English I 

Grammar

In Grammar for Writing, the students review parts of the sentence, verbals, clauses, diagramming, usage of pronouns and verbs, and punctuation. This eight-week review in the beginning of the year serves as a foundation for writing future themes. Along with reinforcing sentence-building and editing skills, the grammar review provides the vocabulary of grammar and style that teachers use when evaluating their students’ writing.
 

Composition

After reviewing paragraph construction and writing several expository paragraphs during the first quarter, students progress to study the basics of the five-paragraph expository theme (building on the junior school's work) in four or five formal themes. Students learn pre-writing techniques, outlining skills, and some editing and proofreading skills. Along with urging close reading and analysis of literature, ninth-grade teachers emphasize such formal concerns as writing coherent and thorough outlines and learning the mechanics of presenting formal essays. Because English I stresses the structure and mechanics of theme-writing, upper-level teachers should be able to focus more on content and logical argumentation.

Some instructors teach a memoir, personal essay, or narrative in addition to the major analytical themes. These types of assignments build the writing process, demonstrating a variety of ways students can discover topics, develop drafts, and polish their writing. Imaginative writing is crucial to a young person’s thinking process and self-examination. Depending on their writing and grammar skills, most ninth-graders will have other opportunities to write poems, journals, descriptions, and narratives.

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