English 1
Teacher: Sarah WorkmanEmail:
Phone: (270) 628-3800 ext. 4125Planning Period: 5th period (11:40-12:30)
I. Title
English 1
II. Course Description
Ninth grade students are required to read at least four novels, determined by teacher at the beginning of the school year. Non-fiction, short stories, and poetry selections are read and analyzed both orally and in writing. Emphasis is placed on the reading and writing process. Students are required to write a personal narrative, fictional short story, informative piece, argumentative piece, and experiment with other forms of transactive/analytical writing. Grammar usage and mechanics are part of the writing experience. This is a required course for graduation.
III. Course Objectives
Class activities will be centered on the attainment of the course objectives listed below. These objectives are understood to be reflective of, but not limited to, those behaviors aligned with the Kentucky Core Academic Standards (KCAS) for English Language Arts Grades 9-10. Following each objective, and enclosed in parentheses, are numbers which reference the Kentucky Core Academic Standards that are addressed by that objective. Upon successful completion of this class, students will be able to
A. Read and interpret a variety of grade-level appropriate texts (literature and informational) to determine what the text says explicitly and implicitly, determine central themes or ideas and analyze their development throughout the text, analyze the impact of the author’s choices, and determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases. (RL.9-10.1-5, RI.9-10.1-4)
B. Determine an author’s point of view and analyze the development and effectiveness of a presented argument or topic, with attention given to style, content, and aesthetic. Arguments studied will include seminal U.S. texts such as the Gettysburg Address and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” (RL.9-10.6-10, RI.9-10.6-10)
C. Produce clear and coherent writing that addresses and fits the following parameters: write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence; writeinformative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content; write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. (W.9-10.1-4)
D. Gather evidence from multiple source types including texts studied to effectively evaluate and present a topic or position on a topic. Students will conduct research as needed, and use the writing process to guide the production of assigned writing tasks. (W.9-10.5-10)
E. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. Students will present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task, incorporating a variety of media as necessary. (SL.9-10.1-6)
F. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. (L.9-10.1)
G. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing paying particular attention to the use of semicolons to separate two or more independent clauses and the use of colons to introduce lists. (L.9-10.2)
H. Acquire and use accurately general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression; demonstrate understanding of figurative language and word relationships. (L.9-10.3-6).
IV. Content Outline
Mrs. Workman reserves the right to modify and refine the instructional units as the year progresses. Texts to be studied are somewhat tentative and subject to change.
A. Unit 1 – Origins of English, Parts of Speech, Narratives
This unit will cover the origins of the English language, including what it looked like when it started and how it developed into what it is now. Students will gain a basic understanding of several forms of figurative language and will also review and identify parts of speech, especially when the same word is used as different parts of speech depending on the context of the sentence. Students will also read several narrative works, review punctuation rules including those for a colon and a semicolon, and will write personal narratives.
- “New Directions,”Maya Angelou
- “The Girl Who Can,”Ama Ata Aidoo
- “My English,” Julia Alvarez
- “On Summer,” Lorraine Hansberry
- “The Talk,” Gary Soto
- “Go Deep to the Sewer,” Bill Cosby
B. Unit 2 – Explanatory Writing
This unit will cover the basics of informative/explanatory writing. Students will read several examples of explanatory writing in preparation for writing and delivering a Demonstration Speech.
- “The News,” Neil Postman
- “Single Room, Earth View,” Sally Ride
- “Space Shuttle Basics,” NASA
C. Unit 3 – Fiction/Short Stories
This unit will focus on fictional writing and will culminate in each student writing a short story.
- “The Cask of Amontillado,” Edgar Allan Poe
- “The Most Dangerous Game,” Richard Connell
- “The Interlopers,” Saki
- “The Necklace,” Guy de Maupassant
- “The Golden Kite, The Silver Wind,” Ray Bradbury
- “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” James Thurber
D. Unit 4 – Poetry and Phrases
This unit will focus on poetry and increasing student knowledge of phrases. Students will create their own poetry including haikus, sonnets, and free verse poems. Students will also learn to identify participles and participial phrases, appositives and appositive phrases, and identify and classify gerunds, gerund phrases, infinitives, and infinitive phrases.
- Dream Deferred, Dreams, Langston Hughes
- “Hope” is the thing with feathers, Emily Dickinson
- Analysis of Baseball, May Swenson
- Slam, Dunk, & Hook, YusefKomunyakaa
- Jabberwocky, Lewis Carroll
- Blackberry Eating, Galway Kinnell
- I Hear America Singing, Walt Whitman
- Casey at the Bat, Ernest Lawrence Thayer
- Fifteen, William Stafford
- The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe
- Three Haiku, Baso and Chiyojo
- Sonnets on Love XIII, Jean de Sponde
- Sonnet 30, William Shakespeare
E. Unit 5 – Drama (Romeo and Juliet)
This unit will focus on drama, specifically William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Students will gain an understanding of the plot, as well as how the story itself is applicable to their lives today.
- Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
F. Unit 6 - Heroism
This unit will focus on the theme of heroism in literature and will include various classical works of literature. Students will also be required to complete a short research assignment regarding various topics in “The Odyssey.”
- “The Odyssey, Parts 1 and 2,” Homer
- “The Red-Headed League,” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- “Three Skeleton Key,” George G. Toudouze
- “Perseus,” Edith Hamilton
- “Theseus and the Minotaur
V. Instructional Activities
A variety of instructional activities will be used in this course including inquiry learning, reflective journaling, classroom discussion and presentations.
One novel will be read each nine weeks. Students will complete identification, interpretation, and discussion questions for each novel every two or three weeks. A quiz will accompany each assignment.
Students will also acquire fifteen vocabulary words each week and will complete a variety of activities to learn the words and be able to use them in everyday conversation. A weekly vocabulary quiz will be completed, as well as mid-term and end-of-term quizzes each nine weeks.
VI. Texts and Resources
- Prentice Hall Literature, Penguin Edition, Grade Nine
- Wordly Wise 3000, Third Edition, Book 9 (reproduced pages)
C. Novels
“Ender’s Game,” Orson Scott Card
”To Kill a Mockingbird,” Harper Lee
“Night,” Elie Wiesel
“The Hunger Games,” Suzanne Collins
VII. Evaluation and Grading Procedures
A. Grading Scale
A = 100% - 90%
B = 89% - 80%
C = 79% - 70%
D = 69% - 60%
F = 59% and below
B. Articulation, professionalism, standard English, appropriate use of MLA format, and neatness are extremely important in presentations and written assignments. Grades will be earned based upon completion of and participation in the classroom activities. A 10% late penalty will be deducted each calendar day that an assignment is late. An assignment is considered late if it is not submitted when the teacher collects the class assignments (i.e., turning an assignment in at the end of class when it was collected at the beginning of class would result in a 10% penalty).
C. Students will receive grades in the following categories: Tests and Quizzes (30%), Papers (30%), Daily (40%). All grading will be posted in a timely fashion via Infinite Campus. Bellringers and other daily assignments fall under the category of “Daily.” Participating in class and completing Bellringers each day is the student’s responsibility; students will not be able to complete these assignments for a late grade.
IX. Attendance Policy
Students are expected to adhere to the attendance policy outlined in the student handbook.
Students will be considered tardy if they are not in their seat when the bell rings. Jumping into the classroom as the bell rings will not count.
X. Academic Honesty
Taken from Murray State University’s Academic Honesty Policy
Violations of Academic Honesty include:
Cheating - Intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized information such as books, notes, study aids, or other electronic, online, or digital devices in any academic exercise; as well as unauthorized communication of information by any means to or from others during any academic exercise.
Fabrication and Falsification - Intentional alteration or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise. Falsification involves changing information whereas fabrication involves inventing or counterfeiting information.
Multiple Submission - The submission of substantial portions of the same academic work, including oral reports, for credit more than once without authorization from the instructor.
Plagiarism - Intentionally or knowingly representing the words, ideas, creative work, or data of someone else as one’s own in any academic exercise, without due and proper acknowledgement.
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