Course description:
The 9th grade writing lab is a class designed to supplement your core English Literature class, and help you improve your writing skills. The major objectives of this writing workshop are to develop confidence and skills in the basic elements of writing, research, thinking, speaking, listening, and analyzing. We will focus on grammar and mechanics. Grammar includes all the principles that guide the structure of sentences and paragraphs: the flow of language, how we use words in different situations, and the patterns that govern language. Mechanics includes the ways we punctuate what we are trying to say in our writing: punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing, and formatting. The writing lab is a place to experiment and practice writing for a variety of purposes and audiences. We will have lessons together to learn important skills or strategies for the writing genre we're working on, but the majority of the class time will spent writing on your own to experiment with the skill or strategy, collaborating with peers, or conferencing with the teacher.
Taught by: Ms. Samantha Georgi
Length: 1 year
Grade level: 9
Coursework: Average
Prerequisites: None
Location: HS 408
Taught by: Ms. Samantha Georgi
Length: 1 year
Grade level: 9
Coursework: Average
Prerequisites: None
Location: HS 408
Scope and Sequence:
- Unit One: Narrative Writing. You will use narrative elements to create a story to accompany a piece of artwork. Using an interesting hook and techniques such as dialogue, imagery, anecdotes, and pacing, you will engage your readers and reflect on substantive ideas.
- Unit Two: Literary Analysis. You will read a novel of your choice and write a critical book review to be posted on Goodreads.com. You will determine central ideas or themes within texts and draw conclusions or comparisons about them, analyze how characters develop, and write strong thesis statements that are supported with relevant evidence from the text.
- Unit Three: Research. You will amend and critique a Wikipedia article, demonstrating your knowledge of research methods, credibility, and citing sources. In addition, you will master annotating, summarizing, and paraphrasing informational texts.
- Unit Four: Persuasive Writing. You will write a persuasive essay about a controversial issue affecting students today. You will research both sides of the issue, choose a side, present your claims and support them with evidence and explanation. To accomplish this, you must employ rhetorical strategies used for persuasion, and you must apply your research knowledge acquired in Unit 3.
Grading:
Grades are based on the assessment of standards and DRAGONS as they have been prescribed for this specific course. In this course, grades will be weighted as 5% DRAGONS (respect, responsibility, collaboration & communication), 10% Spot-Checks, 35% formative (in-class assignments, homework, small quizzes), and 50% summative (final tests and essays).
The following school-wide benchmark qualifiers are used, in addition to their corresponding letter grades, to summarize the assessment of benchmark performance in each course:
The following school-wide benchmark qualifiers are used, in addition to their corresponding letter grades, to summarize the assessment of benchmark performance in each course:
Spot-Check assignments will be graded as follows:
Syllabus: |
Class Rules & Policies: |