Graduation Academy English

20th Century Literature

• Twentieth Century Literature examines literature through time and cultures. Through reading short stories and novels from these genres, students will gain an understanding of literature and how it creates an identity for our present time and investigate possible future identities for our society.

Composition and Communication

• Communication and Composition will explore all areas of written and spoken communication. The goals of the class will be to develop solid understandings of the importance of communication and the skills necessary to communicate in school, society, and the workplace.

Film Studies

• The objective of this course is to show students how to view film critically in order to analyze and evaluate it. Students will be introduced to different film genres and terminology as they develop an appreciation and understanding of the techniques used by the director to create the film. Large and small group discussions, along with written reviews and analysis of the films will comprise the majority of the assignments for this course.

Novel Studies

• The novels course introduces student to contemporary literature while focusing on the written and spoken word.  Great emphasis will be placed on student discussions of the characters, plot, and issues presented in the books.   The semester course covers such present day authors as Graham Gardner and Homer Hickam Jr.  The focus of student work during the semester will center on small-group, whole class, and individual reading with both written and verbal reflections. 

Academic Literacy

• This course focuses on materials chosen based on the principle of narrow reading. These materials contain high interest texts with overlapping topics and recurring vocabulary. This helps students to build background, to develop conceptual knowledge, and to learn
  academic vocabulary that they will likely repeatedly encounter across content areas and other contexts. Students are engaged with multiple readings and writing tasks that are arranged around common topics called workshops. The readings are sequenced in order of increasing difficulty as the course progresses. Student proficiency is regularly assessed during this course.

Publications

• Publications is a class designed for students to be able to learn, master, and ultimately apply all the skills involved in the publication process. Students learn photography, typesetting, editing, decision-making, teamwork, and leadership skills in the course of the class as they collaborate to construct the Indian Plains High School digital yearbook.