The English program is designed to increase awareness of our literary heritage, to develop sensitivity to the English language, and to foster an appreciation of great literature. English courses at Portledge include works of major British and American authors, as well as representative selections from other cultures, past and present. Shakespeare is read every year. English is required in grades 9-12. Advanced sections and Advanced Placement courses are offered when appropriate. Classes emphasize discussions on topics ranging from technical writing issues to ethical and aesthetic questions generated by the readings.
All courses stress writing and its improvement through good editing. The skill-oriented programs in grades 9 and 10 are designed to teach students to communicate clearly and forcefully. In 11th grade an entire quarter is devoted exclusively to writing under time pressure and writing with revision. In all grades expository writing on a variety of literary and nonliterary subjects is emphasized in order to develop sound organizational skills. Grammar is studied both holistically, by examining grammar errors in student writing, and systematically, through exercises. Work on grammar, usage, and vocabulary is designed to help students with their writing and to prepare them for college entrance examinations. Tests on the reading are designed to measure comprehension skills as well as knowledge of content and critical thinking. They also generally require a considerable amount of writing. All exams include an essay assignment. In the ninth grade both mid-year and final exams count as 10% of the year grade. In grades 10-12 both mid-year and final exams count as 1/6th of the year grade.
A summer reading program helps sustain skills during the vacation while providing a common starting point for classes in September. All students entering grades 9-12 are expected to read two required books. In addition, they are expected to read two books of their choice. To help with the selection, the English Department provides an annotated list of books on the Portledge website each spring.
The emphasis in the following description of the program is on new material and on new goals and objectives at each grade level. However, considerable classroom time is spent on ensuring that the foundation for the new material remains strong and that previous goals and objectives continue to be met.
English 9: The course introduces students to the epic as a form in relation to The Odyssey. Other reading selections may include Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Siddhartha, A Gathering of Old Men, and Catcher in the Rye. Student essays are expected to reflect a growing awareness of the value of precise language, sentence variety and logically unified paragraphs.
English 10: The course is the first of a two-year sequence that focuses on British and American Literature. Books with similar themes, such as Great Expectations, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, are juxtaposed, and the literary techniques of various authors are studied. The short stories of writers such as Thomas Mann, Leo Tolstoy, Hugh Garner and Ernest Hemingway may also be read. Macbeth is the usual selection by Shakespeare. Reading from The Shorter Norton Anthology of Poetry forms the basis of a three-year program in poetry. Students are encouraged to deal with concepts and abstractions in their essays and are taught techniques of proving points with the use of appropriate evidence.
English 11: This course continues the focus on British and American authors. Romantic writers of both England and America are read and compared. The fiction read deals with worlds as diverse as Joyce’s Dublin in Dubliners, Fitzgerald’s Gold Coast in The Great Gatsby, and Toni Morison’s urban Detroit and rural Virginia in Song of Solomon. Hamlet or Othello is studied as well as the poetry of some of Shakespeareís contemporaries. In addition to the frequent shorter essays that are the heart of the intensive writing quarter, advanced section students write a major paper utilizing secondary sources. Exceptional students are encouraged to take the Advanced Placement English Language test.
English 12: English 12 offers the student the choice of courses focused on specific topics and themes such as Shakespeare, Journeys, Greek Tragedy, Comedy, Non-Western Literature and Contemporary Writers. Writing clearly under time pressure and developing essays of increasing sophistication are stressed. The fourth quarter of these electives is devoted to a major paper (8-10 pages in length) on a text chosen by individual students in consultation with the teacher.
Advanced Placement: An Advanced Placement course is offered to qualified twelfth grade students. This course is designed to be the equivalent of a college freshman English Literature course. The syllabus includes works by authors such as Donne, Joyce, Dostoevsky and Virginia Woolf. Critical analysis of literary selections forms the basis of the writing curriculum.
Elective Courses: Elective courses in classical literature and mythology, creative writing and journalism are offered. Independent study is also offered upon student initiative and department approval.