Name:______
Introduction to Literature--Course Overview
Grade 9 English
Mr. Jones
Welcome! The ninth grade English course at The Bromfield School is a transition for students from a middle school learning experience to a secondary learning experience. The thinking, discussions, readings, and writing are, on the whole, more mature in nature, and hopefully you will find the content challenging but challenging in a good way. Let’s break it down.
Writing:
“Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, or making friends. In the end, it’s about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. Writing is magic, as much the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink.”
Stephen King
You will produce a lot of writing this year, both casual and formal. It will include journal entries, essays, arguments, narratives, and lots of small, informal opportunities where writing will help you learn, understand, and reflect.
Since we’re on the topic of writing, I’d like to outline some basic, guiding rules. Most of you will elect to type papers, from journal entries to formal essays, and when you do, remember this. Writing should be…
· 12 point
· double-spaced
· in Times New Roman font
· with standard one inch margins all around
· stapled
· with the proper heading
Also, I do not accept USB storage devices as papers or papers that have been e-mailed to my school account. Please print documents out prior to class. If you ignore these requirements, I reserve the right to return the paper/storage device and issue a late grade, remove points, issue a homework zero, et cetera.
Reading:
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.”
Mark Twain
I am certain Mark Twain would approve of the 9th grade texts which will insist that we read critically and come to understand a veritable bevy of literary terminology such as metaphor, motif, paradox, oxymoron, symbolism, irony (three different kinds even!), antithesis, chiasmus, imagery, flashback, epic, pun, iambic pentameter, sonnet, archetype, and allegory—to name a few. The larger texts we will tackle include Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, Romeo and Juliet, and The Odyssey. The smaller texts include articles, short stories, speeches, and excerpts from selected books.
Something you should understand before we read a single word of literature is that reading these assigned texts and staying current with the reading is very important for a number of reasons. If you don’t read…
· it’s hard to be involved in class discussions and activities.
· there’s a greater likelihood you will be bored.
· you’ll have a difficult time with reading checks and quizzes, both individual and collaborative.
· you’ll have a difficult time with literature tests as well as papers, both creative and analytical.
· you will miss the lessons and messages of these texts which are valuable and challenge us as human beings.
Your chances for a successful, interesting experience in English class grow profoundly if you read.
Grammar and Usage:
“Grammar stinks!”
Lindsey Burke, Bromfield graduate
Actually, Lindsey was wrong. Grammar does not smell; it, in fact, has no scent at all, and our examination of it this year will focus on making writing clear because clear communication is the best kind of communication. Complete sentences, complete paragraphs, and complete papers with as few errors as possible are the ultimate goal. Grammar will help us get there.
Vocabulary:
“My mom says I procrastinate too much. I don’t know what the word means. I think I’ll look it up later.”
Zack Hansen, Bromfield graduate
Most of the vocabulary you’ll learn this year will come directly from the literature. You will be introduced to and study the words prior to reading so that the books will become easier to comprehend and your perusal more fluid. Let’s face it, the more words you know, the better off you’ll be. At bare minimum, you’ll feel smarter.
Classroom/Grading Policy for an Introduction to Literature
Mr. Jones
English 9
It’s time for the nitty gritty. The rules/policies below supplement and reinforce the general policies outlined in the Bromfield Student Handbook. Please respect these.
1. On time attendance is expected for every class.
2. Food and drink, with the exception of water, are not welcome in this classroom outside of the snack period. Gum is okay, but please keep it in your mouth.
3. Pleasant cooperation with every classmate and me is the rule. Thinking about other people before yourself leads to excellent classroom as well as life behavior. Be polite, civil, and courteous.
4. Appropriate language in writing and speech is expected.
5. Homework is due at the time I check or collect it. Missing or incomplete homework earns a 0%. If I agree to let you make the homework up, and I may not, I’ll only offer a maximum of 50% credit. If you’re absent, contact a friend/classmate for the homework so you don’t fall behind or check edline/Power School because I will consistently post homework there.
6. Bring your English notebook, literature book, assignment pad, and pen or pencil to class everyday.
7. Tests will be announced; quizzes may be announced or unannounced. In case of an absence you have five days to make up a quiz/test and a failure to do so will cost you points (10 points per day). If you’re in school and an assignment is due, I expect to receive the assignment that day. If you know you’re being dismissed early and will miss English, come and get the day’s assignment before you leave.
8. Cheating and plagiarism have serious consequences. If cheating doesn’t matter to you, then understand that it matters to me. It’s your reputation/good name—don’t sully it and in turn violate trust.
9. I plan the seating in the classroom, and I’ll change the seating every term. The same goes for groups.
10. Please behave safely in my classroom.
11. Please leave any kind of toy in your locker.
12. Please keep your feet off the desks and chair legs on the ground. Please push in your chair after every class.
13. Please ask to exit the classroom for any reason and sign out correctly.
14. Writing on the whiteboards without permission is a nuisance that costs me time and money. Please refrain from doing so.
15. When you first enter this class on any given day, please sit down, take out your English notebook, check the “Do Now” section of the board, perform the “Do Now,” and write down the homework. When all of this is complete and if there’s still time before class starts, then you’re welcome to socialize, but first things first.
16. Please do not pack up early and/or dismiss yourself unless you want to be the last one out of the room. If you finish with the English work I have for you on any given day, then you could read ahead or reread the book we’re examining or review/organize notes or study for an upcoming assessment in English or expand on a WTL entry. Classroom time is valuable time, and I want all my students to use every minute of it productively.
Grading Policy:
In a very real way, everything you do in this class counts toward your grade from participation, to quizzes and tests, to journal entries, to essays.
In general, the term grade includes these:
Tests/quizzes/papers/projects/journal entries = 80%
Homework/group work/reading checks/class work = 20%
Homework: Homework is an important part of English because it completely and totally facilitates learning. With that understanding, there is a consequence for not doing it. Any small, weekly homework assignments that don’t show up or are incomplete at the given due date earn a zero (percent). This zero may only be improved for a maximum 50% credit if, in fact, I decide you may resubmit it.
For long-term assignments such as a take-home essay, they lose 10% for each day they are late past the due date. In other words an A would be changed to a B if it were one day late. Assignments are due when I check or collect them in class on the given due date, and extensions for long-term work will not be granted on the day that work is due. If, by chance, you do not have an assignment (big or small) when it’s due, then it should be delivered to me directly as soon as possible. Leaving late work on my desk or computer or in my mailbox is a risky decision because if I can’t find it or it goes missing, then as far as I’m concerned, it never got passed in.
*Important: If you keep up with the homework and act responsibly, your grade will never suffer from this homework policy. In addition, I post homework on edline/Power School which can be accessed through the school website.
What You’ll Need for English-
1) The English Notebook--please see below.
2) The class text we are reading at the time.
3) Your planner/assignment pad.
And that’s about it for now. Please remember that I pride myself in being an approachable human being who is a good listener. If you have a complaint, problem, or issue with me or a grade you’ve earned in English, then come and talk to me. As long as you’re polite and reasonable, I will definitely consider what you’re saying. I am not perfect despite what my mother says, so let’s keep the lines of communication open.
The English Notebook:
An organized English notebook is another component to this course that increases the likelihood of success. Your notebook should be a 1.5 to 2.0 inch, three ring binder with the following sections that have been clearly identified by accurately marked plastic tab dividers:
· Lord of the Flies
· Animal Farm
· Romeo and Juliet
· The Odyssey
· WTL
· Grammar/Writing
· Journal Entries
· General Handouts
In case you’re wondering, WTL stands for Write to Learn, and this section should contain a healthy amount of white, loose-leaf composition paper because I will be asking you, all year long, to write small (5 to 10 sentences), reasonably informal reflections/responses to particular prompts. You should date each entry and write out the prompt or question. In addition, to conserve paper, each entry should directly follow the one that came before it, and you should use both sides of a piece of paper. At some point, every term, I will collect these entries and evaluate them on the effort you appear to be making and the attention you’ve paid to the criteria I’ve established above. Complete sentences and accurate punctuation are a must unless I say otherwise. I’ve composed a sample entry below.
8/8/12
Prompt: Reaction to chapter 3 of Fast Food Nation
I was pretty amazed to learn that four to five fast food workers get murdered on the job every month, usually during the course of a robbery, and that in 1998, more restaurant workers were murdered on the job in the U.S. than police officers. In some ways I shouldn’t be surprised at all. Fast food restaurants are often open very late at night, hold decent amounts of money on the premises, and are operated by a staff of teenagers with a twenty-year-old supervisor. If you’re a thief, what are you likely to rob: a bank during daylight hours that’s wired with high tech security or a MacDonald’s, late at night, that’s run by kids? It’s a no brainer.
8/9/12
Prompt:
5