Curriculum Detail

Search Our Curriculum

Please choose a department from the drop-down menu below to see the full curriculum from each discipline at Drew.

English

Reading, writing, and discussion encourages self-exploration and develops empathy. In four years of English, you’ll be challenged to expand your world view by appreciating voices from different literary traditions and to reflect on and communicate your own experiences and opinions. Teachers work with you to hone your critical thinking skills and intellectual faculties so that you can understand and appreciate any given text, communicate clearly and confidently, and produce original work that expresses your individual voice.

  • English 3

    You will engage in college-style seminars that allow you to explore areas of personal interest while focusing on the following overarching essential questions: What does it mean to be American? What can literature teach us about the American experience and the experiences of Americans? How is the human experience impacted by identity and by context, considering both time and place? And how do I apply historical and cultural contexts to fully understand a text? 
    These questions serve as the intellectual core of our English 3 curriculum. You will engage with difficult and stylistically unconventional literature that will require practice in close reading and recognizing the role of nuance and bias. This experience helps you develop into critical and confident readers, ready to enjoy and derive meaning from any text that you encounter. You will explore these complex texts and ideas through in-depth, sophisticated conversations and writing. You will continue to practice adapting form and language to accomplish your communication goals, while working to develop your unique perspective and writing voice.

  • English 3 Honors

    Honors courses have the same seminar options and develop similar academic skills. They are differentiated by their increased depth and accelerated pace, involving additional reading, writing, and research components. Honors courses are designed for students who have demonstrated a mastery of grade-level literary analysis and writing skills and are eager to perform more complex, self-driven assignments. Ideal candidates embody authentic engagement during all-class and small-group activities and are independent learners who demonstrate original thinking, take intellectual and creative risks, and make insightful connections to other texts and our world. 
    Prerequisites: Writing sample, teacher recommendation, and an A in the current English class.




     

  • English 4

    Engage in college-style seminar courses, which address specific themes, regions, time periods, genres, and authorial circumstances centered around an essential question. All courses will sharpen your skills and writing voice. Students will deepen their understanding by seeking out and making connections to other texts, to historical and contemporary world events, and within the literary world. 

  • English 4 Honors

    Honors classes explore similar topics as the corresponding course but at an accelerated pace with additional depth.  Students will be expected to perform more complex, self-driven assignments in addition to additional reading, writing, and research components.
    Prerequisite: writing sample, teacher’s recommendation, and at least an A- average over the course of the previous year in English 3, or a B+ average in English 3 Honors.

Faculty

An independent, nonsectarian, coeducational college preparatory school serving grades 9–12 where teenagers’ questions, self-expression, and high ambitions are respected, supported, and at the center of the experience.

Social

Contact

info@drewschool.org
415.409.3739

Address

2901 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
© 2018 Drew School. All Rights Reserved.