English Department

The course begins with a review and assessment of the summer reading assignments; it also covers much of the same curriculum as English I, but at an accelerated rate. In addition, the course includes more writing and the study of an additional play, Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. Students also complete a research and presentation project in conjunction with a grade level trip to Washington, D.C. Prerequisites: Enrollment is subject to departmental review based on student request with a minimum average of 84 in 8th grade English.

The course begins with a review, including assessment and project work, of summer reading. This class includes a survey of literature and experience in writing expository and literary themes. Other literature covered will be The Odyssey, Julius Caesar, Animal Farm, A Raisin in the Sun, and a To Kill a Mockingbird.  In addition to those longer works, students read various short stories and poetry.  Throughout each unit, students learn about the cultural and historical events that shaped and influenced the literature of the corresponding era. Students also complete a research presentation project in conjunction with a grade level trip to Washington, D.C.

The course begins with a review, including assessment and project work, of summer reading. Major representative selections of the short story, poetry, prose, drama, and the novel are studied. The course studies significant contemporary and canonical authors such as Dennis Covington, Williams Shakespeare, Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury, Albert Camus, and Zora Neale Hurston. The course also is designed to refine skills in grammar, usage, mechanics, sentence structure, composition, research tools, and speaking. Writing assignments, both formal and informal, include journals, comparison/contrast and literary essays on setting, character and theme. Students create a project researching a person/organization devoted to serving others and analyze that person/organization’s impact on the community. Prerequisite: English I

The AP English Language and Composition course cultivates the reading and writing skills that students need for college success and for intellectually responsible civic engagement.  The course guides students in becoming curious, critical, and responsive readers of diverse texts, and becoming flexible, reflective writers of texts addressed to diverse audiences for diverse purposes.  The reading and writing students do in the course should deepen and expand their understanding of how written language functions rhetorically: to communicate writers' intentions and elicit readers' responses in particular situations.  The course cultivates the rhetorical understanding and use of written language by directing students' attention to writer/reader interactions in their reading and writing of various formal and informal genres (e.g., memos, letters, advertisements, political satires, personal narratives, scientific arguments, cultural critiques, and research reports).  All students taking this course are required to take the AP exam, with a cost of approximately $100. Prerequisites: English I and II --- Enrollment is subject to departmental review based on application with a minimum average of 93 in English II. Curriculum: Ideas in Argument: Building Skills and Understanding for the AP® English Language Course

Our junior Dual Enrollment English course is taught through Trevecca Nazarene University in the first semester of a student's junior year. Students who successfully complete the course receive 3 hours credit for ENG 1020 - English Composition I. Dual Enrollment Honors English III is a prerequisite for taking DE Honors ENG 1080 and DE Honors ENG 2000 as a senior. Dual Enrollment courses require tuition be paid to the college or university beyond DCA tuition.  Students may utilize the Dual Enrollment Grant through the TN Education Lottery Programs for approximately $500 per course for 5 semester courses' tuition. Prerequisites: 18 ACT Composite score, a 19 or above on the English section of the ACT and 3.0 unweighted GPA

The course begins with a review, including assessment and project work, of summer reading.  The course consists of a comprehensive study of American literature from the founding fathers to the present, including such writers as Longfellow, Poe, Emerson, Thoreau, Crane, and Fitzgerald.  Complete works studied include The Crucible and The Great Gatsby. Grammar, mechanics, and usage will be reviewed as needed to improve ACT and SAT scores and writing. Students write papers of literary analysis and a Persuasive Research Paper after studying logic and fallacies.  A special and fun project is Twenties Day, where students dress in time period-appropriate clothing and learn dances of the Roaring Twenties. Prerequisites: English I, II

The course begins with an in-depth review, including assessment and project work, of summer reading novels. Throughout the course, AP students rigorously work to strengthen their critical thinking, literary analysis, and writing skills while studying a survey of American, British, and World Literature. Core works include: Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Orwell’s 1984, lbsen’s A Doll’s House, Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. In addition, students use the Bedford Introduction to Literature AP textbook for a representative sample of poetry and short stories. Students practice critical thinking and writing skills through a wide variety of assignments, including poetry response, research writing, and literary analysis. All students taking this course are required to take the AP exam, with a cost of approximately $100. Prerequisites: English I, II, and either DE Honors English III or AP English Language; enrollment is subject to departmental review based on application with a minimum average of 93 in previous English course.  Taking AP English Language prior to this course is strongly recommended.

Our senior Dual Enrollment English courses are taught through Trevecca Nazarene University. Students who successfully complete both semesters receive 3 hours credit for ENG 1080 - Composition II and 3 hours credit for ENG 2000 - World Literature.  Dual Enrollment courses require tuition paid to the university beyond DCA tuition.  Students may utilize the Dual Enrollment Grant through the TN Education Lottery Programs for approximately $500 per course for 5 semester courses' tuition. Prerequisites: English I, II, and DE Honors ENG 1020; Only students who take Dual Enrollment Honors English as juniors may do so as seniors.

The course begins with a review, including assessment and project work, of summer reading.  This course is a survey of World Literature with an emphasis on British literature from the Anglo-Saxon era to the present. The text used are The Language of Literature and works from writings of Shakespeare, Wilde, etc. Grammar and mechanics are reviewed to improve writing and ACT/SAT scores. In addition to literary analysis, students write a college entrance essay, college resume and formal research paper, as well as informal writing in a variety of forms. An overall emphasis is on developing critical thinking, reading, and writing skills in preparation for college and beyond. Prerequisites: English I, II and III

1 semester, 0.5 credit

The fundamentals of public speaking, with a large part of the work in platform exercises, such as informative and persuasive speeches, in which the student is given an opportunity to demonstrate the basic principles of effective speaking. The student also participates in panel discussions and symposia. Dual Enrollment courses require tuition be paid to the college or university beyond DCA tuition.  Students may utilize the Dual Enrollment Grant through the TN Education Lottery Programs for approximately $500 per course for 5 semester courses' tuition. Three credit hours, offered both semesters, through Welch College. Prerequisite: 18 ACT Composite score, an 18 or above on the English section of the ACT and 3.0 unweighted GPA. This course does not count towards English requirements for graduation.

1 semester, 0.5 credit

This course consists of the production of the school yearbook.  The student develops practical skills in accurate reporting, interviewing, composing, layout, and production.  Enrollment is limited to ten students. This course does not satisfy an English graduation credit. Prerequisite: Yearbook Advisor’s approval