English Department Syllabus – LA 9 Honors FRESHMAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS HONORS LEVEL (LA9H) 1 CREDIT – FRESHMAN ENGLISH REQUIRED 9 th GRADE HONORS FRESHMAN ENGLISH TEXTS A. Kinsella, Kate, et al. Prentice Hall Literature: Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes: Gold Level. Glenview, Illinois: Pearson Education, Inc., 2002. B. Craig, Gail, et al. English Workshop: Third Course. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1995. C. Sebranek, Patrick, Verne Meyer, and Dave Kemper. INC: A Student Handbook for Writing and Learning. Wilmington, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. PREREQUISITES Students must have passed 8 th Chicago: Writers grade language arts. COURSE DESCRIPTION Goals of literature for the HONORS LEVEL of FRESHMAN ENGLISH GRAMMAR, COMPOSITION, & LITERATURE include having the student evaluate literature, rela te and empathize to the works read, and develop a taste for qua lity literature. Major goals for composition and grammar include recognition and application of the eight parts of speech, phra ses and clauses, punctuation, grammar rules, and sentence stru cture. Students will also be expected to use these skills to create and to evaluate original compositions. Discussion and analyzation of each work read is designed to help the student evaluate what constitu tes good literature. Vocabulary is taught as a composition and communication tool. Transfer of grammar knowledge to communication skills is stressed in paragraph constructi on. Paragraph construction techniques are: narration, descri ption, and exposition. Students will be expected to create three paragraph themes. In addition the students are introduced to the library facilities. Research tools and resources are studied, and students are given “exploration assignments” to help acquaint them with the library. Approximately eight book reports are required during the year. VI. COURSE CONTENT FIRST SEMESTER A. THEME: SPINE TINGLERS 1. Connell – “The Most Dangerous Game” Mood, suspense, conflict Pronouns & Antecedents 2. Thayer – “Casey at the Bat” (optional) Possessive Nouns 3. Poe – “The Cask of Amontillado” Mood Proper & Common Nouns 4. Doyle – “The Red-headed League” 5. De la Mare – “The Listeners” (optional) Types of Adjectives Compositions B. THEME: CHALLENGES AND CHOICES 1. Bradbury – “The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind” Predicting and cause and effect Compound Verbs 2. King – “I Have a Dream” 3. Frost – “The Road Not Taken” Figurative language and questioning skills Regular Verbs 4. Piercy – “To be of use” Regular Verbs 5. Angelou – “New Directions” Regular Verbs 6. Hamilton – “Perseus” Active & Passive Verbs 7. Komunyakaa – “Slam, Dunk, & Hook” (optional) Irregular Verbs 8. Morrison – “The Spearthrower” (optional) Irregular Verbs 9. Nye – “Shoulders” (optional) Irregular Verbs C. THEME: MOMENTS OF DISCOVERY 1. Lopez – “Children of the Woods” (optional) Prepositions 2. Tan – “Rules of the Game” (optional) Prepositional Phrases 5. Rylant – “Checkouts” Prepositional Phrases as Modifiers 6. Stafford – “Fifteen” Prepositional Phrases as Modifiers 7. Dunbar – “Sympathy” Prepositions or Adverbs 8. Angelou – “Caged Bird” Prepositions or Adverbs 9. Dickinson – “We never know how high we are” (optional) Prepositions or Adverbs 10. Hunter-Gault – “from In My Place” (optional) Prepositions or Adverbs 11. Saki – “The Interlopers” (optional) Conjunctions 14. Cardiff – “Combing” (optional) Parenthetical Expressions 15. Walker – “Women” (optional) Parenthetical Expressions 16. Cummings – “maggie and milly and molly and may” Parenthetical Expressions 17. Szymborska – “Astonishment” (optional) Parenthetical Expressions D. THEME: THE LIGHTER SIDE 1. Thurber – “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” Irony 2. Chekhov – “The Inspector-General” Compound Subjects and Predicates 3. Cosby – “Go Deep to the Sewer” Direct Object 4. Helfer– “Fly Away” (optional) Direct Object 5. Soto – “The Talk” (optional) Indirect Object 6. Volk – “An Entomological Study of Apartment 4A” (optional) Indirect Object 7. Courlander & Herzog – “Talk” (optional) Predicate Nominative 8. Jackson – “One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts” Direct Object or Object of Preposition 9. Carroll – “Jabberwocky” E. THEME: VISIONS OF THE FUTURE 1. Gates – “from The Road Ahead” Main & Subordinate Clauses 2. Asimov – “The Machine That Won the War” Adverb & Noun Clauses 3. Frost – “Fire & Ice” Adjective Clauses 4. Teasdale – “There Will Come Soft Rains” (War Time) Adjective Clauses 5. Muir – “The Horses” (optional) Adjective Clauses 6. Brautigan – “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace” (optional) Adjective Clauses 7. Clarke – “If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth . . .” (optional) Compound & Complex Sentences 8. Woolley – “To The Residents of A.D. 2029” (optional) Compound & Complex Sentences 9. O. Henry – “Gift of the Magi” Adverb Phrases F. NOVEL 1. Dickens – Great Expectations Writing Project 2. Dumas – The Count of Monte Cristo Writing Project G. GENRE: THE EPIC 1. Homer -- Odyssey Writing Project SECOND SEMESTER H. GENRE: SHORT STORIES 1. Aiken – “Sonata for Harp and Bicycle” Participial & Gerund Phrases 2. Hurst – “The Scarlet Ibis” Participial & Gerund Phrases 3. Silko – “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” Prepositional & Infinitive Phrases 4. Twain – “The Invalid’s Story” Prepositional & Infinitive Phrases 5. de Maupassant – “The Necklace” Appositive Phrases 6. Rivera – “The Harvest” (optional) Appositive Phrases Advanced Compositions I. GENRE: NONFICTION 1. Ride – “Single Room, Earth View” (optional) Subject-Verb Agreement 2. Singer – “The Washerwoman” Consistency of Verb Tense 3. Hansberry – “On Summer” (optional) Consistency of Verb Tense 4. Anaya – “A Celebration of Grandfathers” (optional) Consistency of Verb Tense 5.Johnson - “from A White House Diary” Subject-verb Agreement with Confusing Subjects 6. McPhee – “Arthur Ashe Remembered” Subject-verb Agreement with Confusing Subjects 7. Didion – “Georgia O’Keeffe” Subject-verb Agreement with Confusing Subjects J. GENRE: DRAMA 1. Act I of ROMEO & JULIET Pronoun Case in Elliptical Clauses 2. Act II of ROMEO & JULIET Possessive Case of Personal Pronouns 3. Act III of ROMEO & JULIET Who & Whom 4. Act IV of ROMEO & JULIET Degrees of Comparison 5. Act V of ROMEO & JULIET Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns Writing Project/Research Report K. GENRE: POETRY 1. Wordsworth – “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” Semicolons and Colons 2. Hughes – “Dream Deferred” Dashes & Figurative Language 3. Hughes – “Dreams” Dashes & Figurative Language 4. Tennyson – “The Eagle” Dashes & Figurative Language 5. Dickinson – “ Hope” Dashes & Figurative Language 6. Kinnell – “Blackberry Eating” Ellipsis Points & Imagery 7. Walker – “Memory” Ellipsis Points & Imagery 8. Rossetti – “Uphill” End Punctuation & Figures of Speech 9. Myers – “Summer” End Punctuation & Figures of Speech 10. Poe – “The Raven” Quotation Marks 11. Three Haiku Poetry Project VII. COURSE FORMAT The following instructional strategies may be used in the teaching of this course: lecture, mini-lecture, small-group collaboration, discussion, workshop, problem-based research, project-based learning, technology-based learning VIII. COURSE EXPECTATIONS Students will be expected to complete all reading, writing, grammar, and speaking assignments and fulfill all tasks for daily homework. All will be expected to contribute to discussions and inclass activities as well as individual and group presentations. In honors classes the discussions, compositions, and assessments will include higher level thinking such as: analysis, application, comparison and contrast, classification, synthesis, justification, and evaluation. Approximately eight book reports are required. Some cooperative learning experiences, individual projects, vocabulary study, and research work will also be expected. IX. GRADES Final course grades may include the following forms of assessment: daily work, class participation, quizzes, exams, projects, essays/compositions, oral presentations, technologybased presentations, portfolios, semester final exams, and alternative assessments as determined by individual instructors. X. COURSE OBJECTIVES A. Literature 1. The student will be able to recognize and define the elements of a fictional story. a. The student will be able to recognize and define the plot structure. (1) The student will be able to recognize and define exposition. (2) The student will be able to recognize and define rising action. (3) The student will be able to recognize and define climax. (4) The student will be able to recognize and define falling action. (5) The student will be able to recognize and define denouement. b. The student will be able to recognize and define theme. c. The student will be able to recognize and define setting. d. The student will be able to recognize and define characterization techniques. e. The student will be able to recognize and define point of view. f. The student will be able to recognize and define foreshadowing. g. The student will be able to recognize and define irony. h. The student will be able to recognize and define symbolism. i. The student will be able to recognize and define mood/tone. j. The student will be able to recognize and define conflict. k. The student will be able to recognize and define static and dynamic characters and flat and round characters. l. The student will be able to recognize and define jargon. m. The student will be able to recognize and define allusion. n. The student will be able to recognize and define satire. 2. The student will be able to trace the development of a character in a novel. 3. The student will be able to distinguish the five parts of the plot of a short story not discussed in class. 4. The student will be able to relate an aspect of a short story or a novel read in class to his own life. 5. The student will be able to evaluate a story in terms of character motivation. 6. The student will be able to compare characters from two different fictional works. 7. The student will be able to specify how the events of an author’s life influenced his writing. 8. The student will be able to compare a character of a class novel to a character in another novel. 9. The student will be able to assess how an author’s theme applies to today’s society. 10. The student will be able to recognize figurative language. 11. The student will be able to construct sentences using figurative language. 12. The student will be able to recognize poetic devices. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. The student will be able to recognize alliteration. The student will be able to recognize assonance. The student will be able to recognize rhyme. The student will be able to recognize rhythm. The student will be able to recognize meter. The student will be able to recognize stanza. The student will be able to recognize imagery. The student will be able to recognize refrain. i. The student will be able to recognize onomatopoeia. j. The student will be able to recognize parallelism. k. The student will be able to recognize free verse. 13. The student will be able to recognize different kinds of poems. a. The student will be able to recognize a sonnet. b. The student will be able to recognize narrative poem. (1) The student will be able to recognize a literary ballad. (2) The student will be able to recognize a folk ballad. c. The student will be able to recognize a dramatic poem. 14. The student will be able to identify poetic devices given by the teacher. 15. The student will be able to paraphrase a poem given by the teacher. 16. The student will be able to analyze and compare two poems. 17. The student will be able to interpret the tone of a poem. 18. The student will be able to identify and define dramatic terms. a. The student will be able to identify and define exposition. b. The student will be able to identify and define rising action. c. The student will be able to identify and define climax. d. The student will be able to identify and define falling action. e. The student will be able to identify and define denouement. f. The student will be able to identify and define prologue. g. The student will be able to identify and define soliloquy. 19. The student will be able to trace character development in a drama. 20. The student will investigate some aspect of life in a playwright’s time. 21. The student will be able to analyze a play using dramatic elements. B. Grammar 1. The student will be able to identify the noun. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. The student will be able to identify common nouns. The student will be able to identify proper nouns. The student will be able to identify collective nouns. The student will be able to identify subjects. The student will be able to identify direct objects. The student will be able to identify indirect objects. The student will be able to identify objects of a preposition. h. The student will be able to identify appositives. i. The student will be able to identify direct address. j. The student will be able to identify predicate nouns. k. The student will be able to identify singular nouns. l. The student will be able to identify plural nouns. m. The student will be able to identify possessive nouns. 2. The student will be able to recognize the pronoun. 3. The student will be able to identify an adjective. a. The student will be able to identify a predicate adjective. b. The student will be able to identify a direct adjective. c. The student will be able to identify pronominal adjective. 4. The student will be able to recognize the verb. a. The student will be able to recognize linking verbs. b. The student will be able to recognize action verbs. c. The student will be able to recognize helping verbs. 5. The student will be able to explain the function of linking verbs. 6. The student will be able to recognize the adverb in a sentence. 7. The student will be able to recognize the preposition in sentence. 8. The student will be able to recognize the conjunction in a sentence. 9. The student will be able to identify and use coordinate conjunctions correctly in sentences. 10. The student will be able to identify subordinate conjunctions. 11. The student will be able to recognize the interjection in a sentence. 12. The student will be able to identify the parts of a sentence. a. The student will be able to identify subjects. b. The student will be able to identify predicates. c. The student will be able to identify complements. (1) The student will be able to identify predicate nominatives. (2) The student will be able to identify predicate adjectives. (3) The student will be able to identify direct objects. (4) The student will be able to identify indirect objects. d. The student will be able to identify the phrase. (1) The student will be able to identify prepositional phrases. (2) The student will be able to identify appositive phrases. (3) The student will be able to identify participial phrases. (4) The student will be able to identify infinitive phrases. e. The student will be able to identify the clause. (1) The student will be able to identify main clause. (2) The student will be able to identify subordinate clauses. (a) The student will be able to identify adjective clauses. (b) The student will be able to identify adverb clauses. (c) The student will be able to identify noun clauses. 13. The student will be able to create his own sentences using complements, phrases, and clauses. 14. The student will be able to demonstrate correct usage of subject/verb agreement. 15. The student will be able to demonstrate correct usage of pronoun/antecedent agreement. 16. The student will be able to demonstrate adjective/adverb usage. C. Mechanics 1. The student will be able to use punctuation correctly. a. b. c. d. e. f. The student will be able to use commas correctly. The student will be able to use semicolons correctly. The student will be able to use end punctuation correctly. The student will be able to use apostrophes correctly. The student will be able to use quotation marks correctly. The student will be able to use italics and underlining correctly. 2. The student will be able to write the applicable comma rules. 3. The student will be able to capitalize correctly. D. Composition 1. First Semester a. The student will be able to write using complete sentences. b. The student will be able to write a thesis statement. c. The student will be able to write a unified paragraph of 100 –150 words when given a topic sentence. d. The student will use transitional devices in paragraphs. e. The student will be able to construct a topic sentence for a paragraph. f. The student will be able to write one unified descriptive paragraph using figurative language. g. The student will be able to write one unified narrative paragraph. h. The student will be able to complete a research unit as stipulated by the teacher. i. The student will be able to complete four book reports as stipulated by the teacher. 2. Second Semester a. The student will be able to write using complete sentences. b. The student will be able to write a thesis statement. c. The student will be able to write a unified paragraph of 100 – 150 words when given a topic sentence. d. The student will use transitional devices in paragraphs. e. The student will be able to construct a topic sentence for a paragraph. f. The student will be able to transfer the concept of a topic sentence to a thesis statement in a five-paragraph expository theme. g. The student will evaluate a paragraph in terms of unity, sentence variety, logical order, and coherence. h. The student will be able to write a five-paragraph expository theme. i. The student will be able to write a short research report as stipulated by the teacher. j. The student will be able to complete four book reports as stipulated by the teacher. E. Research Skills 1. The student will be able to use computerized card catalog. 2. The student will utilize the Dewey Decimal system to find a book in the library. 3. The student will be able to use the on-line data base. 4. The student will be able to use a special reference book.
© Copyright 2026 Paperzz