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 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 12th grades
Second semester

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
Second semester

This course examines literature of dystopian and post-apocalyptic world views. Students write, discuss, and research the ways in which dystopian literature functions as a critique of current and historical social and cultural trends, how these descriptions of a post-apocalyptic world are connected to existential crisis and the modern experience, and identify the consistent metaphors and symbols that accompany dystopian stories. In reading these narratives, students are asked to determine what they reveal about human nature and values. Emphasis is placed on writing to discover theme and metaphor as it exists in single and multiple texts in the course.

11th and 12th grades
First semester

The hero prince. A loyal bride. Steadfast companions in arms. A 20-year journey. Mix in a bit of magic, mystery, and mistaken identity with just a little bit of luck. Our text will take us on a journey with our hero through the ancient world. Along the way, we’ll consider both the broad view of society in these times while also looking at specific representations of gender, class, religion, hospitality, war, and how they appear in the Hero’s Journey. Ultimately, we’ll aim to understand how this story has stood the test of time, and how we might learn from it. So, if you want to settle in with a good book, join us on our adventure!

Students interested in this course will help choose between Homer’s The Odyssey and William Buck’s retelling of the Indian epic, Ramayana, as our epic of study.

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

The ways in which women and men make meaning of the world are profound in how they incorporate and exclude one another. In a literary landscape dominated by the stories and testimonies of men, a woman’s story or testimony may need to look and sound a particular way to be heard and understood. Likewise, a man who writes the story of a woman must treat his subject in a particular way to be heard and understood by an audience of women. Through the study of literature and through the practice of critical writing, students in this course examine ways in which female and male views of the world may influence, feed, undermine one another, and make room for gender identities outside of the male/female dichotomy.

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

Through short stories, creative non-fiction, podcasts, and visual art, this course explores the idea of America as “a country of immigrants” and seeks to deepen and complicate our understanding of migration. Together, we explore what drives individuals to migrate as well as what they leave behind, what is lost and what is gained in the process of cultural assimilation, and how language shapes perceptions of immigrants and policy. Students are expected to keep a class journal and develop their own areas of thematic interests in a series of short essays. As a discussion-based class, students are also asked to contribute as much as possible to help build the content and character of the class. 

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

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

“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

What is a poem, and what does it "do"?  How do poets see and write about the world differently than 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.