English 9A Syllabus

CCHS
English 9A
Mr. C-D
mailto:Jim.ChurchillDicks@crookcounty.k12.or.us
Semester 1


COURSE DESCRIPTION:

In this course students will continue to develop the skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Students will examine a variety of classic and modern literary texts. Writing and speaking assignments will be both responses to literature and from personal experience.


POWER STANDARDS:

Reading and Literature:

Listen to, read, and understand a wide variety of classic and contemporary literature.
Understand and draw upon a variety of comprehension strategies as needed—re-reading, self-correcting, summarizing, class and group discussions, generating and responding to essential questions, making predictions, and comparing information from several sources.

and most importantly:

Develop an interpretation that exhibits personal engagement, originality, careful reading, understanding, and insight.

Writing:

Use the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.
Review, evaluate, and revise writing to improve coherent development of the thesis, logic of organization, depth of information, and clarity.
Apply conventions of grammar correctly.
Apply conventions of punctuation and capitalization correctly.
Apply conventions of spelling correctly.
Use words precisely and with variety.


Materials:

Texts:

Textbook: McDougal Littell Freshman Literature
Novel “The House on Mango Street”
SAS Survival Handbook (survival narrative reference guide)

Film/Video/Electronic Media:

“My Dog Skip” (PG)
The Odyssey (PG-13)
Episodes 1-3 “Jerhico” (PG)
emotionaltoolbox.com (literary character analysis website)

Notification of the Right to Object to the Use of Materials
Any resident of the district may raise objection to instructional materials used in the district’s educational program despite the fact that the individuals selecting such materials were duly qualified to make the section and followed the proper procedure and observed the criteria for selecting such material.

The first step in expressing objection is consultation with the classroom teacher or library staff and providing a brief written complaint. The staff member receiving a complaint regarding instructional materials shall try to resolve the issue informally through the discussion of the original assignment or the opportunity for an alternative assignment.

If not satisfied with the initial explanation or an alternative assignment, the person raising the questions will meet with a building administrator who, if unable to resolve the complaint, will provide a Request for Reconsideration form which will be given to the superintendent for action.

Class Goal English 9A: 90% of students in English 9A class will be able to write a personal narrative following a traditional plot graph and, scored by the State Scoring Rubric, will score at least all 4’s. (can be fulfilled by the multi-chapter Autobiography Narrative or Survival Narrative)


Behavior for Success (Procedures):

Come prepared to learn and to contribute to a positive classroom environment.
Take responsibility for your own learning. Show respect for the learning environment,
yourself, other students, and the teachers and staff members. Follow the rules and guidelines for behavior in the student handbook. Show up on time

Classroom Discipline Plan:

First offense: verbal warning. Second offense: parent contact.
Third offense or First severe infraction of the rules: Office referral, parent conference, suspension, or removal from class.

ATTENDANCE POLICY See Student handbook


Passes for Bathroom and Drinking Fountain

I will only sign passes from YOUR student handbook. I will not sign off on your pass unless your name is on the cover of your handbook in permanent marker. Passes will not be signed in the either the first or last twenty minutes of class. For safety reasons, I will not sign a pass for you to go to your vehicle.

Consequences for Late Work:

Students must turn in assignments on time to receive full credit. LATE WORK THAT MEETS STANDARDS WILL RECEIVE A ‘C’ GRADE. It is the student’s responsibility to acquire make-up assignments. Students with excused absences due to an illness or an emergency have one school day to make-up work for each day absent without being penalized, unless it is a long-term assignment in which case students must meet the original deadline.


Cheating

Cheating in any form will result in a zero grade. Students who knowingly help others to cheat will also receive a zero.


ASSESSMENT (With Grade Percentages)


GRADING POLICY

A 90-100%
B 80-89%
C 70-79%
D 60-69%
F below 60%

Assessment 85% (Based on Meeting or Exceeding State Standards)
Summative Assessments 50%
Essay Final Drafts, Tests
Executed by State Standards and the CCHS Curriculum Must Teach List
Formative Assessments 35%
Application/Practice/Writing Process/Comprehension


Participation/Attendance (Workplace Skills) 15%
Daily work and skills that reinforce success on both Assessments and future workplace performance, such as:

Attendance
Effort/Participation
Timeliness for Assignments and Assessments

Elements of English 9A

Calendar for 9A

Unit One: Five Paragraph Essay on “My Dog Skip” 9/8-9/25
Unit Two: The Odyssey 9/28-10/23
Unit Three: The Autobiography 10/26-11/20
Unit Four: “Facing Limits” Survival Narrative 11/30-12/18
Unit Five: “The House on Mango Street” 1/4-1/28

Unit One: My Dog Skip and the 5 Paragraph Essay

Book/Film Study: My Dog Skip

Essay Topic (Through full writing process): How does Skip transform the lives of three characters in the story?
Product: Five strong paragraphs with Introduction, Thesis, Body and Conclusion with effective transitions between each paragraph. Beginning grasp of MLA format needed.

Unit Two: The Odyssey Layered Curriculum


Unit Three: “Writing the Autobiography”
Reading: Resource packet created by Katie Leatherwood, Summit HS, and
Textbook reading “Black Boy” by Richard Wright
Textbook reading “Only Daughter” by Sandra Cisneros
“ A New Life” by Billy Smith, CCHS Student featured in ‘torches n’ pitchforks, Fall ‘08’
Writing: 6 life chapters typed through entire writing process, bound by the print shop

Additional Skills Assessed:

Literary Terms
Etymology of Greek and Latin Roots Part 1
Reading Strategies: Reading for Information
SAT Vocab


Unit Four: “Facing Limits”
Reading:
Textbook reading “To Build a Fire” by Jack London
Textbook reading, from “Into Thin Air” by John Krakauer
Textbook reading, “The Summit: Next Stop for those on Everest” by John Krakauer
Textbook reading “The Sharks” by Denise Levertov
Sections from, SAS survival handbook by “Lofty” Wiseman
Film: Episode 1 through 3, Television series “Jerhico”
Writing: Imaginative Narrative-Post Apocalyptic Stories
Survival story 2 pages typed through entire writing process

Additional Skills Assessed:

Literary Terms
Etymology of Greek and Latin Roots Part Two
Reading Strategies: Charts, Maps, Graphs, Reading to Complete a Task, Reading for Information.
SAT Vocab

Unit Five: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Writing: Human Rights and Cultural personal narratives

Product: Portfolio of 5 written vignettes through entire writing process

Literary Analysis-Elements of Fiction:
Voice
Characterization
Conflict
Theme

Group Comprehension Strategies
Word Origins

District Writing Assessment


ASSESSMENT (With Grade Percentages)
GRADING POLICY

A 90-100%
B 80-89%
C 70-79%
D 60-69%
F below 60%

Assessment 85% (Based on Meeting or Exceeding State Standards)
Summative Assessments 50%
Essay Final Drafts, Tests
Executed by State Standards and the CCHS Curriculum Must Teach List
Formative Assessments 35%
Application/Practice/Writing Process/Comprehension


Participation/Attendance (Workplace Skills) 15%
Daily work and skills that reinforce success on both Assessments and future workplace performance, such as:

Attendance

Effort/Participation
Timeliness for Assignments and Assessments