English_9a

=**Welcome to English 9!**=


 * COURSE DESCRIPTION:**

This course is designed to familiarize students with the processes of both effective writing and speaking. As students work through a variety of writing assignments and speeches, they will use the process of prewriting, drafting, conferencing, revising, editing, and publishing. A major part of the writing component will focus on organization, thesis statement, tone or voice, description & effective word choice, supporting evidence, and proper mechanics. While the focus is on writing, the students will also be introduced to the literary genres of short story and poetry, observe a variety of literary techniques, familiarize themselves with important literary terms, and respond to the literature in a variety of ways. The speech component will put an emphasis on the development of verbal and nonverbal skills needed to effectively meet a wide range of communication situations and experiences. The students will read Night by Elie Wiesel and research a topic related to the Holocaust. They will also create a PowerPoint presentation and develop research skills. The students’ final project will be a persuasive essay and oral presentation that will require extensive research.

**First Semester Syllabus:** Unit 1: Grab bag (speaking activity) diagnostic grammar test, learning styles and writing sample (1 week) Unit 2: Parts of Speech – nouns, pronouns, prepositions, verbs (linking, action), infinitives, gerunds, adverbs, adjectives, prepositional phrases, (2 weeks) Unit 3: 6 + 1 Writing Traits: introduction to terminology, examples, short daily activities (1 ½ weeks) Unit 4: Sentence structure: fragments, run-ons, simple, compound, complex sentences Compound sentence patterns, Complex sentence pattern –adverb clause *Paragraph writing- topic, body, concluding sentences, writing paragraphs with details, anecdotes, description ( 3-4 weeks) Unit 5: Greek and Latin Roots/ prefixes (periodically given through semester) Unit 6: Short Story Elements- character, theme, irony, foreshadowing, allusion, figurative language, plot Analytical Writing using the ICE technique (practice 2x) Literary Analysis: 4 paragraph essay, introductory techniques used (5 weeks) Unit 7: Grammar Usage- apostrophes, titles, capitalization rules (1 week) Unit 8: Grammar Usage – irregular and troublesome verbs (1 week) Unit 9: Speaking Goals/ Effective PowerPoint Presentations – PowerPoint Speech (2 week) **The Pressure-Write Strategy –introduce/ used 3 times—before Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas** First Semester Final-** Cumulative review of Grammar concepts, speech, goals, and ICE technique

Check the Class Log for daily class activity.

Check Assignments and Due dates.