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Section VIII: Course descriptions
English
English language arts courses from English I through AP Literature.
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English Courses
These are courses offered by Harmony campuses across Texas. Campus course offerings may vary.
These are courses offered by Harmony campuses across Texas. Campus course offerings may vary:
| Course | Grade Level | Prerequisite | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| English I | 9 | None | 1 |
| English I Honors/ | 9 | None | 1 |
| English I (ESOL-I) | 9 | None | 1 |
| English Language Development & | 9 | None | 1 |
| English II | 10 | English I | 1 |
| English II Honors | 10 | English I Honors/Pre-AP or English I | 1 |
| English II (ESOL-II) | 10 | English I (ESOL-I) | 1 |
| English III | 11 | English II | 1 |
| AP English Language & Composition | 11 | English II Honors/English II | 1 |
| English IV | 12 | English III | 1 |
| AP English Literature & Compositions | 12 | English III or AP English Language & Comp. | 1 |
| Reading I/II/III | 12 | None | 1 |
Note: Pre-AP course label can be used only by the campuses received Pre-AP designation from College Board.
English I
In English I, students explore the interconnected nature of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking as they continue to develop knowledge and college readiness-skills with increased complexity and nuance in order to think critically and adapt to the ever-evolving nature of language and literacy. Through four thematic units, students engage in authentic reading and reflective writing, as well as refine their listening skills to better participate in classroom discussion and cooperative learning activities. Students read and analyze increasingly complex texts from American, British, and World Literature with challenging vocabulary, sophisticated sentence structures, nuanced text features, cognitively demanding content, and subtle relationships among ideas from a variety of genres, including cultural and historical fiction, informational and argumentative texts, drama, poetry, memoir, and multimodal texts. Focusing on the development and mastery of focus and organization, coherence, voice, depth of thought, and written conventions, teachers model writing strategies that students apply to their work as they hone writing skills for life beyond school; English I students engage in a variety of writing tasks including a narrative story or story in verse, an argumentative research paper, a personal essay, and a literary analysis essay.
English I Honors
This course description is the same as English I, but with additional emphasis on preparation for the AP English Language and AP English Literature courses offered in junior and senior years.
English for Speakers of Other Languages I (ESOL-I)
Prerequisite: Language Proficiency Language Proficiency Placement Test, LPAC Recommendation
ESOL I objectives and expectations are identical to those of English I with additional expectations for Emergent Bilinguals at the beginning or intermediate level. This course is designed to accelerate the non-English speaking student’s social and academic English language acquisition. Emphasis is placed on vocabulary expansion, written and oral communication, reading comprehension and attentive listening
English Language Development & Acquisition (ELDA)
English Language Development and Acquisition (ELDA) is designed to provide instructional opportunities for secondary recent immigrant students with little or no English proficiency. This course enables students to become increasingly more proficient in English in all four language domains. It addresses cognitive, linguistic, and affective needs of the students. It will validate a student’s native language and culture as a valuable resource and as a foundation to attain the English language. It will develop social language, survival vocabulary, and the basic building blocks of literacy for newly arrived and preliterate students.
English II
Prerequisites: English I
In English II, students explore the interconnected nature of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking as they continue to build upon the knowledge and college-readiness skills they developed in English I with an increase in text complexity and rigor. Through four thematic units, students engage in authentic reading and reflective writing, as well as refine their listening skills to better participate in classroom discussion and cooperative learning activities. Students read and analyze increasingly complex texts from American, British, and World Literature with challenging vocabulary, sophisticated sentence structures, nuanced text features, cognitively demanding content, and subtle relationships among ideas from a variety of genres, including cultural and historical fiction, informational and argumentative texts, drama, poetry, memoir, and multimodal texts. Focusing on the development and mastery of focus and organization, coherence, voice, depth of thought, and written conventions, teachers model writing strategies that students apply to their work as they hone writing skills for life beyond school; English II students engage in a variety of writing tasks including informational research, argumentative research, a personal essay, and a short story or story in verse.
English II Honors
Prerequisites: Honors English I or English I
This course description is the same as English II, but with additional emphasis on preparation for the AP English Language and AP English Literature courses offered in junior and senior years.
English for Speakers of Other Languages II (ESOL-II)
Prerequisite: Language Proficiency Placement Test, LPAC Recommendation
ESOL II objectives and expectations are identical to those of English I with additional expectations for Emergent Bilinguals at the beginning or intermediate level. This course is designed to accelerate the non-English speaking student’s social and academic English language acquisition. Emphasis is placed on vocabulary expansion, written and oral communication, reading comprehension and attentive listening.
English III
Prerequisites: English II
In English III, students explore the interconnected nature of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking as they continue to build upon the knowledge and college-readiness skills they developed in English I, and II with an increase in text complexity and rigor. Through four thematic units, students engage in authentic reading and reflective writing, as well as refine their listening skills to better participate in classroom discussion and cooperative learning activities. Students read and analyze increasingly complex texts from American Literature with challenging vocabulary, sophisticated sentence structures, nuanced text features, cognitively demanding content, and subtle relationships among ideas from a variety of genres, including cultural and historical fiction, informational and argumentative texts, drama, poetry, memoir, and multimodal texts. Focusing on the development and mastery of focus and organization, coherence, voice, depth of thought, and written conventions, teachers model writing strategies that students apply to their work as they hone writing skills for life beyond school; English III students engage in a variety of writing tasks including a research report, professional correspondence, rhetorical and literary analyses, and informational and argumentative essays.
* While taking English III/IV, students will simultaneously satisfy the speech credit required for graduation.
AP English Language & Composition
Prerequisites: Honors English II
According to The College Board, students of Advanced Placement English Language and Composition will be “engaged in becoming skilled readers of writing from a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts, and in becoming skilled writers who can compose for a variety of purposes.” Therefore, fiction and nonfiction on a myriad of topics, including arts and culture, public policy, personal experience, and popular culture will be explored and discussed orally and in writing. This course mimics the college experience. Students who take the AP Language and Composition exam offered by College Board in the spring semester could earn college credit for this course based on their score and college’s requirements.
AP English Literature & Compositions
Prerequisites: English III
According to The College Board, students of Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition will be “engaged in close reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature to deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure.” To this end, a wide variety of literary texts will be explored and analyzed with emphasis on the author’s purpose and style. Writing assignments will include the use of expository, analytical, and argumentative formats to analyze and interpret literary works. This course mimics the college experience. Students who take the AP Literature and Composition exam offered by College Board in the spring semester could earn college credit for this course based on their score and college’s requirements.
English IV
Prerequisites: English III
In English IV, students explore the interconnected nature of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking as they continue to build upon the knowledge and college-readiness skills they developed in English I, II, and III with an increase in text complexity and rigor. Through four thematic units, students engage in authentic reading and reflective writing, as well as refine their listening skills to better participate in classroom discussion and cooperative learning activities. Students read and analyze increasingly complex texts from British Literature with challenging vocabulary, sophisticated sentence structures, nuanced text features, cognitively demanding content, and subtle relationships among ideas from a variety of genres, including cultural and historical fiction, informational and argumentative texts, drama, poetry, memoir, and multimodal texts. Focusing on the development and mastery of focus and organization, coherence, voice, depth of thought, and written conventions, teachers model writing strategies that students apply to their work as they hone writing skills for life beyond school; English IV students engage in a variety of writing tasks including a personal essay, literary and rhetorical analyses, a resume and professional correspondence, an informational presentation, a short story or story in verse, and an argumentative essay.
* While taking English III/IV, students will simultaneously satisfy the speech credit required for graduation.
Reading I/II/III
This reading course strives to help students reach a reading level consistent with their grade level by supporting growth of fluency, phonics, decoding, word recognition, spelling, and general comprehension. The goal of this course is to ensure that high school students have opportunities to read with competence, confidence, and understanding and can be successful in other courses and on all subjects of state assessments. (Offered for ESL students as elective to increase ESOL time).