Hi Everyone,
Well the new year is about to begin! I am very excited to see you all. All my students inspire me to remember how important it is for me to teach you about the beauty of words. Imagine a world without them! 
Words To Motivate You 
You are great.
You are capable.
You are a great student.
You are the best you- you can be.
You are powerful at being yourself- don't be anyone else.
You will succeed if you work hard.
It is not always about the grades, it's about life long learning.
It's not the A student that always wins- it's the person who's developed the habits of working hard.
Own your success- you earned it, thank yourself when the term ends.

 
Course Outlines:

Beaconsfield High School: 2017-2018

Teacher Mrs. Cochrane:
“Books and writing are a journey. In this class, we learn how their relevance not only improves your overall learning process but also increases your ability to communicate effectively with the world.”
Melinda Cochrane

​English Grade 9:

The foundation of any English course is to
foster a love for reading and writing. Books provided in this course will be selected on this premise. We will begin this process by exploring what it means to write for personal and social reasons. Throughout the year, we will look at novels that focus on teen issues such as identity, media influences and teen culture in the year 2017. Students will also become active readers and writers through the study of different media text both in written and spoken form. The course will further promote student development through experiential journal lessons as a means of expression.  Books and the love for them will be the hallmark of this course.

Secondary three:


English Language Arts Competencies                                                       
 
Uses language to communicate and learn

Reads and listens to written, spoken and media text

Produces text for personal and social reasons

Novels to be used:

Novels will be selected with student need and reading level  in mind (differentiation of lessons).

Book for a monthly book club- an open discussion- students chose a book
with teacher approval






Evaluation of student learning:


Marking:

Each competency will be weighted accordingly each term.
 
 1. Current events assignments
 2. Literary Responses
 3.Creative Writing
 4.Essay writing
 5.Novel Studies
 6. Article Writing
 7. Journal Writing

At this grade level the ownership of academic success is very important. If a student plagiarizes a paper it will receive an automatic zero grade for the work, but students will be taught what it means to plagiarize to prevent this from happening.

​Editing:


Students will be required to hand in a first draft copy with all assignments. Must be handwritten, unless there is some reason a student must use a computer according to IEP etc. ( This is never a problem.)

In addition:


Students will review the elements of essay writing. The course will begin with the persuasive essay.

The five paragraph structure will be reviewed.

The literary response is introduced.

Students will begin writing responses to poems and short stories.

Reading of a novel will occur in the class with assignments given for discussion.

Literary devices (through all terms) will be taught as a way of responding to the written text


We will use essay writing to compare and contrast novels and other texts.

Journals will also be written every morning as a way to develop creative writing skills.

Reading of the novel will occur in the class with assignments given for discussion.

Literary Essays are introduced in preparation for grade 10.

Possible Lessons:
Students will produce their own collection of prose or poetry based on their daily journal.
( Lessons to be taught on this beforehand)
Students will be asked to hand in one major collection of creative work.

Course Materials:

One journal (replaced throughout the year)

Pens/Pencils

Highlighter

2 inch ringed binder

Loose leaf
* dictionaries are provided















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