English

Overview

The English curriculum at Moses Brown focuses on developing core skills in close reading, thoughtful writing, and respectful speaking and listening. The program encourages critical thinking through seminar-style classes where students and teachers collaborate. Students are expected to participate in student-driven, text-based dialogue.

The four-year program exposes students to increasingly challenging literature. This forms the basis for extensive writing assignments across different rhetorical modes. The curriculum also builds research and persuasion skills, starting with complex thesis construction in ninth grade and culminating in an I-Search project in eleventh grade.

Course Requirements:

Students must take four years of English.
In the first three years, students enroll in a yearlong course for their grade level.
In the fall of eleventh grade, students may apply to the honors program.
In twelfth grade, students can choose from various semester-long courses or apply for the yearlong Advanced Placement course.
Students in eleventh or twelfth grade, with teacher guidance, may elect to take the AP exam in either Language and Composition or Literature and Composition—or both.
Semester courses are also available to eleventh graders as a second English course, though priority is given to twelfth graders.

Courses

English 1
English 2
English 3 (Honors)
AP English*
Introduction to Creative Writing: Poetry
Literature of War
Moby Dick Today
Science Fiction and Social Impact
Sports Literature
Disenchantment and Fantasy Literature
The Graphic Novel
Introduction to Creative Writing: Creative Nonfiction
Introduction to Creative Writing: Short Stories
Off the Map: The Literature of Survival
Underground Railroads: Reimagining the Past to Explore the Future

* Beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, we will remove the AP designation from our courses. Some courses will still resemble AP courses, with teachers able to use their professional discretion to adapt and improve their curricula. Some courses will be entirely new. All courses taught at the advanced level will have a clear designation that will be communicated to students, families, and colleges.