Course Content and Order Subject to Change based on semester and needs.  Also, not all of the readings found herein may be assigned. See attached Outline for a fuller description of this class.

Course Description:
This class will prepare students to critically read and respond to a wide variety of literature as they explore the questions such as, “What makes a hero?” During the course, students will learn to discuss and write summaries about literature, skillfully analyze and form arguments, and grow their personal lexicons.

During the meetings we will discuss any issues or concerns with the material.  I will provide background knowledge and guidance and the students will be able to interact with one another and with me. 

The outline of this course may be altered depending on time constraints, scheduling, and students' interests. I will have office hours available throughout the semester for students who may need additional help with readings, essays, presentations, or any questions. This can be done over email or on the Outschool platform/Zoom. Partner/group interactions can occur however the group desires. Whether this is done over zoom, email, or another method, they are free to do so!

The course is aligned to state and national standards. The course will focus on the areas of reading literature, reading informational texts, writing and speaking and listening; while simultaneously developing critical vocabulary skills. During this course, students will work on the standards that focus around citing text evidence, theme, summarizing, plot, character development, point of view, main idea, argumentative writing, informational writing, narrative writing, and collaboration and discussion.

Course Format and how will I teach?:
At the beginning of the week, a "Weekly Outlook" video or lesson sheet will be posted in the Outschool/Google classroom detailing the week's work.  Each class meeting will start with some type of "Anticipation Guide." The students will have to agree or disagree with each statement and then share out with the rest of the class why they agree or disagree with a statement. Each statement in the anticipation guide are points of discussion for the students to engage in with each other. This is a fun activity that enables students to hear what other students are thinking and to agree or disagree with them.

Weekly Lesson Examples:
Weekly lessons include "Anticipation Guides" for class discussion and interaction, concept videos to watch when a new standard or concept is being taught or introduced, and group projects where students will have work together to complete a task and then present to the class their findings. There will also be reading assignments with discussion questions for students to respond to, assessments to complete, writing assignments, and other assignments or extension opportunities to share with other students. 

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.

Any work that will be turned in for grades/scores, will be in the form of a Google Doc/Slides. 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.

The Shakespeare play, “The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet” will be read during this course. This play touches on the topics of revenge, arranged marriages, social class, etc. Please research the play to make sure it is appropriate for your child. 

Spring Semester - 9th Grade English Language Arts (ELA): 

Course Outline (Subject to Change):
Weeks 1 & 2: UNIT 1: Fiction and Nonfiction (pg. 1)
Weeks 3 & 4: UNIT 2: Short Stories (pg. 192)
Weeks 5 & 6: UNIT 3: What makes a hero
Weeks 7 & 8: 	UNIT 4: Drama (pg. 776)
Weeks 9: UNIT 5:Themes in Literature: Heroism (pg. 1026)

UNIT 1: FICTION AND NONFICTION

Literary Analysis Workshop
Literary/Informational Skills:  Theme vs. Central Idea
Reading Skills: Make Predictions; Author’s Purpose
Writing Workshop: Autobiographical Essay; Problem-and-Solution Essay

Author	Story/Text	Type
Literary Analysis Workshop: Fiction and Nonfiction
	Determining Themes in Fiction	Instructional Essay
	Determining Central Ideas in Nonfiction	Instructional Essay
Tillie Olsen	from “I Stand Here Ironing”	Short Story
Elizabeth McCracken	from “The Giant’s House”	Fiction
Franklin D. Roosevelt	from “State of the Union Address (1941)”	Historical Account
Elizabeth McCracken	Desiderata	Personal Essay
		
Leveled Selections:
Isaac Bashevis Singer	The Washwoman	Narrative Essay
Maya Angelou	New Directions	Narrative Essay
		
Leveled Selections:
Joan Aiken	Sonata for Harp and Bicycle	Short Story
Edgar Allan Poe	The Cask of Amontillado	Short Story
 		
Reading for Information: Analyzing Functional and Expository Texts
Shaunda Kennedy Wenger and Janet Kay Jensen	New Road Chicken Pies	Functional Text
Ursula K. Abbot, Ralph A. Ernst, Francine A. Bradley	Incubating Eggs in Small Quantities	Expository Essay
		
Writing Workshop
Writer’s Toolbox	Painting a Picture with Words	
Writer’s Toolbox	Revising to Correct Use of Possessive Nouns	

UNIT 2: SHORT STORIES

Literary Analysis Workshop
Informational Skills: Character, Plot, and Theme; Text Structure
Reading Skills: Make Inferences, Cause & Effect
Writing Workshop: Short Story, Cause-and-Effect Essay

Author	Story/Text	Type
Literary Analysis Workshop: Short Stories
	Analyzing Character	Instructional Essay
	Analyzing Structure and Theme	Instructional Essay
Ernest Hemingway	Old Man at the Bridge	Short Story
Wayson Choy	The Jade Peony	Short Story
		
Leveled Selections:
Richard Connell	The Most Dangerous Game	Short Story
Judith Ortiz Cofer	American History	Short Story
		
Leveled Selections:
O. Henry	The Gift of the Magi	Short Story
Saki (H. H. Munro)	The Interlopers	Short Story
 		
Reading for Information: Analyzing Functional and Expository Texts
Hawaiian Lifeguard Association	Beach Safety Guide	Functional Text
	Rock Climbing Equipment and Techniques	Expository Text
Comparing Functional and Expository Texts: Timed Writing (pg.289)
		
Comparing Literary Works (pg.290)
Leslie Marmon Silko	The Man to Send Rain Clouds	Short Story
R. K. Narayan	Old Man of the Temple	Short Story
		
Writing Workshop: Narrative Text: Short Story
Writer’s Toolbox	Developing the Plot	
Writer’s Toolbox	Revising Inconsistent Verb Tenses	
		
Leveled Selections
Amy Tan	Rules of the Game	Short Story
Guy de Maupassant	The Necklace	Short Story
		
Leveled Selections
Toni Cade Bambara	Blues Ain’t No Mockin Bird	Short Story
Mark Twain	The Invalid’s Story	Short Story
		
Comparing Literary Works
James Hurst	The Scarlet Ibis	Short Story
Ray Bradbury	The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind	Short Story
		
Writing Workshop: Explanatory Text: Cause and Effect Essay
Jeff Anderson, M. Ed.	What Do You Notice? Sentence Structure
Wayson Choy	Writers on Writing: On Showing Cause and Effect
Writer’s Toolbox:	Revising to Correct Faulty Subject-Verb Agreement (pg.407)

UNIT 3: POETRY

Literary Analysis Workshop
Literary Skills: Figurative and Connotative Language; Tone
Reading Skills: Read Fluently; Paraphrase
Writing Workshop: Descriptive Essay; Response to Literature

Author	Story/Text	Type
Literary Analysis Workshop: Poetry
	Analyzing Poetic Language	Instructional Essay
Sara Teasdale	Barter	
Emily Dickenson	We grow accustomed to the dark	Poem
Pat Mora	Uncoiling/A Voice	Poem
		
Leveled Selections: 
Poetry Collection #1
Langston Hughes	Dream Deferred	Poem
Langston Hughes	Dreams	Poem
Jean de Sponde	Sonnet on Love XIII	Poem
Gabriela Mistral	Meciendo/Rocking	Poem
William Wadsworth	I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud	Poem
Poetry Collection #2		
Richard Brautigan	All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace	Poem
Emily Dickinson	“Hope” is the thing with feathers-	Poem
Emily Dickinson	Much Madness is divinest Sense-	Poem
Stanley Kunitz	The War Against the Trees	Poem
		
Leveled Selections:
Poetry Collection #3
Walter Dean Myers	Summer	Poem
Alfred Lord Tennyson	The Eagle	Poem
May Swenson	Analysis of Baseball	Poem
		
Poetry Collection #4
Edgar Allan Poe	The Bells	Poem
Yusef Komunyakaa	Slam, Dunk, & Hook	Poem
Lewis Carroll	Jabberwocky	Poem
		
Leveled Selections:
Poetry Collection #5
Ernst Lawrence Thayer	Casey at the Bat	Poem
William Stafford	Fifteen	Poem
Sandra Cisneros	Twister Hits Houston	Poem
		
Poetry Collection #6
Edwin Muir	The Horses	Poem
Richard Wilbur	The Writer	Poem
Edgar Allan Poe	The Raven	Poem
		
Leveled Selections:
Poetry Collection #7
Robert Frost	The Road Not Taken	Poem
T.S. Eliot	Macavity: The Mystery Cat	Poem
Emily Dickinson	We never know how high we are	Poem
		
Poetry Collection #8
E.E. Cummings	Maggie and milly and molly and may	Poem
William Shakespeare	The Seven Ages of Man	Poem
Robert Frost	Fire and Ice	Poem
		
Comparing Literary Works
Walt Whitman	I hear America Singing	Poem
Basho and Chiyojo	Three Haiku	Poem
Alice Walker	Women	Poem
William Shakespeare	Sonnet 30	Poem
		
Writing Workshop: Argument: Response to Literature
Jeff Anderson, M. Ed.	What Do You Notice? Direct Quotations
Pat Mora	Writers on Writing: On Response to Literature
Writer’s Toolbox:	Using Quotations (pg. 761)
		
Vocabulary Workshop: Connotation and Denotation
Communications Workshop: Oral Interpretation of Literature
		
Assessment Workshop: Cumulative Review (pg. 768)
Assessment Workshop: Performance Tasks (pg. 772)
		
UNIT 4: TYPES OF NONFICTION (PG. 422)

Literary Analysis Workshop 
Informational Skills: Development of Ideas; Word Choice and Tone; Point of View and Purpose
Reading Skills: Main Idea; Evaluate Persuasion
Writing Workshop: Business Letter, Editorial

Author	Story/Text	Type
Literary Analysis Workshop: Types of Nonfiction
	Analyzing the Development and Organization of Ideas	Instructional Essay
	Analyzing Word Choice and Rhetoric	Instructional Essay
Learned Hand	I Am an American Day Address	Historical Account
Patrick Henry	Speech to the Virginia Convention	Persuasive Speech
Rebecca Walker	Before Hip-Hop Was Hip-Hop	Narrative Essay
		
Focus on Point of View and Purpose
Leveled Selections:
Rudolfo A Anaya	A Celebration of Grandfathers	Reflective Essay
Lorraine Hansberry	On Summer	Reflective Essay
		
Leveled Selections:
Sally Ride	Single Room, Earth View	Expository Essay
Neil Postman	The News	Expository Essay
 		
Reading for Information: Analyzing Expository Texts
NASA	Space Shuttle Basics	Expository Text
NASA	NASA Launch Schedule 101	Expository Text
		
Comparing Literary Works
Carl Sandburg	from A Lincoln Preface	Biography
John McPhee	Arthur Ashe Remembered	Biography
		
Writing Workshop: Explanatory Text: Business Letter
Writer’s Toolbox:	Setting Your Tone	
Writer’s Toolbox:	Revising to Combine Choppy Sentences	
		
Focus on Point of View and Purpose
Leveled Selections:
Lian Dolan	Carry Your Own Skis	Persuasive Essay
Pete Hamill	Libraries Face Sad Chapter	Persuasive Essay
		
		
Leveled Selections:		
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.	“I Have a Dream”	Persuasive Speech
Franklin Delano Roosevelt	First Inaugural Address	Persuasive Speech
		
Reading for Information: Analyzing Arguments
Alan Axelrod	from Nothing to Fear: Lessons in Leadership from FDR	Argumentative Essay
Franklin Delano Roosevelt	from Radio Address on Drought Conditions	Argumentative Essay
		
Comparing Literary Works
Gary Soto	The Talk	Humorous Essay
Harold Courlander and George Herzog (retellers)	Talk	Humorous Folk Tale
		
Writing Workshop: Argument: Editorial
Jeff Anderson, M.Ed.	What Do You Notice?	Supporting Evidence
Rebecca Walker	Writers on Writing: On Choosing the Right Details
Writer’s Toolbox:	Revising to Create Parallelism	

UNIT 5: DRAMA (PG. 776)

Literary Analysis Workshop 
Literary Skills: Figurative and Connotative Language; Tone
Reading Skills: Read Fluently; Paraphrase
Writing Workshop: Descriptive Essay; Response to Literature

Author	Story/Text	Type
Literary Analysis Workshop: Drama
Analyzing Character Development	Instructional Essay
Tennessee Williams	from The Glass Menagerie	Drama
Gary L. Blackwood	from The Shakespeare Stealer	Drama
		
Extended Study: The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
Drama Selection
William Shakespeare	The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (Act 1)	Drama
William Shakespeare	The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (Act 2)	Drama
William Shakespeare	The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (Act 3)	Drama
William Shakespeare	The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (Act 4)	Drama
William Shakespeare	The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (Act 5)	Drama
		
Reading for Information: Analyzing Functional and Expository Texts
Dorling Kindersley	Italy	Functional Text
Liberty Travel	Italy	Expository Text
		
Comparing Literary Works
Ovid	Pyramus and Thisbe	Short Story
William Shakespeare	from A Midsummer Night’s Dream	Drama
		
Writing Workshop: Explanatory Text: How-to Essay
Writer’s Toolbox:	Getting Organized	
Writer’s Toolbox:	Revising to Combine Sentences With Phrases	
		
Leveled Selections:
Anton Chekhov	The Inspector-General	Drama
		
Reading for Information: Analyzing Expository Text
NOAA	Tornadoes	Expository Text
Wikipedia	Tropical Cyclones	Expository Text
		
Comparing Literary Works
Oscar Wilde	from The Importance of Being Earnest	Drama
Henry Alford	from Big Kiss	Humorous Essay
		
Writing Workshop: Informative Text: Research Report
Jeff Anderson, M.Ed.	What Do You Notice? Examples that Build an Argument	
Gary L. Blackwood	Writers on Writing: On Showing, Not Telling
Writer’s Toolbox:	Revising to Combine Sentences Using Adverb Clauses	


UNIT 6: THEMES IN LITERATURE: HEROISM (PG. 1026)

Literary Analysis Workshop 
Literary Skills: Theme; Social and Cultural Context
Reading Skills: Historical and Cultural Context; Compare and Contrast
Writing Workshop: Technical Document; Compare-and-Contrast Essay

Author	Story/Text	Type
Literary Analysis Workshop: Themes on Literature
Determining Themes	Instructional Essay
Analyzing Point of View and Cultural Experience	Instructional Essay
R. K. Narayan (reteller)	from the Ramayana	Epic
Dean Smith with John Kilgo	from The Carolina Way	Essay
		
Extended Study: The Odyssey
Epic Selection
Homer (translated by Robert Fitzgerald)	from the Odyssey Part 1	Epic
Homer (translated by Robert Fitzgerald)	from the Odyssey Part 2	Epic
		
Reading for Information: Analyzing Arguments
Justice Paul E. Pfeifer	A Hero in Our Midst	Argumentative Text
Rebecca Murray	World Trade Center	Argumentative Text
		
Comparing Literary Works
Edna St. Vincent Millay	An Ancient Gesture	Poem
Margaret Wood	Siren Song	Poem
Derek Walcott	Prologue and Epilogue from the Odyssey	Poem
Constantine Cavafy	Ithaca	Poem
		
Writing Workshop: Explanatory Text: Technical Document
Writer’s Toolbox:	Expressing Your Ideas	
Writer’s Toolbox:	Revising to Correct Fragments and Run-ons	
		
Leveled Selections:
George A. Toudouze	Three Skeleton Key	Short Story
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle	The Red-headed League	Short Story
		
Leveled Selections:
Chief Dan George	There Is a Longing	Historical Account
Nelson Mandela	Glory and Hope	Historical Account
		
		
Reading for Information: Analyzing Expository Texts
John Nadel	Dodgers Celebrate	Expository Text
Sharyn Moore	Emily Dickinson Poetfans:
Sharyn Moore and Her Students	Expository Text
		
Comparing Literary Works
Harold W. Felton	Pecos Bill: The Cyclone	Tall Tale
Edith Hamilton	Perseus	Myth
		
Writing Workshop: Informative Text: Research Report
Jeff Anderson, M.Ed.	What Do You Notice? Methods of Comparing and Contrasting	
Coach Dean Smith with John Kilgo	Writers on Writing: On Word Choice
Writer’s Toolbox:	Varying Sentence Structure and Length