All boys. All boarding. Grades 9-12.
Academics
Curriculum Guide

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English

With a curriculum that embraces both the traditional and the progressive, the Woodberry Forest English Department teaches critical reading and effective writing at every grade level. Starting in the ninth grade, students learn to organize their thoughts coherently and to express their ideas in clear, precise prose even as they begin to experiment with style, voice, figures of speech, wit, rhetorical strategies, poetic devices, and form. Reading assignments, ranging from Shakespeare and his contemporaries to the most recent memoirs, essays, and poetry, reinforce the principles of good writing and reveal minds that have defined American and other cultures. The department also uses clippings from daily newspapers, current magazine articles, films, letters, speeches, websites, and advertisements to engage, instruct, inspire, and sometimes provoke students. Hence the claim to be both traditional and progressive. While teachers demand that students encounter familiar canonical writers from the past, write in standard English, and master the principles of English grammar, they also employ non-canonical texts, visual arts, and modern media to prompt students’ thinking. The complementary processes of reading and writing constitute the foundation of what the English Department teaches, and everything else—grammar, vocabulary, test-taking skills, research—must contribute to the primary goal of producing nuanced, thoughtful, canny readers and confident, controlled writers.

In the third and fourth forms, classes cover standard English grammar, formal and informal essay writing, and readings from different centuries in five genres: essay, poetry, drama, novel, and memoir. The students in the fifth and sixth forms write in longer, more sophisticated forms and read challenging works that serve as models of good writing and that generate lively discussion.

The English Department asks its students to learn how to read actively, how to decode a complex text, how to respond to voices from earlier centuries, and how to respond to works in any genre of nonfiction or fiction.

The study of writing progresses from basic work with sentence structure and paragraphs to personal narrative to more formal analytical writing. In the fourth form students take a timed writing exam in December to evaluate their ability to write a personal narrative and again in April to demonstrate their ability to analyze a text. In the fall of the fifth form, students begin to work with rhetorical strategies. The sixth form classes revisit and expand on the skill set of earlier forms. Every student meets at least once per marking period with his English teacher for a private conference to discuss their writing.

Placement in honors and regular sections in the fifth and sixth forms is at the discretion of the department.

  • English 300: Essentials of English

    The Third Form teaches the skills and habits that will lead to success at every other level. Writing instruction begins with pre-writing: paying attention to the subject matter, collecting material, brainstorming, and planning. The composition stage begins with teaching control at the sentence level, from correctness to clarity and force. As the year unfolds, we teach them to create various kinds of unified, coherent, and thorough paragraphs. They move from writing about their own experiences to writing basic analysis and argument. We believe that good writing is about getting the right word into the right place, so they study grammar and vocabulary. They learn to build and punctuate every kind of sentence–and how to take them apart and fix them when they aren’t working.

    Reading instruction focuses on noticing and remembering details, discerning patterns and structures, and making crucial inferences. To this end, we teach them how to pay sustained attention to a text and how to mark and take notes. We teach them to read in all the core genres: fiction, poetry, drama, and essays. In all their reading, they practice connecting what a text is doing with how it does it as we teach them to tell the difference between, figurative and literal language, to identify tone, point of view, structure, and other essentials.

    In both reading and writing, we teach them to think clearly, using sound logic and creativity. We teach them to make clear claims and to back them up with evidence and explanation, but we also want them to be inventive in solving problems. The core elements of this class will be repeated in a constantly widening and deepening spiral of sophistication for the next four years.

    The core elements of this class will be repeated in a constantly widening and deepening spiral of sophistication for the next four years.

  • English 500

    Reading and Writing Rhetorically (Regular and Honors)

    This course continues the work of the previous years, but the students read more demanding works of literature as they practice making more insightful and meaningful inferences about the texts and engaging in more profound conversations. Their writing will reflect this as they craft more sophisticated essays.

    The course uses a rhetorical approach, thinking of each text in this framework: the writer, the audience, and the situation. We will study a wide range of texts from great works of literature to editorials from the day’s paper, and students will practice writing in each of the modes they study, from analytical argument to political satire.

    A word about Honors: The department will consider the following in approving students for Honors classes: (1) demonstrated mastery, passion, participation, good attitude, and work ethic in previous classes; (2) performance on the Spring Timed Writing Exam; and (3) confident recommendations from previous teachers.

  • English 600

    Each of the senior courses is at its core “senior English”: Courses will focus on developing and sharpening the reading, writing, and thinking skills developed in the lower forms.  Students should expect the same demands in each class: the same grading scale and rigor, the same core challenges (e.g. challenging reading assignments, analytical and argumentative essays, class discussion).
    These are the current offerings::
    Mythology and Modern Literature (Regular)
    The roots of literature are deep in the collective human psyche.  To understand what literature is really doing, this class will look at where it comes from: myths, legends, and fairy tales. The course will also look at how specific writers have reinterpreted ancient stories and forms to speak to their own day and time. 
    Page to Stage and Screen (Regular)
    This course will study works of literature that have been staged in theater productions and films. Students will study the primary works and ponder the central themes and dynamics, and then they will look at the way they have been translated into dramatic works. 
    Strangers in Strange Lands (Regular)
    A man goes to a strange land; troubles ensue. It’s the plot of a thousand great stories new and old, but also of religious, racial, and colonial conflicts and confrontations across the world. The questions these experiences raise are as important as ever: Who is civilized, and who is savage? Can outsiders ever understand foreign cultures, let alone join them? Students in this class will travel through stories to other continents and other worlds, and see their own through foreign eyes.
     
    Frontiers (Regular and/or Honors)
    The American historian Frederick Jackson Turner said in 1893 that “American energy will continually demand a wider field for its exercise.” A hundred years later, on the syndicated TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Captain Jean-Luc Picard called space “the final frontier.”  And in 2022, the Western film The Power of the Dog was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. What’s the continuing appeal of “the frontier”?  What is a frontier, anyway? These questions and more will be explored through a thorough study of the narrative. 
    Creative Writing (Regular and/or Honors) 
    This course will begin with the unit on stories and move, depending on interest, into either non-fiction or poetry, depending on interest.  Note: This is a good class to take if you have an interest in creative writing, if you are on the Talon staff, or if you aspire to write publishable stories. 
    Creative Writing Units:
    What Makes a Good Story? 
    What do Stephen King, Earnest Hemingway, and George R.R. Martin all have in common? They have all created stories that open whole worlds inhabited by characters who come alive in our imaginations as they navigate struggles that absorb us (and change us).  And they made these little worlds out of their own personal experiences. This is a hands-on study of how successful stories work. We will read stories by masters of the craft. We will then practice writing our own good stories. We will work with a professional writer.  
    What Makes a Good Poem? 
    What do William Shakespeare, Robert Frost, and Dr. Seuss all have in common?  They all created verses that delight the ear, please the eye, and move the heart. This is a study of how master poets manage to do this and what makes some poems better than others. Inspired by these discussions, we will create our owbn good poems.  
    Literature of the Real  
    We tend of think of prose literature as fiction, but there is a long tradition of  literary non-fiction: personal essays, memoirs, portraits or people and places. These writers use then same skills as fiction writers and poets to craft beautiful and moving pieces out of their real-life experiences. We will read some masters of this art and then practice creating our own non-fiction pieces. 

  • Honors English 500

    Reading and Writing Rhetorically (Regular and Honors)

    This course continues the work of the previous years, but the students read more demanding works of literature as they practice making more insightful and meaningful inferences about the texts and engaging in more profound conversations. Their writing will reflect this as they craft more sophisticated essays.

    The course uses a rhetorical approach, thinking of each text in this framework: the writer, the audience, and the situation. We will study a wide range of texts from great works of literature to editorials from the day’s paper, and students will practice writing in each of the modes they study, from analytical argument to political satire.

    A word about Honors: The department will consider the following in approving students for Honors classes: (1) demonstrated mastery, passion, participation, good attitude, and work ethic in previous classes; (2) performance on the Spring Timed Writing Exam; and (3) confident recommendations from previous teachers.

  • Honors English 600

    A word about Honors:  For classes so marked, sections will be designated as Honors if there are enough honors-level students interested in the class.  The department will consider the following in approving students for Honors classes: (1) demonstrated mastery, passion, participation, good attitude, and work ethic in previous classes, (2) an essay interested students will write, and (3) confident recommendations from previous teachers.
    Each of the senior courses is at its core “senior English”: Courses will focus on developing and sharpening the reading, writing, and thinking skills developed in the lower forms.  Students should expect the same demands in each class: the same grading scale and rigor, the same core challenges (e.g. challenging reading assignments, analytical and argumentative essays, class discussion).

    Frontiers (Regular and/or Honors)
    The American historian Frederick Jackson Turner said in 1893 that “American energy will continually demand a wider field for its exercise.” A hundred years later, on the syndicated TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Captain Jean-Luc Picard called space “the final frontier.”  And in 2022, the Western film The Power of the Dog was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. What’s the continuing appeal of “the frontier”?  What is a frontier, anyway? These questions and more will be explored through a thorough study of the narrative. 
    Creative Writing (Regular and/or Honors) 
    This course will begin with the unit on stories and move, depending on interest, into either non-fiction or poetry, depending on interest.  Note: This is a good class to take if you have an interest in creative writing, if you are on the Talon staff, or if you aspire to write publishable stories. 
    Creative Writing Units:
    What Makes a Good Story? 
    What do Stephen King, Earnest Hemingway, and George R.R. Martin all have in common? They have all created stories that open whole worlds inhabited by characters who come alive in our imaginations as they navigate struggles that absorb us (and change us).  And they made these little worlds out of their own personal experiences. This is a hands-on study of how successful stories work. We will read stories by masters of the craft. We will then practice writing our own good stories. We will work with a professional writer.  
    What Makes a Good Poem? 
    What do William Shakespeare, Robert Frost, and Dr. Seuss all have in common?  They all created verses that delight the ear, please the eye, and move the heart. This is a study of how master poets manage to do this and what makes some poems better than others. Inspired by these discussions, we will create our owbn good poems.  
    Literature of the Real  
    We tend of think of prose literature as fiction, but there is a long tradition of  literary non-fiction: personal essays, memoirs, portraits or people and places. These writers use then same skills as fiction writers and poets to craft beautiful and moving pieces out of their real-life experiences. We will read some masters of this art and then practice creating our own non-fiction pieces. 

  • English 400: Advanced Essentials of English

    Fourth Form English is a direct continuation of the work begun in the Third Form, but the challenges increase, and the skills become more complex. They read more demanding texts and write longer, more substantial pieces. They develop a new level of grammatical control as their vocabulary grows. They are challenged to make more subtle inferences in their reading, as they practice backing up their claims with textual evidence.

Our Faculty

  • Photo of Ben Hale
    Ben Hale
    English
    Head Varsity Cross Country Coach
    (540) 672-3900 Ext. 8605
    Washington and Lee University - BA
    Middlebury College - MA
    Pacific Lutheran University - MFA
    1992
    Bio
  • Photo of Brian Campbell
    Brian Campbell
    English
    (540) 672-3900 ext. 8613
    Bowdoin College - BA
    Dartmouth - MALS
    2023
    Bio
  • Photo of Paul Erb
    Paul Erb
    English
    Head Varsity Squash Coach
    Amherst College - BA
    Universite de Paris III - DEA
    University of Michigan - MA, PhD
    2015
    Bio
  • Photo of Perry Gresham
    Perry Gresham
    English
    (540) 672-3900 Ext. 8654
    The University of the South - BA
    2022
    Bio
  • Photo of Marc Hogan
    Marc Hogan
    English
    Head Varsity Golf Coach
    (540) 672-3900 Ext 8606
    University of Virginia - BA, MA
    1987
    Bio
  • Photo of Tracy Robertson
    Tracy Robertson
    English
    English
    Duke University - BA
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - MEd
    2021
    Bio
  • Photo of Seth Rushton
    Dr. Seth Rushton
    English
    English
    Claremont Graduate University - PhD
    2019
    Bio
  • Photo of Trevor Thornton
    Trevor P. Thornton '04
    English
    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - BA
    Middlebury College - MA
    2020
    Bio
  • Photo of Charlie Wright
    Charlie Wright
    English
    University of Alabama - BA
    2020
    Bio
Woodberry Forest School is an exceptional private school community for high school boys in grades nine through twelve. It is one of the top boarding schools in the United States and one of the only all-boys, all-boarding schools in the country.
Woodberry Forest, VA 22989
Phone: 540-672-3900

Explore & Resources

Woodberry Forest admits students of any race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, and national or ethnic origin to all of the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs. The school is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant students.