Our English Courses

List of Courses:

  • Literature I & II | 7th-9th grade recommended

  • Composition I & II | out-of-pocket - 7th-9th grade recommended

  • Honors English Literature & Composition | 9th-12th grades recommended

  • Honors Fiction Writing | 10th-12th grades recommended

  • *Honors Omnibus: Inklings (English Literature & Composition - 10 credits, Critical Thinking - 10 credits, Bible/Theology - 10 credits) - 10th-12th grades recommended | *out-of-pocket

  • *Honors Omnibus: America (American Literature - 10 credits, American History - 10 credits, Bible/Theology - 10 credits, Government - 5 credits) - 11th-12th grades recommended | *out-of-pocket

  • *Honors Omnibus: Apostles (World Literature & Composition - 10 credits, World History - 10 credits, Bible/Theology - 10 credits) - 11th-12th grade recommended | *out-of-pocket

  • Dual Enrollment through Santiago Canyon College - Click here to learn more!

    • ENGL 101 - Freshman Composition (4 credits)

Literature I & II - 7th-9th grades recommended

Literature from various authors, genres and time periods provide opportunities for students to engage with some of the great works of Western Civilization and participate together with the help of a mentor in “The Great Conversation,” an on-going dialogue around universal experiences, philosophical ideas and historical events. Engaging with the questions that have both shaped Western Civilization and been around since the beginning of time, students learn to love the true, the good and the beautiful found within these works. Becoming familiar with the books’ stories and ideas through close reading, annotation, and note-taking, students interact together through Socratic dialogue, and clarify and synthesize their thinking through weekly writing-response assignments based out of class discussions and semester projects.

Materials for Literature I:

Materials for Literature II:

Composition I & II 7th-9th grades recommended

*Composition 1: Using curriculum developed by Veritas and the WORLD News Group, Composition I is a significant step in students’ development of a written rhetorical skill set. Assignments include a multi-paragraph description, a persuasive essay analyzing two sides of an issue, a biographical essay, a fictional narrative, and a short story. Evaluation focuses on the development of ideas and content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, conventions, and presentation. Mastery of basic sentence structure, punctuation, and capitalization is expected as a precursor to this class.

*out-of-pocket

Materials for Composition I:

*Composition 2: Building on skills learned in Composition I, students begin their Composition II pursuits with the formation of a quality thesis and its development in an argumentative essay, then a research report and other forms of essay writing. There is increasing emphasis on the development of style.

Presentation of lessons, frequent impromptu writing tasks, and imitation exercises with immediate feedback are all valuable components enhancing the class. Students are trained in this class to critique both their own work and the writing of others. Composition II continues to build students’ capacity for rhetorical effectiveness.

*out-of-pocket

Materials for Composition II:

Honors English Literature & Composition (10 credits) - 9th-12th grades recommended

In this class, students will engage in an in-depth study of form, content, and style to help them become fearless and capable writers. Through grammar exercises, dynamic readings and discussions of texts within the Great Books tradition, essay crafting, editing, and creative writing, students are empowered to communicate genuine, original thoughts and use their unique voice to participate in an ongoing academic conversation about great ideas and great texts.

Training in writing occurs through the classical stages of grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric. Examining first the units of thought through words and sentences, students will gain mastery of English grammar. Using ideas from discussion and reading, they will begin to form cogent, original thoughts through invention exercises and express them in paragraph and essay form. Students will then learn how to express ideas through themes in poetry, fiction, and other creative projects.

Students who participate in this class have the following objectives:

  • To understand and articulate the basic principles of English grammar

  • To properly employ a variety of sentence structures and wide-ranging vocabulary with denotative accuracy and connotative resourcefulness

  • To build a wheelhouse of good writerly instincts

  • To understand and practice writing as a process

  • To understand and practice the writerly habits of Invention, Organization, and Revision

  • To articulate and produce sound, compelling, and logical arguments

  • To engage literary material in multiple genres, demonstrating both comprehension and independent thought: clarifying, synthesizing, interpreting, interrogating, and concluding

  • To produce arguments that properly balance abstract or general ideas with specific, illustrative detail

  • To engage multiple perspectives with fairness and precision in reading, discussion, and writing

  • To accurately represent the ideas of others and engage them in dialectical conversation, both in speech and in writing

To accurately represent the ideas of others and engage them in dialectical conversation, both in speech and in writing

  • To demonstrate intellectual generosity and charity when engaging the ideas of others both in speech and in writing

  • To make intentional and creative writerly choices that develop a sustainable, writerly voice

  • To provide meaningful, accurate, and constructive feedback on the writing of peers

  • To incorporate the feedback of peers and instructors in substantial revisions of writing assignments

  • To develop the core writerly virtues of curiosity, humility, courage, and hospitality

To this end, students will practice the act of writing in several forms, among them:

  • Weekly short writing exercises, both in class and as take home assignments: these will include grammatical exercises, theme explications, term definitions, imitations, and creative exercises 

  • A short paper for oral presentation

  • Iterative assignments for the development of longer essays: essay brainstorms, freewrites, evidence lists, thesis statements, outlines, drafts, and revision plans

  • A first-semester term paper of roughly 1000 words

  • A second-semester term paper of roughly 1500 words.

Materials for Honors English Literature & Composition

Honors Fiction Writing (10 credits) - 10th-12th grades recommended

In Fiction Writing, students will learn how to develop their creative writing skills through reading and writing short stories. They will read exceptional short stories by authors such as Flannery O-Connor and Edgar Allen Poe and discuss what makes them great. Additionally, students will cultivate their writing skills through studying how to develop plots, settings, characters, conflict, and climax through in-class and at-home exercises. Students will finish the course with a personal manuscript containing four complete short stories. They will also have an opportunity to submit their short stories to different writing contests with the goal of having their work reach a wider audience and, hopefully, be published!

Materials:

Honors Omnibus Class: Inklings (British Literature - 10 credits, Critical Thinking - 10 credits, Bible/Theology - 10 credits)

This course provides a foundation in critical thinking, academic writing, Christian thought, and biblical hermeneutics. Students explore the works of the twentieth-century group of Christian writers and thinkers known as the Inklings, as well as authors who influenced or were influenced by their writing. Readings include works from C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers, Charles Williams, T.S. Eliot, Sheldon Vanauken, J.R.R. Tolkien, and others. The Gospel of John and hermeneutic materials will also be discussed and studied. We recommend that parents and independent study programs count this class as meeting the requirements for 30 high school academic credits: English Composition and Literature (ten credits), Critical Thinking (ten credits), and Bible/Theology (ten credits).

Students will analyze and interpret the texts of the Inklings in collaboration with others. Students will begin to

  • identify and analyze the structure of fiction, non-fiction, and Biblical texts

  • identify and summarize major arguments of non-fiction and Biblical texts

  • summarize fictional plots

  • identify and analyze major themes in fiction and Biblical texts

  • compose and support compelling argumentative thesis statements

    • support a thesis with a well-organized written argument of 5-6 pages

    • apply textual and historical context in interpreting textual passages

    • support interpretations of a text with textual citations

    • visualize an intended audience and articulate opposition to a thesis
      Students will apply knowledge gained from a synthesis of multiple texts and discussions. Students will begin to

  • identify major elements of Christian theology

  • evaluate ideas based on the Bible as the ultimate authority on Truth

  • synthesize the relationship between Christian faith, the life of the mind, and daily living

  • demonstrate a willingness to change beliefs and behaviors due to the insight of others

  • apply Christian thinking to their own lives by pursuing challenging application questions

Students will contribute in intellectual discussion confidently, critically, and charitably. Students will begin to

  • ask relevant, critical questions about texts and ideas

  • distinguish between good and bad arguments

  • articulate significant ideas in their own words using outline and paragraph forms

  • format written work and citations according to an academic standard (MLA)

  • assert opinions and beliefs with courteous and reasonable arguments

  • respond to opposition to opinions and beliefs with courteous and reasonable rebuttals

Course objectives will be realized through the intensive reading, writing, and discussion required of the students. Discussion and the writing assignments will serve as evaluative tools to assess the student’s progress toward the set objectives. Student notebooks serve as a catalog of the student’s progress through the course of the academic year, and the final term paper is equivalent to a final exam.

*out-of-pocket - not charter approved

^NOTE: If this is your first Omnibus class, you must also concurrently take Inkwell. This live, online Writing Seminar meets once per week to help prepare students for the writing coursework. A skilled writing mentor will guide students through the basics of crafting weekly assignments, formatting, and term paper development while providing time for students to ask questions and get feedback. (Live sessions will be recorded for students who cannot attend.) Brief supplemental assignments will aid students in their Omnibus class coursework. Inkwell supplements the composition component of the Omnibus class and does not count for class credit on its own.

Materials for Omnibus: Inklings

Honors Omnibus Class: America* (American Literature & Composition - 10 credits; American History - 10 credits; Bible/Theology - 10 credits, Government) - 11th-12th grades recommended

Building on the skills learned in the Inklings class, this course provides continued growth in critical thinking, academic writing, and biblical hermeneutics while providing a strong foundation in early American literature, history, and government. Students study the founding documents of the United States along with other literary and theological writings. Authors include John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Jonathan Edwards, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, and others. The students also study law and authority, along with other themes, in the biblical books of Exodus and Amos. We recommend that parents and independent study programs count this class as meeting the requirements for thirty-five high school academic credits: American Literature and Composition (ten credits), American History (ten credits), Bible/Theology (ten credits), and Government (five credits).

Students will analyze and interpret early American literature and biblical books in collaboration with others. Students will

  • identify and summarize major arguments in early American nonfiction work and in biblical books

  • identify major themes and summarize the plot in works of early American fiction and in biblical books

  • identify textual and historical context for a fictional or biblical passage

  • support their interpretations of a text with textual citations

  • identify and analyze key themes in early American texts

  • characterize the different genres of sermon, essay, novel, poem, and short story

  • compare and contrast the ideas and writing styles of the various authors studied

  • trace the literary development of early American culture and identify key movements

Students will analyze and interpret the early texts of American history in collaboration with others. Students will

  • examine and synthesize major historical developments of the United States as expressed in her literature

  • identify the ideas that shaped American culture and trace their evolution

  • articulate significant historical and cultural ideas in outline and essay form

Students will analyze and interpret the early texts of American government in collaboration with others. Students will

  • identify key elements and competing philosophies of government

  • articulate the competing ideas and ideologies underscoring the Federalist and Anti-Federalist debates

  • identify the philosophies that shaped the U.S. Constitution

  • explicate biblical teachings on law, authority, and social justice in Exodus and Amos

  • identify the propensities for good and ill in American government and society

  • trace and critique the evolution of American philosophies of government

Students will apply knowledge gained from a synthesis of multiple texts and discussions. Students will

  • evaluate ideas based on the Bible as the ultimate authority on Truth

  • exhibit discernment in moral and ethical issues

  • demonstrate a willingness to change beliefs and behaviors due to the insight of others

Students will contribute in intellectual discussion confidently, critically, and charitably. Students will

  • ask relevant, critical questions about texts and ideas

  • distinguish between good and bad arguments

  • recognize, imitate, and produce sound, compelling, and logical arguments

  • assess multiple perspectives with fairness and precision in reading, discussion, and writing

  • assert opinions and beliefs with courteous and reasonable arguments

Course objectives will be realized through the intensive reading, writing, and discussion required of the students. Discussion and the writing assignments will serve as evaluative tools to assess the student’s progress toward the set objectives. Student notebooks serve as a catalog of the student’s progress through the course of the academic year, and the final term paper is equivalent to a final exam.

*out-of-pocket

^NOTE: If this is your first Omnibus class, you must also concurrently take Inkwell. This live, online Writing Seminar meets once per week to help prepare students for the writing coursework. A skilled writing mentor will guide students through the basics of crafting weekly assignments, formatting, and term paper development while providing time for students to ask questions and get feedback. (Live sessions will be recorded for students who cannot attend.) Brief supplemental assignments will aid students in their Omnibus class coursework. Inkwell supplements the composition component of the Omnibus class and does not count for class credit on its own.

Materials for Omnibus: America

Honors Omnibus Class: Apostles* (World Literature & Composition - 10 credits; World History - 10 credits; Bible/Theology - 10 credits) - 11th-12th grades recommended

This course provides a rich foundation in medieval and Renaissance literature, Church history, and theology. Students study the letters, histories, poems, narratives, and theology produced by the Church and society from the New Testament through the Reformation. Authors include Athanasius, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Geoffrey Chaucer, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others. Selected creeds, the Gospel of Luke, the Acts of the Apostles, and the epistles to the Galatians and Ephesians will also be discussed and studied.

Students will analyze and interpret Medieval and Renaissance literature. Students will

  • synopsize the major argument or theme of a written work in five sentences

  • explicate the key themes of particular literary works

  • support their interpretations of a text with textual citations

  • research and present the background, historical context, and authorial information for a particular text

  • analyze and articulate key themes and ideas in medieval and Renaissance literature

  • characterize the different genres of allegory, epic poem, essay, and homily

  • compare and contrast the ideas and writing styles of the various authors studied

  • trace the literary development of early Medieval and Renaissance culture and identify key movements

Students will analyze and interpret the texts of world/Church history, including biblical texts. Students will

  • trace major historical developments of the Medieval and Renaissance West as expressed in literature

  • identify the ideas that shaped Medieval and Renaissance culture and trace their evolution

  • analyze the historical development of the Christian Church from the time of Christ through

    the sixteenth century

  • articulate the interrelationship of the Christian Church and the medieval and Renaissance West

Students will apply knowledge gained from a synthesis of multiple texts and discussions. Students will

  • evaluate ideas based on the Bible as the ultimate authority on Truth

  • synthesize the relationship between Christian faith, the life of the mind, and daily living

  • exhibit discernment in moral and ethical issues

  • demonstrate a willingness to change beliefs and behaviors due to the insight of others

  • apply a historical perspective to Christianity, Christian doctrine, and the contemporary church

Students will contribute in intellectual discussion confidently, critically, and charitably. Students will

  • ask relevant, critical questions about texts and ideas

  • distinguish between good and bad arguments

  • recognize, imitate, and produce sound, compelling, and logical arguments

  • assess multiple perspectives with fairness and precision in reading, discussion, and writing

  • articulate significant historical and cultural theses via formal outline and oral presentation

  • assert opinions and beliefs about history and culture of Western civilization with courteous and reasonable arguments

  • respond to opposition to opinions and beliefs with courteous and reasonable rebuttals

Course objectives will be realized through the intensive reading, writing, discussion, research, and oral presentation required of the students. Oral presentations, discussions, and writing assignments will serve as evaluative tools to assess the student’s progress toward set objectives. Student notebooks serve as a catalog of the student’s progress through the course of the academic year, and the final term paper is equivalent to a final exam.

*out-of-pocket

^NOTE: If this is your first Omnibus class, you must also concurrently take Inkwell. This live, online Writing Seminar meets once per week to help prepare students for the writing coursework. A skilled writing mentor will guide students through the basics of crafting weekly assignments, formatting, and term paper development while providing time for students to ask questions and get feedback. (Live sessions will be recorded for students who cannot attend.) Brief supplemental assignments will aid students in their Omnibus class coursework. Inkwell supplements the composition component of the Omnibus class and does not count for class credit on its own.

Materials for Omnibus: Apostles

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