Each year, students experience growth in reading, writing, and communication skills. With that said, it is true that the junior year of high school is marked by enormous leaps in both skills and challenges as students begin the process of transition from public school into their chosen colleges and careers. Here at CAHS, we take college preparation quite seriously, since almost 100 percent of our students obtain higher education, usually with scholarships. Advanced Placement English III is designed to follow the high standards of the AP program, as well as to give students the rich reading and writing experiences they would receive in a more traditional program. (For more information about the AP program, visit www.apcentral.collegeboard.com). Most of our juniors at CAHS choose to take the AP exam for college credit English Language and Composition in May. We are proud of the high number of students who win college credit this way.

Of course, CAHS students will also receive multiple opportunities to practice the kinds of reading and writing which will lead them to mastery of TAKS, part of our Northside commitment to excellence. Like Jaime Escalante (the noted California math teacher who pioneered the AP program among poor and disadvantaged students), we believe in taking all of these challenges “step by step.”

Course Highlights

*Many selections from two college texts: Bedford Reader and Norton Anthology
*Many classic pieces of literature (i.e. Walden, Scarlet Letter, Huckleberry Finn, The Crucible, Red Badge of Courage, Macbeth, Raisin in the Sun, etc.)
*Many student selected readings
*Intense immersion in necessary terminology for literary criticism and rhetorical analysis
*Narrative, persuasive, and informative writing
*Independent study
*High quality group activities and projects
*Self-selected vocabulary enrichment from a variety of “real world” sources
*TAKS style benchmarks and other applied practice
*Journal keeping
*A year long project called Poetry on Purpose which will result in a professional quality, student-made book of poetry at the end of the school year. This is a beloved project which has resulted in wondrous work in previous years. Sample books are available for examination at any time.
*Several interdisciplinary projects with other content areas
*Many 40 minute timed essays (practice for the AP exam and help for the SAT and ACT tests)
*Many opportunities to practice their speaking and technological skills.
*Accumulation of a writing / product portfolio
*Communication with area college students and faculty

Please feel free to contact Susan Sabino with further questions at susansabino@nisd.net