Welcome to English 9
Bethel Park High School - Bethel Park, Pennsylvania
Here's a page to orient Bethel Park 8th Grade students and their parents to English 9 for the scheduling process and expectations.
What students should consider when selecting an English 9 core course:
How much you enjoy reading?
How much you read?
How easy is it for you to read?
How well do you understand reading at grade level?
How well do you write, especially expository composition (essays & research reports)?
How comfortable and effective are your speaking presentations?
What grades are you currently getting in reading and language arts?
More to consider:
8th Grade teacher recommendations
What honors level courses are you going to take (and how much reading and writing is involved)?
What extracurricular activities are going to compete for your time?
Do you want to take an English elective in addition to a required core course)?
BPHS Theater Arts Programs
Questions? Please email Charles Youngs at youngs.charles@bphawks.org
English 9 Course Descriptions
English 9 is offered in two levels: developmental and honors. Teachers of 8th Grade will offer recommendations in three levels. 011-012, and 013. Students recommended for 012 will attend our traditional English 9, course taught at the college-bound freshman rigor (012), with supports for students who have difficulty with the English language arts. High-performing students may be recommended (013) and scheduled for English 9 Honors. All levels include core texts and a focus on argument essay writing as well as speaking and listening skills.
The level recommendation for 9th Grade does NOT determine the level for the entire high school career. Students have flexibility among the levels dependent on interests, abilities, and performance to accommodated varying rates in students' growth from year to year. It is possible for a student to begin in remedial level and graduate at an honors level. Curricular content is core to all levels, so that students who switch levels have a solid foundation among peers from one year to the next, regardless of level and whether they move up or down.
English 9 (Course 012)
This course concentrates on developing communications skills through writing and literary study. Expository writing instruction focuses on paragraph and essay development. Students write formal and informal compositions, with emphasis given to persuasive forms. The Modern Language Association (MLA) Style for format and documentation of sources is introduced. Students respond to literature not only through writing but also through oral discussions and presentations. Several literature selections correlate with time periods studied in American History, thus enabling students to make cross-curricular connections between the two disciplines.
Students may read such significant early American authors as Bradstreet, Jefferson, Franklin, Hawthorne, Longfellow, and Lincoln. Throughout the course, students study such literature genres as poetry, short stories, novels, epics, and plays. Major works may include April Morning, O Pioneers!, To Kill a Mockingbird, Animal Farm, Soldier’s Heart, The Tempest, and Romeo & Juliet. Students are oriented to the Writing Center and Media Center/Library in this course. Prerequisites: Successful completion of middle school language arts. Prerequisite: Completion of 8th Grade language arts.
English 9 (Honors)* (Course 013)
This is an accelerated English course designed for the high-achieving student who reads and writes well. The language arts experiences will encourage academic creativity through the development of the gifted characteristics of fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. Reading selections will encompass a variety of literary genres.
Major works will include Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451, Romeo and Juliet, Ella Minnow Pea, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Midsummer Night’s Dream. Writing projects and multi-paragraph essay assignments will focus on response to literature as students learn to logically order their persuasive arguments. * Denotes 4.5 QP course
Prerequisites:
1. English grade of A or high B in previous grade level English course.
2. High standardized test scores.
2. Teacher recommendation.
3. The required summer reading for the course must be completed prior to the start of the school year. Summer reading texts for English 9 Honors are posted by June on the Bethel Park School District website. BPHS Summer Reading
Energize your freshman year with English Electives!
There are dozen electives to take at BPHS. Better get started in 9th Grade!
Semester Course Electives
CREATIVE WRITING I
CREATIVE WRITING II
IMAGINATIVE FICTION I
IMAGINATIVE FICTION II
FILM AS LITERATURE
MEDIA LITERACY
SHAKESPEARE
SPORTS LITERATURE
PUBLIC SPEAKING
CRITICAL THINKING & STUDY SKILLS
Full-Year Courses
THEATER ARTS I
ONLINE JOURNALISM
Write for the school news!
scroll and print the flyer below to learn more about our English Electives Courses
BPHS ELA BROCHURE
English Electives 23-24.pdfClick on the pop-out symbol to the upper-right of the document to print a copy.
English Language Arts Texts Selection
Literary texts in the BPHS English Language Arts courses are thoughtfully selected by English faculty and approved by District administrators. English teachers consider the contribution that each work may make to the education of the reader, its aesthetic value, its authenticity, its readability for a particular group of students, and its appeal to adolescents. The approved curriculum includes classic and contemporary texts selected particularly to equip students for their future as citizens in a democratic society and readers in post-secondary study. In acknowledging that all texts may not suit all students alike in style and substance, English teachers respect the right of individuals to be selective in their own reading while opposing efforts of individuals or groups to limit the freedom of choice or to impose their own standards or tastes upon the students at large. Students or parents who find a particular text not suited to their needs are advised to see their teacher and select an alternative text for independent study.
Header image by Stas Kop @ Pexels