Course Descriptions

English IV AP (Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition): This class is designed as a college-level course where students will be involved in study of historic and contemporary literature and its impact on our society and culture. Students will engage in concentrated reading and writing in preparation for the Advanced Placement Test (administered in May). Students can expect to read widely and continuously. Required books (for summer reading): 1984 (Orwell); Wuthering Heights (E. Bronte); A Prayer for Owen Meanie (Irving); choice of one of the following: The Hours (Cunningham), Jane Eyre (C. Bronte), The Poisonwood Bible (Kingsolver), Love Medicine (Erdrich), Yellow Raft on Blue Water (Dorris), Mrs. Dalloway (Wolff). Required texts for school year: Beloved (Morrison), Oedipus Rex (Sophocles), Antigone (Sophocles), Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky), Slaughterhouse-Five (Vonnegut), The Awakening (Chopin), Hamlet (Shakespeare), Heart of Darkness (Conrad).

English IV, CP: This class will involve a historic study of English language and literature beginning with its origins in Greece, Italy, German, and France. Students will understand and appreciate the rich history and flux of the English language and the history of the people who have spoken/do speak it. Students will read a variety of novels, plays, essays, poetry by English and Greek authors in order to place themselves in a linguistic and cultural context for further exploration and appreciation of life and literature. This course is designed for students who will be entering college the year following their graduation. Therefore, research skills and writing skills are a major focus. A major literary research paper will be due in March. Students in this class will also participate in independent reading. The first book, George Orwell's 1984 is due on the first day of school.

Journalism I/II: This course is a hands-on workshop class designed to produce Mariemont High School's student newspaper The Warpath. Students in this class will learn the basics of news writing and feature writing and polish their writing repertoire. They will learn, study and apply elements of digital photography and photojournalism as well as design applications. Students will hone their skills in word processing and desktop publishing. Students will evaluate and respond to current methods and examples of journalistic reporting. They will also practice and hone their editing, proofreading, and thinking skills.