English 9 Honors: Is it For Me?
You have currently been placed in the English 9 Honors Program, but doing well in an 8th grade Honors
program does not always mean succeeding in the high school Honors program. Before you continue in
this class, let us take a moment to examine some of the standards and requirements of the Honors
program so that we can make decisions now that will affect the rest of your year in the most positive and
promising way. Below you will see an excerpt from the course handbook, which gives a general overview
of the Honors program in the Wappingers Central School District:
The high school English honors program is an extremely rigorous course of study, designed for students capable of superior thinking, reading
and writing skills. These students welcome the challenge and excitement of learning more complex and demanding material. Students are placed
in honors sections based on their academic achievement along with a teacher recommendation. Students are expected to maintain an 85 overall
average to remain in honors.
The profile of a true honors student is multi-dimensional. The student’s work ethic is demonstrated by timely, consistent, complete, and high
quality response to assignments along with consistent, active participation in classroom discussion and presentations.
Successful completion of the honors program in grades 9 and 10 prepares students for the Advanced Placement program, which serves as
English Honors in grades 11 and 12. Departmental approval is required for student registration in these courses.
The 9th grade English Honors teachers would like to now take this opportunity, to explain in further detail
just what the 9th grade Honors program entails. The ninth grade Honors program is a serious and
stringent program designed for students who consistently demonstrate outstanding writing and analytical
ability. It is for students who are ready and able to go beyond plot structure and character study to pursue
an in depth analysis of the universal themes of literature, as well as the author’s means of communicating
those themes through his/her particular style.
To dispel any misconceptions about what exactly this program entails, it is important to delineate exactly
what it is not. The Honors program is not an enrichment class, although it does involve enrichment
activities. The Honors program is not a class filled with group activities and projects, although it also
involves these elements as well. The Honors program is not simply a class for “good students” who
always do their homework, and thus earn good grades; but again, most Honors classes should be
comprised of such students.
Essential to the Honors program is a clear understanding of both the quantity and quality of the work
required of students, as well as an understanding of what characteristics an Honors student must possess
in order to succeed.
Students in Honors classes should be able and prepared to:
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Read independently—both assigned texts and works of their own choosing
Read quickly and with comprehension
Go beyond the literal meaning of a text to discover the deeper symbolic and/or metaphorical meanings
Do independent research and inquiry on literature studied in class
Actively and enthusiastically participate in class discussions
Communicate effectively in oral presentations to the class
Organize thoughts and ideas quickly and coherently
Write coherent essays with minimal mechanical errors
Take reading quizzes based on assigned reading—Prior to class discussion
Effectively revise their own writing
Identify literary techniques used by authors in both fiction and non-fiction works
Understand and eloquently explain the effect of an author’s writing style/technique
Complete independent textual analysis and clearly articulate their findings/ideas
Write effectively to achieve a specific tone, purpose, and meaning
Demonstrate a level of behavior and conduct that is expected in an Honors classroom
The time to decide whether or not Honors is where you belong is really not ten weeks into the school
year, although that is when we do formally recommend that students either stay or move to a Regents
class. The time to decide is NOW. If a student is both willing and able to perform up to the standards
delineated in this document, then Honors is where that student belongs. If a student is for any reason not
prepared to put forth the necessary effort, it would be in that student’s best interest to make a scheduling
change EARLY in the school year, so as to provide continuity of both learning and instruction.
We hope that you use this information to make wise decision about your first year in high school.
Ms. Kathie Mace
Course Requirements: English 9R/9H
The following information is excerpted from the Wappingers course handbook.
English 9 REGENTS
Code: E341 Full Year (9) (1 credit)
Prerequisite: Pass English 8
See English 9 Honors description
English 9 HONORS
Code: E361 Full Year (9) (1 credit)
Prerequisite: Completion of ELA 8 Honors with a final average of at least 85% and
recommendation of ELA 8 teacher.
Note: Honors classes generally incorporate more reading, writing and discussion and at a higher
level; use more challenging text books and other materials; and take a different final exam from
the Regents classes.
Areas of Study Include:
Course Concept: The Journey
Quotation: “Not every journey takes place on the road.”
Essential Question: How is one’s journey a metaphor for life?
Core Literature:
• The Giver
• Poe Collection
• The Miracle Worker or Monster
• The Odyssey
• Romeo and Juliet
• Epic of Gilgamesh (Honors)
• Beowulf (Honors)
Optional Literature:
• Grendel (Honors)
• The Pearl
• Speak
• The House on Mango Street
• Bless Me, Ultima
• The Outsiders
• The Canterbury Tales
• I am the Cheese
• The Martian Chronicles
• The Hero’s Trail
• Mythology and Folklore
• Various essays, poetry and short stories
• The Book Thief
Writing Skills/Qualities:
• Ideas
• Organization
• Voice
• Sentence Fluency
• Word Choice
• Conventions
Writing Tasks may include but are not limited to:
• Critical Lens
• Journal and journal responses
• Analytical Essay
• Persuasive Essay
• Personal Narrative
• Creative Writing
• Research
• Genre Essay
• Independent Reading Assignments
• Listening activities and exercises
• Oral Presentations
• Literary Terms and Devices
• Vocabulary
• Grammar
Grading:
Daily preparation/participation: 15%
Homework:
10%
Quizzes:
20%
Tests:
25%
Writing and Projects:
35%
Assessment:
A departmental final exam based on the content, concepts and themes in the course will be
administered in June. This final will count as 10% of the students overall grade. The completion
of a literacy portfolio will also be included in the student’s final exam grade. This portfolio of
student work will count as 10% of the overall grade.