, authentic, practiced, and brave communicators. Approximately one-third of our time together is devoted to lessons and group discussions on various aspects of communication such as how to: find your voice; use elements of rhetoric; make a persuasive argument; frame the debate; tell a powerful story; craft a clear message; write and deliver a speech; connect with diverse audiences; entertain different perspectives; express identities and values; listen deeply; deliver feedback; develop empathy; demonstrate compassion; and use humor and emotion. The other two-thirds of the course focus on practicing and receiving feedback on your communication skills. Students read selected articles and view selected videos; they then deliver prepared speeches and tell stories in person and on video, for which they receive customized and critical feedback from their peers and instructor. Semester 2, 1/2 credit.

Ira Glass, host of the hit radio show This American Life , asserts that “great stories happen to those who can tell them.” This course will focus on the ins and outs of effective story-telling and story-producing. Students will engage with audio narratives and podcasts, films and documentaries, poetry and microfiction as they consider how best to tell the tales that matter most. They will interview professionals working “in the field,” edit their recordings in the new audio lab, and share their narrative work in the classroom and with the larger community. Semester 2, 1/2 credit.

Where is our place in the world? How long must we search for it? Is “arrival” the goal or a pit stop along the way? Is the danger here in what we know or out there in what we don’t? A technology and globalization shrink the world, our challenge more than ever is to nurture “unity in diversity” without sacrificing one for the other. Writers, poets, and documentary filmmakers are well poised to show us: how do we cross the borders of age, gender, class, race, and culture along the way? Examining their own experience in the light of the experience of others, students broaden their perspectives and deepen their awareness. Semester 2, 1/2 credit. Qualifies for Global Scholars.

We all have stories that need to be told — stories that the world needs to hear. Our narratives show we matter. This class will help students unlock the stories within them through the art of spoken word and memoir writing. Students will read contemporary spoken word artists and view exemplary recorded performances in order to analyze, critique, and apply specific Spoken Word techniques to their own writing and to learn about the elements of Spoken Word that have made it a popular art form around the world. Throughout this workshop-style class, a final project will also be developed, bringing the individual student’s story to life in the form of a living memoir.

In this course, students will read and analyze some of literature’s most fascinating villains and anti-heroes. What do these wicked and wayward characters reveal about human nature? In what ways are these characters more effective, compelling, or illuminating than benevolent heroes? Students will explore novels, short stories, poems, and examples from popular culture and music with a focus on the analysis of the antihero. Through written pieces, student-led discussions, and project-based learning, students will build writing, critical thinking, and discussion skills necessary for success in college-level English courses. Semester 2, 1/2 credit.

Like literature, film is an artistic medium with its own conventions, aesthetic values, and techniques. Its perspectives on and insight into the human condition are as varied as the films and directors themselves. In this class, we examine the techniques used by contemporary directors to manage the complexity of adapting the written word to film and study how this medium explores the depths of our emotions and the motivations for and consequences of our actions. Students use concepts of cinematic analysis such as genre, narrative structure, and point of view as an entryway into discussions of intent, impact, and audience response. Students are encouraged to formulate their own critical responses to the works and reflect on what these interpretations reveal, both personally and socially. The inclusion of international films and texts also reveals a perspective that transcends immediate culture and examines those global responsibilities and universal experiences we all shares. Semester 2, 1/2 credit. Qualifies for Global Scholars.

Wabaseemoong First Nation author Richard Wagamese has observed that, “All that we are is story.” In this course, students will examine “tiny” (or very short) narratives in various genres of literature and art, including modern poetry and spoken word poetry, short fiction, nonfiction, visual art, and film. Students will also participate in guided creative writing workshops with their peers and receive instruction in audio narrative skills. This course will culminate in each student creating a multi-media digital piece that showcases their skills in creative writing, audio interpretation, and visual narrative. Semester 2, 1/2 credit.