9th Grade English-Fall 2026 @ $800/semester

Description

9th Grade English-Fall 2026 Semester

- Course Overview & Structure

This is a year-long course divided into eight skill-based units and a final reflection. Students will explore multiple genres across history, analyze classical, contemporary, and informational literature, and develop their voices through argumentative, informative, and narrative essay writing. This class uses the 2026 English 9 Mission Vista Academy Course Outline as a guide.

• Student Choice: Students select the literature that interests them from the provided suggestions or educationally equivalent alternatives.
• The Writing Process: Assignments guide students through graphic organizers, drafting, revising, peer/instructor conferencing, and finalizing text.
• Academic Integrity & MLA: All assignments must adhere to strict academic honesty standards and follow standard MLA formatting (typed, double-spaced, 12 pt font) with proper citations.

Suggested Pace by Semester

The units build upon each other sequentially to develop skills and knowledge, though they can be paced flexibly:

• Semester 1: Units 1–4
• Semester 2: Units 5–8 & the End of Course Reflection
• 
  

Overview of Semester 1:

Unit 1: Memoir / Autobiography

Literature Suggestions: 

• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - Frederick Douglass, 1845
• The Story of My Life - Helen Keller, 1903
• Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank, 1947 
• The Diary of “Helena Morley” - Elizabeth Bishop, 1957
• Night - Elie Wiesel, 1960
• The Endless Steppe - Esther Hautzig, 1968
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou, 1969
• A Year in Provence - Peter Mayle, 1989
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Jean-Dominique Bauby, 1997
• Red Scarf Girl - Ji-Li Jiang, 1997
• Left to Tell - Immaculee Ilibagiza, 2006
• The Distance Between Us - Reyna Grande, 2012
• The Genius Under the Table - Eugene Yelchin, 2021

Unit 2: Narrative Essay (Will use whichever selected Literature from Unit 1)

Unit 3: Informational Text & Expository Summary

Literature Suggestions:

• Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death - Patrick Henry, 1775
• Secret Message to Congress Regarding the Lewis & Clark Expedition - Thomas Jefferson, 1803
• Civil Disobedience - Henry David Thoreau, 1849
• Final Address to the Court - John Brown, 1859
• Emancipation Proclamation - Abraham Lincoln, 1863
• The Gettysburg Address - Abraham Lincoln, 1863
• Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration of War Against Germany - Woodrow Wilson, 1917
• The Harvest Gypsies Article I & II - John Steinbeck, 1936
• Are We Overlooking the Pursuit of Happiness - Eleanor Roosevelt, 1936
• Executive Order 9066: Resulting in Japanese-American Incarceration - Franklin Roosevelt, 1942
• Brown v. Board of Education - Landmark Supreme Court Case, 1954
• Inaugural Address - John F. Kennedy, 1961
• We Choose to Go to the Moon - John F. Kennedy, 1962
• Letter from a Birmingham Jail - Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963
• I Have a Dream - Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963
• Tinker v. Des Moines - Landmark Supreme Court Case, 1969

Unit 4: Informational Text & Argumentative/Persuasive Essay

End of Fall Semester

In-Person Instruction

Cost

The fee is $25.00 per registration