Instructor: Ms. Lisa O’Rear
Room: B14
Email: lorear@lumpkin.k12.ga.us
Cell Phone: (706) 482-8201
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday & Thursday 7:20 to 7:50
*Please contact me via email or my cell phone. If you text or leave a voicemail, please leave a first and last name and contact number.
Course Objectives: By the end of Ninth Grade Literature and Composition students will compose effective literary analyses and researched essays, adhering to Modern Language Association (MLA) guidelines. They will be able to describe and explain the significance of a text’s structure, track the unfolding of complex characters and communicate advanced elements of plot. Students will argue effectively in speech and writing, employing the structure, evidence, and rhetoric necessary in the composition of effective persuasive texts. Ninth grade students will build strong and varied vocabularies. They will skillfully employ rhetoric and figurative language, purposefully construct tone and mood, and identify lapses in reason or ambiguities in texts. Students will recognize nuances of meaning imparted by modes of presentation, whether it is live drama, spoken word, digital media, film, or fine art. Students will develop confident familiarity reading foundational
American documents and western world literature throughout history. *LCHS adheres to the
Common Core Georgia Performance Standards posted at the following website.
<https://www.georgiastandards.org/Common-Core/>
Course Grading
To compute the semester grade, school policy mandates that teachers use the following formula.
(40% of 1 st nine weeks grade) + (40% of 2 nd nine weeks grade) + (20% of EOC) = Semester
Grade
Semester Assessments
School policy mandates the following assessment percentages.
Formative
Summative
50%
50%
Grade Scale
90-100 Excellent (A) 80-89 Good (B) 70-79 (C) 69-Below Failing (F)
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Supplies: Students must have supplies in class daily.
1.
Flash drive for digital storage
2.
1 ½ inch 3-ring binder with dividers (vocabulary, writing, literature)
3.
Loose leaf notebook paper
4.
Pens, blue or black ink only
5.
#2 Pencils
Assigned Reading: *All texts will be provided. *Students must bring the text we are currently reading to school daily.
Language of Literature 9 (textbook), Martian Chronicles (novel), and related informational texts.
Course Expectations:
*Be on time and prepared with appropriate class tools every day.
Late Work: I will accept SOME late work for 70% of the original grade WITHIN
EACH QUARTER. See me if you wish to make up work.
Attendance: Students have 48 hours to turn in a note after an absence to have their agenda book stamped excused absence. If the absence is excused, students may show the stamped agenda book to the teacher to receive make-up work BEFORE school. To receive full credit a student must schedule make-up tests and make up work within 5 days of an absence.
Agenda Books: To leave class a student must have his/ her personal agenda book, as mandated by the administration. If a student loses his/ her agenda book, he/ she may purchase another book in the Media Center.
Academic Integrity: Honesty is a matter of personal honor and integrity and is a key component for success both in school and in life. Students are honor-bound to refrain from cheating or plagiarizing in any form.
Absolutely no cell phones or MP3 players will be allowed in class. If I see them,
I will take them, call the parent, and assign a detention. For the second offense,
I will send a discipline referral to the office.
Consequences for Failing to Follow Course Expectations:
1 st offense—Teacher will warn the student to discontinue disruptive behavior
2 nd offense—Teacher will contact the parent and assign detention
3 rd offense—Teacher will send discipline referral to the administration
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NOTE: This schedule may change according to inclement weather, student progress, or other unexpected events.
Check for additional assignments/revised due dates listed on the class calendar that you may access on my webpage.
*Indicates recurring activity
**Indicates important date
THEMATIC UNITS/ DATES
Unit 1: Overcoming Obstacles
August 6-August 22
LITERARY/INFORMATIONAL
TEXT
8/6 Read/Listen (song) “Lose
Yourself” MNM
8/7 (poem) “We Real Cool” by
ACTIVITIES/ASSESSMENTS
**Vocabulary practice-daily (F) and tests-weekly **(S)
*Overcoming Obstacles Organizer (F)
Unit 2: Life Lessons
August 25-September 12
9/1 Holiday!
Gwendolyn Brooks (handout)
(video-Favorite Poem Project)
/(informational article) “Carrier
Pigeons”(handout)
8/8 (magazine article)“Losing
Part of My Leg Doesn’t Change
Who I am” by Cristina Goyanes
8/11 (personal essay) “Darkness at Noon” by Harold Krents
8/12 (short stories) “The Secret
Life of Walter Mitty” by James
Thurber (handout)
8/13 (poem) “The Little Polish
Boy”
8/14-15 (speech) “I Have a
Dream by Martin Luther King Jr.
(LL439)
8/25-26 (Short Story) “The
Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst
(LL592)
8/26 (Poetry) “Woman with
Flower” by Naomi Long Madgett
(LL604)
8/6 Preview syllabus/
Journal 1 My Goal(s) (F)
8/13 Journal 2 Obstacles I Must
Overcome (F)
8/18-21 Analytical paragraph format practice (F)
*8/21 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: After reading/analyzing Unit 1 texts, in your opinion, how do people overcome obstacles? ALSO…What keeps some people from overcoming obstacles? (F)
**8/22 Unit 1 Assessment (S)—Includes paragraph assessment
*Vocabulary practice-daily (F) and testsweekly (S)
*8/25 Life Lessons Organizer
*8/26 Daily log/summary of Wave scenes
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Unit 3: Persuasion/Research
September 15-October 24
10/9-10 Holiday!
Unit 4: Civilization vs. Savagery
October 16-November 7
8/ 26*(movie) The Wave—Begin viewing brief scenes
8/27 “American History” by
Judith Ortiz Cofer (LL293)
8/28 (poem) “Thumbprint” by
Eve Marriam (handout)
8/29 “Through the Tunnel” by
Doris Lessin (LL373)
9/2 (Personal Essay) Memorial
Day Camping Trip—
9/3 (Memoir) “from Black
Boy”(LL654)
9/4 (poem) “The Poison Tree” by
William Blake (LL474)
9/15 Persuasive Essay Model—
Language of Literature, 9 pp.
508-509
9/2 Journal #3
**9/12 Autobiographical Essay—Laws of Life (S)
Martian Chronicles (MC)
Reading Schedule:
10/16 pp. 1-16
10/17 pp. 16-32
10/20 pp. 32-48
10/21 pp. 48-72
10/22 pp. 72-89
10/23 pp. 89-103
*Persuasive Essay/Research Project
Literary Terms Practice (F)
9/15 Notes/Outline of Student Essay
Model (F)
9/16-19 Persuasive Essay Draft (F)
**9/22 Persuasive Essay Final Draft (S)
**9/23-10/15 Prepare Researched
Project (S)
**10/8 HS 9thGrLit Formative
Assessment 1 Fall 2014-2015
**10/16-20 Student groups present
Researched Projects (S)
*Vocabulary practice-daily (F) and testsweekly **(S)
*Reading Pop Quizzes (F)
*Reader’s Journal—Consider essay questions (F) due 11/7
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Unit 5: Epic Heroes
November 10-21
11/24-28 Thanksgiving
Holiday!
Unit 6: Fate Versus Free Will
December 1-19
12/19 *Half-Day! Leave after
3 rd Block 
10/24 pp. 103-118
10/27 pp. 119-132
10/28 pp. 132-145
10/29 pp. 145-166
10/30 pp.166-180
The Odyssey Reading Schedule:
11/10-11 Books 1 and 9
11/12 Book 10
11/13 Book 12
11/14 Book 21
11/17 Books 22-23
(Epic Poem) The Odyssey by
Homer
“Ithaka” by C. P. Cavafy (LL971)
“Penelope” by Dorothy Parker
(LL970)
(Drama) Romeo and Juliet (R&J) by William Shakespeare
Reading Schedule
12/2-3 Act I (F)
12/4-5 Act II (F)
12/8-9 Act III (F)
12/10-11 Act IV (F)
12/12-17 Act V (F) Begin day before EOC and finish day
after.
Articles/Books About R&J
Historical Context
**10/30-11/7 MC Analytical Essay (S)
**Vocabulary practice-daily (F) and tests-weekly **(S)
11/10 Background and Terms (F)
11/18 Odyssey Background and Terms
Test (50% of S unit grade)
11/18-21 Epic Hero Story Presentation
(50% of S unit grade)
NOTE: Test and Presentation count as one summative grade.
**12/1 HS 9thGrLit Formative
Assessment 2 Fall 2014-2015
12/1 Background and Literary Terms
(F)
**12/11-12 EOC Social Studies/Science
**12/15-16 EOC English/Math
R&J Reading Quiz Schedule
11/21 Act I (F)
12/2 Act II (F)
12/9 Act III (F)
12/11 Act IV (F)
12/13 Act V (F)
*12/13 Renaissance, R & J, and
Shakespeare Annotated Bibliography
(F)
12/18 Renaissance Background Quiz (S)
12/18 3 rd and 4 th Blocks Romeo and
Juliet Quotes Test (S)
12/19 1 st and 2 nd Block Romeo and
Juliet Quotes Test (S)
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Media Center Responsibility
I understand that I must keep my Media Center account in good standing so that I may borrow books/textbooks.
Textbooks
If I lose novels or textbooks assigned to me, I understand that I must pay for the books by the end of the semester. Any charges remaining on my account when I reach my senior year will result in my not participating in the graduation ceremony.
I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS SYLLABUS
PARENT PRINTED NAME ________________________________SIGNATURE_____________________________
STUDENT PRINTED NAME_______________________________SIGNATURE_____________________________
PARENTS AND STUDENTS: Please review Power School weekly to be aware of your child’s/your own progress. Access Power School by visiting the LCHS website where you will find login instructions under the green Power School symbol. Please direct your child to check Power School often. If they cannot access Power School, they should see me, or a counselor for help.
Additionally, visit my webpage to access the CALENDAR of due dates and FILE MANAGER for helpful class handouts.
to earn one formative grade.
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