Barnstable High School’s English Department provides course offerings that will encourage our students to be critical and creative thinkers, effective communicators, and lifelong learners. Together, thinking, reading, composition and oral communication skills will enable students to become full participants in an evolving, multicultural, technological world. We are committed to our students’ discovery of reading as an insight into the human condition and as a pleasurable experience.
In line with the Portrait of the Graduate, all courses listed in the English course offerings emphasize the following academic development and employability and career readiness skills: technical and creative writing, organization and time management, research and tech skills, analytic reading and reasoning, media literacy and ethics, collaboration and communication, work ethic and professionalism, and safety and compliance.
The MCAS test is given in grades 8 and 10. Those who score below proficient may be placed in courses that will move them towards proficiency in order to graduate. By state mandate, the Grade 10 test must be passed in order to graduate. The recommended program of studies according to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education includes four “units” of English in grades 9-12. Appropriate student placement is crucial for success. Reading and writing skills, work ethic, and motivation are factors of a successful placement.
Courses Offered
- English Grade 8 - College Prep, Honors
- Advancing Literacy
- Modern Literacy & Communication
- Academic English
- Fundamental Literacy
- English Grade I (9) - College Prep, Honors
- English Grade II (10) - College Prep, Honors
- English Grade III: American Literature (11) - College Prep, Honors
- English Grade IV (12) - College Prep, Honors
- Advanced Placement Language and Composition (11/12)
- Advanced Placement English Literature (11/12)
- Junior/Senior English: Drama as a Literary Genre (11/12)
- Junior/Senior English: Horror and Science Fiction (11/12)
- Junior/Senior English: Understanding Diversity (11/12)
- Creative Writing (11/12)
- Newspaper and Journalism Studies (10-12)
- Yearbook (10-12)
- The Senior Experience