9th+Grade+English

=**9th Grade On-Level English** =



**Course Instructor:** Mrs. Malone rebecca_malone@etownschools.org

Mrs. Angell angell.vicki@gmail.com
 * Student Teacher--Spring 2010:**


 * Course Websites:**
 * //Mrs. Malone's English Class Website=//**
 * [|www. maloneenglish.wikispaces.com]**


 * //Google Docs=//**
 * [|http://docs.etownschools.org]**


 * //Online Textbook=//**
 * []**

This course is designed for the student whose goals include attending a post-high school educational institution, either for two or four years and/or entering the world of work. The class investigates various forms of literature such as short story, poetry, biography, drama, and the novel. A range of oral language activities includes discussing, reporting, reading, and dramatizing. Vocabulary is enriched with the words encountered within the literature. Parts of speech, sentence structure, sentence elements, and usage are reviewed, retaught as needed and developed through grammar exercises and composition assignments of various types, stressing the writing of effective sentences and cohesive, unified paragraphs.
 * Overview of Course:**

We will study the following units this semester: 1. Short Story ("The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe; "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst; "The Lady or the Tiger" by Frank Stockton; "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell)

2. Drama (//The Miracle Worker// by William Gibson; //Romeo and Juliet// by William Shakespeare) 3. Novel (//To Kill a Mockingbird// by Harper Lee) 4. Various Grammar, Vocabulary, and Poetry lessons interspersed throughout literary study.

1. Tests/Quizzes: Throughout each unit of study, you will have quizzes/tests reviewing the terms, concepts, and content taken directly from the material we studied throughout that unit. The quiz will vary in the types of questions it contains (i.e. multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching, short answer, etc.)
 * Your grade will be determined by the following elements:**

2. Unit Projects/Writing Assignments: For each of our units of study, you will have at least one major writing assignment or project to complete that pulls together the main concepts we have covered. In many cases, you will have several assignment options from which to choose. These range from essays, to soundtracks, PowerPoints, iMovie presentations, collages, and others.You will also complete a brief weekly writing assignment.

3. Homework/Classwork: These brief reading and writing assignments will range in point value, but will normally fall within the 10-25 point range.

4. Vocabulary In this course you will study a list of Greek and Latin prefixes, suffixes, and root words. Each week, we will focus on a different group of 15 words and word parts. The purpose for studying word parts is to help your ability to determine the definitions of unfamiliar words you encounter. If you know a wide variety of word parts, you will be better equipped to take an educated guess at the meaning of an unfamiliar word because you will at least know what one part of it means.

1. Day-to-Day Expectations: • Be on time • Be respectful • Be prepared with all supplies needed for class (including SSR material during FLEX)
 * Classroom Policies:**

2. Food/Drink: Water is the only “approved” drink allowed in the school, and food is not allowed unless you have special permission from me.

3. Lav/Sign-out: You need to have an agenda to sign out. One guy and one girl may sign out at a time. If you abuse your lav privileges, they will be suspended for an appropriate period of time.

4. Electronic Devices: Whatever electronic device it is that you are constantly glued to—whether it’s your cell phone, calculator, iPod, Zune, WHATEVER—it should remain safely in your pocket or bag during this class. You’ll survive without it, I promise ☺ You may, however, listen to your music (with headphones) at times when we are working independently in class.

5. Cheating: Any assignment that I find to be the work of someone other than you will be assigned a zero. Depending on the circumstance, your parents may be notified, and disciplinary action taken.

6. Viewing Your Grades Online: As most of you probably know, you have the ability to check your grades online at any time. For your reference, I use the following codes in my gradebook: MI=Missing (not handed in)—counts as a zero EX=Excused—does not count against grade ABS=Absent (not yet graded)—does not count against grade

7. Handing in Assignments: a. After Absence—you have THREE school days to make up work you missed due to absence; however, as per school policy, if you are absent illegally, your teacher is not required to accept your make up work. b. Late Work— You may hand in an assignment ONE day (yes that says ONE day—not 2, not 10, or 30) after its due date, but one letter grade will be automatically deducted from your score. You will receive a zero for the assignment if you do not hand it in after one day.

1. You shall not use, at any time, in any piece of writing, an announcement such as “In this essay I will explain to you…” or “This essay is about…” or “In the next paragraph I will tell you about…”
 * Mrs. Malone’s 10 Commandments for Writing:**

2. You shall not end any piece of writing with any statement similar to any of the following: “I hope you enjoyed this essay”; “These are the reasons why I believe that…”; “Thank you for reading my essay”; “Now you can see why I feel that…”; “I hope you have learned something from reading this essay”.

3. When composing a piece of formal writing that is NOT a narrative, you shall not use “you”, “I”, or “me”.

4. Whenever you are writing anything, you shall not use the terms “I think”, “I feel”, “I believe”, or “in my opinion”. There is no need to use these terms, because if you are the person writing whatever it is you are writing, the reader will know that these are the things that you think, feel, or believe.

5. You shall not use the same type of introduction for every piece of writing that you submit in this class. (For example, do not start everything you write by stating the topic then asking what comes to mind when you think of that topic—i.e. “Family. What do you think of when you hear this word?”)

6. You shall not ask, “How long does this have to be?” The answer to this question will always be “Long enough to fully elaborate on your topic”.

7. You shall not write something because you think it’s what others would want to hear (including Mrs. Malone). Write honestly and sincerely, and you will be more likely to write well.

8. You shall not write something then hand it in without first re-reading and possibly revising it. Do not think of revising as “correcting mistakes”. Revision is a necessary step in writing—no good writer gets his/her thoughts down on paper perfectly the first time, even the professionals. Good writing is good because it has been looked at and altered many times.

9. You shall not use any of the following phrases: "could of", "should of", "would of". Instead, you should use the CORRECT way of expressing these ideas: "could have", "should have", "would have".

10. You SHALL become a better writer if you simply follow through with the activities you are assigned in this class.