English 9 Syllabus and Course Proficiency Sheet

Ms. Sargenti & Mr. Garvey

Course Description
Students of English 9 will study genres of fiction and writing through the lense of world literature and culture.
Most texts will be read in their entirety, while some pieces will be excerpted for length. The majority of works will be
assigned to students to read at home. Few texts - with the exception of Romeo & Juliet - will be read aloud as a group
in class. Each unit will include close reading lessons, formative and summative assessments, pairing of fiction and
non-fiction texts, and partnering of reading and writing assessments.

Sequence and Selection of Units & Major Texts

Title
Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi
Literary analysis essay
Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare
Short Story reading unit, various artists
Poetry, various writers
Poetry explication; writing poetry
Night, Elie Wiesel
Research essay unit
Independent reading unit (student choice)
Expository writing
Lord of the Flies, William Golding
Our Town, Thornton Wilder
Persuasive essay
Writing creative fiction
Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

Genre
Graphic Novel
Writing
Drama
Short stories
Poetry
Writing
Memoir
Writing
Novel
Writing
Novel
Drama
Writing
Short fiction writing
Dystopian novel

Marking Period
MP 1
MP 1
MP 1
MP 2
MP 2
MP 2
MP 3
MP 3
MP 3
MP 3
MP 3
MP 4
MP 4
MP 4
MP 4

Grading
Assignments will be added to Genesis under their specific category. Please contact the main office if you need
access to the Genesis student information system. Students grades are calculated via the following distribution:
50%: Written work - an assortment of homework, classwork, and formal writing assessments. Formal,
drafted assignments will be weighted twice or three times.
30%: Quizzes and tests - quizzes count once, tests count twice, unit tests count three times.
20%: Class Participation and comportment/behavior - adjusted periodically through the marking period
and determined with the use of a class participation rubric.

Supplies & Preparedness

The only supplies that you must purchase in preparation for this course are a dedicated notebook (preferably
3- or 5- subject) or binder (one-inch) with looseleaf and writing implements. A three-hole punch is supplied in class for
your convenience if you elect to bring a binder. You may elect to bring post-it notes to annotate your reading, although I
will also supply them as necessary. Students should come prepared to class each day with the following tools:
A pen or pencil (pencil, specifically for multiple choice assessments)
The students notebook
A copy of the assigned text, poem, or piece we are studying
Any homework or assignment due - reading assignments are included
An open mind - not optional!

OVER
Classroom Rules & Behavior

Class participation grades are calculated based on the students behavior and participation. While we will
collaboratively construct a list of rules as a group in the first week of class, we will adhere to the guidelines of behavior
set forth by the student handbook of Saddle Brook School District at all times. These rules will also apply at afterschool events and field trips. The sequence of dealing with behavior issues in our classroom is:
FIRST OFFENSE: a verbal warning.
SECOND OFFENSE: detention given after school; parents notified via eMail.
THIRD OFFENSE: discipline referral entered into Genesis; students guidance counselor and parents
contacted.
Additionally, students will be instructed on how to identify and avoid plagiarism early in the year. As such, students will
be held accountable for plagiarism as defined by the student handbook. Some commonly encountered situations that
are considered plagiarism include:
copying and pasting text directly from online or print sources (frequently Wikipedia or Sparknotes)
copying and pasting information and changing a few words
submitting the same assignment for two students, even if some sentences or paragraphs are changed
passing off ideas as your own without citing sources or using facts and statistics without citing sources
cheating on objective assessments, sharing answers on tests, or copying homework assignments

Make-up Assignments and Extra Help

Extra help is available nearly every day in every subject by students of the National Honor Society and the
Science Honor Society. Extra help is also available through Mr. Garvey and Ms. Sargenti by appointment. We can be
accessible before and after school as well as during period 5 if it is convenient to the student. As I have always said,
as soon as the student needs help, he or she should arrange extra help; the earlier the better. Unless the
student has been coming to extra help during the marking period and has completed all assignments, no additional
extra credit work will be given. ABSOLUTELY NO EXTRA CREDIT WORK WILL BE GIVEN if the student still owes
assignments. Such arrangements are administered on a case-by-case basis.

Contact Information
Our eMail addresses are jgarvey@saddlebrookschools.org and jsargenti@saddlebrookschools.org, and our
voicemail extension is 201-843-2880 x1517. We are typically able to reply to eMail messages within 24 hours and
would prefer you to contact us via eMail, as we happen to check it more frequently throughout the day than we do our
voicemail.

Acknowledgement of Course Proficiency Sheet

Please read this document and save it for your records. Sign, detach, and submit the attached form to Mr.
Garvey and Ms. Sargenti. Failure to do so will result in loss of credit for a class participation grade.

ENGLISH 9 - Mr. Garvey, Ms. Sargenti

AFTER READING COURSE PROFICIENCY SHEET, STUDENT AND PARENT
SHOULD EACH SIGN, DETACH, AND SUBMIT THIS FORM.

STUDENT
I have read and understood the course proficiency sheet and agree to follow classroom rules.
_______________________________________ _________________________________________
__________
Student name (print)
Student name (sign)

Date

PARENT/GUARDIAN
I have read and understood the course proficiency sheet.

_______________________________________ _________________________________________
__________
Parent/Guardian name (print)
Parent/Guardian name (sign)

Date

______________________________________________________________________________________________
____
Parent/Guardian eMail address for contact purposes (optional)