| The English program at Lowell High School is literature-based. Literary works are selected for their merit as well as for their appeal and applicability to the ethnically and culturally diverse, academically talented student population. The works read in our literature classes are works of substance appropriate for college bound students.
The content of ninth-grade and tenth-grade English classes focuses on each student's emerging view of the worldfrom the adolescent, through the journey of maturation in mythology, and into contemporary life.
Eleventh-grade and twelfth-grade English courses encourage students to explore specific dimensions of literature in greater depth. Juniors and seniors choose from a wide range of literature electives: American Literature; Comedy and Satire; Current Literature; Epic and Myth; English and European Literature; Film as Literature; Literature and Psychology; The Novel: History and Development and Black Literature; Poetry; Science Fiction and Fantasy; Shakespeare; World Literature; The Short Story in Current Literature; and Expository Writing.
All literature-based courses include instruction and extensive practice in the organization of coherent and informed expository essays. Much of the writing is about the literature and is in response to class discussions.
Because of the importance and complexity of the skills involved in clear and correct writing, all juniors in the regular English program must take a course in Expository Writing.
After successfully taking Expository Writing, juniors and seniors also have a choice of two additional elective courses: Advanced Composition and Creative Writing.
Students may enroll in regular English or Honors English. All Lowell English classes prepare students for university work upon graduation from high school.
As a rule the work of Honors English differs from that of regular English in quantity, pace, and sophistication. Typically, honors students read and write more than students in regular courses. They participate in swiftly paced, complex discussions of literary texts and essay writing. Their tasks of interpretive writing are more difficult than those addressed by students in regular courses. Honors courses require greater skill, more work, and more time than regular courses. Once admitted to the honors program, students must maintain a "B" or better in order to stay in the program.
Final placement in Honors English is a decision of the English Department. A student who wants to take Honors English must have a final semester grade of "A" in English and must pass the department's placement test. The hour-long placement test is given after school about seven weeks after the beginning of each semester in the fall and the spring. Students are asked to read a brief passage of either prose or poetry and respond to a specific question in a well-developed short essay. The English department offers a sophomore honors English class, 71H Introduction to Expository Writing and Critical Reading, to provide instruction in expository writing and close, critical, analytical reading of both fiction and non-fiction works of American literature. Sophomores who have demonstrated ability in English but may not have passed the Honors Placement Test will develop the skills and confidence they will need for the demanding English junior honors and senior Advanced Placement courses.
The honors and Advanced Placement program offers outstanding, challenging courses: English Honors 1 and 2 for freshmen; English Honors 3 and 4 for sophomores; Comparative Themes 72H, The Knight in Not-So-Shining Armor 74H, Twentieth Century American Writers 75H and The Heroine in Literature 77H for juniors.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT COURSES
| FALL SEMESTER |
SPRING SEMESTER |
| AP 74 (Beowulf to Shakespeare) (11) |
AP 72 (Comparative Themes) (11) |
| AP 75 (20 th American Writers) (11) |
AP 73 (Lit. and Philosophy) (11) |
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AP 77 (The Heroine in Lit.) (11) |
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| AP 80 (Heroes, Comic and Tragic) (12) |
AP 84 (Portraits of the Artist) (12) |
| AP 83 (Man in his Universe) (12) |
AP 86 ( Masterworks) (12) |
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AP 89 (Poetry) (12) |
| AP Language and Composition 1 |
AP Language and Composition 2 |
| (For seniors in regular English - A year long course) |
Modular scheduling allows time for individual student conferences and tutoring with Lowell's English teachers, who are available for student conferences during the day. Students receive valuable individual tutoring during their free mods.
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