Ninth Grade Pre-AP English-Mrs. Dooley

2015-2016 CourseOverview

First Nine Weeks

Summer reading tests

Syllabus/rules/procedures/student questionnaire

Get to know our classmates/learning styles/Five facts and a fib

Literature circles/discussion of summer reading

Introduction to mythology/Research, prepare, and present mythology projects.

Bellwork: close reading activities, narrative/descriptive/expository writing activities; sentence construction/deconstruction activities; grammar activities

Formal Writing: Narratives/Introduce and useChromebooks for peer editing; in class choice book written assessment

Grammar: Review the parts of speech and parts of the sentence; subject-verb agreement; comprehensive study of verbs and pronouns

Literature: The Odyssey/the epic/hero’s journey/Odyssey projects; choice book

Vocabulary: Words from The Odyssey/word walls/quizzes

Second Nine Weeks

Bellwork: same as first nine weeks

Formal Writing: the five paragraph essay (writing instruction, pre-writing, outline, in class rough draft, typed final draft, assessed with QOEGV rubric)

Grammar:sentence structure (phrases, clauses, types of sentences); punctuation; verbals; parallelism

Literature: To Kill a Mockingbird (close reading/analysis/discussion/literature circles); thirties/Great Depression webquest (research/writing project); library’s reading program

Vocabulary: Words from TKAM/word walls/quizzes

Third Nine Weeks

Bellwork: same as first semester

Formal Writing: Begin the research paper/process (research, note-taking, thesis, outline, rough draft, peer review, final draft); in class choice book written assessment; Romeo and Juliet scene rewrite (modernization).

Grammar:punctuation; incorporated in writing instruction

Literature: Romeo and Juliet-extensive study including a partner/group project (scene rewrite/modernization/presentation); Elizabethan era webquest (research/writing/discussion); Choice book and written assessment; figurative language

Vocabulary: words from Romeo and Juliet; figurative language/word walls/ quizzes

Fourth Nine Weeks

Bellwork: ACT prep-reading and English (language); persuasive writing activities

Formal Writing: Research Paper (continued from third nine weeks); persuasive writing pieces (including a formal persuasive speech)

Grammar: review of the year/ACT prep Vocabulary-Poetic devices

Literature: Poetry; non-fiction selections (articles, famous speeches, essays from Models text); Non-fiction choice book(book talks and/or circles/writing activities)

Propaganda/Persuasion unit-rhetoric, understanding appeals, writing and speaking persuasively; research/prepare/present a formal persuasive speech