Be the Fre$he$t Fre$hman
Read so you can be the freshest freshman!
Hello Freshmen!
Welcome to 9th grade! My name is Kaylee Montanari. I was a student in Mrs. Allen's class in the 2014-2015 year. In the upcoming year, this English class will probably be one of your more difficult classes. But it will also be fun, exciting, and different from any other class you have had before. You'll have a lot of projects, but a lot of them are group projects which are a lot better (in my opinion). When I started out my year, I was very nervous and hesitant with this class because I thought I wasn't going to be able to get through the year. But with hard work, I survived Honors English 9, and you will too!
This year in Honors English 9 you'll be studying...
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: In a Tree Grows in Brooklyn, we get to see Francie Nolan grow up. The book takes place in Brooklyn, New York in the early 1900's. Francie and her family are faced with challenges. Poverty is a limits a lot of things in the Nolan family. It causes them to not have enough food on the table and to not have steady jobs. In the book, Francie and her family face poverty, death, and broken hearts.
- Speak: Melinda Sordino doesn't speak. She is very quiet, has no friends, and has something wrong with her. She used to be popular, but once 9th grade hits, she's an outcast with no friends. Something happened to her to make her this way. The only thing she likes at school is art class, other than that she is alone. Melinda faces bullies, her old friends, and ignorant parents throughout the book.
- Romeo and Juliet: Romeo and Juliet is written by William Shakespeare, aka the Greatest Writer of All Time. Romeo and Juliet are star-crossed lovers. In the beginning of the story, the readers already know their fate: they are going to die. The story tells of the Montague and Capulet feud and how the feud ruins the families. When Romeo and Juliet fall in love, only bad things are to come.
- Divergent: Divergent takes place is future society. It is the story of Beatrice Prior. The society is broken into five factions, and Beatrice turned 16, which means she must pick a faction to belong to. Beatrice soon finds corruption and wrongness in her societies structure. She falls in love in the process and has to defeat her enemies throughout the book.
Independent Reading
In Mrs. Allen's class, we read multiple books independently. Mrs. Allen choosing topics that are interesting and fun to read. This helps kids who don't enjoy reading like it a little better. Her letting us choose books really shows how she wants us to enjoy reading, and not just read for school. We get to pick out our own books, which helps us likes books more because we can pick topics that interest us.
What I liked
I loved how we were able to have a lot input in the class. For instance, we were able to choose who are groups were for a lot of the projects. Also, we got to choose our independent books we read. I also loved the Divergent unit. We battled against our peers when we were put into our factions. That was a lot of fun!
What I Didn't Like
I didn't like how we had to juggle many projects at one time. This caused me a lot of stress and anxiety. Also, we use a lot of different web sites in the class and I always mixed up my username and passwords. Also, It was hard to keep everything organized and straight in my binder.
ADVICE!!
Do NOT procrastinate. Do your work as early as you can so the stress of the project will be gone. Also, do all of your work. Yes, there is a lot but doing your homework and work is a lot of the points in class. In group projects, don't sit back and let your peers do all the work. Take charge and help out so you can make sure you will get a good grade!
TOP 5 WAYS TO CONQUER HONORS ENGLISH!!!
1.) Go all out on projects. Mrs. Allen won't object to you trying your hardest on every project. All the hard work will pay off!
2.) Always read. A lot of kids don't read the chapters given, and then on the quizzes the next day, they fail. This can really bring your grade down.
3.) Be grateful for the books we read in class. If we read books in class, it will be a lot more fun then if you were alone. Take advantage of reading in class and do other English homework out of class.
4.) Don't procrastinate and stay organized. Binder checks are a lot of points, you want to make sure you are organized. Also, if you wait for the last day to do work, you probably won't get a good grade.
5.) DON'T COMPLAIN!!!! Mrs. Allen's class is amazing!! Especially compared to other English classes. You should be grateful for the fun you have in class!
QUOTE
"Don't let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game." ~Babe Ruth