English
The Newton Country Day English program focuses on guiding students to think critically, to express themselves clearly in speech and writing, and to appreciate the ways in which language—especially the language of literature—communicates the full range of human feeling and experience. Students study a broad range of literary works from British, American, and world literature.
Teachers establish in their classes an atmosphere of open discourse, focused inquiry, and intellectual engagement. In class discussions, students are encouraged to support their ideas and opinions and to clarify and question complex ideas and ambiguities in the text. This process promotes close reading, the foundation of critical thinking and writing.
Frequent student writing assignments and timely feedback develop students' skills and help them learn in a self-directed manner. Composition is assessed on the basis of clarity, organization, and cogency.
Through studying the relationship between a literary work and its social and historical contexts, students achieve a deeper understanding of values and experiences different from their own; at the same time, inasmuch as great literary works possess a universal and timeless quality, students gain a clearer understanding of the moral dimensions of their world and of themselves.
Middle School
Critical Thinking and Expressive Language
Middle School English emphasizes the power of language to shape understanding, empathy, and connection. Receptive and expressive language skills are developed through close reading, discussion, and both analytical and creative writing projects.
Essential Skills
- Genre
- Theme
- Language structure
- Purpose of literature
- Figurative and descriptive language
- Connection to Self and World
- Critical reading and analysis
- Active listening
- Writing process
- Analytical and creative writing
- Vocabulary and grammar in context
- Elements of subtext
- Annotations and inferences
- Collaboration and discussion skills
- Grade 5: Grammar and Writing
- English 6: Literature and Civil Engagement
- English 7: Society and the Individual
- English 8: The Literature of Empathy
Grade 5: Grammar and Writing
In this course, students learn about English grammar in order to grow as clear and efficient communicators. Over the course of the year, students study the parts of speech in English, learning both how to identify different parts of speech and how to use those parts of speech accurately. The course also includes opportunities for creative writing, through which students can apply the grammatical concepts they have learned. Ultimately, students leave Grammar and Writing with an increased appreciation of the importance of clarity in language.
Overview of Topics
- Identifying common, proper, singular, plural, and possessive nouns
- Understanding personal, possessive, subject, and object pronouns
- Recognizing action verbs, linking verbs, and helping verbs
- Identifying verb tenses (past, present, future) and subject-verb agreement
- Using descriptive, comparative, and superlative adjectives to modify nouns
- Recognizing adverbs and how they modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs
- Identifying prepositional phrases and understanding how they show relationships between nouns/pronouns and other words
- Using coordinating and subordinating conjunctions
- Identifying interjections and their role in expressing emotions
- Using correct punctuation marks (periods, commas, question marks, etc.)
- Applying capitalization rules for proper nouns, sentence beginnings, and titles
- Revising and editing sentences for clarity, grammar, and coherence
- Using varied vocabulary and sentence structures to enhance writing
Signature Activities
- Book binding project - Boston Public Library bookmaking class and history
- Voyagers interdisciplinary excursion to the Harvard Museum of Natural History, in conjunction with Science
- Writing and presenting original short stories
Texts and Other Resource Materials
- Excerpts from Rules of the Game 1
- Assorted short stories and articles
English 6: Literature and Civil Engagement
English 6 introduces public speaking, debate, and the study of Shakespeare. Students study great speeches, looking at context, content, rhetoric, figurative and descriptive techniques, and delivery. Through analytical paragraphs students examine a speech in detail and practice the systems of the writing process. The speech writing component challenges students to examine their beliefs and knowledge base to create an original speech that uses the rhetorical devices they study. The course concludes with Shakespeare’s play about public speaking: Julius Caesar. Students read and discuss the play, memorize and perform a monologue, debate, and write an expository paragraph explaining their assigned speech. Students connect the texts they read to contemporary issues and the concept of civic engagement. They leave Grade 6 having learned to present their ideas to the world with poise, clarity, and eloquence.
Signature Activities
Students develop critical reading and thinking skills through focused study, discussion, collaboration, and creative response. Argumentation skills are built through paragraphs, speeches, and debate.
- Speech study and group presentation
- Collaboration with Science 6: Challenger Disaster and rhetorical response
- Speechwriting unit
- Shakespeare Study: Introduction to Shakespeare: Julius Caesar
- Commonwealth Shakespeare acting workshop
- Middle School Poetry Contest
Text and Other Resource Materials
- American Heritage Book of Great American Speeches for Young People
- William Shakespeare: Julius Caesar
- Wordly Wise Book 6
English 7: Society and the Individual
In this course, students engage in the development of critical literary analysis and interpretation, as applied to a variety of novels, short stories, poems, and plays studied throughout the year. Writing is an important component of this course, and students have the opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas in connection with the literature studied. The class incorporates the study of different grammatical concepts and new vocabulary words into a number of writing assignments throughout the year.
Signature Activities
- Letters about literature
- Poetry portfolio
- Shakespeare study
- Middle School Poetry Contest
Texts and Other Resource Materials
- The Giver
- Animal Farm
- The Crucible
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
- The Outsiders
- Wordly Wise Book 2
- Assorted poems
English 8: The Literature of Empathy
In this course, students engage in the study of a variety of literary styles that focus on new perspectives. Students work to craft an authentic voice and become more incisive, nuanced, and precise in analysis. The goal is to broaden students’ love of language: its power, complexity, and many rhetorical uses. Students begin the year by reflecting on Harper Lee’s words: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” Texts studied include Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Friedrich by Hans Peter Richter. The class concludes with the Holocaust project and a trip to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.
Signature Activities
- Mystery story
- Capstone narrative
- Personal essay
- Shakespeare study
- Middle School Poetry Contest
Text and Other Resource Materials
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Romeo and Juliet
- Wordly Wise
- Selected short stories and poems
- Voices from the Holocaust
Upper School
The Upper School English curriculum is designed to cultivate critical thinking, literary analysis, and effective communication through an engaging and diverse range of texts and genres. Across all grades, students develop their reading, writing, and speaking skills through close analysis of literary works from various cultures and time periods, including classical texts, modern novels, poetry, drama, memoirs, and more.
The curriculum emphasizes thematic exploration—such as identity, purpose, and personal growth—as well as the study of rhetoric, literary criticism, and creative expression. From studying the journeys of characters in Antigone and Salvage the Bones to engaging with modern American works and classic authors like Shakespeare and Tolstoy, students examine how literature often reflects the human experience. Through courses in creative writing, students develop their voice and artistic expression in various mediums, from poetry to film. Honors and AP courses deepen students' literary and analytical abilities, preparing them for college-level writing and research. Overall, the English program fosters lifelong skills in critical reading, thoughtful analysis, persuasive writing, and creative expression, encouraging students to become both skilled communicators and reflective individuals who can engage with the world in meaningful ways.
The Upper School English curriculum offers several distinctive, transformative opportunities that go beyond traditional coursework and actively engage students in their literary, creative, and intellectual development. The department's signature experiences foster a deep connection to literature, language, and self-expression by combining rigorous academic study with creative exploration and critical thinking. These experiences include interdisciplinary learning, literary themed seminars, creative writing workshops, literary magazine publication, mock trials and speeches, cross-genre exploration, research and synthesis projects, public presentations and performances, and opportunities for personal reflection and growth.
- English 9: Introduction to Genre
- Global Studies, English 10
- Honors Global Studies
- Advanced Placement English Language and Composition: American Literature
- Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition: Special Topics
- Introduction to Creative Writing
- Advanced Creative Writing I
- Advanced Creative Writing II
English 9: Introduction to Genre
In English 9, students explore the world, literature, and their own lives through the lens of journeys and quests. By reading longer texts such as Antigone and Salvage the Bones, as well as short fiction and poetry by authors including Amy Tan, James Joyce, Alice Walker, Gabriel García Márquez, William Shakespeare, Elizabeth Bishop, and Langston Hughes, we look at these quests as paths to self-understanding. Students analyze how characters grow, change, and come of age to form identities and relationships as they struggle with external and internal obstacles. Class discussions and personal writing give students the opportunity to connect these literary quests to their own lives and the world in which they live. Through close reading and annotation, students gain the active reading skills needed to make meaning of challenging works of literature. Students engage in ongoing, scaffolded writing practice by writing and revising reading journals, paragraphs, analytical essays, and creative assignments. Written assignments, mock trials, and debates, as well as an introductory study of rhetoric, offer students practice engaging in persuasive argument.
Required for students in grade 9
Global Studies, English 10
Global Studies students explore literary, artistic, and philosophical developments throughout the Enlightenment, Romantic, Modern, Postmodern, and contemporary periods, balancing its emphasis between European and non-European voices and paying particular attention to how various cultures have influenced one another in a world that has rapidly expanded since the late 18th Century. Examining universal themes—those that apply to the human experience regardless of time, location, and culture—are particularly emphasized with skill development focusing on: incisive and critical reading; planning and revision in the writing process; active and engaged discussion; annotating and note taking; and facility with language through vocabulary building and practice with grammatical structures.
Open to students in grade 10
Honors Global Studies
Through this interdisciplinary approach to the humanities, students enrich their understanding of global cultures by combining surveys of modern history and global literature from 1789 to the present. Students examine major topics in world history, including revolutions on both sides of the Atlantic (French, Haitian, Latin American, etc.); imperialism and resistance in Africa, South and Southeast Asia, China, and Japan; World Wars I and II; post-colonialism and the Cold War; and the contemporary world. In parallel, Honors Global Studies exposes students to the scope of literary development, including significant texts from the late Enlightenment, Romantic, Modern, Postmodern, and contemporary periods. With particular emphasis on non-European voices, the course hones students’ critical reading and analytical skills by including a variety of literary genres, such as short novels, poems, short stories, plays, and nonfiction pieces, along with supplemental sources in art, music, and material culture. Additionally, through close reading of primary and secondary documents, students are introduced to the principles of historiography as they construct their own historical arguments. By simultaneously contextualizing literary works with relevant historical background and enriching students’ experience of historical events through a literary lens, Honors Global Studies provides a rich understanding of global cultures from the late eighteenth century to the present. Departmental approval required. Note: students who sign up for Honors Global Studies to fulfill their English 10 requirement must also sign up for the history companion course.
Advanced Placement English Language and Composition: American Literature
This college-level course provides students with the tools to critically analyze American literature while developing a rich understanding of rhetorical technique. Students engage with a broad range of texts in a variety of genres: classic novels, such as Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Scarlet Letter, and The Great Gatsby; memoirs, such as Frederick Douglass’ Narrative; the short stories of Raymond Carver and John Cheever; poems by Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman; essays by figures in American political history; and contemporary work by Chimamanda Adichie, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Colson Whitehead. In addition to studying prose, the course analyzes visual texts, including political cartoons and propaganda posters, and constructs complex and well-supported arguments on current cultural issues such as the role of technology in education and the importance of satire to critique and alter public conversations. Students complete several essays each month, and they have many opportunities to revise, peer review, and meet one-on-one with their instructors to improve drafts. Much is demanded of students, both in terms of the academic workload, and the ability to be open-minded to the acquisition of new skills. By the end of the course, students have received the tools necessary to become superior readers, critical thinkers, and communicators.
Required for students in grade 11
Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition: Special Topics
The equivalent of a first-year college English course, this course provides students the opportunity to specialize in a literary theme, historical period, or author. Using a seminar format, students sharpen reading, critical thinking, writing, and speaking skills while exploring a wide array of literature with rich sociocultural contextualization. Rotating topics in the past have included:
- Shakespeare: On Life’s Stage We Play Many Parts. Students become experts in Shakespeare, reading comedies, tragedies, and histories spanning the playwright’s career, viewing multiple performances, and immersing themselves in Elizabethan and Jocaboean sociocultural history. Supplemental texts include Stephen Greenblatt’s Will in the World and Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet.
- Tolstoy: What is Love? What is the Meaning of Life? Students become experts in Russian literature, reading Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin, Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, and Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. For contextual enrichment, the class views the BBC miniseries War and Peace while studying Russian history from Napoleon’s invasion to the Russian Revolution.
- Responding to the Horrors of War. Students do a deep dive into cultural production surrounding WWI, WWII, and the Vietnam War. Texts include Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, Art Spiegelman’s Maus, Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, and Luis Valdez’s Zoot Suit. While reading, students assess visual art, music, and cinema that engage war, from Picasso’s Guernica to Roberto Benigni’s Life is Beautiful.
Required for students in grade 12
Introduction to Creative Writing
This introductory course provides students with the opportunity to explore writing and production in a variety of genres, including fiction, poetry, drama, memoir, filmmaking, and podcasting. The course follows a workshop format in which students share their writing with classmates in exchange for honest, supportive, and constructive feedback. Students seek to create evocative works of their own that engage today’s world. The course culminates in self-publication and submission to writing contests.
Open to students in grades 10, 11, and 12
Advanced Creative Writing I
This advanced course builds upon the previous year, but focuses on the crafting of full-length projects. Each student begins by creating a proposal for their own novel, play, memoir, chapbook of poetry, documentary film, narrative film, stop-motion film, or podcast series. Over the course of the next few months, this small community of artists works together to help each other succeed. By balancing individual work with collaborative workshops, each member of the team seeks to complete and self-publish their own full-length work by the end of the year. The other major responsibility of this class is to design, edit, and publish The Medley, Newton’s literary arts magazine.
Prerequisite: Introduction to Creative Writing
Advanced Creative Writing II
This advanced level II course is for seniors who desire to take their craft to an even deeper and more complex level. These students dedicate themselves to polishing and publishing multiple full-length works during the year. They also do presentations on writing, filmmaking, and podcasting for younger students and serve as mentors in the workshop and publication processes.
Open to students in grade 12. Prerequisite: Advanced Creative Writing I