PETERS TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT
CORE BODY OF KNOWLEDGE (CBK)
ENGLISH ACADEMIC
GRADE 9
For each of the sections that follow, students may be required to understand, apply, analyze,
evaluate or create the particular concepts being taught.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course continues the sequential study of skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening.
Students will study the forms, elements, and devices of the novel, drama, short story, and poetry.
Independent reading and analysis will be a focus of study throughout the course. Library skills
and research, reading comprehension and analysis skills and strategies, and writing skills are also
integral parts of the course. Students will engage in the writing process to effectively write
paragraph and multi-paragraph essays. They will also learn to effectively synthesize and present
their research and analysis related to texts of the class.
STUDY SKILLS
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Apply time-management and goal-setting skills to approach multistep and long-term
assignments, projects, and assessments
Apply appropriate reading strategies to comprehend, analyze, interpret, and evaluate
fiction and nonfiction texts independently
Use the writing process to refine paragraph and multi-paragraph writing
Cite textual evidence to develop and support analysis of explicit and implicit ideas in a
text
Use textual evidence to support oral and written argument
Determine central ideas and themes of texts
Acquire and accurately apply literary terms
Participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions and projects
Present, refine, and synthesize ideas from research by gathering information from print
and digital resources
UNIT THEMES
1. VOCABULARY
 Develop college- and career-readiness level academic and domain specific vocabulary
 Use multiple strategies and tools to determine or clarify meaning of words as used in
context
2. WRITING SKILLS AND GRAMMAR
 Create topic sentences and/or thesis statements in order to write with a sharp, distinct
focus, demonstrating awareness of task and audience
 Use transitions to develop a logical flow of ideas in paragraph and multi-paragraph
writing
 Develop a logical argument supported by specific text- and research-based evidence
 Develop written analysis of text by explaining how or why the evidence citied supports
the argument
 Pre-write and outline to gather and organize ideas before writing
 Draft to organize ideas into sentence and paragraph form
 Revise to add, delete, or replace content in order to clarify argument and meaning
 Edit to improve style, word choice, sentence formation, spelling, capitalization, grammar,
and mechanics.
 Proofread to create an error free, publishable final product
 Use MLA formatting for all written work
3. NARRATIVE
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Define, identify, and analyze the author’s use of the elements of narration in short stories
and novels: plot, character, setting, point of view, mood, and theme (author’s purpose)
Analyze how theme develops through the text and make connections with contemporary
experience and society
Define and analyze the use of multiple literary forms, including allegory, satire, fable,
parable
Use close reading strategies in order to make inferences, draw conclusions, and evaluate
the effect of the author’s use of literary devices such as irony, foreshadowing, imagery,
figurative language, characterization, personification, symbolism, style and tone
Make connections between fiction texts and their historical context, including major
figures and events
Increase cultural knowledge of notable authors, including their works and influence.
Compare and contrast literary works with their film adaptations
4. POETRY
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Identify and analyze how the use of poetic devices creates meaning in poetry
Analyze the purpose or effect of the use of figurative language in poetry
Analyze poetic form and sounds devices: sonnet, free verse, blank verse, meter, rhythm,
rhyme, alliteration, assonance
Define, identify and analyze the characteristics of epic poetry
5. DRAMA
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Identify and analyze how the use of lighting, staging, and other stage directions
contributes to the overall effect of a play
Define and analyze the characteristics of a Shakespearean Tragedy
Analyze the use of dramatic structure, irony, and comic relief to build suspense, establish
desired mood, and develop the plot in a Shakespearean tragedy and a modern drama
Define, identify, and analyze the purpose and effect soliloquy, monologue, and asides in
a play.
Apply holistic and close-reading strategies to comprehend, interpret, and analyze Romeo
and Juliet
Apply knowledge of historical context to understanding of drama
6. RESEARCH
 Use digital literacy skills to evaluate online sources
 Use MLA formatting to record and cite sources
 Choose and narrow research topics
 Synthesize information from a variety of print and digital sources
MATERIALS:
Textbook
Elements of Literature: Course 3
Novels
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All Quiet on the Western Front
Animal Farm
The Old Man and the Sea
The Pearl
The Miracle Worker
Romeo and Juliet
The Odyssey
Short Stories
 “The Birds”
 “The Cask of Amontillado”
 “The Sniper”
 “Poison”
 “Interlopers”
 “Thank you, Ma’am”
 “A Sound of Thunder”
 “The Most Dangerous Game”
Poems
“The Secret”
“Beware: Do Not Read This Poem”
“Daily”
“When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer”
“in Just”
“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
“The Sky is Low”
“Women”
“The Gift”
“Combing”
“Harlem”
“Hope is a thing with feathers” (Dickinson)
“Fire and Ice”
“The Road Not Taken”
Films
The Birds
Romeo and Juliet (1968)
Romeo + Juliet (1996)
The Old Man and the Sea
Animal Farm
All Quiet on the Western Front
“Biography” Ernest Hemmingway: Wrestling with Life
Revised September 2014