Riverside Secondary
English 9 Course Preview - Mrs. Shong
http://myriverside.sd43.bc.ca/kshong/
Welcome to my classroom and English 9. Each unit is designed to blend together some aspect of reading, writing, speaking, listening and cooperative learning. The central aim is to enable each student to explore literature and to use language with satisfaction and confidence, to strive for fluency, precision, clarity and independence in both reading and writing, to express your critical thinking abilities, and to responsibly use the technology tools at your disposal to aid you in this process.
Course Content:
The Short Story
In this unit the students will read several short stories and build their comprehension and vocabulary, based on new words introduced in the context of the stories. They will also review the literary terminology of fiction. The focus will be on increasing one’s ability to interpret literature.
The Novel
Students will increase their understanding of a novel and the techniques of the novelist’s craft through an in-depth study of Paul Fleischman’s The Whirligig or an independent novel study may be an option.
Shakespeare
This unit will focus on the Elizabethan era and dramatic conventions through a study of Shakespeare’s comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Poetry
A variety of poems will be studied with an emphasis on poetic devices, meaning, form and technique as well as the successful interpretation of poetry. The students will also write their own poetry.
Reading and Writing Skills
Students will read and write in a number of modes, including journals, short answer response, poetry, descriptions, narratives, personal and literary essays. They will use the process approach to reading and writing from establishing the context, focusing on the writing task, drafting, editing, proofreading and “publishing.” Small group cooperative learning strategies and seminar discussions will be part of the process for each unit.
Grammar and Usage
Grammar and usage will be taught in conjunction with the writing units. Students are encouraged to identify their writing errors and to keep track of the skills they need to work on.
Oral Communication
Options may include the Spoken Word Festival, oral interpretation of the literature in seminar discussion, or dramatic recitation.
Enrichment Activities
As a means of enrichment, we will spend 10 - 15 minutes of class doing one the following:
Ø Free Read. You may bring in a novel, read poems or stories online, educational blogs, magazines, newspapers – as long as you are challenging yourself and trying to improve upon your reading skills. You will be responsible to keep track of what you read on your English 9 Class Blog.
Ø Vocabulary. Test your knowledge of the English language and grammar by completing various games, such as seen on Free Rice.
Ø Proverbs and Quotes. Critical thinking skills can be developed by reading proverbs and quotes and seeing which ones resonate with you and why. Keep a log on your blog of your favourite picks and your thoughts on them. Start with quotes from http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/English_proverbs or http://quote.robertgenn.com/ to get you started, but of course ones you find on your own are good as well.
Ø Video of the week. Come with a video that is funny, thought-provoking, or interesting (and of course appropriate). Videos that somehow fit thematically in with what we are studying will be much appreciated. We will try to get to as many as possible.
Ø Journal writing – topics will either be something related to the literature or material from your silent reading. Make sure you date and give your journals a title!!! The criteria for the journals will be provided. Start here. Journal Writing entries will be keep on your blog
Course Evaluation:
Each unit will entail several assignments. Some will be formative in nature, in other words, assignments while you are learning – class activities, discussions, work to provide you feedback on your knowledge and skills. Other assignments will be summative – key projects, essays, unit tests and presentations to demonstrate your learning. The latter will make up most of your evaluation in this course. If you do not complete the formative work, you will be at a disadvantage in completing your summative work. There are assignment deadlines in this course, and while you are expected to hand in your summative assignments on time, you will not be penalized for not adhering to these deadlines; however, if you don’t complete the work you will receive an “I” (incomplete). I don’t give optional or extra credit assignments; however, you may resubmit essays (after improvements) for re-marking to improve your overall grade.
· Projects, essays, presentations………………………………….. ……..45%
· Unit tests and quizzes………………………………….……..……………. 40%
· Homework, participation and maintenance of your Blog.… 15%
Procedures and Expectations – All common sense stuff that you have heard before, but here we go again…..
· Being on time for class is important, respectful and an expectation. Thank you.
· If you are absent, please try to find out what you have missed from other students, email me and I will try to get information to you, and/or consult the class website.
· You will, of course, use all your own wonderful ideas, not the work of others.
· Please be respectful and mindful of the fact that personal devices can be distraction when they are not used in the classroom for educational purposes- such as texting. Keep phones out on the desk and ask if you can use them for educational purposes – such as accessing the internet, using on-line dictionaries etc. You WILL LOSE PRIVILEGES if you abuse this expectation!
· Respect the rights of others as shown through your courtesy and self-discipline in the class.
· Respect the classroom and all course materials.
· Be a respectful listener of all speakers in the classroom. Everyone has a right to his/her opinion!
· Participate to the best of your ability in class discussions – ask questions; if you are thinking of a question, chances are someone else has the same question!
· Adhere to the spirit of digital citizenship: http://www.teachthought.com/technology/the-definition-of-digital-citzenship/
o Both you and your parents/guardians should take the time to read the information on digital citizenship at this link.
o Students will be discussing this topic throughout the semester.
I am available to talk to you about your work and the course at lunch and after most school days. I look forward to a successful and rewarding semester for all of us. K. Shong