HS English 1

Cost: $80 monthly tuition
VENMO: @kristinhamon
(see registration page for registration details)

Recommended Grade Level: 9th grade (advanced 8th graders may get special placement, please contact Mrs. Hamon)

Books Needed:

1)     Discovering Voice by Nancy Dean
   Amazon.com: Discovering Voice
2)     The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
   Amazon.com: The Hunger Games
3)     To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Amazon.com: To Kill a Mockingbird
4)     The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Amazon.com: The Book Thief
5)     The Annotated Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet
The Annotated Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet

Course Description: English I introduces students to high school-level expectations for academic and creative writing. Students will read multiple genres, including fiction, nonfiction, drama, short story, poetry, and prose. This course examines various concepts of literary technique, narrative, dramatic, and poetic innovations and constructions. Literary selections range from classic works like Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to contemporary pieces.

Students will also broaden their composition skills by examining model essays and improving their ability to compose longer-written works. Students will grow as young writers through in-depth planning, organizing, drafting, revising, proofreading, and feedback. Students will also build on grammar skills by analyzing the syntax and structure of each text and by working through the book, Maximum Impact Grammar, for additional practice.

One of the unique features of the BAHA high school English program is the introduction of literary theory by a Christian educator. Most public, private, and homeschool ELA programs usually only introduce students to three literary theories: reader response, biographical, and historical. Students are capable of so much more! Therefore, BAHA students will learn 13 formal approaches to analyzing a work before graduating! Each literary lens will help students understand all possible facets of a text and let that in-depth analysis lead their academic writing. Our goal is to make sure students leave BAHA excellent at literary analysis. Plus, for students pursuing higher education, practicing introductory literary theory will not only help them survive college English but set an academic example for their classmates. English I literary theories cover reader response, biographical, historical, and formalist literary theories.

This course counts as 1 of the 4 English credits needed on a high school transcript for high school graduation in the state of Texas.