George C Marshall High School - Columbian Yearbook (Falls Church, VA)

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English department emphasizes literature In order to insure that every student at George C. Marshall High School was exposed to learning of basic communication skills, com¬ pulsory units in grammar and com¬ position were given at all levels. The development of these writing and speaking skills was combined with theme-oriented literature units at the ninth and tenth grade levels. The first semester of the eleventh grade was devoted to a study of the best in American Literature with correlated writing assignments that focused on the argumentative essay and the development of the research paper. Eleventh and twelfth grade students who did not plan to continue a formal education studied business and practical communication skills that included writing letters, filling out job applications, and intensive spelling and vocabulary units. During this same semester, twelfth grade college-bound students combined a survey of English Literature with ad¬ vanced essay skills and the writing of a research paper. During the spring semester the English depart¬ ment offered a variety of electives to the combined junior and senior classes. The list of electives included such diverse subjects as Transcendentalism, Witchcraft and the Occult, Shakespeare, and Gen¬ eral Semantics.

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148 CURRICULUM 2 Right: Mrs. Ruth Keppel awaits an intelligent response from her students. Below: A Hare ( -° Krishna monk visits Mrs. Jayne James’ tran¬ scendentalism class. Bottom: Mrs. Irene Odorizzi directs a drama class. Opposite page: Mr. Edwin Vergason daydreams in one of his rare moments of stillness.

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Studies department