English IV Syllabus
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD (August 18 – September 5)
Development of the English Language: Old English, Conversion of King Edwin, Story of Caedmon, Beowulf, Grendel, The Seafarer, The Wife’s Lament, and Anglo-Saxon Riddles.
MEDIEVAL PERIOD (September 8 – October 3)
Development of the English Language: Middle English, Ballads, The Canterbury Tales, The Book of Margery Kempe, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Le Morte d’Arthur, and The Art of Courtly Love.
RENAISSANCE (October 6 – October 24)
Development of the English Language: Modern English, Sonnets, Lyrical Poems, and the King James Bible.
RENAISSANCE DRAMA (October 27 - November 7)
Macbeth by William Shakespeare.
17TH & 18TH CENTURIES (November 10 – December 12)
Cavalier Poets, John Milton, Satire, Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, Samuel Johnson.
FALL FINALS – DECEMBER 15th – 19th
WINTER BREAK – DECEMBER 22nd – JANUARY 3rd
ROMANTIC PERIOD (January 5 – January 23)
Romantic Thought: Burns, Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge; Vindication of the Rights of Woman; Second Gen: Byron, Shelley, Keats.
VICTORIAN ERA (January 26 – February 27)
The Brownings, Dickens, Brontes, Kipling, Tennyson.
MODERN ERA (March 2 – March 27)
Irish Theater, War Poets, World War I
POSTMODERN ERA (March 30– April 24)
Orwell, Thomas, Atwood, Lessing, Achebe; NOVEL STUDY &MAJOR PROJECT): Death on the Nile
CAREER PREPARATION (April 27 – May 15)
Resume building, professional letter writing, job interview practice; MAJOR PROJECT: Senior Memoir
SPRING FINALS – MAY 18th – 22nd
English II Syllabus
GRAMMAR BOOT CAMP (August 18 – August 29)
Reviewing grammar rules and vocabulary; deconstructing sentence structure and development; analyzing complex parts of speech in sentences; and constructing complex and varying sentence structures
FICTION (September 2 – October 10)
Read and evaluate short stories, poetry for author’s craft, literary elements, and historical/social context.
Novel: Anthem by Ayn Rand
Play: Antigone by Sophocles
NON-FICTION (October 13 – November 7)
Read and examine essays, historical documents, diaries, literary critiques, etc. for author’s craft, literary elements, and historical/social context.
Novel: Hidden Girl by Shyima Hall
INFORMATIONAL TEXT (November 10 – November 21)
Read and analyze news articles, digital texts, letters, etc. for author’s purposes and historical/social context.
FOLK LITERATURE (December 1 – December 12)
Read and analyze fables, myths, tall tales, and fairy tales for historical/social context.
FALL FINALS - December 15th – 19th
WINTER BREAK – December 20th – January 4th
ARGUMENT/RHETORIC (January 5 – February 13)
Develop argument skills and techniques through the study of classical argument and rhetoric skills. Compose logical argumentative essays with supporting evidence.
STAAR EOC INTERIM (February 16 - 20)
ESSAY WRITING (February 23 – March 27)
Compose expository, argumentative, and literary analysis essays.
STAAR EOC PREPARATION (March 30 – April 10)
RESEARCH (April 13 – May 15)
Students will develop research skills while learning the game of chess.
SPRING FINALS - May 18th – 22nd
Theater of Arts Syllabus
FIRST SIX WEEKS (August 11 – September 22)
Theater Expectations, Theater Safety, Theater History, Mini Monologues, Theater Breathing and Body Exercises
MAJOR PRESENTATION: LIP SYNC BATTLE
SECOND SIX WEEKS (September 25 – November 3)
Character Development Activities, Voice Training, FILM: The Princess Bride, Costuming Activities, Makeup Activities, Fall Production Tryouts
FIELD TRIP – The Alley Theater’s The Body Snatchers
MAJOR PROJECT: COSTUME & MAKEUP
THIRD SIX WEEKS (November 6– December 19)
Fall Show Rehearsals, Stage Development, Monologue/Duet State Competition Tryouts
FALL SEMESTER SHOW – Tuesday, December 9th
FOURTH SIX WEEKS (January 4 – February 16)
Monologue/Duet State Competition Rehearsals, Transition of Stage to Film History, FILM: Singing in the Rain
State Monologue/Duet Competition – Saturday, February 28th
FIFTH SIX WEEKS (February 20 – April 5)
Duet and Small Group Scenes, Spring Show Tryouts
MAJOR PROJECT: COSTUME & MAKEUP
SIXTH SIX WEEKS (April 8 – May 17)
Spring Show Rehearsals, Stage Development
FIELD TRIP – High School Night at the Opera – April 28th
SPRING SEMESTER SHOW – Thursday, May 7th