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English Language Arts 10F (ELA 10F)

Course Outline
Teacher:

Dan Forte

Email:

[email protected]

Welcome to the wonderful world of English Language Arts! This course focuses on the six
language arts: reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and representing. It is a
course about communication - a course about discovering, exploring, and expressing
your thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Students will use and develop skills within the six
language arts to improve on many aspects of communication by responding to and
creating a variety of pragmatic and aesthetic texts.
One of the main purposes of this course is for students to enjoy the pleasures of
literature, inviting stories, films, and other texts to evoke your emotions, challenge your
thoughts, and inspire you to become a better human being. In this course I am hoping
you will gain a deeper understanding of yourself and/or the world around you.
GENERAL OUTCOMES:

Explore thoughts, ideas, feelings and experiences.

Comprehend and respond personally and critically to oral, literary, and media
texts.
Manage ideas and information.
Enhance the clarity and artistry of communication.
Celebrate and build community.

Materials Required Daily:

Pens and pencils
A binder with PLENTY of paper
A notebook for journal writing
A novel (more on that later)
If you need any other materials, Forte will let you know in advance
A note about HOMEWORK:
-Students will receive enough time to complete major assignments and daily tasks during class
time.
-Whatever doesn't get finished in class will have to be completed on your own time.
-This includes work that you missed as a result of an absence!
-EXPECT to read for roughly 20 minutes a day outside of class.

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Units:
*These units are subject to changes throughout the semester
*Units not necessarily presented in this order
The Art of the Paragraph
This unit will focus on refining the most basic elements of written communication: sentence and paragraph
construction.

This I Believe - The Art of the Essay

Building off of the paragraph unit, this unit will have students string together a series of 5 fully developed paragraphs
to discuss and articulate a
particular theme. This essay will act as a reflection of student beliefs about the world and
the human condition.

Whole Class Novel Study

Students will read a novel and participate in quality group discussions. Themes relating to identity, fitting in, friendship,
and peer relations will all be major focuses.

Stories in Films and Plays

We'll take a look at a play by William Shakespeare and study a couple of films. Students will learn about the elements
of stories (character, plot,
setting, climax, theme, symbolism, etc) through these mediums. Students will also begin to
learn how to analyze and interpret films and plays.

Assessment:
Here is a breakdown of the mark distribution for this course.
40% - Assignments
10% - Essay Assignment
20% - Tests/Quizzes
30% - Final Exam
40% - Assignments Category
Major Assignments/Projects:
Assignment
Assignment
Assignment
Assignment
Assignment

#1
#2
#3
#4
#5

=
=
=
=
=

/5%
/5%

/25%

/5%
/5%
/5%

Process Journal:
Minor Assignments:

/10%
/5%

10% - "This I Believe" Essay Assignment

/10%

20% - Tests/Quizzes Category

Independent Novel Studies:
Book Test =
Journal Responses =

/5%

Novel Tests:
Novel Study Quiz =
Novel Study Test =

/10%
/5%

/10%
/3%
/7%

30% - Final Exam

/30%

You will write a final exam in the third week of June. It is worth 30% of your final mark. You will be adequately
prepared to write this exam since it is based on the skills you will be refining throughout the semester. And I
provide a sweet review.

***A note on assignment DUE DATES***

Due dates will be communicated in class and written on the appropriate board. You will
know when a major assignment or project is due 1 week (or more) ahead of time.

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Daily tasks the different stuff we do from day to day will be due either at the end of
class or at the end of the duration of whatever it is we are doing. Most of these tasks are
to be completed in your PROCESS JOURNAL.
HAND STUFF IN ON TIME! SERIOUSLY!
-Any student who has ever had trouble passing any of my ELA courses either didn't hand
stuff in or did not hand assignments in on time. Complete the work, and do it on time!
CUT OFF dates (the last day assignments or anything else can be accepted for
marks)
March 13th, 2015
Assignments due on or before this date will not be accepted after this date has passed. Your assignment will
receive a permanent NHI
(not handed in), which is the equivalent of a "0."

April 17th, 2015

Assignments due on or before this date will not be accepted after this date has passed. Your assignment will
receive a permanent NHI
(not handed in), which is the equivalent of a "0."

May 29th, 2015

Assignments due on or before this date will not be accepted after this date has passed. Your assignment will
receive a permanent NHI
(not handed in), which is the equivalent of a "0."

June 17th, 2015

Assignments due on or before this date will not be accepted after this date has passed. Your assignment will
receive a permanent NHI
(not handed in), which is the equivalent of a "0."

LATE WORK
It is expected that all assignments will be completed and submitted on time. Under
exceptional circumstances, extensions will be given. Extensions will only be given if
you have spoken to Forte BEFORE the assignment due date.
**Marks for late assignments will be reduced to a maximum of 20% at a rate not
exceeding 2% per school
day.**
Classroom Expectations:
Students who are decent human beings know the expectations and follow them:
1. Respect for everybody, all the time. This includes respecting yourself!
**Cellphones and other handheld devices are not to be used in class. In
fact, I dont even want to see them. Leave your device in your pocket,
just like I do. Ignore it. Set it to silent and turn the vibration feature
off**
2. Leave the negativity at home, or keep it to yourself!
3.

You are responsible for learning material that you have missed, no matter the
reason.

4. Show up, prepared and on time.

Plagiarism: Copying another persons words, thoughts, or ideas and suggesting they are your own is unacceptable. A
student caught cheating or plagiarising someone elses work on an assignment or test will receive a mark of 0 for that
assignment or test and a call home.

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Availability:
If you need to speak with me about any concerns, or if you need extra help, I am here for
you. You can email me at any time, and you can speak with me whenever Im free. Here
is when I am available to respond to your emails and when I am available for extra help:
Email:

ALL DAY - Don't expect a response after 6PM

Meeting: 8:00AM - 9:15AM

12PM - 1PM
3:15PM - 4:00PM (Please ask me first if you want to meet after 3:15PM.)

This course outline is subject to changes throughout the semester.

*The following 2 pages provide the guidelines for the Grade 9 English Program at GVC*

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The following are guidelines for the Grade 9 English Language Arts Program (ELA10F)
Skills
Review and practice the following:
-

chronological order
imagery
cause and effect
comparison and contrast
conflict and characters

Introduce writing variables:

-

audience
purpose
form
central idea
context

Writing Experiences
Students will be exposed to the following writing experiences:
-

five paragraph essay with a clearly defined introduction, thesis, main body, and a conclusion. Attention will be paid to
grammar, sentence structure, and proper punctuation.
creative writing (story, letter, poetry, film review, letter to the editor)
journal writing to emphasize a personal response to the reading.

Students will be taught to use the writing process and practice it in a variety of ways including:
-

brainstorming
free writing
talking
webs
lists
revising
editing

Reading Experiences
Students will experience the following reading experiences:
-

structured free reading program

vocabulary building experiences
making predictions in journals after title, after first paragraph, and midway during the selection.
cueing systems
o
word analysis, connotation, social context
summarizing
paraphrasing
identifying the main idea and supporting evidence
finding examples of foreshadowing, characterization, figurative language, and setting in fictional works
shifting from literal to interpretative questions.

Students will have exposure to the following reading materials:

-

a novel
Shakespearean drama
poetry
non-fiction materials such as news articles, letters to the editor
short stories a selection of short stories with an emphasis on content, theme, vocabulary, and enjoyment
visual media films, pictures, photos

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Language Skills
Students will practice the following skills:
Review paragraph writing skills including:
-

topic sentences
developing sentences different ways
1. give an example
2. descriptive details
3. explanations
concluding sentences
sentence combining with paragraph
how to quote from a piece of writing
how to indicate titles
capitalization and punctuation
comma faults
complete sentences
parts of speech nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs

Research Skills
Grade 9 students will access a variety of resource materials to produce a piece of writing (essay) that correctly uses different
sources.
Oral Skills
Students will participate in a presentation for an authentic audience.