Honors 9th Grade Curriculum - Pandemonium? Or...

9th Grade:

Honors English

(Archetypes and Argumentation)

BCPS Curriculum

Last revised: April 28, 2011

Copyright 2011, Battle Creek Public Schools

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction to BCPS Language Documents

Course Philosophy

Focus Questions

Course Overview

National Common Core Standards Application Chart.

Suggested Pacing Guide

Unit by Unit breaks down

Evidence of Student Learning Chart

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pg. 3

pg. 5

pg. 6

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Introduction to BCPS-Language Arts

Curriculum Documents

This is living document ¨C one that has evolved over time and will continue to change and

grow in the future. If you are teaching the class for which this curriculum has been written,

then you should be aware that you are required to cover the outcomes listed in this

document. To help you with this, we have included suggested texts, activities, and even pacing

guides that support these outcomes. Teachers have the freedom to change or adapt activities

and pacing to fit their own class¡¯ needs. Teachers may add or change some of the texts for a

course, although any novel/textbook changes must be approved by the Board of Education.

We have carefully written these outcomes for what we expect to have to teach this

particular grade level. These outcomes are written with the expectation that these students

already have covered the outcomes from previous years. For example, unity within a piece of

writing is important, but it is not one of the outcomes for senior English because we assume

that it has already been dealt with in prior classes. We hope that this will save students from

having to hear the same material, year after year. Nevertheless, if a teacher notes that a class

needs to go back and review some skills from previous years, then the teacher should do so.

Most of our assumptions of what this grade level should already be able to do are

incorporated into the sample rubrics for the writing assignments. Another source for finding

out what the previous grade did is, of course, that grade¡¯s curriculum document.

A last note on the outcomes: After each outcome is a code linking it to the strand, standard,

and content expectation.

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Philosophy for 9th Grade Honors Curriculum

9th Grade Honors English is a course designed to expand on the knowledge acquired in

Junior High as well as introduce the major components of the Advanced Placement Curriculum:

Literary Archetypes and Argumentation. As a department, we assume that students come in

with the following literacy capacity:

Reading a variety of genres and distinguishing the general forms and features

Articulating personal reactions to texts through writing, reflection, and

discussion

Writing in a variety of genres for different purposes

Understanding the basic grammatical structures and how grammar may be used

to affect voice and meaning

With this background, the primary goal of 9th Grade Honors English is to create a

learning environment where students can take ownership of their own learning process and

become aware of their strengths and weaknesses as readers, writers, and participants in oral

discussion all the while processing pieces of classical literature as well as informational texts.

While the general outcomes of this course are aligned with the National Common Core

Standards, the general outcomes of the Honors Class are predicated on Rosenblatt¡¯s theory of

reader response and are therefore constructed of the following:

Students will connects the text to the current world issues that are relevant to

their own worlds

Student will develop and retain a love of literature, reading, and writing

Students will connect themselves to the emotional heart of the text

Students will read and analyze poetry, prose, and drama

Students will develop a solid background in classic literature as well as quality

modern literature

Students will prepare themselves for the expectations of their junior and senior

Advanced Placement coursework

Students will write and support arguments based on fiction and non-fiction

Students will develop their use of grammar and sentence structure

Students will analyze how voice is constructed and refine their own

Students will express themselves creatively through artistic choices

Students will build the work ethic and stamina

Students in 9th Grade Honors English will be exposed to a variety of literary pieces and

genres such as drama, short stories, novels, poetry and expository texts. Through the study of

these texts, they will engage in metacognitive activities: considering what they do to interpret a

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text based on their unique prior knowledge, and how they construct an interpretation when

meaning breaks down. In other words, students will be armed to fight difficult texts¡ªin high

school, college, and life¡ªwith an arsenal of literacy strategies. They will also analyze texts for

stylistic devices authors use to engage their audience. This will serve two purposes: one, that

they have the tools necessary to assist them when searching for messages inferred in the text;

two, that they can consider their own style and the ways their stylistic choices can engage their

audience. Students will practice writing for various purposes (specifically through creative and

expository modes) and implement tools in their own craft. Ultimately, student writing exercise

will culminate in literary analysis paper (end of semester one), a personal narrative (opening of

semester two), and a research paper (end of semester two). Finally, students will reflect on

their growth as a reader and writer and articulate the purpose behind the strategies they use to

heighten their literacy awareness; this reflection will come in the form of discussion and

writing, where students will be encouraged to overcome fears of peer collaboration and begin

to voice their thoughts clearly and honestly.

Overall, these units are designed to provide students with tools to critically engage in

the world through reading, writing, and dialogue. These skills will prepare students with the

foundation they need to be successful throughout their high school career and begin them on

the path toward becoming critical, historically and culturally informed citizens.

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9th Grade Honors Focus Questions

(*Derived from state of Michigan Recommendations)

Semester One

Unit 1

What are literary archetypes? Why are they important?

Where do I stand in relation to these archetypes?

Unit 2

How do archetypes function in society?

How do I build networks of people to support me?*

How am I a reflection of my relationships?*

How do my relationships within and across groups affect others?*

Unit 3

How do my skills and talents help to define me? *

How do I relate to my family, my community and society?*

What influence do class, religion, language, and culture have on my

relationships and my decisions?*

Semester Two

Unit 4

What is voice in writing? How is it constructed?*

What does my own voice sound like?*

Unit 5

What is social criticism?

How does media shape my view of the world?

How do I see my beliefs reflected in our government?*

Unit 6

What are the primary principles of argumentation?

How is literature used to make arguments?

What is my responsibility to society?*

What can I contribute as an individual?*

Unit 7

How do archetypes and argumentation work together?

What change should be made in society? Why? How?

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