Honors English 9
Mr. Early Email: earrob@share.wilsonsd.org Phone: (610) 670-0180 ext. 5082
Syllabus & Grading Policy
COURSE SYLLABUS
In honors English 9, students will read great literature and explore the literary devices, styles, and themes inherent in those works. Goals of the course are for all students to read well, to deepen their literary analysis skills, and to gain perspective on an array of discussion topics. This course aims to develop students’ skills in written expression, public speaking, and vocabulary usage.
Topics Covered:
Vocabulary
Sadlier-Oxford vocab lists
In-context of the whole-class novels
Subject-specific terminology
Summer Reading (assignments will be completed throughout the first few weeks)
Animal Farm by George Orwell
One fiction selection:
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Whole class novels/plays may include, but are not limited to:
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Odyssey by Homer
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Literature Circles may include, but are not limited to:
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
Selected Short Stories may include, but are not limited to:
“Wild Plums” by Grace Stone Coates
“The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury
“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
“Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell
“A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett
“The Last Question” by Isaac Asimov
“Two Kinds” by Amy Tan
"A New England Nun" by Mary E. Wilkins (Freeman)
“War” by Luigi Pirandello
Writing
MLA formatted research
Response to fiction and nonfiction
Informative
Persuasive
Expository
Narrative
Literature circle reading logs
Rhetoric/Speech
Elements of Rhetoric (ethos, pathos, logos)
Persuasive, informative, expository, narrative techniques
Debate
Presentations
Socratic seminars
Poetry
Grammar/Mechanics
Annotation/Close Reading Skills
Grading:
The teachers of Honors English 9 have agreed that the categories listed below will be used to calculate students’ grades. Each category will be weighted by the listed percentages.
Category Name Percent Weighted
Quizzes 30%
Summative Assessments 70%
(includes major tests, projects, and essays)
Summative Assessments:
All summative assessments in this course will be “common.” All teachers of the course will administer identical assessments and will utilize the same rubric when grading extended written responses.
Teachers will administer each summative assessment in this course within several days of each other.
Plagiarism and AI Use:
Any use of AI programs in this class requires prior approval from the teacher. Before incorporating any AI tool into an assignment or activity, you must discuss your intent with the teacher. Unless explicitly stated, any unauthorized use of AI is a form of plagiarism since it's seen as taking someone else's work or ideas and using them as your own. Academic integrity is incredibly important, and Wilson has a strict plagiarism policy when students plagiarize: for the first offense, you can retake the assignment for up to 70%. For all other offenses, you will receive a 0%.
Retakes:
Students will be allowed to retake summative assessments based on the following conditions:
All students will have the option to retake one (1) summative assessment per semester per class. (no banking/carry-over).
Students may retake an assessment only if they scored lower than 100%.
Students will be required to complete a teacher-designed retake learning plan prior to retaking a summative assessment. This process should be initiated by the student by completing this Retake Learning Plan Form.
Retake learning plan components (e.g. completing missing work, additional assignments, test corrections) are not a substitute for the reassessment.
Upon completion of the retake learning plan, the student must sit for a reassessment which must be different in questions but equal in rigor. Teachers have discretion regarding what sections of the test the student needs to retake. Additionally, the structure of the reassessment may change (e.g. multiple-choice exam to essay or multiple-choice exam to student interview).
The higher score (original or retake) will be the documented grade in the teacher’s grade book and the maximum score resulting from any retake is 100%.
Time and Responsibility Factors:
Students are required to take initiative in their learning process in partnership with the teacher.
The retake must be scheduled within 2 weeks from the day the original summative assessment was handed back to the student.
Teachers may vary deadlines due to extenuating circumstances: student absences, schedule conflicts, inclement weather days, etc.
Please Note:
Midterm and final exams are not available for retakes.
Due to the compacted nature of original credit summer school courses, assigned summative assessments are not available for retakes.
Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Enrollment courses’ summative assessments are available for retakes at the teacher's discretion. Any discretionary retake opportunities must follow the process outlined above.
Assignments such as essays, research papers, multi-step projects, labs, and other performance assessments with multiple check-ins or assignments that have segmented due dates may not be available for retakes.
Formative assessments are available for retake at the teacher’s discretion. Such opportunities, if given to an entire class, should be consistent across all sections of a course.
*For essays and major projects, I will accept them late, but only if you have spoken to me prior to the assignment due date. Otherwise, there will be late points deducted.