English

For course listings, please see pages 36-42 in the Academic Catalog.

Summer Reading 2023

In order to continue to grow as a community of readers, we are asking all OPRF students to read a book this summer. Students are expected to be prepared to discuss that book the first week of school in their English classes.

All rising 9th graders will read Fresh Ink, an anthology of young adult short fiction. Copies are being distributed to students at our feeder schools. If your student did not receive their copy from their feeder school or your 9th grader is new to the district, please pick up your copy at the OPRFHS bookstore.

Rising 10th, 11th, and 12th grade students have chosen a text from this list, which represents a variety of genres and reading levels. Students will pick up their books with their class the week of May 22. If your student was unable to pick up their book, it will be waiting in the OPRFHS bookstore. If you are new to the district, feel free to pick up any of one of these titles from a library or bookstore.

Note to families: While your students are reading over the summer, we encourage families to talk to them about their books. You may want to ask questions such as: What surprises or challenges you about this text? What ideas, characters, or details connect to your prior knowledge? What choices did the author make in terms of how the text is written (such as point of view, structure, word or detail choice)? 

Please note that literature may contain potentially sensitive content, language, or issues that might be considered controversial. Central to our curriculum is encouraging students to question language or ideas in a text and how they contribute to the larger meaning, purpose, or overall effect of the language or idea in context. As a parent, you can seek an alternative text if you find the content or language inappropriate for your child. Please contact English Division Head Erika Eckart at eeckart@oprfhs.org with questions or concerns.

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The mission of the English Division of Oak Park and River Forest High School is to provide a nurturing, challenging, and equitable learning experience to ensure that all students develop into critical, creative, and empathetic readers, writers, speakers, and thinkers. 

Placement recommendations are based on providing students with instruction, practice, and assessment to increase their literacy skills. While there is no single indicator for success, students are welcomed into supportive, challenging curriculum that emphasizes growth and achievement in reading, writing, vocabulary development, language appreciation, listening, and speaking.