LANGUAGE ARTS 9
Entry Level: 9
Length: Year
Students will read 9th grade literature, nonfiction, plays, poetry, news articles and editorials. Thematic units may include survival, literature of the civil rights era, and journeys of transformations, among others. From your reading, you will gather evidence from texts and incorporate it in written, visual and oral responses. You will encounter varied and complex writing in this course as you write in a variety of modes including argumentative, analytical and narrative.
ADVANCED LANGUAGE ARTS 9
Entry Level: 9
Length: Year
Prerequisite: None
Advanced Language Arts 9 is designed to take the core of the Language Arts 9 curriculum further and deeper. While you will complete all of the course work required in the LA 9 course, you will also complete supplemental assignments, projects, and cross analyses that go beyond LA 9 expectations.
Advanced students will be challenged to go beyond proficiency in the skills expected of 9th grade students and into levels designated as mastery.
LANGUAGE ARTS 10
Entry Level: 10
Length: Year
Prerequisite: LA 9
In this course, you will further extend and deepen your reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. explore the thematic concept of culture. Texts will include novels, short stories, poems, essays, and speeches by various authors.You will be challenged to use evidence from these texts in both your written, visual and oral responses. Units are thematic, with an essential question as a focus. Units utilize whole-class learning, group learning, and independent learning.
ADVANCED LANGUAGE ARTS 10
Entry Level: 10
Length: Year
Prerequisite: LA 9
The course will parallel the Language Arts 10 curriculum, but will delve deeper into some material, may move at a faster pace, and will require independent reading, may including summer reading.
LANGUAGE ARTS 11
Entry Level: 11
Length: Year
Prerequisite: LA 10
This course will focus on thematic topics. You will read various works such as poems, short stories, speeches, articles, and novels by major American authors. Key literary offerings may include Jeannette Walls’s The Glass Castle, Arthur Miller's drama The Crucible, and Jon Krakauer's novel Into the Wild. Special attention will be given to preparing students to take the statewide reading and writing assessments in the spring.
ADVANCED LANGUAGE ARTS 11
Entry Level: 11
Length: Year
Prerequisite LA 10
The course will parallel the Language Arts 11 curriculum, but will delve deeper into some material, may move at a faster pace, and will require independent reading, may include summer reading.
*This course can be applied to the Honors Diploma.
CREATIVE WRITING
Entry Level: 11
Length: Semester or Year
Prerequisite: LA 10
This is a focused junior or senior elective Language Arts course designed to enhance student’s writing skills in multiple genres of short fiction and nonfiction. This class focuses both on the writing process as well as finished writing projects. Particular emphasis will be placed on developing complex sentence structure, symbolism, and themes in story writing. Students can look forward to completing some of the following projects throughout the year: Elements of Fiction, Basics of Writing, Archetype Unit, Celebrity Letter, Autobiography, Last Will and Testament, Life Goals, Obituary and Epitaph, Film Reviews, Personal narrative, Songwriting, Science Fiction Story, Memory Books, Phobia Stories , Drama/ Playwriting Unit, Fairy Tales and Fables, Western Story Unit, Mystery Story Unit, Poetry Unit, Urban Legends, Newsletter, Historical Fiction Story and Screenwriting.
CC LANGUAGE ARTS
Entry Level: 12
Length: Year
Prerequisite: LA 11
*Students in this course may be eligible to register for college credit
This is a full-year, elective course for Language Arts credit. Students will study and practice critical thinking, reading, and writing with a focus on essays and research-based writing. The course focuses on analyzing and composing across varied rhetorical situations and in multiple genres. Students will apply key rhetorical concepts flexibly and collaboratively throughout their writing and inquiry processes.
Students taking this course are eligible to earn Writing 121Z and Writing 122Z credit through Willamette Promise. Students are held to a college level of rigor as they explore writing rules they have been taught (Semester 1) and the communication within discourse groups (Semester 2). *This course can be applied to the Honors Diploma.
AP LITERATURE
Entry Level: 12
Length: Year
Prerequisite: LA 11
The focus of this course is literature. It is designed for college-bound seniors who desire to complete university level work prior to high school graduation. Students will have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement Examinations administered by the College Board. Sufficiently high scores on these examinations may enable the student to earn college credit. Credit for this course is elective Language Arts credit at Sandy High. Prior summer reading will be required. *This course can be applied to the Honors Diploma.
SPEECH I
Entry Level: 9
Length: Semester
This course counts as an elective Language Arts credit. It is designed for the student who is interested in the process of communication, developing confidence for speaking to an audience, and how to write a functional and effective speech. The student will acquire delivery skills and will incorporate them in various speaking situations. Specific areas of study include: impromptu speaking, nonverbal communication, group project presentations, process/demonstration speeches, special occasion speaking, and informative speaking.
SPEECH II
Entry Level: 9
Length: Semester
Prerequisite: Speech I recommended
*Students in this course may be eligible to register for college credit
This course counts as an elective Language Arts credit. The student will work to refine delivery skills (learned in Speech 1) and will incorporate them in various speaking situations. Specific areas of study include argument-persuasive speaking, expository-informative speaking, debate, sales pitch (Shark Tank)/Ted Talk speeches, and planning a presentation to teach a specific idea.
BEGINNING JOURNALISM
Entry Level: 9
Length: Semester
Beginning Journalism counts for elective Language Arts credit. Journalistic skills from news gathering and writing to editing and revising for publication will be emphasized along with an overview of journalistic law and ethics. Layout and production of publications will also be covered as students will learn how to use available software and technology. Students who want to participate in Newspaper and Yearbook classes should take this course as a prerequisite.
NEWSPAPER
Entry Level: 10
Length: Year
Prerequisite: Journalism, instructor approval
Newspaper counts as elective Language Arts credit. Advanced Journalism skills from desktop publishing to newspaper production will be applied in this course as students direct and produce the school newspaper, The Pioneer Press. Students must adhere to the staff Code of Conduct in order to continue in the course second semester. Students may enter at semester with instructor approval. *This course can be applied to the Honors Diploma.
YEARBOOK
Entry Level: 10
Length: Year
Prerequisite: Instructor Approval
Yearbook staff members will learn the basics of writing journalistic, feature-style yearbook stories, photography and layout, using the latest technology. Staff members will also participate in marketing, ad sales and distribution of the yearbook. Students earn Language Arts elective credits. Students interested in taking Yearbook should have a good attendance record and be mindful of deadlines. Students who miss a first semester layout deadline will not be allowed to continue second semester. Students may not enter this class at the semester.
LANGUAGE ARTS 12 WORKSHOP
Entry Level: 12
Length: Year
Prerequisite: None
The course will focus on a variety of writing and reading strategies to help students refine skills. Students will practice moving through the steps of the writing process to produce writing that is clear, focused, developed, and organized. Additionally, they will develop the ability to integrate and connect an author’s ideas with their own. Students will develop and refine their critical reading skills using a variety of strategies with both literary and informational texts. Units of study may include graphic stories, short stories, personal essays, novel study, and informational speeches. Students will work on maintaining academic honesty by acknowledging all sources in written work.
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