English Department

COURSES OFFERED
 
ENGLISH 9
Students read multicultural literature and other texts that provide students the
opportunity to think critically and to express their ideas in a wide range of activities,
projects, and assessments that measure students’ growth throughout the year.

ENGLISH 9 HONORS
This challenging course explores a variety of literary pieces that complement and
enhance the standards, while providing rigor, analysis, discussion, interpretation, and composition. Students are introduced to pre-AP strategies and continue to develop communication, writing, and reading skills.

ENGLISH 10
Students study literature with a focus on World Literature and other expository texts as a means of meeting the standards begun in English 9. Students continue to develop communication, writing, and reading skills.
 
ENGLISH 10 HONORS
Students study World Literature and four themes: the mastery of literature genres,
writing domains, stylistic domains in literature and writing, and the MLA essay format. Students are introduced to pre-AP strategies and continue to develop communication, writing, and reading skills. 

ENGLISH 11
Students study American Literature and continue alignment with the California
Standards. Students are challenged to experiment with a variety of oral and written
formats to express ideas as well as evaluate literature.
 
AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE (11th grade)
Students study American Literature and continue alignment with the California
Standards and focus on composition and reading analysis. They will demonstrate
advanced reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills using an extensive variety of classical and contemporary essays, short stories, drama fictional novels, with an emphasis on non-fiction prose in preparation for the AP exam. Some colleges accept a score of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP exam as college credit in this subject area. All students are expected to take the AP exam at the end of the course.
 
CSU ERWC (Senior Expository Reading Writing Class)
This is a college preparatory, rhetoric-based English language arts course for grade 12. It focuses on the skills expected of students going to a CSU or UC after high school. It is designed to develop academic literacy and “college readiness” (advanced proficiency in rhetorical and analytical reading, writing, and thinking).
 
AP ENGLISH LITERATURE (12th grade)
This is an intensive course in college-level English. This course includes intense study of representative works form various genres and periods. There is a concentration on literary schools of thought and stylistic modes of literature and writing, and literary analysis in regard to works of merit. Some colleges accept a score of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP exam as college credit in this subject area. All students are expected to take the AP exam at the end of the course.

DUAL ENROLLMENT COLLEGE FRESHMAN COMPOSITION and CRITICAL THINKING
This course counts as Senior English (20 credits with honors designation), as well as 6 Units of transferable college credit (Degree Applicable, CSU, UC). This class develops effective expository writing skills and investigates the principles and methods of composition as applied to the research process and the writing of essays. It emphasizes critical reading of academic material.
 
BSPN (SPORTS JOURNALISM)
This project-based course will introduce students to a variety of media arts formats that are used in the world of high school, college, and professional sports. Participants will get hands-on experience contributing to BPHS sporting events through several different platforms including: writing game summaries, writing season previews and reviews, interviewing athletes and coaches, recording game footage and creating game highlights with voiceovers, video editing, sideline reporting, conducting mock press conferences, running school/team social media accounts, running instant reply, switcher, and camera controls at BPHS football and basketball games, podcasting and play-by-play/color commentary of selected BPHS sporting events.