Welcome to Freshman English!
Ms. Samorano Phone: 731-7317
2013-14 Email: ariela.samorano@tusd1.org
Room 208
Course description
This section of Freshman English is designed to move
students from effective sentence and paragraph writing to effective essay
writing, with respect to literature and expository topics. It also requires reading comprehension
skills, vocabulary building, grammar improvement, developing good research
skills, the ability to present information and to persuade others. The goal is to prepare students for the AIMS and
PARCC tests, as well as for post-secondary opportunities. In addition, students will be learning
interpersonal skills to prepare them to work well with others at school and in
the work place. Students are encouraged to attend tutoring during conference
time Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:00-8:40.
Content standards and objectives
This class will address the Common CORE standards for ninth
grade English. These can be found online at: http://www.azed.gov/azcommoncore/ Major
areas to be addressed are:
- Vocabulary
–connotation, denotation, and contextual clues
- Reading
fluency- developed through active
reading strategies while reading novels, short stories, non fiction, sustained
silent reading, plays and poetry.
- Understanding
the elements of literature- theme, point of view, setting,
characterization, etc.
- Understanding
the 6 traits of writing (ideas and content, organization, sentence
fluency, word choice, voice, and conventions.
- Grammar
– conventions and correct usage.
We will complete the following units to address the core standards:
Quarter 1 Literature - Short Stories Unit – We
will read 7-8 short stories, practice 6 active reading strategies that will be
employed for the entire year, and learn the elements of literature and apply
them to the stories. We will learn
vocabulary words from each story and have a quiz EVERY MONDAY.
Writing- We will work on summary
writing and literary analysis paragraphs.
At the end of the unit, we will complete a full 5-paragraph essay in the
Jane Schaffer style.
Grammar - We will discuss punctuation,
commonly confused words, parts of speech (nouns, verbs, conjunctions and prepositions),
and finding subjects/verbs in sentences.
Quarter 2 Literature – The Odyssey – We will learn about
Greek mythology and history, and read excerpts from The Odyssey and related poetry.
Students will do research and make an oral presentation on topics from Ancient Greece. We will continue vocabulary work from the
novel and have weekly quizzes.
Writing- We will continue work on
summary writing, and complete a friendly letter and a resume. We will continue expository paragraph
writing, and complete another 5-paragraph essay on The Odyssey in the Jane
Schaffer style.
Grammar- We will study subject/verbs,
fragments and phrases (prepositional, verbal, participial, gerund and
infinitive).
Final Exam- will
be given at the end of the semester and will include questions on literary
elements, summaries, essay writing, vocabulary, and grammatical concepts
learned.
Quarter 3 Literature- I Heard the Owl
Call My Name; 2 speeches “Glory and
Hope” and “I Have a Dream.” We will read
the novel and discuss literary elements, practice active reading, and learn
vocabulary words from the book. There
will be 4 quizzes on the reading and vocabulary. We will read the 2 speeches, analyze the
rhetorical elements within and find the persuasive techniques used.
Writing – We will continue writing
literary analysis paragraphs and then write a 5-paragraph essay on the novel in
the Jane Schaffer style. We will be
writing a personal narrative, and also persuasive paragraphs after the
speeches.
Grammar- We will study compound and complex
sentences, combining sentences using clauses, and run-on sentences.
Quarter 4 Literature- Poetry Unit and Romeo
and Juliet. We will study figurative
language and types of poetry. Students
will also complete an independent project where they read and analyze 3 poems
of their choice. We will continue to
look at figurative language in Romeo and
Juliet, as well as using several methods to make the play come alive for
its readers. At the end of the unit,
students will be paraphrasing quotes from the play, and directing their own
scene from the play and performing it for the class. Students will do another outside reading
project and will be reading for homework quite frequently.
Writing- We will write analyses of
poems as well as an original poem. We
will wrap the year with some literary analysis paragraphs and a 5-paragraph
essay on Romeo and Juliet.
Grammar- We will focus on punctuation
(commas, quotation marks, semi-colons, colons, dashes and parentheses),
subject/verb agreement, and pronoun/antecedent agreement
Final Exam- will
be given at the end of the semester and will cover figurative language, poetic
structure, Shakespeare, literary elements, persuasive techniques, and the
grammatical concepts covered during the semester.
Materials Needed
Students will
be required to have: 1. A 3 ring binder
with plenty of paper.
2. Several times throughout the
year the class will check out SSR books. Students should bring these to class daily.
3. A red, blue, green and black ball point pen- Very important items!!!!!
4. A planner for recording
homework assignments EVERY DAY. This is for a grade!
Assessments
Each assignment is worth points. Larger assignments are worth more points than
daily work. ALL assignments are important
and give students an opportunity to practice important academic skills.
After all points are entered,
grades are based on a percentage:
100-90%=A; 89-80%=B; 79-70%=C; 69-60%=D; below 60%=F. Failing students will have to repeat the
course, as English is required for graduation.
Extra credit is rarely offered, and is meant to give
students a chance for a small boost to their grade. It is not meant to replace the daily work,
homework and assignments given for the class.
Late work is accepted for ONE letter
grade off. It is best to turn in assignments ON TIME.
Policies and Expectations
- I expect
students to have a binder with paper, as note taking is a required
activity in my class.
- I
award points for recording homework daily.
Every Friday I will check
planners to make sure students have recorded homework. Parents can ask to see this if they are
curious about homework.
Responsibly recording homework every day can also boost a student’s
grade!
- I
expect students to make up work when they are absent. This should be done during conference
periods on Tuesday and Thursdays immediately following the absence. I DO NOT ACCEPT MAKE UP WORK DURING THE
LAST TWO WEEKS OF THE SEMESTER. Late
work will receive ONE letter grade off automatically.
Homework
Homework
is listed on the board EVERY day. Some
assignments must be done in one night, while others will be long-term
assignments or reading that may be done over a longer period. It is my expectation that students will do
English homework for 15-30 minutes per night depending on their ability. SSR
reading (the book chosen by the student) is a daily homework assignment. Please
see the SSR handout.
Rules
§ All
school policies – including dress code and cell phone use – will be adhered to,
as will the school plagiarism policy. On
the first offense, any student caught plagiarizing will be given a zero for the
assignment, a referral, and a conference with a parent/guardian. On the second offense, any student caught
plagiarizing will receive an F for the quarter, a referral, and a conference
with a parent/guardian. On the third
offense, the student will receive an F for the semester.
§ TUSD has a strict attendance
policy. If a student has 10 or more unexcused
absences in one semester, he/she could receive a No Credit grade for the
semester and will have to retake the course, pending an appeal process. If parents do not submit the appeal, the
student will receive no credit for the semester. If your child has a chronic illness, you must
be sure to document the illness with the nurse’s office.
§ Cell phones and iPods are NOT allowed in
class. If these items are seen or heard
during class, I will: 1st time-confiscate the item until after
school, 2nd time- contact parents and assign after school detention,
3rd time-write a referral to an administrator.
§ No
food or drink (other than water) is permitted.
§ Students
need to be alert, prepared, and ready to learn!
§ The
MOST important rule is to treat everyone in the classroom with RESPECT (with kindness
and consideration). Bullying,
aggression, and disrespect are not acceptable.
Behavior/Consequences
Maintaining a positive work environment for everyone is very
important to me. Students interfering
with others’ learning will not be allowed.
I will assign after-school detention in my classroom for the following
behaviors:
1. Second
time having a cell phone or iPod out or in use during class.
2. Accumulating
3 tardies, and then detention for each additional tardy.
3. Disruption
to others’ learning.
I will send home a detention form for parents to fill out on
which you can choose the day your child will serve the detention. This needs to be signed and returned to me
the following day. If behavior does not
improve after the detention, I will contact parents and send the student to an
administrator for further consequences.
I look forward to meeting parents at Open House on August 14th
. Please contact me if you have
questions or concerns before then. My
number is 731-7317 (leave a voice mail message), and my email is ariela.samorano@tusd1.org. Students
are able to email me assignments or bring them on a flash drive. This should be a last resort if they are not
able to print elsewhere, as we have limited paper for this purpose. Padres de familia, hablo Español. Si necesitan más información, por
favor comuníquense conmigo.
Let’s have a great year together!
Ms. Samorano
