English 9 Syllabus

Mrs. Jennifer Calahan—Email: jcalahan1@cullmancats.net

I.                    Topics to be covered in part one

A.     Grammar and usage

1.      Parts of speech

2.      Parts of a sentence

3.      Agreement

4.      Phrases

5.      Vocabulary

6.      Library orientation

B.     Writing

1.      Journal writing

2.      Types of paragraphs and essays

3.      Parallelism

4.      Sentence combining

5.      Paragraph writing

6.      Essay writing

C.     Literature

1.      Twisted Summer

2.      Literary terms

3.      Various short stories

4.      Animal Farm

5.      Various forms of poetry

II.                 Topics to be covered in part two

A.     Grammar and usage

1.      Punctuation

2.      Capitalization

3.      Usage

4.      Clauses

5.      Sentence structure

6.      Vocabulary

B.     Writing

1.      Journal writing

2.      Letter writing

3.      Essay writing

4.      Elements of an outline

5.      MLA format

6.      Process essay

C.     Literature

1.      Nonfiction

2.      The Miracle Worker

3.      Romeo and Juliet

4.      The Odyssey

5.      To Kill a Mockingbird

III.               Class expectations

A.     Have respect for yourself, teachers, others, and their property.  Treat others better than you would treat yourself.

B.     Participate during class discussions and do not talk while someone else is talking.

C.     Follow all school rules: refer to your student handbook.

D.     Be in the classroom before the bell rings.

E.      Have a positive attitude; it is contagious.

F.      Have all assignments and class supplies with you every day.

IV.              Assessing your performance

A.     Grading:  Tests/Compositions              70%

    Vocabulary/Quizzes            20%

     Homework checks             10%

B.     Homework will be checked the school day following the day it is assigned or by an end-of-the-six-weeks notebook test.  Students will report to the administrators on the third incomplete homework; detention may be assigned if homework is repeatedly missed.  Try www.homeworkalabama.org for assistance from 3 pm-Midnight, 7 days a week.  This site is sponsored by the Alabama Public Library system.

C.     Each student will be asked to record his/her test grades in the English notebook; all tests are kept in the classroom for use in trimester review and parent conferences.  Conferences may be scheduled through the guidance office (734-3923).

D.     Make-up tests are the student’s responsibility.  They can be scheduled before school at 7:00 AM on specified days or after school.  Tests missed due to excused absences must be completed within 10 days of the absence.  Additional time will be given for extended absences (three or more consecutive days).  Again, it is the student’s responsibility to find out what was assigned on days missed.

E.      For information on progress reports, the attendance policy, detention, etc., please consult the student handbook.

V.                 Materials

A.    Three-ring binder with wide-ruled paper and four dividers with pockets

B.     Ink pens (blue or black and one red ) and #2 pencils

C.   A highlighter (any color)

D.     Other supplies for projects will be assigned well in advance of the due date

Finally, feel free to call the school for a conference or send an email any time you have concerns or questions.