Reader-Response Theory: Choose Your Own Adventure

Rediscover the love of reading by using reader-response theory to think critically about yourself as a reader, culminating in the creation of a personal chapbook based on reflections.

Playwriting

Dedicated to process, this course teaches students to write quickly, fluidly, and fearlessly by learning traditional theatrical approaches rooted in character and narrative structure.

Literature of the Supernatural

Investigate our simultaneous fascination with and fear of haunted people, places, and things, analyzing how cultural anxieties are represented in supernatural fiction and film.

Mythology in the Modern World: The World of the Odyssey

A deep dive into Homer’s epic The Odyssey and its modern adaptations (The Penelopiad, Circe), investigating how these ancient stories offer truths relevant to the contemporary world.

Dystopian Fiction

Examine science fiction texts to explore the relationship between the genre and political ideology, using hyperbolic scope to critique and question our own political systems.

Introduction to Journalism/Magazine

Explore the importance of media in a democracy by studying beginning journalism techniques and practicing skills by assisting with the Hallway and Windmill arts magazines.

News Writing and Photojournalism/Magazine

Continue training in reporting, editing, photography, and distribution, with each student assigned a staff position on the Hallway magazine and special emphasis placed on Canva software.

Adv. News Writing and Photojournalism/Magazine Honors

Fulfill the senior English credit by serving as the leadership team for Hallway magazine, taking on editorial positions and guiding the staff’s adherence to core values.

This required course serves as an introduction to advanced literature and analytical writing, focusing on finding multiple levels of meaning and developing the multi-paragraph literary analysis essay.

Introduction to Journalism/Yearbook

Learn the “Missouri Method” of learning by doing, studying storytelling using journalistic writing and photojournalism while contributing to the annual Eight Acres yearbook.