English 9
By: Veronica Rice
Introduction to English 9 with Mrs. Allen
I’m Veronica Rice, and I just finished my freshman year. As a new freshman in English with Mrs. Allen, you will enjoy it. Mrs. Allen is a really nice person, and she is always wanting to help. But, Mrs. Allen is all about organization, so make sure to stay organized at all times. Whether it comes down to having a folder to hold all the papers she gives you to put into your binder later, or just putting them into your binder, always pay attention to where they go. Always keeping on task is important too. Whether it comes to listening in her class, or just doing the work she gives you, to maintain a good grade you have to keep up with her pace, which can move very quick sometimes.
Overview of Some of the Readings in English 9
-Divergent is a book based on a society that was supposed to be a utopia, but ended up being a sort of dystopia. A utopia is a society that is supposed to be a perfect world. A dystopia is sort of the opposite of a perfect world. Divergent is divided into factions: Erudite, the smart; Candor, the truth seekers; Abnegation, the selfless; Amity,the peaceful; and Dauntless, the brave.
-Romeo and Juliet is a total cliche type of story. The girl falls for the boy she can’t have. The Juliet Capulet and Romeo Montague are not allowed to be together, at all. Their families have been fighting for the longest time, and they seem to have “fallen in love at first sight.” I don’t believe in that, but whatever floats your boat. They end up getting married, but Romeo gets banned. So long story short, Romeo poisons himself to be with Juliet, who he thought was dead, and she wasn’t. She woke up and say him dead on the floor, so she stabbed herself in the stomach.
-Monster is about a 16 year old boy named Steve Harmon, who has been charged for felony murder, with very little evidence against him. He was taken to jail, and he writes in a journal about it. The book is comprised of a movie script, and journal entries from the courtroom and in his jail cell. He explains to us everything the prosecutor says, and how he is defended. He also tells us every witness is there, and what they say.
-The Odyssey is an epic. An epic is a long, narrative poem. This is the adventure epic. Odysseus and his men venture to many places, and run into some problems. Athena, the Goddess of wisdom, guides him through the problems they get into. His ego is usually the thing that gets him into the most trouble.
Independent Reading
Mrs. Allen will give you a time frame to read a book that is usually in the genre in your choice. You will read around 9 books, one per month. Make sure to keep up with your reading, otherwise you'll get behind and then that just make things harder for you. The book talks aren't hard, if you read the book. A way to keep up is to set a reminder on your phone or something to remember to get a certain number of pages in per day.
My Favorite
My favorite thing about this class is when we read Romeo and Juliet, even though it was boring. When she had us watch the different movies, it was cool to see how people interpreted the way this story was told. Romeo and Juliet is one of the oldest and most classic stories by William Shakespeare and it is very interesting to watch.
My "Not So Favorite"
My not so favorite thing about English 9 is Poetry. Poetry is not easy, and it is really time consuming. It is hard to write a poem, especially with all of the requirements Mrs. Allen gives you.
To Be Successful
To do well in her class, make sure that you keep all of the papers she tells you that you need. It is very important to keep everything organized, and do it well. Always keep your binder in good condition, whether its the rings that hold your papers, or having all of your papers on the rings. If you manage to get out of order but still have all of your papers, don't worry. She will give you a binder checklist when it comes close to binder check time. As long as you have all the papers she gave you, you're in good shape.
Top 5 Ways to Enjoy Reading
2.) Try and explore, but if you don't enjoy a book then find another.
3.) Don't judge a book by its cover, the contents are usually better than the outside.
4.) If you find yourself getting distracted trying to read the book, then you might not be really interested.
5.) Find a medium sized book, because you don't want to read too much but also not too little.
Quote By Steve Jobs
"Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow know what you truly want to become."