9th Grade Language Arts: Part 1

Course Description:
This rigorous semester-long language arts course does not have any live meetings. The course is aligned to national standards. We will cover a portion of the standards in this course and another portion in the second course. The course will focus on the areas of reading literature, reading informational, writing and speaking and listening. During this course, students will work on the standards that focus around citing text evidence, theme, summarizing, plot, character change, point of view, main idea, argumentative writing, informational writing, narrative writing, and collaboration and discussion.

Preview Week 1: https://watch.screencastify.com/v/Lg7no635CDZrkRC9a2EV

National Standards:
-RL.9.1 - Citing Text Evidence Literature
-RL.9.1 - Theme
-RL.9.2 - Summarizing
-RL.9.3 - Plot
-RL.9.3 - Character Change
-RL.9.6 - Point of View 
-RI.9.1 - Citing Text Evidence
-RI.9.2 - Main Idea
-RI.9.2 - Summarizing
-W.9.1 - Argumentative Writing
-W.9.2 - Informational Writing
-W.9.3 - Narrative Writing
-SL.9.1 - Collaboration and Discussion

Course Format:
At the beginning of the week, a “List of Learning” Google Doc will be posted on the Outschool classroom page. Each “List of Learning” will have steps students need to complete for the week. These steps will include a lesson video to watch when a new standard is being introduced, reading assignments, discussion questions to respond to and give feedback to other classmates, assessments to complete, writing assignments, and other assignments or extension opportunities to share with other students. Any work that will be turned in for grades/scores, will be in the form of a Google Doc. Students will need to share the document with the teacher and other students will not have access to the document. A Google Spreadsheet will be shared with each student in order to track progress when an assignment is graded/scored.

It is encouraged to have the readings and assignments done by each due date so students can participate in discussions together. To give each student a more meaningful learning experience, all students need to participate in the discussion questions by responding to the questions and giving feedback to other students.

The novel, “The House on Mango Street” will be read during this course. This novel touches on the topics of different cultures and poverty. Please research the novel to make sure it is appropriate for your child. 

Students will interact with one another through written discussion questions and activities posted on the Outschool classroom page. Some examples of activities are Kahoot and Boom Cards. Google Docs will be used for assessments that are given a grade/score to obtain privacy. The teacher will interact with students through the discussion questions and providing feedback on the assignments.

Course Schedule (Subject to Change):
Weeks 1, 2, & 3: Finding Common Ground Unit
Weeks 4, 5, & 6: The Struggle for Freedom Unit
Weeks 7, 8, 9, & 10: "The House on Mango Street" Novel Study and DBQ
Weeks 11, 12, 13, & 14: The Bonds Between Us Unit

Week 1: Finding Common Ground Unit
-Lesson: Citing Text Evidence
-Lesson: Point of View
-Reading: “A Quilt of a Country”
-Reading: “Making the Future Better, Together” 
-Reading: “Rituals of Memory” 

Week 2: Finding Common Ground Unit
-Lesson: Theme
-Lesson: Citing Text Evidence
-Reading: “Once Upon a Time”
-Reading: “Night Calls”  
-Reading: “The Gettysburg Address” 
-Reading: “Oklahoma Bombing Memorial Address”  
-Reading: “The Vietnam Wall” 

Week 3: Finding Common Ground Unit
-Lesson: Informational Writing
-Informational Writing Piece

Week 4: The Struggle for Freedom Unit
-Lesson: Main Idea
-Reading: “I Have a Dream”
-Reading: “from Nobody Turn Me Around: A People’s History of the 1963 March on Washington”
-Reading: “A Eulogy for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”

Week 5: The Struggle for Freedom Unit
-Lesson: Character Change
-Lesson: Plot
-Reading: “from Cairo: My City, Our Revolution”
-Reading: “from Reading Lolita in Tehran” and “from Persepolis 2”
-Reading: “The Censors”
-Reading: “The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses”

Week 6: The Struggle for Freedom Unit
-Lesson: Argumentative Writing
-Writing Argumentative Piece

Week 7: “The House on Mango Street” Novel Study

Week 8: “The House on Mango Street” Novel Study 

Week 9: “The House on Mango Street” Novel Study and DBQ

Week 10: “The House on Mango Street” Novel Study and DBQ
-Lesson: Informational Writing
-DBQ

Week 11: The Bonds Between Us Unit
-Lesson: Theme
-Lesson: Plot
-Reading: “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine” 
-Reading: “And of Clay Are We Created”

Week 12: The Bonds Between Us Unit
-Lesson: Main Idea
-Reading: “Monkey See, Monkey Do, Monkey Connect”
-Reading: “from Animals in Translation”  
-Reading: “With Friends Like These…” 

Week 13: The Bonds Between Us Unit
-Lesson: Citing Text Evidence
-Reading: “The Grasshopper and the Bell Cricket”
-Reading: “At Dusk”  
-Reading: “Poems About Family” 

Week 14: The Bonds Between Us Unit
-Lesson: Narrative Writing
-Writing Narrative Piece