Language Arts 9

Course name and abbreviation

Language Arts 9 / LA9

Grade Level:

Grade 9

Summary of course content and activities:

Grade 9 English is a mixture of grammar, poetry, short stories, novel studies, vocabulary enrichment, and writing. With each lesson, we will first examine the author to learn more about his or her own background so that we can better understand and interpret his/her work. We will be looking at the culture, the values, the assumptions, and contexts surrounding each of the pieces of literature. Students are introduced to and taught the structure of the five-paragraph essay. In this course we do quite a bit of reading of short stories and poetry, we also read "The Bronze Bow" by Elizabeth George Speare, "Watership Down" by Richard Adams, "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck and "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare.

Who should be taking this course? For whom is this course designed and intended?

• Has successfully completed eighth grade Language Arts
• Is intending to graduate from NorthStar Academy, or any other high school, with an academic diploma
• Is intending to pursue university, college, or vocational training upon graduation from high school.

Philosophy statement for and/or behind teaching this course:

To many people literature is reading. Reading; however, is not literature: it is simply the process through which we experience literature. Literature is a gift from God. Through literature God enables man to communicate, not only his experiences but also his ideas, feelings, and beliefs. We should not merely read literature to escape from the world. Rather we should use literature as a vehicle to encounter the world. Literature can put us face to face with man in his world - man that acts both in ways pleasing to God and in ways displeasing to God. Literature can help us to know more about creation, our fellow man, God, and ourselves. Good literature causes us to think.

Major course goals:

• Students will gain a broad knowledge base of authors and literary works. Students will also learn critical thinking skills, build on their previous writing skills and techniques, expand their vocabulary and word association skills, and learn valuable strategies for successful independent learning.
• Students will explore thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences by comprehending literature in print, visual and multimedia forms, and respond personally, critically and creatively.
• Students should be able to become actively involved with literature, using effective strategies for appreciation, understanding and critical response. They should also listen actively for theme, ideas and details, being aware of the purpose of the communication.
• Students are encouraged to use Biblical standards and discernment while reading and analyzing literature (author's theme, background, plot and character development). They will learn to examine the author before they try to analyze his/her literary work so that the 'spirit' behind the words is considered. We must have the right context before we have the right interpretation, and we will learn how to establish context as part of our critical thinking skill set.
• Students will write unified paragraph responses to literary works in addition to writing a well-formed five-paragraph essay.

Pre-requisite(s):

Language Arts 8

Materials and resources provided by NSA, purchased by student, and/or recommended:

Forecasted amount of time required to complete each week's lesson:

4-6 hours (In a regular school, you would have 6.7 hours of class time a week plus the time to do your homework. In a high school English class that could easily be 1-2 hours of homework a night. That's another 5-10 hours a week. This is for a one-semester English course, so divide the total 12-17 hours in half for a whole semester course and it would be 6-9 hours per week) So, if you are spending 4-6 hours each week on a lesson, you are doing great!

Description of student evaluations, quizzes, and tests:

There are three major grading periods. Exams and essays are weighted more heavily than regular assignments.

Additional activities:

Participation in the group discussions is mandatory and calculated as part of the course grade.

Criteria for teacher approval of and willingness to grant assignment/test extensions to students beyond the automatic extension period:

For information on the school's policies concerning extensions and completion, please refer to the school policy document. To receive an assignment and/or test extension beyond the automatic extension period, the student must have already maintained regular contact and correspondence with the teacher during the previous weeks of the school year. Along with this, the student must have a valid reason (sickness, major computer problems, etc.) for the extension that has been confirmed by the key parent. The teacher and principal will make the decision for an extension after consulting with the key parent.

NorthStar Academy Canada
#107, 1001 - 20th Avenue, Didsbury, AB
Email: cdninfo@nsaschool.ca
1-403-335-9587
1-877-335-1171 (toll free)
1-403-335-9513 (fax)