English 9 Tentative Syllabus
First Quarter -
2015-16
The Answer to any Either/Or Question is “Yes”
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
Heaven and Hell - 1st Expository Writing Pieces
“Mars is Heaven”
A Brief History of the Dead Chapters 1 & 2*
Persepolis
-
Mark Haddon
-
Ray Bradbury
Kevin Brockmeier
Marjane Satrapi
*Outside Reading – Utopia/Dystopia
Second Quarter -
Do Parents Matter?
Introduction to Poetry & Tour Guide Presentation
“Do Parents Matter”
Selected stories from Emperor of the Air
Outside Reading -
–
–
Malcolm Gladwell
Ethan Canin
Long Ago & Far Away
Third Quarter - Excellence, Equality, Fate and Free Will
Macbeth
Selected Stories from
No One Writes to the Colonel
The Incredibles
“Harrison Bergeron”
Outside Reading Project
-
-
William Shakespeare
-
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Pixar/Brad Bird
Kurt Vonnegut
Following an author, genre, subject or theme
Fourth Quarter - Dealing with Destiny: Reading and Writing Memoirs
“Good and Gooder” Presentation
Slightly Less than 13 Ways of Looking at a Poem - Project
The Other Wes Moore
The Glass Castle
Memoir Assignment – Final Paper
-
Wes Moore
Jeannette Walls
Averages in this class will be determined by a combination of HARD and SOFT grades.
“Hard” grades will be given to papers, tests, projects and quizzes.
Homework and class activities are considered “soft” assignments” and will receive full credit if they
demonstrate appropriate effort and understanding. Soft grades will account for 33% of the first
marking period grade, and a bit less each successive quarter (25% in the second marking period, 20%
in the third, and 15%) in the fourth, so it is imperative to come to class prepared!
Homework and Paper Policy
A Few Rules & Reminders about:
HOMEWORK
 Homework is due at the beginning of class. It must be present and complete to receive full
credit.
 Missing or incomplete homework can be submitted by the beginning of the next class for ½
credit.
 Homework will not be considered or awarded credit beyond this point.
PAPERS AND PROJECTS
 Papers will suffer a 5% deduction each day during the first week that they are overdue.
 After one week, no late paper will receive a grade above 65%.
 After two weeks, no late paper will receive a grade above 50%.
 After four weeks, late papers or projects will not be accepted and will receive no credit.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR GRADES ON THE PORTAL
 Numbers indicate your score on an assignment.
 An “X” indicates that I have received but not yet graded and assignment; a “0” means that I
have not yet received the assignment.
 If you have questions about your grades as they appear on the portal, please see me with them
before or after school or during lunch.
Email
 Students who are absent on a day that an assignment is due should email work directly to me
at blumj@hohschools.org. That being said, students should not assume that I have received
their homework unless they receive an email confirmation from me. Until you get this
confirmation saying that I have received and can open and read your work, please assume
that I have not gotten anything from you.
Absences
 Being absent from class does not excuse you from assignments that were due, or that were
assigned, on the day(s) you were absent. It is your responsibility to complete assignments that
were given during your absence, and to submit them as soon as you return to class. I will
make every effort to post assignments on school wires, but it’s a good idea to find one or two
students in the class you would be comfortable contacting about missing work. If this fails,
simply email me to find out what you have missed and what is due next class.
Rewrite Policy


Major Papers may be re-written for a total of half the points they did not earn on the initial
draft – For example, a paper that earns an “85” may earn a maximum of 8 points for a grade
of “93.”
Rewrites will only be considered if a student:
o Completes a rewrite form – see below.
o Schedules a meeting with me within two weeks of getting the paper back.
o Making the changes discussed in this meeting to the original draft.
o Submitting both the re-write and the original, graded draft of the paper.
J Blum
English 9
Request for Rewrite
Date of Conference: ____________
Writer: ______________________________________
Assignment: ______________________
Revision Due Date: _____________________
Approved: ___________________________
Response to Comments on Original Paper and Plans for the Next Draft:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Notes from the Conference:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________