Course Outline
ELA 9
The Course
Welcome to English Language Arts 9. This is a 10-month course. All students in grade 9 will write
the Provincial Achievement Exam.
Students become confident and competent users of all six language arts through many
opportunities to listen and speak, read and write and view and represent in a variety of combinations
and relevant contexts. All language arts are interrelated and interdependent; facility in one
strengthens and supports the other.
Alberta Learning Outcomes You Need to Meet
Students will listen, speak, read, write, view and represent to:
explore thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences
comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, print & other media texts
manage ideas and information
create oral, print, visual, and multimedia texts and enhance the clarity and artistry of
communication
 respect, support and collaborate with others
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Units of Study and Texts (subject to change at teacher’s discretion):
A. Twisted Tales
Multi-genre unit
B. Crime and Punishment Novel Study
C. Good and Evil
Modern Drama
D. Social Justice
Multi-genre
E. Film Analysis
Film study
F. Basic Skills
Writing skills
G. Poetry
Poetry reading/writing
skills
Sightlines 9, ResourceLines 9/10
And Then There Were None
Dracula
Various resources including the
novel Warriors Don’t Cry
Whale Rider, etc
Various sources, integrated in all
units
Various sources
Evaluation:
Final grades will be calculated as follows:
1. COURSE WORK
70%
Course work will be divided into the following four categories:
A. Informal Writing – 35%
 This may include reading comprehension quizzes, literary response journals, film
performance assessments, minor quizzes and other minor responses to texts
B. Formal Writing – 40%
 This mark may be a combination of major pieces of writing, including Personal and
Critical/Analytical response to text, literary response journals, unit exams, in-class
essays, and other major responses to texts
C. Representing – 10%
 This may include oral, written, and multi-media presentations, projects, collages,
visual essays, etc.
D. Mid-term exams – 15% of overall course work
The following assignments may be included during the course:
Personal Response (journals, personal essays)
Critical/Analytical Response (literature based essays)
Narrative Writing (short stories, narrative poems, anecdotes)
Functional Writing (business letters)
Poetry
Oral/Visual/Multimedia presentations
Unit Tests (including multiple choice and written answer)
Midterm Exams (reading and writing)
2. FINAL EXAM
30%
Part A: 15% - writing skills and course knowledge
Part B: 15% - reading skills
Expectations
1. Assignment completion:
Because assignment completion is critical to a student’s success in any given course, teachers at
Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School expect that each student completes every
assignment in a course. Students who do not complete assignments will be assigned consequences,
which may include lunch hour detentions, study hall, opportunity room suspensions or other
consequences deemed necessary by the teacher. During these consequences, the student will be
expected to complete the unfinished work. In conjunction with the student, teachers in the ELA
department will make every reasonable attempt to ensure assignment completion for each student.
Doing the work assigned seems like an obvious point. However, many students underestimate the
impact of doing each assignment. In almost every case, a student who fails ELA 9 is very capable,
but he chooses to skip assignments and therefore does not succeed in the class. Each assignment
that I give you is assigned for a specific reason. It will demonstrate your understanding and will
challenge you to think of the topic in a new way – this means that it will help you to achieve well on
the provincial exam.
2. Attendance and Punctuality:
Your grade is directly linked to your attendance. The fewer classes you miss, the better you will do
in this class. If you must miss a class due to illness, please be proactive in catching up with missed
work. You will find materials that you have missed in the “Pick-Up” folder near the front of the
room. Remember that even if you are sick for several days, classes go on without you. You must
expect to read ahead and keep current with class work on your own. Contact me or a classmate to
get work missed.
Your punctuality is very much expected and appreciated. Arriving to class late means that you miss
important material. In addition, you disrupt the learning environment for other students. Please
respect the other members of your class and arrive on time.
3. Participation:
Learning theory tells us that the more students discuss new material, the more they learn. Please
engage in the lessons. Talk about the literature and your understandings. While this seems like a
small request, your classroom discussions will make a profound difference to what you learn in this
course.
4. Respect:
In all of your behaviours, please exhibit respect for your classmates, teacher, classroom environment
and humanity. Behave in a way that demonstrates the kind and mature student you have become in
the past 9 years!
Please note:
 All students must adhere to the Honour Code/Plagiarism Policy (see Student Agenda).
 This is a CELL PHONE FREE ZONE! Any cell phone seen or heard in class will
be confiscated in accordance with administration’s strict policy.
Materials Needed
-binder
-looseleaf
-pens and pencils
-3 binder dividers
-dictionary and thesaurus
Welcome to High School
Beginning high school is exciting. Make your mark at Lindsay Thurber by joining a variety of groups
and clubs. Remember that there are many sports teams and other clubs that you can get involved in.
The more activities that you participate in, the richer your high school experience will be.
Welcome to Lindsay Thurber. I wish you a very happy and successful grade nine year!