English 9H

English 9 Honors Required Summer Reading

Snow in August by Pete Hamill

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Essential Questions for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn:

How does the historical context of the novel reflect Francie’s stages of development?

How does ethnic and religious background help to shape a person’s identity and values?

What value does education (schooling) have in empowering a person to overcome obstacles? How are life lessons sometimes just as valuable?

What role does song and singing play in the novel?

Essential Questions for Snow in August:

How does Snow in August reflect race relations in the United States at the time of the novel?

How does chance affect important events in the book? How are these events "acts of God"?

Why are Michael and the Rabbi brought together?

Why is baseball so important to Rabbi Hirsch? Why does he relate so strongly to Jackie Robinson?

Course Overview

This course begins the four year English sequence which includes the New York State Regents Exam at the end of the junior year. This course requires students to do extensive work reading, discussing and writing about literature.

The honors English program is for exceptional students of English who have demonstrated a more advanced language ability and skill. The honors curriculum emphasizes development of a rich and varied background in literature. Focus is placed on high-level critical thinking and reasoning skills. In addition, there is an emphasis on in-depth analysis of literature through the study of major writers. Students can be expected to be challenged through assignments that require a growing ability to develop and complete independent research projects. Students will also experience an in-depth study of the building blocks of language and vocabulary, which will help prepare them for success in English 10 Honors and English 11AP, as well as on the Common Core English Regents and the SAT.

Literature:

Students will begin the year by critically discussing the two assigned summer reading books: Snow in August and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Students will apply literary terms to the texts and write critical responses. Several full-length works will be read and analyzed in class. Some texts include: Fahrenheit 451, Romeo and Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Catcher in the Rye. Non-fiction works will be used to supplement each work studied. In addition, each quarter students will be required to read independent full-length works in a variety of genres and complete full-length works in a variety of genres and complete assigned projects.

Composition:

A major objective of this course is the development of expository writing skills. Paragraphs and essays, both timed writing and full writing process pieces, will be assigned frequently. An emphasis will be on preparing students for the NY States Regents exam. By the end of the course, students will be expected to write a well-structured essay of literary analysis. A formal research project will be completed by each student which will focus on acquiring and analyzing sources, taking notes from sources, and combining information into a meaningful piece.

Other curriculum areas will include vocabulary development, grammar, creative writing, listening and speaking.