Online Textbook Access
Username: engstudent@nwsa
Password: Briggs
Password: Briggs
Course Desription
English I is the comprehensive study of various genres of literature from around the world including non-fiction (essays, articles, speeches), fiction (novels, short stories), drama (e.g. Shakespeare), and poetry (epics, lyrics). Students will be working toward increasing their comprehension and critical thinking skills by analyzing these literary works and effectively expressing their ideas in oral and written form. Students will also select a novel of choice for their independent reading which will be followed by a written assignment. Ninth grade ELA is writing intensive to help build essential writing skills, and students can expect to produce a variety of written projects, including reading journals, analytical essays, current events responses and more. In addition, students will engage in a variety of discussions and oral presentations, as well as research and reasoning tasks, and the research process. Preparation for the next grade level of study and the upcoming NCFE test are also incorporated into weekly areas of foci.
Students in the honors course will explore world literature more widely and deeply, including more challenging and/or complete print and non-print texts. The honors course fosters intellectual curiosity by encouraging students to generate thought provoking questions and topics and to research diverse sources. Honors courses will require students to work as self-directed and reflective learners, both independently and in groups as leaders and collaborators. Higher level thinking skills will be emphasized through disciplinary and critical perspectives as reflected in the quality of student performance in oral language, written language, and other media/technology.
Course Overview
Cycle One
Approximate Dates:
August 7-November 20
Cycle Overview: In this cycle, students will read, discuss, and write about classical and contemporary literature. Students will explore what a text says implicitly and explicitly, analyze the meaning and use of a text’s literary elements, and evaluate how an author employs them to shape a narrative for specific purposes. Through the creation of a literature-based argumentative essay, students will demonstrate knowledge of literary elements and choose appropriate ways to establish their voice as a writer. They will also produce writing that introduces a claim and offers evidence to support it based on research and critical thinking. Students will have the opportunity to analyze and evaluate U.S. documents, non-literary texts, and other pieces of literature that have a global impact.
Cycle 2
Approximate Dates:
November 26-February 28
Cycle Overview: In this cycle, students will explore how an author uses characters, organization, and other literary devices to develop a theme and incorporate world events to highlight common human experiences. Students will recognize character archetypes, compare the traits of these characters across genres, and analyze how characters impact the development of a piece of text. They will identify organizational patterns and evaluate the clarity of both literature and informational texts. Students will participate in academic discussions and make informed claims about the world based on their readings.
Cycle 3
Approximate Dates:
March 1-End of Year
At the beginning of this unit common assessments will be utilized to determine your student’s data needs, keeping in mind standards of priority. A twelve-week text triangulation unit utilizing a novel several pieces of informational text, several excerpts from short stories, media clips, etc. will be incorporated to reloop and reteach necessary skills.
Approximate Dates:
August 7-November 20
Cycle Overview: In this cycle, students will read, discuss, and write about classical and contemporary literature. Students will explore what a text says implicitly and explicitly, analyze the meaning and use of a text’s literary elements, and evaluate how an author employs them to shape a narrative for specific purposes. Through the creation of a literature-based argumentative essay, students will demonstrate knowledge of literary elements and choose appropriate ways to establish their voice as a writer. They will also produce writing that introduces a claim and offers evidence to support it based on research and critical thinking. Students will have the opportunity to analyze and evaluate U.S. documents, non-literary texts, and other pieces of literature that have a global impact.
Cycle 2
Approximate Dates:
November 26-February 28
Cycle Overview: In this cycle, students will explore how an author uses characters, organization, and other literary devices to develop a theme and incorporate world events to highlight common human experiences. Students will recognize character archetypes, compare the traits of these characters across genres, and analyze how characters impact the development of a piece of text. They will identify organizational patterns and evaluate the clarity of both literature and informational texts. Students will participate in academic discussions and make informed claims about the world based on their readings.
Cycle 3
Approximate Dates:
March 1-End of Year
At the beginning of this unit common assessments will be utilized to determine your student’s data needs, keeping in mind standards of priority. A twelve-week text triangulation unit utilizing a novel several pieces of informational text, several excerpts from short stories, media clips, etc. will be incorporated to reloop and reteach necessary skills.