Mrs. Maloney
email: mmaloney@rivervalleyschools.org
School phone: 756-9541 extension 1112
English 9
This course is required of all freshmen.
This course is required of all freshmen. This general literature course is an intensive exploration of all genres of literature, including the novel (Animal Farm), the short story, poetry, the epic poem (The Odyssey), and drama (Romeo and Juliet and The Miracle Worker). Students will use daily oral communication that involves critical evaluation of the specific literature selections. Numerous composition assignments are given in order to reinforce the writing process and to require creativity, such as poem writing. There is an increased emphasis and understanding of grammar usage and mechanics. (Students will focus on nouns, sentences/fragments, subjects, verbs, and complements.) Vocabulary development is emphasized by memorizing words from literature selections (creating flashcards), learning new words in context, and using words in writing (sentences). The course also incorporates technology through Internet research, videoconferencing, word processing, power point and Promethean board presentations.
Textbooks:
Holt, Rinehart Literature book
Mc Dougal Littell English Grammar book
Sadlier Pxford Vocabulary series
Animal Farm
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The American Experience – English 11
Hopes and Expectations
By the end of the year students should be able to:
- Write in a number of different genres for different purposes, including traditional essays like Compare/Contrast and essay answers on tests as well as poetry;
- Understand and articulate their own writing process;
- Exhibit an understanding of grammatical conventions in their writing;
- Respond to literature in a variety of ways: through writing, discussion, and oral presentation;
- Exhibit the organization necessary to accomplish their work effectively;
- Take part in small group work such as writing response groups and literature circles;
- Use appropriate research and computer skills;
- Use an expanded body of vocabulary words.
Textbooks: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston textbook (Fifth Course), the McDougal, Littell English grammar/writing book
The following list includes objectives for English 11:
- Chronological and thematic focus on the literature of the United States. Selections covered include fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama. The literature begins with the Puritan authors and ends with the Modern Era of American literature. William Bradford, Anne Bradstreet, Edward Taylor, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, Washington Irving, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Ambrose Bierce, MarkTwain, Jack London, Edgar Lee Masters, Willa Cather, Robert Frost, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gwendolyn Brooks, Carl Sandburg, Langston Hughes, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Stephen Crane, and William Faulkner are studied.
- The Crucible by Arthur Miller and Night by Elie Wiesel
- Public Speaking: formal and informal
- Writing: journals, reading responses, literary analysis essay, research paper, poetry.
- Media Awareness: Film analysis (The Crucible), Internet exploration and analysis, editorials.
- Vocabulary assignments and tests
- Grammar and writing style focuses
- MME testing in March
- Research term paper, including thesis creation, gathering facts, outlining, and using the MLA form for citing sources.
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Adventures in English Traditions – English 12
This elective course covers literature especially important to the college-bound senior. Brief overviews of the roots of classical literature in Greek drama and the importance of England’s history and its language to literature as a whole are combined with a concentrated study of the epic poem Beowulf, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare’s Macbeth, nonfiction selections, British short stories, and poetry. The literature is studied chronologically from the Anglo-Saxon period to the modern authors. Grammar units include an intense study of verbs (principal parts, verb tenses, transitive/intransitive, active/passive voice, and commonly confused verbs). The students also cover a Usage Handbook. A thorough study of vocabulary is ongoing.
Using themes from their readings, students write numerous persuasive essays, poetry, and literary analyses. Communication skills are improved through prepared speeches and oral presentations.
Technology in the 12th grade classroom includes the use of internet research, word processing, and both power point and Promethean board presentations.
Textbooks:
Holt, Rinehart, Winston Literature Book
McDougal Littell English Grammar Book
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