Honors Language Arts I and Language Arts I Course Syllabus CHS Language Arts Department

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1 1 Honors Language Arts I and Language Arts I Course Syllabus CHS Language Arts Department Contact Information: Parents may contact me by phone, , or visiting the school. Teacher: Mr. Dustin Weaver Address: dustin.weaver@students.ccsd.us (students) dustin.weaver@ccsd.us (parents/guardians) Phone Number: (740) ext Online: CHS Vision Statement: Our vision is to be a caring learning center respected for its comprehensive excellence. CHS Mission Statement: Our mission is to prepare our students to serve their communities and to commit to life-long learning Course Description and Prerequisite(s) from Course Handbook: Language Arts I Integration Literature and Composition State Course # Required Option Grade 9 Graded Conventionally Credit: 1 Prerequisite: Successful completion of 8th grade Language Arts Honors Language Arts I Literature and Composition State Course # Required Option Grade 9 Weighted Grade Credit: 1 Prerequisites: Grade of B or higher in previous Language Arts class, 2.5 or better cumulative GPA, last year s Language Arts teacher recommendation, required summer reading with accompanying assignments must be completed by designated due dates. If students do not meet the criteria, they must have a letter from the Parent/guardian and approval of the principal in order to enroll in the class. Students may be required to purchase supplemental materials. Summer Reading Assignment Due Dates Policy: Prior to the conclusion of the previous academic year, you will be supplied with a list of required summer readings and reader response homework assignments. These must be completed by the due dates specified, and there will be written assessments for each assigned book during the first

2 2 weeks of class once school begins. Due to the fact that summer reading is assigned in May, prior to school starting in the fall, there is no extension on the reading packet materials. PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENTS ARE NOT UNDER THE BOARD POLICY FOR LATE WORK BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE WORK - STUDENTS ARE ALREADY ALLOWED EXTRA TIME TO COMPLETE EACH ASSIGNMENT, SO THERE WILL BE NO EXTENSIONS OR GRADE CHANGES GRANTED IF THESE ASSIGNMENTS ARE SUBMITTED AFTER THE DUE DATE. The course stresses listening, informal and formal speaking, writing, vocabulary development and research skills. Grammar and spelling are also taught through the writing process. This is a foundation for all other courses in the 9-12 Language Arts curriculum. Students will produce well developed paragraphs and essays. Students will demonstrate the ability to write in a variety of modes for various purposes and audiences. At least one research paper is required for the course. The MLA style of research is used. Opportunities to connect themes and ideas across the disciplines are provided. Required readings are part of the 9-12 curriculum. Parents may request an alternative book for a specific required reading by writing a letter to the Language Arts teacher. Learning Targets per Unit: Defined below for clarity are the Unit Titles, Big Ideas of every Unit taught during this course, and the Essential Questions to be answered to better understand the Big Ideas. A student s ability to grasp and answer the Essential Questions will define whether or not he or she adequately learns and can apply the skills found in Big Ideas. This will ultimately define whether or not a student scores well on assessments given for this course. The Common Core Standards can be found at (Teacher Note: The Ainsworth Model suggests 1-3 Big Ideas for each Unit and 1-3 essential questions per Big Idea. Each Unit will vary.) 1 st or 3 rd Quarter o Unit I Title: The Narrative Big Idea #1: There are five basic literary elements for understanding fiction. Essential Question #1: What are the five basic elements of fiction? Essential Question #2: How do the elements work together within a fictional text? Big Idea #2: The elements of fiction can be applied to different works of literature in a variety of ways. Essential Question #1: What are the differences between the three points of view? Essential Question #2: How does the setting establish the rules of a given piece of literature?

3 3 Essential Question #3: What is the relationship between conflict and plot? Essential Question #4: How does one identify a text s theme? Big Idea #3: There are supplemental elements that may impact a work of literature. Essential Question #1: What is the difference between the three types of irony? Essential Question #2: What are symbolism and foreshadowing, and how are these terms interconnected? Essential Question #3: What is imagery? o Unit II Title: Argumentative Writing Big Idea #1: There are several steps to the writing process. Essential Question #1: What are the forms and purposes of pre-writing? Essential Question #2: How does one develop a draft from a specific prompt? Essential Question #3: How does one use revising and proofreading/editing to create a final draft? Big Idea #2: There are several traits of effective writing. Essential Question #1: What are some of the basic writing conventions of Standard American English? Essential Question #2: What is a thesis statement? Essential Question #3: Why do purpose and audience matter? Big Idea #3: There are specific techniques to be used in argumentative writing. Essential Question #1: What are claims and evidence? Essential Question #2: How does one use supporting details to validate a claim? Essential Question #3: How do you properly acknowledge and refute counterarguments? Essential Question #4: How does a writer use rhetorical devices as support for one s argument? o Unit III Title: Literary Analysis Big Idea #1: Novels are largely impacted by a variety of external items and events. Essential Question #1: What are the main events of the author s life, and how do they relate to the events that take place in the text? Essential Question #2: What are the primary aspects of the historical context and/or the time of publication in which the story occurs? Big Idea #2: Novels employ a number of literary devices.

4 4 Essential Question #1: What are primary plot lines, subplots, and parallel plot structures? Essential Question #2: How does an author utilize both direct and indirect characterization in order to develop certain characters? Essential Question #3: What other literary terms (e.g., foreshadowing, symbolism, allusion, etc.) play a significant role in the novel? Big Idea #3: Composing a literary analysis involves a number of steps and strategies. Essential Question #1: What are the shared elements of literary analyses and argumentative writing? Essential Question #2: How does one identify textual evidence that directly supports an argument? Essential Question #3: How does a writer integrate textual evidence with his/her arguments, explanations, and writing in general? 2 nd or 4 th 9 Weeks o Unit IV Title: Research Simulation Big Idea #1: There are many characteristics of expository writing. Essential Question #1: What are the primary characteristics of expository writing? Essential Question #2: How is expository writing similar to argumentative writing? Essential Question #3: How is expository writing different than argumentative writing? Big Idea #2: There are several steps involved in the gathering information phase of a research paper. Essential Question #1: How does one choose a topic? Essential Question #2: What are the similarities/differences associated with print and electronic sources? Essential Question #3: How does an individual determine a source s credibility? Essential Question #4: How does one extract relevant information from sources in a timely and orderly manner? Big Idea #3: Composing a research paper requires the completion of a variety of steps. Essential Question #1: How does one organize the information he/she has gathered? Essential Question #2: How does a writer integrate direct citations from a variety of sources into a paper? Essential Question #3: How does a student properly create a works cited page? o Unit V Title: Elements of Nonfiction

5 5 Big Idea #1: Some works of nonfiction express opinions and defend them. Essential Question #1: How do you identify the author s primary argument? Essential Question #2: What is valid support? Big Idea #2: Other works of nonfiction are informational in nature; they contain a number of distinguishing characteristics. Essential Question #1: What are the predominant traits and types of informational texts? Essential Question #2: How is the genre similar to/different from argumentative pieces? Essential Question #3: How does an individual identify the text s main idea and supporting evidence? Big Idea #3: There are a number of strategies that a reader can use in order to gather information in an effective manner. Essential Question #1: What are summarizing and paraphrasing, and how might they benefit a reader? Essential Question #2: How does a reader utilize text features (sub-titles, section headings, footnotes, etc.) to augment his/her understanding? Essential Question #3: Why is it important to evaluate information and look for bias, even when reading an informative piece? Big Idea #4: Integrating ideas from multiple informational works written about the same subject leads to an increased understanding of said topic. Essential Question #1: Why is it important to read informational pieces on the same topic that are written from different perspectives? Essential Question #2: How does one determine which piece of writing contains more merit? Essential Question #3: How does one utilize textual evidence when evaluating multiple informational pieces for their effectiveness? o Unit VI Title: Poetry and Drama Big Idea #1: There are numerous types of poetry, as well as several literary devices specific to this particular genre. Essential Question #1: What is poetry, and how is its structure, purpose, etc. different from the previously studied genre? Essential Question #2: What are some of the more popular types of poems and their corresponding characteristics? Essential Question #3: What are some of the predominant poetic devices?

6 6 Essential Question #4: What is the distinction between poet and speaker? Big Idea #2: Like novels, dramas are largely impacted by a variety of external items and events. Essential Question #1: What are the main events of the author s life, and how do they relate to the events that take place in the text? Essential Question #2: What are the significant aspects of the historical context and/or time of publication in which the story occurs? Big Idea #3: Dramas represent another prominent literary genre. Essential Question #1: How are dramas similar to/different than the previously discussed genres? Essential Question #2: What are some of the literary devices primarily utilized in dramas (foils, dramatic irony, iambic pentameter, tragic hero, comic relief, soliloquy, aside, chorus, prologue, etc.)? END OF COURSE EXAM Course Material: Google Chromebook 3-ring 1 inch binder 6 dividers (1 per unit) 100 loose leaf sheets of paper Pencils Flash drive Textbook: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt s Collections, Grade 9 Supplemental Textbook(s): The Language of Literature, Grade Nine Electronic Resources: Blackboard Collections Grading: Unit Exams 50% Assessments (Including: Quizzes, Essays, Labs, and Projects) 30% Class work/homework 20% End of Course Exam is 20% of a student s final grade. Grading Scale: The grading scale for Chillicothe High School can be found in the student handbook or online at

7 7 Course Expectations: You must earn your grades through your own effort. My desire is for EACH student to pass this class with the absolute best grade possible. I want you to succeed! All assignments must be turned in on time and be completed with maximum effort. Late Work: Late work will be subject to the board adopted policy on assignments that are turned in late (to be reviewed in class). Information can be viewed on-line at This does not apply to summer reading assignments (per policy stated above). CHS TENTATIVE Honors and Regular Language Arts I Course Schedule This is an overview of what will be covered in this course at CHS for this school year. Although, I would like to follow this plan verbatim this years tentative schedule is subject to change (at the teachers discretion). 1st or 3rd 9 Weeks: Week 1: Beginning of the Year Pre-Assessment Exam Unit I Title: The Narrative Week 1: There are five basic literary elements for understanding fiction. Week 2: The elements of fiction can be applied to different works of literature in a variety of ways. Week 3: There are supplemental elements that may impact a work of literature. Unit I Summative Assessment Unit II Title: Argumentative Writing Week 3: There are several steps to the writing process. Week 4: There are several traits of effective writing. Weeks 5-6: There are specific techniques to be used in argumentative writing. Unit II Summative Assessment Unit III Title: Literary Analysis Week 7: Novels are largely impacted by a variety of external items and events. Weeks 7-8: Novels employ a number of literary devices. Weeks 8-9: Composing a literary analysis involves a number of steps and strategies. Unit III Summative Assessment 2nd or 4th 9 Weeks: Unit IV Title: Research Simulation Week 1: There are many characteristics of expository writing.

8 8 Week 2: There are several steps involved in the gathering information phase of a research paper. Week 3: Composing a research paper requires the completion of a variety of steps. Unit IV Summative Assessment Unit V Title: Elements of Nonfiction Week 4: Some works of nonfiction express opinions and defend them. Week 5: Other works of nonfiction are informational in nature, and they contain a number of distinguishing characteristics. Week 6: There are a number of strategies that a reader can use in order to gather information in an effective manner. Weeks 6-7: Integrating ideas from multiple informational works written about the same subject leads to an increased understanding of said topic. Unit V Summative Assessment Unit VI Title: Poetry and Drama Week 7: There are numerous types of poetry, as well as several literary devices specific to this particular genre. Week 8: Like novels, dramas are largely impacted by a variety of external items and events. Week 9: Dramas represent another prominent literary genre. Unit VI Summative Assessment END OF COURSE EXAM Performance Based Section: Writing Assignments/Exams/Presentations/Technology One or more of the End of Unit Exams may be Performance Based. According to the Ohio Department of Education, Performance Based Assessments (PBA) provides authentic ways for students to demonstrate and apply their understanding of the content and skills within the standards. The performance based assessments will provide formative and summative information to inform instructional decision-making and help students move forward on their trajectory of learning. Some examples of Performance Based Assessments include but are not limited to portfolios, experiments, group projects, demonstrations, essays, and presentations.

9 9 CHS Honors Language Arts I and Language Arts I Course Syllabus After you have reviewed the preceding packet of information with your parent(s) or guardian(s), please sign this sheet and return it to me so that I can verify you understand what I expect out of each and every one of my students. Student Name (please print): Student Signature: Parent/Guardian Name (please print): Parent/Guardian Signature: Date: