Harrison Trimble High School
Grade 9 English
2014-2015 Course Syllabus
Mr. J. MacPhail (Rm212) , Mr. A. Moore (Rm210), Mz. C. Gray(Rm211/Period 5),
Mz. H. Vaters (Rm 310), Mz. J. Smith (Rm 210/Period 6)
Grade 9
Phone: 856-3417 (8:00-8:30a.m., 11:17-12:12p.m.)
Rationale: This course is designed to expose students to a wide variety of language and media texts so that you will be able to reflect on your own learning styles and move towards becoming an independent learner. The written and visual strands of the curriculum are seen as important in Grade 9. Another main focus of this course will be the oral speaking component; therefore, activities such as group work, discussions and oral presentations will play an important part in your overall grade.
Units of Study (subject to change): To help explore multiple thematic focuses; we will be focusing on the following areas:
- Improving writing and reading skills
- Short story theory and short stories
- Oral presentations/small group and class discussion
- Novel theory and study
- Poetry
- Introduction to Shakespeare
- Multi-media (video, film segments, music, blogs, documentary…)
- Completion of three to four major hardline assignments (see below): Student autobiography, independent novel assignment, research project, final theme assignment
Assessment: Students will have homework each night. They will be expected to be reading and writing for at least twenty minutes each evening, above and beyond regular classroom work. Throughout the year students will be assigned a number of major projects and smaller assignments, relating to material covered in class. At the end of the each unit, tests, or a similar type of assessment, will be written. The English Language Proficiency Assessment is scheduled to be written in January, and there will be a major evaluation at the end of the year. All assigned work is due on time, and failure to pass in assignments will have consequences ranging from detention to possible suspension.
Evaluation Tools (could include the following)
Quizzes
Tests
Presentations
In Class Activities
Writing Assignments
Projects
Research Papers
Please consult the course wiki ( regularly to stay on top of due dates, missed assignments/notes, and any handouts for which you require extra copies.
Hard-line Assignments:These are major assignments that are summative in nature and measure a variety of course outcomes. Failure to complete a hard-line assignment will result in the student not demonstrating enough proficiency of the course outcomes and will result in a student receiving an incomplete in that course. Typically, there would be two or three of these assignments in a given semester in a course.
Collecting hard-line assignments:Due dates are set well in advance and students have plenty of time to complete these assignments. If a student fails to pass the assignment in on time they have one week to receive any needed interventions. This will also allow the teacher to contact home to inform the parents that this major assignment is overdue. If after a week has passed and the student has still not completed his/her assignment, the student is immediately suspended for one day so that the assignment can be completed. Any further disciplinary action will be at the discretion of the administration.