English Language & Literature Courses

English for High School Completion

English Language & Literature is all about exploring important texts. English reading and writing classes improve your ability to communicate, which is an important asset.

The English Language & Literature classes below are offered through High School Transfer Credit. Some are only offered in one semester, so check the table to see when the class you want is offered and what format you can take it in. Below the chart, you’ll find course descriptions for each.

Classes (Semesters offered) Online Correspondence
Basic Composition (S-1) X
Creative Writing (S-1) X
Basic English Grammar (S-1) X
English 9 Common Core (S-1 & 2) X
English 10 Common Core (S-1 & 2) X
English 11 (S-1 & 2) X
English 12 (S-1 & 2) X
English Foundations I (S-1 & 2)  X
English Foundations II (S-1 & 2) X
Literature Independent Study (S-1 & 2) X
Literature Novels (S-1 & 2) X
Media Literacy (S-1) X
Reading Skills & Strategies (S-1) X
Writing Skills & Strategies (S-1) X

Course Descriptions

Correspondence

This course uses "Basic English Composition," by Bonnie L. Walker, ©2003 AGS Publishing, to help students develop very basic writing skills. This course addresses capitalization, ending punctuation, quotation marks, short paragraph writing, emails, letters, and outlining. Students will independently learn how to avoid basic grammar and mechanical mistakes.

Online

Students who have successfully completed 10th Grade English (Critical Reading & Effective Writing) may enroll in this course. Based on the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) standards, students will draft, revise, and polish fiction and poetry through various writing exercises. Attention to specific detail, observation, character development, setting, plot, and point of view are the fictional elements explored in this course. The poetry unit emphasizes use of sensory details, figurative language, and sound devices including rhyme, rhythm, and alliteration. Authors studied include Edgar Allan Poe, W.B. Yeats, Emily Dickinson, Pablo Neruda, Sherman Alexie, Alice Notley, and Bharati Mukherjee. For more information, visit Apex Learning.

Online

Based on the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and Common Core standards, students will study literature, reading, writing, and language. Students read literature from the genres of short story, poetry, memoir, autobiography, drama, and epic. Students also read examples of informational writing, including letters, websites, magazine articles, newspaper articles, editorials, and movie or book reviews. In addition, students also develop writing skills to create narrative, expository, and persuasive compositions. For more information, visit Apex Learning

Correspondence

Using the textbook "Writing by Doing," by Elaine Hughes and David A. Sohn, ©1997 National Textbook Company, students independently develop their writing skills. Students study subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement, prepositional and adverbial phrases, and correct spellings of commonly misspelled words. This course consists of written work for nine chapters and nine tests.

Online

Based on the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and Common Core standards, students will study literature, reading, writing and language. Students read literature from the genres of short story, poetry, memoir, autobiography, drama and epic. Students also read examples of informational writing, including letters, websites, magazine articles, newspaper articles, editorials, and movie or book reviews. In addition, students also develop writing skills to create narrative, expository, and persuasive compositions. For more information, visit Apex Learning.

Online

Students that have successfully completed ninth grade English (Introduction to Literature & Composition) may enroll in this course. Based on the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and Common Core standards, students will develop both academic and life skills. Life skills include forms, applications, and work-related communication. Readings include fiction from around the world, historical correspondence, diaries, poetry, and a contemporary novel. Writings will be scaffolded with graphic organizers and process guides. Grammar review and vocabulary are also included in every unit. For more information, visit Apex Learning

Online

Students use critical thinking skills to analyze and closely read literary, historical, expository, and fictional documents. Literature is presented through a variety of genres and eras. Students practice gathering, evaluating, synthesizing, presenting, and documenting information in a unit dedicated to writing a research report. For more information, visit Apex Learning

Online

Based on the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), this course is divided into six areas: reading, writing, language (appreciation and aesthetics), listening and speaking, viewing and representing (including media literacy), and research.  This course gives students the opportunity to expand on their fundamental literacy skills while introducing them to the classics of British and world literature. For more information, visit Apex Learning

Online

Based on the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and Common Core standards, this course assists students who need basic reading skills and vocabulary building instruction. Students are guided through assignments using a “First-person, think-aloud,” format for decoding words and sentences. Students read passages that move gradually from a third to fifth grade level. For more information, visit Apex Learning.

Online

Based on the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), International Reading Association (IRA), National Reading Program (NRP), McREL, and Common Core standards, this course is divided into a semester of reading and a semester of writing. Students read of a variety of purposes and develop mastery in the areas of reading comprehension, vocabulary building, study skills, and media literacy in the first semester. In the second semester students use various graphic organizers to develop and internalize writing process strategies. For more information, Apex Learning.

Correspondence

Students self-select a minimum of six books to read, approximately 250 pages each. One book must be non-fiction and biographies are highly encouraged.  No more than two books may be by the same author or from the same genre. Following each book, students must write a written book report summarizing the book and answering specific questions outlined in the guide.

Correspondence

Students select six of the following lower-level or six of the following upper-level novels to read, then complete study guides for each of the novels they choose and take a written test over each as well.

Lower-level novels

  • "And Then There Were None," by Agatha Christie
  • "The Bridges at Toko-Ri," by James Michener
  • "Catcher in the Rye," by J.D. Salinger
  • "The Chocolate War," by Robert Cormier
  • "The Contender," by Robert Lipstyle
  • "Deathwatch," by Robb White
  • "Flowers for Algernon," by Daniel Keyes
  • "Hiroshima," by John Hersey
  • "I Am the Cheese," by Robert Cormier
  • "Lord of the Flies," by William Golding
  • "Of Mice and Men," by John Steinbeck
  • "The Pearl," by John Steinbeck
  • "Shane," by Jack Schaefer
  • "To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee
  • "When the Legends Die," by Hal Borland

Upper-level novels

  • "All Quiet on the Western Front," by Erich M. Remarque
  • "Death Be Not Proud," by John Gunther
  • "The Good Earth," by Pearl S. Buck
  • "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini Angelou
  • "Last of the Mohicans," by James Fenimore Cooper
  • "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest," by Ken Kesey
  • "The Story of My Life," by Helen Keller
  • "Things Fall Apart," by Chinua Achebe
  • "Crime and Punishment," by Fydor Dostoyevsky
  • "Giants in the Earth," by Ole Rolvaag
  • "The Joy Luck Club," by Amy Tan
  • "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," by Maya Angelou
  • "Night," by Elie Wiesel
  • "The Secret Life of Bees," by Sue Monk Kidd
  • "Their Eyes Were Watching God," by Zora Neal Hurston

Online

Based on The National Association for Media Literacy Education’s Core Principles of Media Literacy Education, students will apply critical thinking skills using non-traditional media to become more active and thoughtful citizens. Students will explore blogs, social media, websites, and wikis. Students will consider their position as a consumer when considering these medias. For more information, visit Apex Learning.

Online

Based on the National Council of Teachers of English and Common Core standards, this course helps struggling readers develop and refine their reading skills. It focuses on four strands of literacy, including reading comprehension, vocabulary building, study skills, and media literacy. Students focus on the various purposes for reading (reading comprehension), learning and remembering new vocabulary (vocabulary building), effective test-taking strategies (study skills), and persuasive and purpose techniques of media (media literacy). For more information, visit Apex Learning.

Online

Based on the National Council of Teachers of English and Common Core standards, this course helps writers develop and refine their writing skills. This course is broken down into 10 mini-units that help students become aware of sentence and paragraph essentials. Students practice various types of writing used in school, the workplace, and life. Four key learning strands include composition practice, grammar skill building, diction and style awareness, and media and technology exploration. For more information, visit Apex Learning.