English

Required, ninth grade
Full year

This course focuses on composition skills, beginning with the foundations of writing – ideas, organization, voice, sentence structure, word choice, and conventions. Students examine different rhetorical contexts and practice both recognizing and using rhetorical and literary devices as they work through the entire writing process: generating ideas, gathering evidence, drafting, and revision. Students are exposed to the modes of definition, description, exposition, cause and effect, comparison, argument, and persuasion. Through the practice of writing, we continue to work on the skills all English classes address each year: close reading, critical thinking, analytical interpretation, creative expression, effective writing, and skillful public speaking.

Required, tenth grade
First semester

This course focuses on reading and comprehension skills through a range of genres including prose (fiction and non-fiction), poetry, and drama. Students practice analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing the literary themes and content they encounter, from the classic to the modern, in literature from around the globe. Through the practice of reading, we continue to work on the skills English classes address each year: close reading, critical thinking, analytical interpretation, creative expression, effective writing, and skillful public speaking.

Required, tenth grade
Second semester + second intensive

English and History combine into one, single-block interdisciplinary humanities course to study both world literature and history. This continues the focus on identity and community that is begun in the first semester of both the 10th grade Modern World History and Foundations In Literature courses. Students continue to develop critical reading, researching, and writing skills in the second semester of 10th grade Humanities.

During the intensive term, students choose one of three different tracks and conduct site visits to global organizations based in the Seattle community in order to write a six- to eight-page research paper. They immerse themselves in a research and writing process aligned with the overarching themes of the world history and literature curricula: promoting human rights and building an international community. How can we view each of these three topics from historical, literary, artistic, ethical, environmental, and global perspectives? Students apply the lessons they have learned from their history, English, and humanities courses from earlier in the year to focus on how these historical issues and topics are playing out in both Seattle and in the rest of the world.

11th and 12th grades
First semester

This class will center around one large novel, and this semester’s novel is One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez—winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1982), one of the most influential Latin American writers, and known affectionately as Gabo. We will follow the multi-generational story of the Buendía family in the fictitious town of Macondo in Colombia. Magical realism, narrative techniques, the function of time, historical connections, and themes like solitude will play key roles.

In addition to reading the novel itself, we’ll dive into the biographical background of its author like his training as a journalist, examine responses to the novel at the time of its publication and in subsequent years, reexamine the novel through a variety of critical and cultural lenses, and more. Students with a knowledge of Spanish will have the opportunity to examine the original text, but the novel will be read in English translation. Interesting fact about Gabriel García Márquez: for many years, labeled as “subversive,” he was denied a visa to enter the US until President Clinton lifted the travel ban claiming One Hundred Years of Solitude was his favorite novel.

11th and 12 grades
First semester

What does it mean to add a contemporary lens to old literature? The Canon, Cultural Capital, Critical Thought Elective Course will examine literature from the Old, Middle, and Modern English periods, and the reading list will include poetry, plays, and novels from the Elizabethan, Neoclassical, and Romantic periods. The course will analyze text through a critical cultural lens which charges students to both question norms presented in the text and understand connections to current literature and culture and the reactions it has spawned there. Students will be assessed through public presentation, take-home expository writing, in-class expository writing, and seminar.

11th and 12 grades
Second semester

In traditional English classes, teachers are charged with imparting a wide range of concepts and skills. However, Malcolm Gladwell says that 10,000 hours of practice are required in order to become an “expert” or “elite performer” at a skill.  So, in this class, rather than focusing on a wide range of skills, we’ll zero in on active reading and incisive written interpretation and analysis in a kind of “boot camp” for reading and writing. We examine strong arguments, identify logical fallacies in interpretation, and use both inductive and deductive logic to interpret and convey meaning. Through practice in close reading, lively discussion, and regular on-demand writing, we’ll strengthen our reading and writing muscles so we can engage in these activities with greater ease and confidence.

11th and 12th grades
Second semester

The continent of Africa is made up of 54 recognized states, but people of African heritage have grown to plant roots in many new grounds. Today, all of the descendants of historical migrants make up the African diaspora: communities of people around the world where dispersed Africans have landed, either involuntarily or voluntarily, and who still retain roots to Africa. This course focuses on discovering how and why the African diaspora was created, how its impact persists today as both a painful and healing part of identity, and also considers the connection to colonization. Through a brief study of history, and a deep study of mostly contemporary literature, we consider the movement of peoples, and attempts to create new communities. Using Yaa Gyasi’s novel, Homegoing, as a foundation, we learn about how writers find roots back to Africa and how they depict and celebrate Black identity today.

11th and 12th grades
Second semester

Through literature, memoirs, storytelling, and art, this course explores the idea of America as “a country of immigrants” and seeks to deepen our understanding of immigrant stories and experiences. Immigrant Stories centers literature and personal stories of immigrants themselves—from communities who are directly impacted—to consider the power of storytelling. Students reflect on what drives individuals to migrate as well as what they leave behind. 
 
We will examine many forms of representation including a full length non-fiction book, memoir, art, TV show/film, speakers, and more determined by student areas of interest. Students will also examine how immigrants’ stories are told by local organizations such as the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, Colectiva Legal del Pueblo, MAPS-AMEN (the American Muslim Empowerment Network), the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, etc.

11th and 12th grades
First semester

Who are we? What factors shape us into who we will become? To what degree can we choose the paths we take? In this course, we examine literature that represents the experience of people whose whole identity cannot be encompassed by the singular term, “American.” Through a novel, personal essays, poetry, and the context of history and societal expectations, we explore literature that highlights several groups of Americans – Native Americans, Southeast Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and European-Americans – as they, and we, navigate the hybrid identity of being or becoming “American.” Join us in this discussion-based course to consider topics of immigration, ethnicity, gender, and religion, in context of the question: What does it mean to construct a cultural identity in contemporary America?

11th and 12th grades
Second semester
This course may satisfy the LaunchPad requirement.

Perhaps you are wondering what the title of the course implies.  The “Blake” is a reference to William Blake, a British poet who wrote in the late 18th and early 19th century.  Aubrey Drake Graham, or “Drake”, with whom you are likely more familiar, is a Canadian rapper and songwriter, among other things. The references in the course title not only frame a period of time, but also bring into focus the notion that poetry is as central to our lives in 2020 as it was two hundred years ago. Plus, it rhymes. Perhaps poetry in your mind’s eye looks more like William Blake in a leather-bound volume on a dimly lit and dusty shelf.  While it does exist there, it also exists in the here and now, through your AirPods in perfectly metered pop and rap, in advertisements on the sides of metro buses, through the chatter that bounces around in the sterile corridors of UPrep and, perhaps most significantly, in your lived experiences. This course challenges you to experience poetry both of the old and the new, from the romantic poets of the early 19th century to the hip-hop and break-beat poets of the 21st century.

11th and 12 grades
First semester

Some may think science fiction is just for “nerds,” but Yuval Harari argues that it is “perhaps the most important artistic genre” in the early 21st century because it can help us grasp the ways that science and technology are rapidly transforming everything about our lives.  Students look at both classic and contemporary works of science fiction as legitimate, paradigm-shifting literature that often pushes the boundaries of language, comments upon race and gender politics, sheds light on the complexities of human nature, and inspires cultural and scientific innovations. Students have the opportunity to explore these thought-provoking messages through class discussions, regular in-class critical analyses, and creative projects.

11th and 12th grades
First semester + first intensive
Earns English and Civics credits

Students are growing up in a world fraught with environmental challenge. These students—and their peers worldwide—must confront these challenges knowledgeably and passionately to help find solutions for their own sustainable future. This course introduces students to scientific data about human impacts on the planet and helps them understand some of the political, economic, and ethical challenges inherent in moving toward greater environmental sustainability. Students consider the ethics of their relationship with the environment as they monitor their own “environmental footprint,” read environmental poetry, non-fiction essays, and other literature that explores the themes of nature and human-nature interactions, and build their writing skills in a variety of genres. They learn about the workings of government and consider ways citizens interact with their governments locally, nationally, and globally. Through interactions with guest speakers, independent research, and team problem-solving activities, students gain skills to become effective change-makers in today’s world. This interdisciplinary course provides students with an integrated curriculum with English and Civics.

11th and 12th grades
First intensive

How do writers find subjects to write about? How do they get better at the craft of writing? How do they develop their own style? And what does it mean to read with a writer’s eye? In this class we engage in a variety of reading and writing exercises, including experiments in a range of voices, styles, modes, and genres. Emphasis is placed on student choice and the development of skills in self-direction. The goal is for students to find what it is they would like to say, identify platforms for sharing their voice, and develop the skills to become disciplined life-long learners of the craft.

11th and 12th grades
First intensive

“Tell all the truth, but tell it slant,” wrote Emily Dickenson in her poem of the same name. In a world where truth is often questioned, what is the role of the author in nonfiction writing? In this class, we explore the world of “slant” truth -- nonfiction with an angle, a purpose, or a larger message. We’re not recording truth, but telling its story utilizing many of the same techniques fiction writers use in their prose. We practice facets of creative nonfiction, paying special attention to the genres of literary journalism, memoir, and personal essay, as we craft a portfolio of work to track our progress and ultimately feature a piece fit for publication! If you’re interested in growing your writing by marrying the artistry of fiction work with the truth of your world, join us!

11th and 12th grades
Second intensive
This course may satisfy the LaunchPad requirement.

Are you interested in bringing a personal interest or experience to life? In this course, students will create both short form and long form podcasts, brainstorming and revising their narrative overlays (the “host” portion that provides exposition and guidance) while also learning the particulars of radio production, sound-editing techniques, and interview skills. There will be opportunities to explore issues of personal interest both individually and as members of a production “team.”