Haverford High School: 9th Grade English



How to Contact Ms. Barrett:

I will be available to meet for conferencing or extra help before school and after school on most days of the week. Students must make an appointment with me in advance, so that I can ensure that I will be around. I am usually very flexible with my time. Additionally, students can find me around the school in the following rooms at the following times--

|Block 1 |Homeroom |Block 2 |Block 3 |Block 4 |

|Room 127 |Room 134 |PREP // Room 134 |Room 134 // PREP |Room 134 |

Please do not hesitate to find me or email me if you have any questions or concerns.

Phone: 610.853.5900 ext. 2134

Email: ebarrett@

Web: My teacher page is located on the HHS homepage, under eFaculty, and my name. All assignments and course information will be located at our class website . We will also begin to incorporate Canvas into our classroom—you may access this at using your google login info.

Perspectives of the Individual—Course Overview:

Author John Steinbeck wrote: “In every bit of honest writing in the world there is a base theme: try to understand men. If you understand each other, you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love."

Through our reading and discussion of a variety of genres of literature, students in our 10th grade English course will examine situations in which individuals struggle to understand concepts of identity and perspective. We will examine the impact of choices through both our reading and writing endeavors, connecting our learning activities to our course theme of “Perspectives of the Individual.”  We will learn about basic literary and rhetorical theory and apply our new knowledge to the critical analysis and interpretation of course texts.

Essential Questions:

• How do outside factors influence the development of an individual’s self-identity?

• How do boundaries, such as censorship, limit our freedom to choose and to express our opinions?

• How do stereotypes, misconceptions, and prejudices impact the way one interacts with and understands others?

• What are the essential character traits and behaviors that help humans overcome adversity?

Primary Texts:

• Night by Elie Wiesel

• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini ●     Twelfth Night (Honors)

• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie (Honors) ●     2 choice reading texts

• Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (Academic) ● A contemporary drama (Academic)

Writing:

Students will build upon their knowledge of narrative and expository writing styles and learn to incorporate clearly defined thesis statements, smooth transition sentences, and various organizational strategies in their writing. Students will reflect on their writing process and develop individual writing goals for the semester. We will have multiple occasions to craft written work for audiences outside of our classroom, giving us opportunities to hone our abilities to adapt the tone and content of our writing for a specific reader. As we learn to write effective texts, we will work to improve our skills in focus, content, organization, style, and conventions. Students will know in advance how their writing is being graded and will reflect on their semester goals following each writing assignment.  

Major Class Projects:

1. Students will complete a variety of narrative, expositional, and creative writing pieces, which will undergo various levels of revision. We will share our writing endeavors using Google drive. A few examples of work we will add to our writing portfolios includes:

(     benchmark essays (     poetry/creative assignments (     thesis driven paper about a text     

(     literary analysis essays (     personal essay (    reflective short essays

2. Students will complete a Self-Selected Reading (SSR) project during the second quarter.  The project will be completed individually, including writing a paper and composing a multi-media presentation to share their choice book with the class.

3. (Academic) Students will work in groups, in “literature circles,” in which they must read and analyze a self-selected play together through the completion of role sheets, participation in discussion, and ending with the creation a final product demonstrating knowledge of all relevant English Language Arts skills.

General Expectations/Rules

1. Respect

Students will demonstrate respect for other students and the teacher by using appropriate language, being prepared for class, following directions, adhering to all school policies, and by keeping an open mind when learning about different cultures, traditions, beliefs and life styles.

2. Be Prepared

Always come to class prepared.  This means coming into class and being seated when the bell rings, bringing your class binder each day, completing homework on time, and reviewing your notes between 15-20 minutes each night.  In addition, your presence in the classroom is essential to your success.  Tardiness and unexcused absences will have an adverse effect on your grade.

3. Expect great things from yourself and your peers

Your attitude plays an important role in your education.  If you believe you can succeed – you can!  Encourage your classmates to succeed as well.

4. Take ownership of your education

Take personal responsibility for your learning: set goals, evaluate progress towards those goals, adhere to high standards and revise your performance when needed.  You can also take responsibility for your learning by asking questions when something is unclear, participating in classroom discussions and asking for extra help if you need it.  Take ownership of your classroom.  This is your space and your area to learn; help keep it clean and organized.  This is your education – get everything you can out of it!

Assignment Policies and Grading:

• Assignments will be posted regularly on our class website.  Students should keep track of assignments in their Haverford planner.  

• Students should expect daily reading, writing, and/or review homework. Quality counts just as much as completeness. I do not believe in “busy work,” so if I am assigning it there is significant reason.

• Copying, cheating, and/or plagiarizing are grounds for failing the assignment and disciplinary action.  Plagiarizing is defined as using someone’s research, ideas, words (whether they are the words of a scholar or another student) without acknowledging the author of the idea.  If you had to look it up, you must give credit to the original author through parenthetical citations and a works cited page.

• All handouts, assignments, class notes, vocabulary, and literary definitions will be kept in a binder, notebook, or folder. The student’s organizational strategy will be periodically checked. Students must have all work organized, fully completed, and correctly labeled in order to receive full credit.  

• In order to receive full credit on all assignments, students must turn in their work on the designated due date.  All assignments (including daily assignments, essays, and projects) will be accepted late for half credit.  

• In the case of an excused absence, students are responsible for making up all missed work and for any class notes given during their absence within two days.  Students should plan to speak to the teacher before or after school upon return and utilize information posted on the class website.

• Grades in this class are weighted by category. Each quarter students will receive grades for assignments that assess their progress in reading, research, writing, speaking and listening, and general homework assignments.  Tests, quizzes, projects, and writing assignments will make up 80% of each quarter’s grade with the remaining 20% coming from daily assignments and practice activities. Each quarter starts fresh; grades from the first quarter do not carry over into the grade for the second quarter. The final course grade is calculated by combining the percentages for each of the two quarters with the final exam grade. Each quarter is worth 40% of the final grade and the final exam grade is worth 20% of the final course grade.

Daily Supplies:

• Something to write with – a pencil or pen ● Independent Reading materials

• Binder with divider tabs or folder ● Readings/Book for the current literature unit

• Spiral notebook (can be kept in binder) ● Student planner

• Charged chromebook

Remember: My goal is for you to succeed, as much as it is yours.

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I have read and understand the class expectations and policies for Ms. Barrett’s English class. If I have any questions or concerns, I know that I can contact Ms. Barrett at either 610.853.5900 ex. 2_____ or at ebarrett@.

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