This course focuses on building effective professional and personal communication skills. Students will practice, prepare, and deliver program-specific written documents, presentations, and interpersonal communication scenarios for diverse audiences. The course also examines the importance of community and engagement, and includes best practices in ComputerMediated Communication.

In English I students build active reading skills, analyze literature and informational texts, and develop listening and writing skills. Students use texts of high complexity while integrating language arts study in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language for college and career preparation and readiness.

In English II, students learn how the human experience-real life-is the foundation of the best stories, plays, poems, films, and articles. In each unit of the course, students explore a specific aspect of the human experience such as laughter, obstacles, betrayal, fear, or transformation. Through the study of literature, nonfiction, and life, students explore what it means to be human, what it means to be fulfilled, triumphant, empowered, and transformed. As in life, students have many choices in the English II course. They choose the order in which they complete the units. Students also choose some of the works they read and have countless choices when it comes to demonstrating what they have learned. Whether reading a poem or a novel, writing a story or an analysis, or studying a Shakespearean tragedy or a modern suspense film, students explore what it means to be human, a subject on which they are already experts!

In English III, the writing and insights of authors throughout our history are collected in the fast-paced pages of The Virtual Times. Students gain an appreciation of American literature and the ways it reflects the times in which it was written. They discover how people thought and lived and wrote about their experiences. Students are also asked to observe, investigate, and report on stories of today. The goal is for students to be thorough, accurate, and compelling in their writing.

Why do people do what they do? English IV you will give you a front row seat to study of the motives that have driven people's actions for centuries. Along the way you will encounter epic heroes defying danger, tormented minds succumbing to the power of greed and ambition, enlightened thinkers striving for individual rights and freedoms, sensitive souls attempting to capture human emotion, and determined debaters taking a stand on critical issues. You will read to analyze the way language is used to express human motivation and research to examine the results of actions in the real world. The lessons in each module will give you the tools you need to gain insights from what you read and to use your knowledge in creative and analytical writing.

This basic communication course focuses on effective listening, speaking, reading, and writing in life and at work. Students demonstrate their skills both individually and in groups. Students also produce such employment documents as a cover letter, a resume, and a preliminary job portfolio best geared toward those considering a technical college degree at Northwood Technical College

Designed for students to develop knowledge and skills in all aspects of the writing process. Planning, organizing, writing, editing and revising are applied through a variety of activities. Students will analyze audience and purpose, use elements of research, and format documents using standard guidelines. Individuals will develop critical reading skills through analysis of various written documents. *TC from Moraine Park Tech College

Explores communication in media and media literacy by providing insight into the important issues that confront students as consumers and purveyors of mass media within the workforce and in society. The mass media revolution, including media technologies, the evolution of media content and platforms, including new media, the impact of media communications on business and society as a whole, media bias, and media law and ethics form the basis of the course. *TC from Moraine Park Tech College

Focuses upon developing speaking, verbal and nonverbal communication and listening skills through individual presentations, group activities and other projects. Course assignments will include presentations, various individual and group projects as well as written work. *TC from Moraine Park Tech College

Explores the fundamentals of effective oral presentation to small and large groups. Topic selection, audience analysis, methods of organization, research, structuring evidence and support, delivery techniques, and other essential elements of speaking successfully, including the listening process, form the basis of the course.

Provides students with the concepts, principles and skills for preparing and presenting oral and written technical reports. Types of reports may include lab and field reports, proposals, technical letters and memos, technical research reports and case studies.

At the beginning of the course, students consider the importance of word play exercises in improving their facility with language while building a compelling and creative writing style. Focusing on word nuances and precision, later lessons guide students to write in a variety of short modes—including poetry, song lyrics, prose poetry, short short stories, and creative nonfiction. There are several opportunities for peer review in this semester, during which students learn best practices for participating in writing workshops, and then revise their work using feedback from their peers

This course focuses on longer works of fiction: short stories, plays, and novels. Students learn basic techniques of plot and character development along with strategies for creating suspense and building a theme, and they have opportunities to write in several different genres. Lessons cover a few special topics as well, including graphic novels, animation, comedy, and improvisation. Students apply what they have learned about writing workshops and revising to the longer pieces of writing they create for this semester.

For many hundreds of years, literature has been one of the most important human art forms. It allows us to give voice to our emotions, create imaginary worlds, express ideas, and escape the confines of material reality. Through creative writing, we can come to understand ourselves and our world a little bit better. This course provides students with a solid grounding in the writing process, from finding inspiration to building a basic story to using complicated literary techniques and creating strange hybrid forms of poetic prose and prose poetry. By the end of this course, students will learn how to discover their creative thoughts and turn those ideas into fully realized pieces of creative writing. Completing Creative Writing A and/or B are not required to take this course.

Students in Exploring Literature will learn different styles of literary criticism which enable them to approach, discuss, and interpret literature through multiple lenses. As they practice the skills to examine literature from multiple angles, students will learn which techniques will bring out the deepest and most meaningful understanding of stories and poems they read, songs they hear, and even films they watch.

Understanding the role of the free press in America helps students to be better informed and more able to analyze media. In this course, students explore the history of journalism in the United States from its inception in the colonies and its key role in the 1st Amendment, all the way up to present-day issues regarding right to know and the changing landscape of journalistic media in the 21st century. Students acquire the skills and information needed to actively participate in the consumption, analysis, and creation of news media and have the opportunity to investigate the constantly evolving career opportunities within the field of journalism.

Lord of the Rings: An Exploration of the Films & Their Literary Influences The Lord of the Rings is one of the most popular stories in the modern world. In this course, you will study the movie versions of J.R.R. Tolkein's novel and learn about the process of converting literature to film. You will explore fantasy literature as a genre and critique the three Lord of the Rings films.

From banner ads to billboards, newspaper articles, and Facebook feeds, people are constantly sharing ideas. This course looks at the many facets of mass media. Students will learn how the media shapes every aspect of our lives. We examine the role of newspapers, books, magazines, radio, movies, television, and the growing influence of Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

Since the beginning of time, people have gathered around fires to tell stories of angry gods, harrowing journeys, cunning animals, horrible beasts, and the mighty heroes who vanquished them. Mythology and folklore have provided a way for these colorful stories to spring to life for thousands of years and helped humans make sense of the world. Explore how these compelling tales continue to shape society even today.

For struggling students; you work on what you need help with the most. Can be taken up to 4 times. Daily attendance is required and there is no homework with this class. Contact your school counselor for enrolling.

Lights! Camera! Action! Let's explore the enchanting world of live theater and its fascinating relationship to the silver screen. In Theater, Cinema, and Film Production, you will learn the basics of lighting, sound, wardrobe, and camerawork while examining the magic that happens behind all the drama. Delve into the glamorous history of film and theater, and examine the tremendous influence these industries have had on society and culture over the years. During this unit, you will discuss and analyze three classic American films Casablanca, Singin' in the Rain, and The Wizard of Oz to help you learn how to critique and appreciate some of the most famous dramas of all time. Materials Standard editions of the three films used in this course: Singin’ in the Rain (1952), Wizard of Oz (1932), Casablanca (1942)

The AP Language and Composition course will provide high school students with college level instruction in studying and writing various kinds of analytic or persuasive essays on literary and nonliterary topics in language, rhetoric and expository writing. Students will become skilled readers of prose written in various periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts. Both their reading and writing should make students aware of the interactions among a writer's purposes, audience expectations, and subjects as well as the way writing conventions and language contribute to effectiveness in writing.

Read and analyze imaginative literature from various periods and disciplines while sharpening your understanding of how a work's style, figurative language, theme, and other literary elements contribute to its meaning and cultural significance.

All of our core English classes also have Honors versions available, too. Please talk to your school counselor to enroll in and access the honors level classes.