English IV

By English IV, students have repeatedly peered through the window to humanity that literature has opened for them. Through it, they have gained valuable perspective on their world, past and present. Close-textual interaction with literature should have heightened appreciation for those texts, improved critical and analytical skills in reading and writing, enhanced speaking and listening abilities, and enriched students’ academic and personal vocabulary. This course is organized chronologically, so students can see the influences on and evolution of the ideas and forms. Writing, research, and speaking assignments will continue to focus on formulating and expressing ideas and arguments about the readings. Particular emphasis is placed on gaining critical perspective on the relationship between content and form and on synthesizing ideas into clear and concise prose and presentations.

To become critical consumers of text, students will be exposed to increasingly more complex texts to which they apply those skills. In English language arts, that critical content is both rigorous and relevant and includes high-quality contemporary works as well as the classics of literature. In English language arts, that content includes classic myths and stories from around the world, America’s founding documents, foundational American literature, and Shakespeare.