Highland High School - Iris Yearbook (Highland, IL)

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The aims of English are to train pupils to speak clearly and correctly and to write simple, natural, and forceable English prose. The study of English also gives a familiar acquain- tance with some of the great masterpieces of English and American literature. It aims to foster a taste for good literature and to strengthen the power to interpret and appre- ciate what has been read. Approximately half a semester each year is given over to literature and half to the study of grammar and composition. Literature is read both in class and out of class. Testing is based on comprehension of content rather than on style or wording. Grammar work is done by means of work books in which the pupil works with printed materials. The funda- mental idea behind the work books in the first two years is proof-reading, not rewriting the material but putting in correct punctuation and forms. In the latter two years more time is spent in recasting sentences which are poorly constructed and on composition. The number of compositions has been, reduced because of wasted effort. Fewer themes well done are worth more than many poorly done. Book reports and other forms of outside reading have been put upon an optional basis because the literature texts in themselves carry such a wealth of material and because required read- ing encourages cheating invarious forms. In English l the text used is Adventures in Reading, the first of the series of four liter- ature books for high school work published by Harcourt, Brace, and Company. In the book are found stories, biographical selections, es- says, plays, ballads, tales, lyrics, and humorous poems, all of which are suited to the needs of the high school freshman. Shakespeare's Mid- NGLISH summer Night's Dream is one of the longer selections. The work book, Adventures Wise and Otherwise, is also one of a set of four such books published by Harcourt, Brace, and Com- pany. A story runs through each of the books so that the element of suspense may keep up interest in the exercises. The book is divided into units on punctu- ation tapostrophes, commas, quotation marksl, capitals, spelling, the parts of speech, kinds of sentences, the parts of a sentence fsubject, -verb, predicate nominative, objects, phrases, clausesj. Each unit begins with a discovery test which allows pupil and teacher to learn what knowledge the student already has about the subject. A style sheet follows. Here rules and illustrations are found which the pupil should master. Next come pages of exercises to give the student an opportunity to use the new skills. The answer sheets follow after the exercises so the pupil may check his own work or his class mate's work, as the teacher de- sires. Tllen comes the preliminary tryout: if the student passes this, he is ready for the mastery test given by the teacher. If he should fail the mastery, he goes back to his workbook for further drill on the same unit. The English II class uses the second book of the literature series called Adventures in Appreciation. Like the freshman book it con- tains units on the short story, the novel and novelette, the essay, biography, the long narra- tive poem, ballads and tales, lyrics past and present, and plays, .but the material is of a more advanced nature. The Shakespearean play given this year is As You Like It. The work book, Trail Fires, teaches more advanced work in punctuation and grammar. Tressler's

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NGLISH English in Action ls used to supplement the work book ln both the freshman and sopho- more years. The third year literature book is Adven- tures in English Literature, a text which covers tlfteen hundred years of English literary his- tory. The book is divided into units on the Anglo-.Saxon period, the Middle English period, the Elizabethan Age, the Puritan and Restora- tion perlod, the Eighteenth Century, the age of Romanticism, the Victorian period, and the Twentieth Century. Each unit contains an in- troductory survey, samples of the writing of the important authors of the period accompanied by a biographical sketch of each. Macbeth by Shakespeare is the longest selection. Standard tests accompany each unit. The work book, Eastward Ho, gives the student advanced work in punctuation and cap- itals and also covers simple outlining, rules of spelling, agreement, case and types of sentence structure. Cook's Using English supplements the work book and gives experience in composi- tlon, both oral and written. One major theme ls assigned each six weeks. Adventures in American Literature, the fourth year literature text, does not follow the chronological plan but ls organized around the study of literary types: the short story, novel, essay, biography, drama, poetry past and pres- ent. One unlt ls given over to selections trac- lng the development of the national spirit: an- other to contemporary problems. A history of American literature completes the book. As in the other books of the series, so much material ls available that the teacher may assign some of the work for outside reading and also choose his material to suit the needs of the class. The work book, Higher Levels, is quite different from the others' of the series. It ,con- tains a section of grammar review and also gives training in the collection and organiza- tion of materials for compositions. Optional projects for the writing of plays, stories and poems are found. Cook's Using English sup- plements this work book. Book reports, dramatic work, and work on the news or annual staff are voluntary. Stu- dents participating in such activities may re- ceive extra credit in English for their work. Until this year the school library had not been in use since we vacated the old building. Steel shelving was put ln place along the in- side wall of the junior high school study hall toward the close of last year., and the books were properly arranged gn the shelves. The library did not open, however, until this school year. Students are admitted to the library during their study periods by a pass slip sys- tem. They may also remove books for home use by applying to Miss Mabel Wenger, who takes care of the charging of books. Maga- zines are not kept in the library. Each teacher has a case for the magazines of his department in his own room. The ordering, distribution, and filing of magazines has been taken care of by Miss Foster. A student librarian is in charge of the library each period. The girls who served this year were Marie Beck, Wilma Earn- hart, Edna Essenpreis, Mildred Haller, Vir- ginia Keck, Marvel Rogier, and Ruby Streif. No new fiction has been added to the library in recent years because that field is well covered by the public library, but many new books in vocational work and social studies have been purchased. I R