course description:
Ninth-grade honors / international preparatory programme (IPP) students will explore the theme of Discovery of Self throughout the year with intense literature study and written / oral expression. The Indiana State Academic Standards for English 10 provide the backbone for the language and vocabulary development, literature study, written and oral communication skills the students will continue to improve upon during the year.
Students will often hear the goals of the course mentioned during class: to improve reading and writing skills. No matter what academic or occupational path they choose, one truth remains: they will have to know how to read and they will have to know how to write. Intense literature study provides students with the opportunity to examine and reflect upon several genres including poetry, nonfiction, short stories, drama, and novels. The purpose of the intense literature study is to draw thematic connections between the literature, itself, but also within the students' lives. The written and oral responses correlate directly with the students' intense study of literature, allowing them to connect more thoroughly with and share those connections with the other students. All major formal writing assignments will follow the ISTEP+ parallel writing rubric, focusing on both content and grammar/mechanics.
Understanding and having traveled the path honors students make, the goal of this course will also be to develop vital skills beneficial in all curricular areas. Students will develop study skills gradually, each unit building upon the one previous. Students will also learn time-management skills and responsibility, as not all assignments will include daily reminders of due dates. Students will learn to work from a calendar / syllabus and to rely on it for maintaining an appropriate pace. Students will learn to utilize online resources, such as this weblog and others, for more study-guide or informational materials not "covered" in class. Students will learn that in order to receive help, they must ask, and find the medium most useful for them (before-school tutoring, after-school tutoring, email/forum communication, peer-to-peer). And, most importantly, students will learn the skill of self-responsibility and their duty to take advantage of all learning opportunities, good and bad.
Each semester will also have a secondary, more focused theme linked to the larger, course theme of "Discovery of Self."
course overview:
fall semester: Exploration of Self
grading period 1
literature focus:
- Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (autobiography)
- Literature textbook, Unit 1, p. 32-197
- biographical or autobiographical narrative or short story (10.5.1)
- narrative presentation (10.7.14)
literature focus:
- Night by Elie Wiesel (memoir)
- Literature textbook, Unit 5, p. 72-959
written and oral expression:
- response to literature (10.5.2)
- expository essay / literary analysis (10.5.3)
- oral response to literature (10.7.17)
grading period 3
literature focus:
- Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (tragedy / drama)
- Literature textbook, Unit 2, p. 200-403
written and oral expression:
- business letter (10.5.5)
- technical document (10.5.6)
- interview (10.7.16)
spring semester: Finding One's Place in the Big Picture
grading period 4
literature focus:
- Homer's Odyssey (epic)
- Literature textbook, Unit 4, p. 578-723
written and oral expression:
- research paper (10.5.9)
- expository / informational presentation
grading period 5
literature focus:
- The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (novella)
- Literature textbook, Unit 3, p. 406-575
written and oral expression:
- persuasive essay (10.5.4)
- persuasive speech (10.7.18)
grading period 6
literature focus:
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (novel)
- Literature textbook, Unit 6, p. 962-1163
written and oral expression:
- expository essay / descriptive piece (10.5.3)
- descriptive presentation (10.7.19)
English 9H Scope and Sequence (EVSC)
English 9H Pacing Guide (EVSC)
teacher credentials:
When I went in for my interview in the summer of 2004, the principal asked me why I should be hired instead of the other candidates. My answer, simple: "unlike the other applicants, I'm the only one who bleeds red and gray." I graduated from Bosse in 1999 with a 4.0 GPA and started my undergraduate career at the University of Southern Indiana. I graduated in the fall of 2003 with a bachelor's degree in secondary English education, a creative writing certificate, and a computer endorsement. After my first year of teaching at Bosse, I began my graduate studies at the University of Southern Indiana, eventually achieving a 4.0 GPA and a master's degree in secondary education in the spring of 2007.
In addition to teaching English 9H, I also teach English 11A and work as the technology coordinator at Bosse. I sponsor the National Honor Society, serve on the Internationalism committee, co-design the marching band t-shirts (since 1996), morally support the school dramatic productions and yearbook, sell corsages and boutonierres during formal dance seasons to financially support classroom projects, and design and manage two classroom weblogs. In the spring of 2008, I applied for and received one of ten SMARTBoard interactive whiteboards for EVSC out of 147 applicants.
When I'm not teaching, I enjoy reading, writing, and spending time with my family and friends. Some of my favorite books include Wicked and Neverwhere. I prefer buying books to borrowing them from the library, even if I don't have time to read them. I used to be a real movie fanatic but now focus my television-time on CSI (the original series with William Petersen). I write fiction when I'm inspired. I hope to publish my work eventually, whether its the short stories or the novel I've been writing. I happily got married in 2002, and my husband and I adopted a shih tzu puppy in 2004; our first son arrived in our lives in 2008. I also like to spend time with my close-knit group of friends from high school.
classroom philosophy:
My favorite quote, posted in my classroom, comes from Aristotle: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." I will never claim to be perfect. I put my pants on like everyone else and will be the first to admit when I'm wrong or don't know an answer. Being a teacher, I have one of the best jobs because it enables me to be a lifelong learner (whether I want to be or not). I enjoy teaching most when my students can learn, have fun, and know the tasks I assign are not out of meanness or frivolity, but for the sake of learning. Over the years, my students have come to appreciate the fact that I will not assign a task if I'm not willing to do it myself. My sample essays and projects do not come from students from previous years -- I write them, myself. I do this for two reasons. (1) I feel a responsibility to know what it is I'm asking my students to do. Again, I'm not perfect -- so if I struggle with my own assignment, I can guess my students will as well. It's my duty to do a "test run" on the assignments rather than expecting my students to do them blindly. (2) I have a very real 'moral' issue asking my students to do something I'm not 100% committed to, myself. If I would enjoy / benefit from doing the assignment, I believe my students would as well. Plus, it demonstrates to them that I am not only their teacher but also a fellow student. Everyone has room to improve reading and writing skills -- especially the teacher.
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