26-27 BPS Course Catalog - Flipbook - Page 42
Excel 10: American Studies AP Seminar (Groves)
Honors Excel 10: American Studies AP Seminar (Groves)
From the era of Reconstruction, to the economic, social, and geopolitical developments at the end
of the 20th century, students will be engaged in those persisting questions which directed America’s historical, literary
and cultural development. Key areas of study include Post Civil War Reconstruction, Westward Expansion, American
Imperialism, World War 1, the Progressive Era and women’s rights, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression and the
New Deal, World War 2, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, Civil Rights, and America’s role as a world superpower. Alongside
these eras, modes of American literary trends and expression, inspired by social phenomena and geographical
connections, will be explored. Students will take an active part in their education by participating in mock trials, recreating
Senate debates, conducting oral histories, analyzing artifacts, refashioning constitutional amendments and government
policies. Students will react to the literature and historical materials of 19th and 20th century America, by recording their
responses in a variety of modes including journal reflections, editorials, formal essays, creative projects, position papers,
critical reviews and literary analyses.
AP Seminar is a foundational course that aims to equip students with the skills to analyze and evaluate information with
accuracy and precision, to conduct effective research and evaluate evidence, to construct evidence-based arguments, and
collaborate and communicate their own perspective. Utilizing these skills, the overall objective of this interdisciplinary
course is to develop students into strategic critical thinkers and problem solvers in an interdependent world of
competition and conflict. Students will be given the option to opt into the AP Seminar portion of Excel 10.
Prerequisites: Excel 9 or English 9 and World History
Grades Taught: 10
Credit: 2
NCAA Approved
102421/102422 English 11
English 11 is designed to reinforce the reading and writing skills begun in earlier grades with an emphasis on analysis and
argument. Students will study complex American documents such as the Declaration of Independence, but also modern
pieces to examine the author’s purpose and structure in conveying that purpose. In addition, students will analyze
complex works of literature, as well as practice for the timed writing portion of the SAT, write informative and
argumentative essays and develop the college essay. Students will read models to inspire and augment their writing. This
course emphasizes preparation for college-level academic reading and writing.
Prerequisites: English 10
Grades Taught: 11
Credit: 1
NCAA Approved
105001/105002 AP English Language and Composition
Advanced Placement Language and Composition is a course designed in conjunction with the recommendations and
requirements of the College Board. In this college-level class, students will study intensely the rhetorical conventions of
authors from the 17th century to the contemporary 21st century, emphasizing analysis of nonfiction prose. In turn, they
will practice their own rhetorical skills frequently, with topics derived from AP prompts (actual former tests). Students will
study and apply rhetorical modes of narration, description, definition, comparison/contrast, cause and effect, persuasive
and research-based argumentation. Feedback and assessment will follow the standards and rubrics designated by the
College Board.
The class focuses on nonfiction reading and writing, with an emphasis on various forms of essays. Students will write
almost every day, and the course begins with a significant summer assignment that includes reading books and
submitting written work. (Two semesters) Summer Reading will be announced in the spring.
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor is highly encouraged or a grade of B or better in Honors English Successful
completion of Honors English 10 or teacher recommendation
Grades Taught: 11
Credit: 1
NCAA Approved
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