This course content focuses on teaching the students skills and strategies for critical, independent reading and writing of increasingly complex expository and narrative texts. Instruction in each standards-based unit of study interrelates reading, writing, oral communication, and language study. Students are provided with multiple opportunities to articulate their own ideas as well as to question, interpret, and evaluate others’ ideas. The goal of instruction is to support students in becoming independent, strategic, critical readers, writers, listeners, and speakers who communicate effectively in various forms, for genuine purposes, and to authentic audiences. In addition, students will explore their own identity as well as the different identities of those around them in their diverse communities through the guiding principles of Ethnic Studies. They will critically examine systems of power that affect themselves and their communities. They do this while working towards mastery of the CA Common Core Standards. Every unit culminates with an opportunity for students to reflect on and then share their learning.

See course description above.

A world literature course with emphasis on the short story, nonfiction, drama, poetry, and the novel. Students will continue to develop the language arts skills of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and analysis. The type of work expected in this course includes: independent self-selected reading, unit writing assignments with scaffolding to help students, group presentations, and world literature-inspired class novels. An advanced course for students with superior ability which addresses the content of English 3, 4, but in a broader, more intensive manner. Students will develop a broad understanding of world literature while developing depth of perception, critical judgment, vocabulary, and effective written and oral expression. Writing critical expository essays is emphasized. The type of work expected in this course includes: independent reading at grade level or above, including challenging classical literature, and critical and expository essay writing.

A course studied concurrently with U.S. history enabling the student to understand the interrelationship between American history and literature on social, political, and moral issues. Students continue to focus on improving skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, and analysis. The type of work expected in this course includes reading of classical texts, contemporary literary works, and content-rich nonfiction--including foundational U.S. documents; reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from text; engaging with complex texts and their academic language. Students are provided with multiple opportunities to articulate their own ideas as well as to question, interpret, analyze, extend, and evaluate others’ ideas. The goal of instruction is to support students in becoming independent, strategic, critical readers, writers, listeners, and speakers who communicate effectively in various forms, for genuine purposes, and to authentic audiences.

A rigorous Honors course using college text and a summative end-of-course exam. This course is designed to emphasize independence and responsibility in critical analysis of a variety of literary texts, including poetry, essays, short stories, historical documents, drama and novels in American literature. Students will explore the ways in which these works relate to the prevalent philosophical, political, ethical and social influences of the times in which they are written. The type of work expected in this course includes: a minimum of one hour of homework, ability to read complex and varied texts independently, and higher-level writing skills, including depth of analysis.

This Advanced Placement English course engages students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through the close reading of selected texts, students deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. As they read, students consider a work’s structure, style, and themes, as well as such smaller-scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone. Writing assignments focus on the critical analysis of literature and include expository, analytical, and argumentative essays as well as possible creative writing. The type of work expected in this course includes the expectation that reading is a natural part of the student’s life and that the types of books being read are varied in their nature, their length, and their subject matter. Expect a reading load of approximately one hundred twenty-five to one hundred fifty pages a week, not including the additional reading to be done as part of the course’s independent reading program. Students should also expect to be writing every day above and beyond the 12 essays that will be written in the first semester, and the 15-20 page essay to be written in the second semester.

The goal of this course is to prepare college-bound seniors for the literacy demands of higher education. Students are expected to increase their awareness of rhetorical strategies employed by authors and to apply those strategies in their own writing. They will read closely to examine the relationship between an author’s argument or theme and his or her audience and purpose, to analyze the impact of structural and rhetorical strategies, and to examine the social, political, and philosophical assumptions that underlie the text. By the end of the course, students will be expected to use this process independently when reading unfamiliar texts and to provide lengthy, independently written responses. The type of work expected in this course includes writing 8-15 unit essays and self-selected topics and reading two class novels. This course was developed by the California State University ERWC Advisory Committee.

# In this course students examine the following strands: history, geography, economics, culture, and ethics. The course emphasizes national identity, constitutional heritage, and citizenship. It exercises varied study, visual, map/globe, and critical-thinking skills. World history from the late 1700s to the present is explored. The curriculum is designed to increase students’ capacity to think analytically and critically. Students will gain a greater insight into the forces that have shaped our modern world.

This Advanced Placement History class is a college-level course which surveys European history from 1450 to the present. Students will engage the major political, social, economic and intellectual foundations of modern western civilization in a course structured to reflect an increasingly global perspective, emphasizing modern Europe’s interactions with Asia, Latin America and Africa. Students will participate in activities that relate to the United Nations as well as current global issues such as nuclear non-proliferation, global economic development and human rights in an interdependent world. This course, despite its European History title, is closely aligned to the California History Social-Science standards for grade 10 World History. Students are expected to demonstrate a strong capacity for independent study, interpreting primary sources critically and expressing historical ideas in various written formats. AP European History is a capstone course and the AP European History exam is highly recommended for all students in the course.

# A one semester course paired with Government 1 in which students understanding of the economic problems and institutions of the nation and the world. Students learn to make reasoned decisions on economic issues through the study of fundamental economic concepts, comparative economic systems, microeconomics, macroeconomics, and international economics. Principles of Economics also includes the district-approved financial literacy curriculum, which helps students learn the connection between career and income as well as how to file taxes, budget money, and manage bank accounts, credit cards, and credit scores. A semester-long, college-level course (paired with AP Macroeconomics – see below). The course includes an in-depth study of the nature of the American political system, its development over the last 200 years, and how it works today. The course follows the standard syllabus of Advanced Placement Government and Politics: United States, as specified by the College Board. It prepares students to satisfactorily complete the Advanced Placement Examination in US Government and Politics and thus the opportunity to earn college credit. Type of Work to be expected: Daily lecture and note taking with accelerated college-level of instruction; prepare to engage in thoughtful discussions and assignments with nightly reading. Tests and quizzes make up the bulk of the overall course grade.

A semester-long, college-level course paired with AP US Government and Politics. The course follows the standard syllabus as specified by the College Board; covering the components of gross national product, the interrelationship between inflation and unemployment, the functions and characteristics of money, the banking system, the Federal Reserve System, the circular flow of goods, and the concepts of aggregate demand and supply. Building on these concepts, students will examine monetary and fiscal policies, budget deficits, and the international payments system. AP Economics is a capstone course and prepares students to satisfactorily complete the Advanced Placement Examination in Macroeconomics and thus the opportunity to earn college credit. Type of Work to be expected: Daily lecture and note taking with accelerated collegelevel of instruction; prepare to engage in thoughtful discussions and assignments with nightly reading. Tests and quizzes make up the bulk of the overall course grade.

# This course integrates Life Science with Earth and Space Science, following the three-course model for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Units are based on the six instructional segments outlined in the California Framework and include: Ecosystem Interactions and Energy, History of Earth’s Atmosphere: Photosynthesis and Respiration, Evidence of Evolution, Inheritance of Traits, Structure, Function, and Growth (from cells to organisms), Ecosystem Stability & the Response to Climate Change. Students will engage in the Science and Engineering Practices (SEP) as well as the Crosscutting Concepts (CCC) to explore phenomena demonstrating the Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCI) of each instructional segment. This is a first-year course intended for students with the interest and ability to extend their study of biology beyond the basic course, and/or who are contemplating a science-related career but are not prepared to take Advanced Placement Biology as their first biology course. It covers all the elements of the regular Biology Living Earth course, including the same inquiry and cooperative strategies, but its pace will be faster, it will go into greater depth in selected areas, and it will be more quantitative. The course is aligned to NGSS, integrating Disciplinary Core Ideas from Life Science and Earth and Space Science, Crosscutting Concepts and Science and Engineering Practices.