9th Grade Syllabus

Course Description: Freshman English is a comprehensive English course of literature, composition, and language, including listening and speaking. The study of literature includes reading and comprehending a wide variety of literary forms including short stories, nonfiction, poetry, drama, novels, and spoken and visual texts. The course offers supportive reading strategies for a variety of purposes. This course also focuses on the writing process through response to literature, creative writing, and connections to real-life situations and problem-solving. The study of language targets usage, mechanics, and strategies for vocabulary development integrated into literature and composition components. In addition, the course will teach grammatical concepts and applications. Students will review punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and usage as well as work on logical thinking and various modes of composition, including the research paper. Listening and speaking skills are also developed throughout the course. (St. James)

Course Goals Upon completion of ERWC.

You will know and show that you are able to do the following:

1. Use your understanding of word roots, prefixes, and suffixes to understand new words and interpret their denotative and connotative meanings;

2. Research, read, analyze, and understand informational, expository, and persuasive texts;

3. Read, analyze, and understand literature, particularly how and why the author wrote as he/she did

4. Create and sustain arguments [written and oral] based on readings, research, and/or personal experience;

5. Synthesize information from a variety of sources and combine into a coherent, structured, persuasive essay

6. Demonstrate understanding and mastery of standard written English;

7. Develop persuasive and expository essays with a clear thesis statement; appropriate, specific evidence; cogent explanations; and clear transitions;

8. Move effectively through the stages of the writing process (pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, publishing, and evaluating);

9. Complete timed writings on impromptu essay topics while maintaining the flow of developed ideas and using concise introductions and conclusions; and

10. Use academic vocabulary and sentence structure in your writing. (Strom)