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English 2

English 2

High School

English Language Arts

Course Description:

In English 2, students expand upon the skills developed in English 1. Students identify and use the literal and figurative meanings of words, understand word derivations, and distinguish between the denotative and connotative meanings of words. They engage in literary criticism by evaluating the aesthetic qualities of style, including the impact of diction and figurative language on tone, mood, and theme, using the terminology of literary criticism, and by analyzing the way in which a work of literature is related to the themes and issues of its historical period. Students generate clear research questions and use suitable research methods to synthesize information from multiple sources, identify complexities and discrepancies in information, and develop the main ideas within the body of their own composition through the use of supporting evidence.

Semester 1

From HMH Into Literature Grade 10
Unit 1: Conflict and Connection
Texts from Edwidge Dantica, Santha Rama Rau, Etgar Kere, Diane Glancy

Unit 2: The Power of Perception
Texts from Nicola Yoon, Sylvia Plath, Sarah Mervosh, Julio Cortazar

Unit 3: Hard-Won Liberty
Texts from Martin Luther King, Jr., Franklin D. Roosevelt, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Mohandas K. Gandhi

Semester 2

Note: if the following section is blank the course is 1 semester long

Unit 4: Reckless Ambition
Texts from William Shakespeare, Rupert Goold, Caitlin Perry, Percy Bysshe Shelley

Unit 5: Forces of Change
Texts from Ray Bradbury, Allison Keyes, Dunya Mikhail, Sonia Shah

Unit 6: Our Place in Nature
Texts from Ted Chiang, National Park Service, Shruti Swamy, Haruki Murakami

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