Updated: 9/5/10 English Honors Course Outline i Course Purpose Materials Units Grades Late Work Missed Class? Find Mr. Stratton Purpose and Outline of the Course • The ninth grade English program is designed to provide a variety of writing, reading, speaking and basic skills activities that will prepare students for the study of more advanced literature and writing. • The Christensen Rhetoric Program is introduced for the first time with an emphasis on writing the effective sentence. All writing begins with an understanding of how to write an effective sentence and the goal of this course is to teach students how to write great sentences. • Students maintain a writer's notebook in conjunction with their study of writing. They use the notebook to take notes, to practice implementing writing concepts, and to write final drafts demonstrating their understanding of writing and ability to write. • The literature program exposes students to literary elements through various genres, including the short story, poetry, drama, the novel and others. Expository essays, technology projects and oral presentations, among other projects, are assigned as part of the study of literature. • Skill work in vocabulary, grammar, and spelling is presented as problems are identified during the year. All ninth grade students are involved in completing writing activities and a wide variety of technology projects in the computer lab. • All students are expected to read, on their own, at least one book every seven weeks, and then demonstrate that the book was read by completing a book review. The book review genre is studied throughout the year with the ultimate goal of publishing book reviews at FindMeABook.com, which is maintained by students in the ninth grade honors class. • Students, as part of the honors class, maintain and create content for the FindMeABook.com, a teen book news and reviews website. Book Review Due Dates Friday, September 24 Friday, November 5 Friday, December 17 Friday, January 28 Friday, March 11 Friday, April 22 Friday, June 3 Materials You Need for English Class — all year long Required Required Required Recommended 1.5- or 2-inch binder OR a folder for English work A notebook for use as your writer's notebook Pens and pencils — a supply to last all year A flash drive on which to save computer work Buying Your Writer's Notebook Your writer's notebook is an important purchase, not just because it needs to be a sturdy notebook that can withstand everyday use, but because it also has to represent you as both a person and a writer. So, select one you like based on shape, size and design. BUT... No writer's notebook is permitted to be less than 9.5 x 6 inches. Here are a few different notebook sizes to help you judge which size might suit you best. Please note that just because you fill a small notebook before the year is through, it doesn't mean you are done. You'll have to purchase a second or even third writer's notebook to continue our class work. Units of Study in English Class Christensen Rhetoric Program Parts of Speech Parts of the Sentence Levels of Generality The Verb Phrases - present participle phrase - past participle phrase - infinitive phrase The Noun Phrase The Prepositional Phrase Literature The Short Story — audio literature The Novel —The Pearl Drama — Romeo and Juliet The Epic — The Odyssey Memoir Ongoing Units & Lessons Acacemic and Creative Writing through Writer's Notebook Independent Reading — book reviews FindMeABook.com content creation and maintainence Your Grade in English Class Grading: Your grade will be based on your tests, projects, presentations, quizzes, homework, essays, book reviews, writer's notebook and class participation. i Typical English Class Assignment Values: i • Tests, Essays, Projects and Presentations • Writer's Notebook • Class Participation • Quizzes • Book Reviews •FindMeABook.com Duties 30 percent 20 percent 10 percent 15 percent 15 percent 10 percent Grade Maintenance You, as an honors student, must maintain an English average of 85. If you fail to meet this grade point average, you will be removed from this honors course and enrolled in English 9. There are two exceptions to this rule: (1) The five week progress report; (2) Serious illness or some other reasonable excuse that keeps you out of school for an extended period of time. Each case will be considered on an individual basis. Late Work in English Class • LATE WORK WILL NOT BE TAKEN LIGHTLY in English class. • You will receive a 20% reduction for late work up to 3 days. • After the third day, the assignment becomes a ZERO. • No excuses will be accepted for late work. • Check the Homework page for weekly assignments. Absent from Class for Some Reason? • If you miss class for any reason, you are responsible for the work you miss. • Always come to class before going to music lessons or leaving school and ask for your assignment. • Missing class for a reason other than illness does not mean you can't do the homework. • If you miss class Wednesday because of a dentist appointment, for instance, you are still responsible for work due Thursday. Remember that Wednesday's task was assigned on Monday — the day the assignment sheet was handed out. The "I wasn't here" excuse doesn't apply in cases like these. • If you are unsure about an assignment, check the Homework page. • Good students are responsible and resourceful, which means they know how to find what they're looking for and then they take care of business once they've found it. You can get what you want if you can navigate this site. • If you are home sick from school, you have three days to make up missed work. This is your reminder. Find Mr. Stratton Marking Periods 1 and 2 - Period 1 — Rm. 230 (English 9) - Period 2 — Rm. 230 (English 910) - Period 3 — Rm. 230 (English 9H) - Period 4 — Rm. 230 (FREE) - Period 5 — Cafeteria - Period 6 — Staff Lounge (FREE) - Period 7 — Rm. 230 (English 9) - Period 8 — Rm. 230 (English 9) - Period 9 — Rm. 230 (FREE) Marking Periods 3 and 4 - Period 1 — Rm. 230 (English 9) - Period 2 — Rm. 230 (English 910) - Period 3 — Rm. 230 (English 9H) - Period 4 — Rm. 230 (Journalism) - Period 5 — Rm. 230 (Free) - Period 6 — Staff Lounge (FREE) - Period 7 — Rm. 230 (English 9) - Period 8 — Rm. 230 (English 9) - Period 9 — Rm. 230 (FREE) - Email Mr. Stratton from this site or sstratton@nvcs.stier.org - After school appointments can easily be set up as well.