High School English Program

9th grade
Required

This course focuses on the examination and application of what makes writing effective, beginning with the foundations of all written work: ideas, organization, voice, sentence structure, word choice, and conventions. Through reading and responding to published mentor texts from a variety of authors, students identify intentional writers’ moves and stylistic approaches they can apply to their own work. Working through the entire writing process—from generating ideas to drafting, gathering feedback, and revising—students craft short pieces in a variety of genres: process, description, narrative, analysis, creative, and persuasive. As we explore what makes writing compelling, we continue to build the skills at the heart of all English courses at UPrep: close reading, critical thinking, careful interpretation, creative expression, active listening, and effective communication. 

10th grade
Required

This course focuses on reading and comprehension skills through a range of genres, including prose (fiction and nonfiction) and poetry. Students practice analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing the literary themes and texts they encounter. Through this practice, students will 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. 

10th grade
Required

English and History are combined into one single-block interdisciplinary humanities course that studies both world literature and history. This course continues the focus on identity and community that begins 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 take one of three different themed tracks, leading them to ultimately write a six- to eight-page New Yorker-style article based on the topic of their track. 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 issues and topics are playing out locally and globally.

11th grade
Required

Who or what constitutes “America” in a continually evolving literary landscape? Each text explores tensions inherent in American society. Longer works such as novels, essay or story collections, plays, or long-form nonfiction are paired with thematically related shorter pieces (poetry, short fiction, speeches, and essays) from a variety of voices and time periods. Students consider not only the structure, style, and themes of texts, but also the social, cultural, and historical issues surrounding various pieces, and respond to these pieces through discussion, creative projects, and a wide range of written assignments.

12th grade
Elective

The Big Novel version of this course focuses on the in-depth study of big novels (generally 500 pages or longer). In addition to closely reading each novel, students explore the biographical background of the author, the historical context of the work, and reexamine the novel through a variety of critical and cultural lenses. In the Big Author version of this elective, students read multiple works by one author, and explore the author’s body of work both thematically and stylistically. Much like walking through the retrospective of an artist’s work in a museum, students will come to understand how each work influences and is in conversation with the others. Students will write analytical and creative essays from a variety of critical lenses in both versions of the class. Journal writing and discussion are at the heart of every class.

12th grade
Elective

The Canon elective course examines some of the most well-known and influential works from the Old, Middle, and modern English periods, including Elizabethan, neoclassical, and Romantic poetry, essays, plays, and novels. We will explore three essential questions: What is “the canon,” and why does it matter? How can we approach and engage with these (and other) texts through various critical lenses? Where do we see the influence of canonical texts on literature, art, and culture, both historically and today? Past texts have included Beowulf (author unknown), Canterbury Tales (Geoffrey Chaucer), Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (author unknown), Macbeth (William Shakespeare), Hamlet (William Shakespeare), and Frankenstein (Mary Shelley).

12th grade
Elective

How do writers find subjects to write about? How do they hone their craft to effectively bring to life the ideas in their heads? 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, exploring a range of voices, styles, modes, and genres. Weekly seminar discussions of published fiction provide opportunities to analyze how writing works and provide inspiration and strategies for students to apply in their own work. Emphasis is placed on student choice, individual goal setting, reading like a writer, and developing the skills to become disciplined lifelong learners of the craft.

12th grade
Elective

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, and Hispanic Americans—as they, and we, navigate the hybrid identity of being or becoming “American.” This discussion-based course considers topics of immigration, ethnicity, gender, and religion in the context of the question: What does it mean to construct a cultural identity in contemporary America?

12th grade
Elective

This literature course traces the stories of King Arthur, from his possible roots as an amalgamation of mythic kings; to the creation of chivalry, courtly love, and the concept of Camelot; and through the revival of these stories in the Victorian and early modern eras. We investigate how the original ideas and values of medieval literature influenced people, even as these ideas were reimagined by the creators of each period. By considering these works, we question: How does medievalism influence us today? Sources may include The Mabinogion, The History of the Kings of Britain (Geoffrey of Monmouth), The Once and Future King (T.H. White), and poems by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, in addition to peer-reviewed articles and visual art.

12th grade
Elective

This course focuses on reading and studying texts that are considered dystopian and function as critiques of our current historical moment. Students will write, discuss, and research the ways in which the dystopian genre functions as a comment on social and cultural trends, and how these critiques are connected to racism, gender discrimination, class polarization, and reliance on technology in our world today. In reading these narratives, students are asked to determine what they reveal about human nature and values, and how the dystopian genre works to address and define these values.

12th grade
Elective

Through a wide range of texts—fiction, nonfiction, short stories, essays, poetry, film, and art—this course explores how traditional narratives about migration have shaped our understanding of what it means to be “from” a place, to call a place “home,” and to belong. We will reflect on the push and pull factors that drive individuals to migrate, and challenge established conceptions about what it means to be an immigrant. As we begin to face increasing levels of displacement due to climate change, we will ask ourselves these questions: How do we draw borders? What does it mean to be part of a community? What is our role in shaping the narratives about migrations today?

12th grade
Elective

Shakespeare is often considered the epitome of the traditional English canon. His writings are in many ways timeless, which is part of why his stories have endured for over 400 years. On the other hand, Shakespeare’s works have also been used to enforce the so-called superiority of Anglo-European literature and often problematic social norms of Elizabethan England. So, what was Shakespeare really about? The texts themselves often push boundaries, suggesting that audiences question class structures, gender roles, racial norms, and sexualities in Elizabethan England and beyond. How has the performance of Shakespeare’s plays throughout history told us as much about the societies performing them as about Shakespeare’s own thinking? The course will focus on bringing Shakespeare’s works to life. Students will have opportunities to interact with the text through performance and discussion, as well as creative, analytical, and process writing.

11th–12th grades
Elective

Many writers assert that one of the root causes of our myriad environmental crises is that we have lost an essential connection to “nature.” In the course we’ll examine what we mean by “nature” and what it is we may have lost. We’ll consider the ways that literature and media have expressed and shaped ideas about our relationship with the more-than-human world and how those ideas have evolved. We will begin with what is typically defined as the canon of environmental literature and the origins of the environmental movement in the United States—Western writers like Thoreau, Emerson, Muir, Leopold, Carson, Dillard, and McKibben. To these voices, we’ll foreground those of indigenous writers and philosophers who are grappling with the ways we might shift the dominant cultural narrative, like Kimmerer, Shiva, Quinn, and Norberg-Hodge. Through an examination of fiction, nonfiction, essays, poetry, film, music, and art, we’ll consider not only the stories we’ve told in the past that have shaped who we are today but imagine the literature we might write going forward in order to create a more sustainable future for all.

11th–12th grades
Elective

In this course, students will explore the science fiction genre through a variety of lenses. As with every English class, the primary focus will be on discovering what makes good writing good writing. More specific to sci-fi, students will analyze the genre and its ability to reflect, critique, and influence the present day. Students will then use those observations to inform their own creative writing as they employ, adapt, and subvert the genre’s tropes and conventions to craft new, personally relevant stories. Above all, this class will require that student take ownership of their own understanding—of the material, of themselves, and of how those two elements intersect.

11th–12th grades
Elective

“Tell all the truth but tell it slant,” wrote Emily Dickinson 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.

11th–12th grades
Elective

What is a poem, and what does it do? How do poets see and write about the world differently from short fiction writers or novelists? How do they make meaning through rhyme, meter, structure, and carefully selected words? How can we tell when a poem is complete, and how can we revise poetry when we know it’s not quite finished? How do poets develop their own style? And what does it mean to read with a writer’s eye? In this class students attempt to answer these questions while engaging in a variety of reading and writing exercises and experimenting with a range of subjects, styles, and approaches. Emphasis is placed on student choice and the self-directed development of skills. As the main objective, students discover what they would like to say, broaden their awareness and understanding of the many tools in a poet’s toolbox, and intentionally and effectively apply those tools to their own work.