HUMANITIES I 
SVGS Arts and Humanities juniors from area schools began their Humanities I experience by concentrating on what makes effective writing, specifically writing on the college level. By examining model texts, students became proficient in identifying effective rhetorical strategies while applying those strategies to their own writing. In conjunction with examining texts, students honed their oratorical skills by formulating arguments and defending positions based on those texts. Students developed their literary analysis skills by reading and writing about American literature and will refine their research skills to produce a multi-media project as a class presentation. By looking at works in historical context, students were able to understand how culture dictates the American experience in literature. Students drew on their composition skills from the previous semester in order to produce well-crafted and articulate essays. In April, students participated in the SVGS Open House by selecting essays for public display and by showcasing their visual arts and theater talents for observers.
HUMANITIES II
SVGS Arts and Humanities seniors from area schools concentrated on early British literature and its expression of early British cultures. Using college-level texts, students refined their analytical skills with sophisticated literary selections and applied those skills to both class discussions and written expression. Highlights of the first semester included exploration of the Anglo-Saxon epic tradition, the influence of the courtly love tradition on Medieval romances, and the poetic conventions of Petrarchan and Elizabethan sonnets. In second semester, students moved from their British literature survey study to the course’s concentration area—monsters and the literary imagination. They examined the role of monsters, their appearance in various literary traditions, and produced a research-based project reflecting their individual and unique understanding of monsters and society. schools By examining the treatment of monsters in various literary classics, students were able to find patterns that spoke to society’s understanding of monsters and the roles they play as outgrowths of communal concerns and tensions. In April, students participated in the SVGS Open House by recreating multimedia versions of Mary Shelley’s monster classic Frankenstein: an Adobe flash animation sequence, a satire, and an all-female iMovie version based on Hollywood’s horror classic.
Shenandoah Valley Governor's School 