FRE$H FRE$HMAN
Welcome to Honors English 9!
Here is a survival guide
It will help you survive Honors English 9 and all the craziness the year will bring!
Hello!
My name is Michaela Unrue and I have some tips to help you survive this class.
-Be sure to read the assigned books.
-Make sure you don't procrastinate.
-Actively participate in group work.
-Complete all the projects on time!!
Remember: This class will become overwhelming at times, but do not get discouraged, just go with the flow and get the assignments completed and turned in.
Course Overview
You will do many projects
Many books such as: Cold Sassy Tree, Speak, and Divergent include projects. You will also have a unit on poetry.
Cold Sassy Tree is a very fun book to read.
I enjoyed reading it, because we read as a class. Reading as a class is easier, because all of your classmates help you to understand the reading better. In my class, some of the students read in Southern accents. Using an accent while reading helps you remember each of the characters and helps you on the test.
Speak is a weird book.
Reading Speak as a class was sort of strange. We mostly listened to the book being read by another person on a set of CD's. The content of Speak is very peculiar, as you will find out very soon. We also watched the movie after we finished the book.
Divergent was my favorite book that we read.
As you may have heard, Honors English 9 reads the book Divergent. Many people may have read the book or seen the movie. I enjoyed this project, because after the reading, Mrs. Allen split us into factions. I was in Abnegation, how, I have no idea. This was probably my favorite project that we did in English.
Above all of the projects, there is poetry.
Many of you, when you hear the word "poetry" you probably start groaning. Don't get too upset, the poetry unit was very fun. I really liked it because there were very few requirements when writing your poem. You get to express your feelings and the way you are thinking. The poetry unit was BY FAR my favorite. I enjoyed every part of it. I think my favorite part was watching Louder Than a Bomb or writing my poem!
Independent reading
My favorite independent reading book that I read was Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. This was my favorite because it involved real life situations. Yes, it was fiction, but it was realistic fiction. I would recommend you read this book!
My fave
My favorite by far is the poetry unit. Before this class, I hated poetry. This class and this assignment gave me freedom to write a poem about something that is very hard for me to talk about. It was easier putting it on paper than it was saying it out loud. I will forever love Mrs. Allen for allowing me to share my thoughts on a piece of paper.
My least fave
I did not enjoy reading the Odyssey. It was very hard to follow and difficult to read. I did not like all the gods and goddesses either. I thought the story behind it was stupid.
Advice
Here is my advice. Make sure you do your work. Do NOT annoy Mrs. Allen. Be actively involved in group assignments. Get homework/projects turned in on time. And lastly, when it comes to poetry, BE DEEP.
Top 5 ways to survive English
1. Keep binder organized
2. Volunteer to read (even once in a while)
3. READ THE BOOKS
4. Do your part in group work
5. Pay attention when Mrs. Allen talks
Inspirational quotes
"Whatever you are. Be a good one." -Abraham Lincoln
"Nothing is impossible the word itself says 'I'm possible'!" -Audrey Hepburn