What should a high school English curriculum cover?
What should a high school English curriculum cover?
A high school English curriculum should cover literature across genres, close analysis of nonfiction and rhetoric, frequent writing in argumentative, analytical, informative and narrative forms, and the speaking skills students need after graduation. From grade 9 to grade 12, texts grow more complex and students work more independently. Below: the core strands, common gaps, a sample unit order, and one ready-made option.
See the high school ELA programA strong high school English curriculum covers four areas: literature across genres (novels, short stories, drama and poetry), nonfiction and rhetoric (essays, speeches, articles), writing (argumentative, analytical, informative and narrative, with full revision), and language and speaking. Students should analyze theme, characterization, symbolism, structure and point of view, and write multi-paragraph essays with evidence. Each year should add complexity and independence, ending with students who can plan, draft and defend an analysis on their own.
Ready-made material
ELA Complete – High School, Grades 9–12
The first cover is the main resource; the others are related options. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
English Language Arts Complete – Ready-to-Use Curriculum for High School ELA (Grades 9–12)
High School ELA Text Analysis & Writing Bundle | Fiction, Speeches, Essays, Macbeth & 1984 | 9 Units | Grades 9–12
English Language Arts Complete – Ready-to-Use Curriculum for Middle School ELA
Teach-Life-Balance: The Complete Time-Saving Course for Teachers (incl. Planner, Guides & Templates)
Why it is hard
Where high school English programs leave gaps
Most high school English departments inherit a list of novels and plan around it. The novels may be excellent, but a curriculum built only from a book list tends to skip whole genres. Poetry gets two weeks in April. Drama means one Shakespeare play in grade 10. Nonfiction appears only when test prep starts. Students then reach senior year able to summarize a novel but unsure how to analyze a speech or an editorial, which is the kind of reading they will do most after school. Writing has its own gaps. Essays are often assigned without being taught, so students repeat the same formula from grade 9 to grade 12 and never learn to build an argument that fits the question. Analytical vocabulary stays thin; students write 'the author uses imagery to make it interesting' because no one has given them the words to say more. Progression between grades is another weak spot. When each teacher plans alone, ninth and eleventh graders get similar tasks, and growth depends on which teacher a student happens to have. Classes that mix honors-ready readers with students reading well below grade level need the same text with different supports, which takes time most teachers do not have.
What works
What belongs in every year
Treat these as design rules for a four-year program, whatever your required texts are.
- Teach at least one novel, one play, a poetry cluster and a nonfiction unit every year.
- Pair each literary text with a speech, essay or article that speaks to the same question.
- Start an analysis vocabulary list in grade 9 and keep adding to it each year.
- Assign one fully taught, fully revised multi-paragraph essay per unit, rather than quick responses alone.
- Move from teacher-chosen prompts in grade 9 to student-designed questions by grade 12.
- Include regular structured discussion and at least one formal presentation per semester.
Step by step
A sample unit order for one high school year
This outline suits grade 9 or 10 and scales up for later grades. Four to six weeks per unit is a suggested pace; adjust it to your calendar and required texts.
- Short fiction and characterizationOpen with short stories. Teach direct and indirect characterization, point of view and conflict, and end with an analytical paragraph that uses quotations and precise analysis vocabulary.
- Nonfiction and rhetoricStudy two or three speeches and essays. Students identify purpose, audience, appeals and structure, write a rhetorical analysis paragraph and give a short speech of their own.
- DramaRead a full play, ideally aloud in class. Track character decisions scene by scene, perform key moments, and write a multi-paragraph essay on how one character changes.
- Poetry clusterRead poems grouped around one idea. Focus on imagery, symbolism, structure and sound. Students compare two poems on the same idea and write a short analytical comparison of their choices.
- Novel and argumentClose the year with a novel connected to a larger question. Students write an argumentative essay that uses the novel and one nonfiction source as evidence.
Ready-made option
A ready-made program for grades 9–12
ELA Complete – High School covers the strands on this page: literary analysis of short stories, novels, drama, poetry, essays, speeches and nonfiction, with theme, characterization, symbolism, structure, rhetoric and point of view, plus narrative, informative, argumentative and analytical writing in multi-paragraph essays from planning to editing. It has 100+ resources in carefully sequenced units, starts at $149.90 and is $189.90 with the Teach-Life-Balance course. If you want specific texts and topics instead, the High School ELA Text Analysis & Writing Bundle ($109.99, parts bought separately $224.91) has nine units, among them Macbeth, Orwell's 1984, political speeches and argumentative essays. Paired with ELA Complete – Middle School, the code TEACHMORE15 takes 15% off both.
Honest limits
What you still need to add
The program is a framework of units and materials, not your department's book list. You decide which novels and plays students read in full, and you may need class sets of those books. It does not replace a writing conference routine or a senior research project if your school requires one. Check every unit against your state's ELA standards and graduation requirements yourself; Teach Lessons does not claim alignment. For department-wide use, send a short message first, since the licence is for your own teaching. You can exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value; cash refunds are not offered.
Good to know
More teacher questions
How many novels should students read each year?
There is no fixed number. Two or three whole-class novels or plays a year plus choice reading is a workable plan, but depth matters more than count. One novel taught with close reading, discussion and a fully revised essay often does more than three novels read quickly with chapter quizzes.
Should the classics still be the core?
A mix works best. Classics such as Shakespeare give students shared references and demanding language, while contemporary novels, poetry and nonfiction keep the reading connected to their lives. Pair them where you can: a Shakespeare tragedy with a modern speech on ambition, or a classic novel with a recent essay on the same question.
How should writing progress from grade 9 to grade 12?
In grade 9, students learn paragraph-level analysis and a taught essay structure. In grades 10 and 11, they build multi-paragraph arguments and analyses with more than one source. In grade 12, they choose their own questions, shape essays to fit the argument and revise with less guidance. A shared department rubric makes the progression visible.
Does ELA Complete – High School align with my state's standards?
Teach Lessons does not claim alignment with Common Core, any state's standards, AP or IB. The content areas are literary analysis, rhetoric and several types of writing, but the specifics in your state may differ. Compare the units with your state's grades 9–12 ELA standards and ask your department lead about local requirements.
What about grammar in high school?
Teach it through writing. Pick the errors that show up most in your students' drafts, such as run-ons or unclear pronouns, and teach one per week with examples from their own sentences. Add style lessons on sentence variety and precise verbs. Grammar drills without a writing purpose rarely change how students write.
Can I use the program with only one grade?
Yes. The units can be taught as a full sequence or individually, so a ninth-grade teacher can take the units that fit that year and leave the rest. The material is also flexible for short lessons, review or substitute days. A department sharing it across grades should check licence use with Teach Lessons first.
Build the four years around the strands
Keep literature, nonfiction, writing and speaking in every year, and let the demands grow from grade to grade.
See the high school ELA program