English 9 Honors Syllabus 2015~2016
Mrs. Springer
262-789-6354 (need to leave a message)
kristine.springer@nbexcellence.org (preferred)
Course Description
English 9 Honors is for students who are especially committed to challenging their reading and writing skills.
The honors level offers the English 9 curriculum (short, novel, poetry, drama, epic poetry, and literary
nonfiction) with an increased level of analysis and emphasis on style, as well as a significant expectation of
independent reading. Students who register or this course are assumed to be proficient or advanced writers
and readers, or will be able to develop those skills, and they are asked to possess a willingness to work through
challenging material.
Course Learning Targets
The learning targets for English 9 Honors are taken from the Common Core State Standards, a uniform set of
national standards adopted by Wisconsin. English 9 Honors will focus on the following learning targets:
Reading Literature & Informational Texts – Students will be able to:
 Cite strong and thorough evidence to support analysis of text
 Determine a theme of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of a text
 Determine the central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text
 Analyze complex character development and interaction within the text
 Analyze how an author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events
 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text and order events within it create
such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise
 Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific way
 Draw evidence from literary or informational text to support analysis, reflection, and research
 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any
fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence
 Analyze seminal U.S. documents of historical and literary significance
 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and
connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of several word choices on meaning and tone
 Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums
Writing – Students will be able to:
 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and
accurately through the selection, organization, and analysis of content
 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, wellchosen details, and well-structured event sequences
 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate
to task, purpose, and audience
 Develop and strengthen writing as needed by working through the writing process
 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats, evaluating the
credibility and accuracy of each source
 Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital source, using advanced
searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate
information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a
standard form of citation
 Make strategic use of digital media in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning,
and evidence to add interest
 Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts (writing,
reading, and speaking)
Vocabulary – Students will be able to:
 Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases using context,
knowledge of patterns, and reference materials
 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meaning
 Acquire and use accurately general academic words and phrases, sufficient for reading, writing,
speaking, and listening at the college and career readiness level; demonstrate independence in
gathering vocabulary knowledge
Speaking – Students will be able to:
 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with diverse partners on
topics, texts, and issues building on one others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively
Course/Unit Outline
*Greek & Latin Vocabulary will be studied throughout all units
Unit 1: Literary Elements and the Short Story
Primary text: Various short stories
Written Assessments: Narrative & literary analysis
Unit 2: The Novel - Honor
Primary text: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Nonfiction articles to develop historical and current context for primary text
Written Assessment: Theme Analysis
Unit 3: Literary Nonfiction – Reflection (the Memoir, the Essay, and the Speech)
Primary Text: Reading groups based upon the following possible selections:
 Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand
 I am Malala by Christina Lamb and Malala Yousafzai
 In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
 First They Killed my Father by Loung Ung
 Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
 Black Boy by Richard Wright
Various nonfiction essays and speeches
Written Assessment: On-Demand Argument Writing
Unit 4: Poetry - Beauty
Primary text: Various poems
Written Assessment: Research
Unit 5: Drama - Fate
Primary text: Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare
Possible Text: Antigone by Sophocles
Written Assessment: Compare/Contrast
Unit 6: Epic Poetry - Heroism
Primary text: Selections from The Odyssey by Homer
Written Assessment: In-class essay
Grammar: English 9 Honors students will focus on the following grammar concepts:
Sentence Variety:
 Be able to identify and write simple, compound, complex and compound/complex sentences as directed
Grammar, Usage, Mechanics:
 Commas (compound sentences, lists, introductory elements, non-essential elements)
 Colons (list, quotation)
 Semicolons (compound sentence, lists)
 Parallel Structure
Parts of Speech:
 Be able to identify and write
o Phrases (noun, verb, participial, prepositional)
o Clauses (independent, dependent, noun)
Textbook/Resource materials:
Literature – Grade 9 published by Holt McDougal
Suggested Materials and Supplies:
*The majority of material will be available through Haiku Learning, but students may also keep a binder and
loose leaf paper or notebook to organize their information.
 Folder and notebook
 Pencil, and blue or black pens
 Five different colored highlighters
 Post-it notes
 Assignment notebook
Expectations
All work is expected on time, and your life will be much easier if you keep a planner and meet your deadlines.
You must submit papers in print. Mrs. Springer will not print your papers for you. Please use the library to
print them if you do not have access to a printer at home.
Push yourselves. Undertaking a challenge is always worth the effort required!
Be kind to yourself and support one another. Always remember that you will make mistakes as you learn new
material. That’s OK. You will learn and grow from those mistakes.
I am always available to help you, to conference with you, and to answer questions. I’m available
either in room 242 before or after school, during Flex time, or during my prep periods (see schedule below).
Please make an appointment prior to coming to see me in case I have a meeting or there are other students who
need assistance.
Late Work
All late work must be completed by one week after a unit ends. Late work for a unit will not be accepted after
we have worked on a new unit for more than one week.
Grading
You will be evaluated throughout the year on your progress towards mastering the learning targets identified
for this course. You will have many opportunities to practice skills as you work towards mastery. You will
receive regular, meaningful feedback on the assignments you do, feedback that should help you grow as a
student.
All assignments you do will reflect your learning towards the targets and will fall under the four major
categories of English 9 – reading, writing, vocabulary, and grammar.
Quarter grades will be broken into the following learning categories:
Reading (Comprehension) – 45%
Writing – 45%
Vocabulary and Grammar Quizzes - 10%
Each quarter is worth 50% of the semester grade.
There is no final exam in this class.
Students and parents/guardians should check Infinite Campus regularly for grade updates and contact me with
any questions or concerns.
Grading Scale:
A+ 97-100
A 93-96
A- 90-92
B+ 87-89
B 83-86
B- 80-82
C+ 77-79
C 73-76
C- 70-72
D+ 67-69
D 63-66
D- 60-62
This class will follow all School District of New Berlin guidelines regarding the following:
grading scale, late work, absences/tardiness, and extra credit.
Essays may be rewritten with additional conferencing and revision. The new & improved grade will replace the
original grade.
Academic achievement is reported separately from behavior.
As a general rule, extra credit is not available in this course.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is academic dishonesty and is not acceptable in any form whether it’s verbatim copying an essay
from a web site or “borrowing” a friend’s homework and copying the answers onto a worksheet. Incidents of
plagiarism or cheating of any sort will be dealt with seriously; please see the Eisenhower Student Handbook for
a detailed explanation of the definition, examples, and consequences for plagiarism.
Group work: Students will be asked to participate in a variety of small group discussions and activities
throughout the year. Most of the time, group work will not be assigned a grade. If group work will be graded,
students will be allowed to select their own work partners and there will be individual points assigned to
elements of the group work. In other words, students will be responsible for their own performance within the
group activity and will receive an individual grade.
Absences: Students are responsible for seeing Mrs. Springer as soon as possible before or after an absence in
order to make arrangements to make up any missing work or catch up on class content you missed while you
were away.
More Useful Information to Help You in English 9 Honors
Steps for Completing a Redo for a Written Assignment:
1. Make changes to your assignment using the suggestions provided by Mrs. Springer on your assignment.
2. Have an adult aside from Mrs. Springer revise your updated assignment.
*You must get a signature on your assignment from whomever looks it over.
3. Make additional suggested changes.
4. Print out a new final copy of your assignment, and highlight all changes you made (from both edits).
5. Turn in the original assignment with the rubric, all of your drafts, and your final (highlighted) copy.
*A redo written assignment will not be accepted unless ALL of the above steps are completed by the redo
due date.
Mrs. Springer’s Schedule
7:30-8:30 – A
8:34-9:34 – B
9:38-10:38- C
10:38 – 11:52
11:52-12:52 – D
12:56-1:56 – E
2:00-3:00 - F
Dropped
Classes
Red
English 11 (rotating)
APLAC - B
English 9H - C
FLEX/LUNCH
Prep (rotating)
English 9H– E
APLAC – F
APLAC – A
Prep
Orange
APLAC – A
English 11 (rotating)
English 9H - C
FLEX/LUNCH
Prep
Prep (rotating)
APLAC – F
APLAC – B
English 9H - E
Yellow
APLAC – A
APLAC – B
English 11 (rotating)
FLEX/LUNCH
Prep
English 9H– E
Prep (rotating)
English 9 H – C
APLAC – F
Green
APLAC - A
APLAC - B
English 9H - C
FLEX/LUNCH
Prep
English 9H– E
APLAC – F
English 11 – A
Prep