English

English Department Goals

Students will:

• Read critically and actively.
• Write clearly and concisely.
• Speak thoughtfully and respectfully. 
• Understand content, audience, and purpose in speech and writing.

Students in the four year sequential English curriculum will have the opportunity to practice increasingly complex tasks in reading, writing, listening, rhetoric, and critical thinking in order to better equip them with a multitude of high level skills for the 21st century. The English Department and our School Librarians are committed to providing research experiences whereby students learn how to access, sort, and critically evaluate the plethora of information available in the world today. 

The English Department utilizes assessment for the following reasons:

• To determine students’ mastery of standards, course objectives, and department goals
• To provide feedback so that students and teachers can identify strengths and weaknesses
• To give students opportunities to apply knowledge in new contexts
• To prepare students for high-stakes assessments

Assessment will look different for different courses, but most will require some combination of the following: homework, classwork, quizzes, projects, tests, in-class essays, process writing, presentations, and Socratic seminars/graded discussion. 

Some courses conduct part or all of their assessments using a standards-based approach. 

Feedback is a critical part of assessment, and students can expect feedback within one week for smaller assessments and two-three weeks for larger assessments or writing assignments, subject to makeups.

• NJ Student Learning Standards for English Language Arts, 9-10

• NJ Student Learning Standards for English Language Arts, 11-12

The curriculum included here are the current curricula for the Pascack Valley Regional High School District. They have all been approved by the Pascack Valley Regional High School District Board of Education and are in alignment with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards approved by the New Jersey State Department of Education. Curricula for Advanced Placement (AP) courses have been approved by the College Board through their AP Audit.

New Jersey Student Learning Standards
2020 Revisions to the New Jersey Student Learning Standards
Curriculum Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Curriculum Requirements Mandated by the State of New Jersey

ENGLISH CURRICULA

Summer Reading 2024