English 9

September 2015Mr. Barazzuol
Language is fundamental to thinking, learning and communicating in all cultures. The skilled use of language is associated with many opportunities in life, including further education, work and social interaction. As students come to understand and use language more fully, they are able to enjoy the benefits and pleasures or language in all its forms- from reading and writing, to literature, theatre, public speaking, film and other media. English 9 is a difficult, yet provincially mandated, course that carries strong impact on your future whether immediate or distant. The course work we complete together will make up 100% of your overall grade, as there is no mandatory provincial exam for this grade level.
To ensure your success in this course please make use of resources provided for you to advocate for your learning needs: attend class, check the website daily, email me, and arrange for a “classmate” to inform you of information you may have missed if absent. Attend on a regular basis. The number one reason why students do not do well in this course is due to absence. I am available to meet with you in addition to regular school hours, before and after school and at lunch with appointments. A quick email will often be suffice to set up an appointment.

According to the BC English 9 IRP, the aim of English Language Arts provides students with the opportunity to study literary and informational (including technical) communications, and the mass media and thereby experience the power of language. Students are presented with a window into the past, a complex portrayal of the present and questions about the future. They also come to understand language as a human system of communication: dynamic and evolving, but also systematic and governed by rules.

Throughout the next 5 months we will use the following literary areas of study to meet the goals of the IRP:

  1. Short story (The following list of stories may be applied to the novel study)
    “The Friday Everything Changed,” “A Mountain Journey,” “The Sea Devil,” “On the Sidewalk Bleeding,” “All the Years of Her Life,” “The Secluded Lot,” “The Sniper”

- Point of View (first, second, third person)
- Setting (emotional: mood and atmosphere, physical: time and place)
- Character Types (protagonist, antagonist, flat, round, dynamic, static, stock or stereotype)

- Plot Elements
- Ending Types
- Conflict
- Irony
- Theme

  1. Novel
    “Animal Farm” by George Orwell (Possibility this may change)
  2. Play
    “The Taming of the Shrew – William Shakespeare

- Act, scene

- Stage direction

- Dialogue forms

  1. Poetry

- Poem types and poetics devices
- Poetic recognition and composition

  1. Essay study: Elements of Essays

- Narrative Paragraph
- Expository Paragraph
- Descriptive Paragraph
- Five Paragraph Essay

  1. Oral Presentations and Public Speaking
    - Spoken Word Festival

Grading: all means of assessment are assigned a category (though multiple categories are sometimes used for larger, project based assignments) under which your assessment is recorded. The following table details the three categories with examples of means of assessment and the weighting of those categories.

Category / Examples / Weighted Percentage
Quizzes/
Tests / Reading Quizzes,
Unit Tests / 10%
30%
Assignments / Expository, narrative and descriptive writing style and conventions, poetry writing, literary response, public speaking, group presentations / 50%
Homework / Homework completion / 10%

Formative vs. Summative Assessment: the principles of learning under which I teach are these:

  • Learning requires the active participation of the student.
  • People learn in a variety of ways and at different rates.
  • Learning is both an individual and a group process.
  • A student cannot be adequately assessed on learning until teaching has taken place.

Late Assignments/Incomplete assignments: whether formative or summative, these effect your grade as they are either not providing the necessary data to ensure your learning needs are being met, they are not being provided in time to effect the design of instruction, or they are not giving you the necessary feed-back you require to aid in skill acquisition. Students not completing summative assignments will find themselves receiving first an “I” which could become a “0” as assessments of their abilities could not be made due to assignments not submitted. If you are absent or you do not have an assignment completed on time, it is expected that you will hand that assignment in before I return marked assignments to the class. If you do not, then the only manner in which you can make up a late/missed assignment is to attend the 1 scheduled alternate during lunch. Not attending indicates that you have no intention of making up that assignment and your grade will be a “0” for that assignment.

Attendance: Attending class is not an option. It is mandatory. If for whatever reason you are unable to attend class you should let me know via email or in person to clarify the situation. You will then be required to check the sharepoint site for any missed work or assignments, which will then be due when the student returns to school.

A++ / 100% / B+ / 83% / C+ / 70% / P / 50%
A+ / 97% / B / 79% / C / 65% / IF / 40%
A / 94% / B- / 74% / C- / 58% / F / 0
A- / 87%

As a final note: Fundamentally I believe that respect is a necessary part of successful interaction between all individuals and nowhere is this more important than within the classroom. I will always endeavor to treat you with respect. If you feel that you have not been treated in this manner, please see me so that we can discuss and clear up any issues as soon as possible. I also believe that to respect oneself is extremely important. To that end, I ask that you be honest with yourself and us at all times. If you do not understand something, if you have gotten behind, if you are having a bad day, it is best to be honest about how that is affecting your learning and deal with it accordingly. “I forgot to do the homework” is often the reply given by someone who actually found the work too difficult or just didn’t know how to begin and did not want to admit it to themselves or their teacher. Honesty will only help you get the job done, with help as required. Finally, respect within the classroom doesn’t mean liking everyone, but respecting everyone’s right to their education and a productive and conducive environment within which to learn. Again, if those needs, in my opinion, are not being met adjustment to the learning environment will occur.

I look forward to working with you,
Brian Barazzuol