Essay Topics
for 9th Grade Honors
Spring 06

1. Discuss the use of theme in your book and show how the writer uses the characters to convey his/her world view.

2. Choose two characters in the book you are reading and compare and contrast them. How are they similar? How are they different? Be sure to use specific quotations and examples from the book to give a clear idea of what kind of people they are. Do these characters reflect the world view or theme of the author?

3. Choose a scene from the book that best illustrates the theme of the book. By using examples from the book show how this scene illustrates the theme the best.

4. Discuss the conflict in the book. By giving specific details from the story (quotations and examples) show how the author uses the conflict to illustrate the theme.

5. Choose one aspect of the novel that you find the most intriguing and discuss it. It can be character, conflict, point of view, or figurative language. Be sure to give examples to show why you find that aspect of the novel so intriguing.

6. Discuss the author’s use of setting in the novel. Could the novel work if the setting were changed? Does the novel’s success depend entirely on the setting or could the story work if placed in a different time or place?

NOTEBOOK ORGANIZATION
FOR 9TH GRADE HONORS
SPRING 2006

1. Title page with name, date and period
2. Syllabus
3. Notebook Organization Guide for Table of Contents
4. VOCABULARY FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT homework
a. pages 30 - 37
b. pages 35 - 39
c. pages 61 - 68
d. vocabulary test
e. vocabulary corrections
f. vocabulary journals.

5. ENGLISH WORKSHOP homework

a. pages 139 - 140; complements
b. pages 149 - 150; prepositional phrases
d. pages 151 - 152; adjective phrase
e. pages 153; verbals
f. pages 155 - 156; participial phrases
g. pages 157 - 158; gerunds
h. pages 159 - 160; gerund phrases
i. pages 165 - 166; appositives
j. pages 169; clauses
k. pages 171 - 172; adjective clauses
l. pages 173 - 174; adverbial clauses
m. Any other grammar handout

6. ESSAYS

a. Memory
b. Vacation
c. Bullying Essay
d. Literary Analysis: “A Woman Too Soon” and A DEFENSELESS WOMAN
e. ROMEO AND JULIET essay
f. Essay writing handouts:
1. Format for Writing a Five Paragraph Essay
2. Graphic Organizers

7. Literature

a. “Paula” by Isabel Allende
b. “We Bad”
c. “Tips on Reading Difficult Poetry”
d. “How to Find the Theme”





8. ROMEO AND JULIET

a. Shakespeare Handout 1- 9; “Words from Shakespeare”
b. Shakespeare Handout 1- 10; “Phrases from Shakespeare”
c. Shakespearean Insults
d. Oxymoron Handout
e. “Queen Mab” Handout
f. “Love Connections”
g. Acts 1 - 5 Packets
h. Acts 1 - 5 Tests plus corrections
i. Reading logs for ROMEO AND JULIET
j. Notes or any other extraneous thing I forgot to list which you have
found buried in your notebook or laundry hamper that pertains to
ROMEO AND JULIET



9. MISCELLANEOUS

a. Cool stuff you would like to show or things I have forgotten to put in but you have found and would like to put it in
your notebook to make it look fatter than it really is so you can get that "A".

Your notebooks are due on Friday, June 23rd.

Your packets for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD or your outside reading will be due on Monday, June 26th.

Your essay and your reading log for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD or your outside reading will be due on the day of the final, Wednesday, June 28th.
You will not be given time in class to work on the essay; it must be com-
pleted before the final. You will be working with your group on your
project which will be presented during the second
hour of the final.

Agenda for 9th Grade
Weeks of June 12th - June 30th


Monday, June 12th:

1st and 2nd Period:

7:40 - 8:00 am: Work on vocabulary worksheets: Activity #4 ; Chapters 1 - 4 in Ender’s game.

Break into our “platoons” and read, summarize, work on vocabulary and character relationships in Chapters 6 and 7 in Ender’s Game.

Turn in pages 151 and 152. gerund phrases in English Workshop.


Tuesday, June 13th:

7:40 - 8:00 am: Work on vocabulary worksheets: Activity #5; Chapters 5 - 6 in Ender’s Game.

Climb aboard our spaceships and read, summarize, work on vocabulary and character relationships in Chapter 7 in Ender’s Game.

For homework: Answer questions for Chapters 1 - 6 in Ender’s Game.


Wednesday, June 14th:

7:40 - 8:00 am: Work on vocabulary worksheets: Activity #6; Chapter 7.

Don our space suits, climb aboard our spaceships and read, summarize, work on vocabulary and character relationships in Chapter 8 in Ender’s Game.

For homework: Answer questions for Chapter 7.


Thursday, June 15th:

Please bring your English Workshop. We will quickly dispatch pages 157 - 158; “appositives”; exercises 15 - 16. This will be due on Monday, June 19th.

We will read Chapter 9 in Ender’s Game. We will go over a “Foreshadowing Chart”; activity #13 for Ender’s Game and of course, don’t forget your “captain’s log.”

We will also learn who John Locke and Demosthenes were and why Peter and Valentine may have chosen those pseudonyms.

For homework: work on answers for Chapter 9 in Ender’s Game.





Friday, June 16th:

Thanks to Torie Henry who came up with a cool little teaching game to help us understand “appositives”. It’s sort of a cross between an acting exercise (where you have to start your sentence with the last letter of the last sentence spoken by your partner) and a grammar game (where you and your partner can only speak to each other using appositives).

Today we will read Chapter 10.

For homework please read Chapter 11 and 12 and answer questions on your handout.


Monday, June 19th:

7:40 - 8:00 am: Work on vocabulary handouts for Chapter 10. Activity #8; Chapter 11; Activity #9 and Chapters 12 - 13; Activity #10.

Quickly dispatch English Workshop homework: “appositives”; pages 157 - 158.

Read Chapter 13 and of course, do our “captain’s log”!

For homework answer questions for Chapter 13.


Tuesday, June 20th:

Please bring your grammar book for today we will work on “clauses”; pages 161 - 162; exercise 1 will be assigned today. This will be due on Wednesday, June 21st.

7:40 - 8:00 am: Work on character handouts, “Conflict”; Activity #14 for Ender’s Game.

Read Chapter 14 and of course, do “Captain’s Log”!


Wednesday, June 21st:

7:40 - 8:00 am: Work on the “Venn Diagram” for Ender and Peter and answer questions for Chapter 14.

We will quickly go over our grammar homework: pages 161 - 162; exercise 1; “clauses”.

We will then don our space suits and and read Chapter 15 in Ender’s Game. We will have a discussion and go over questions for Chapter 15.


Thursday, June 22nd:

Please bring your grammar book today. We will go over pages 163 - 164; exercises 2 - 3; “adjective clauses”. This will be due on Friday, June 23rd.

Work on Activity #16; “Sociogram”; and Activity #17; “Character Charts” for Ender’s Game.


Friday, June 23rd:

Your notebooks are due today. Please turn them in at the top of the hour.

We will quickly go over your grammar homework; “adjective clauses”; and then jsut as quickly go over pages 165 - 166; exercise 4; “adverbial clauses”. This will be due on Monday, June 26th.

You will be given time to work with your group on the culminating assignment for Ender’s Game.



Monday, June 26th:

We will go over today’s homework; English Workshop; pages 165 - 166; exercise 4; “adverbial clauses”.

For 1st Period: Your final will be at 7:40 on Thursday, June 29th.

For 2nd Period: Your final will be at 7:40 on Tuesday, June 27th.

Your final will consist of an essay on Ender’s Game which will be due at the top of the hour on the day of the final. You and your group will present to the class on the day of the final:

A board game

Or written and drawn instructions for a video game based on Ender’s Game.

Or a screenplay for a scene from Ender’s Game.

Or a videotaped scene from Ender’s Game (with an accompanying script).