Course Descriptions

1.0 CREDIT
Grades 9

This course is designed to teach the English Language Arts standards of Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language in an environment that supports the students’ development and encourages them to read texts of different types such as short stories, news articles, informative essays, narrative nonfiction, and dramas. The pace will be accelerated to allow for additional challenges and prompts for students who have met that threshold. The increased pace will mainly be reflected in more independent reading, and higher-order question prompts. Writing assignments will also be extended in length and volume, with the expectations that students are managing their time as it relates to longer-term papers. Teachers use Savvas “myPerspectives” series and select trade books that correspond to each unit of study. Within the units students are taught to apply skills to various texts and use textual evidence in their numerous Performance Tasks which culminates in a Performance-Based Assessment at the end of each unit. Also, a structured recreational reading program is an integral part of the course.

Major works include the following: Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, Key works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, and The Odyssey.

Prerequisite: None

Required: Yes, unless in LAF1 or LA1