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English 9
Welcome to the English page. Here you will learn what happens in English class, and what we learn in here. Hope you will like our English class!
About English Class
In English, there are many smaller subjects within English.
These smaller subjects are:
1) Vocabulary 2) Language Skills
3) Short Stories 4) Writing
5) Novel Studies 6) Poetry
7) Drama 8) Review.
English Contents
In English class, you are required to bring an English binder with dividers, lined paper, pencil case (including pencils, eraser, ruler, coloured pens, highlighters, and post-it notes), and your agenda.
Supplies For Class
Assignment criteria:
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1) Title of assignment
2) Top right hand corner: Full name, date, block, course
3) Written NEATLY in blue or black ink
4) Use highlighters/coloured pens to highlight
Assignment Criteria
1) What is a "Plot"?
When you want to explain what a story is about, you probably summarize the plot. That’s right. The plot consists of a series of events that unfold as the story progresses. In English 9, we will learn more about what a plot is and how it works. Understanding plot structure will help make your stories clearer and more enjoyable, and it will also improve your grades in class.
Many popular stories follow a pattern known as the "narrative arc" or "dramatic structure." You can think of it as the framework or skeleton of the story. Here are the main parts of a plot you need to know:
Exposition: This is the introduction. We meet the main characters, learn about the setting, and understand what is happening. It is the "once upon a time" part of the story.
Rising Action: This is where the conflict is introduced or appears. This is when the story starts to get exciting. The protagonist faces challenges and obstacles, and the tension increases. This section makes up a large part of the story.
Climax: This is the turning point, or the moment of highest tension or drama. It's the "big battle," whether it’s physical or psychological. The climax changes everything for the main character, keeping you on the edge of your seat.
Falling Action: These are the events that occur after the climax. The tension eases, and you begin to see the consequences of the climax.
Resolution: Finally, this is the story's conclusion. The conflicts are resolved, and we find out what happens to the characters and their surroundings. It usually differs from the start of the story, and everyone learns a lesson.
Using a plot line makes your story more organized and understandable. You can better anticipate the surprises, making your story engaging and meaningful.
Characters hold a very important place in any story. We sympathize when they struggle, celebrate when they win, weeping with them when they suffer. In English 9, not only are we interested in the character, but we also learn how they act, what kind of character they are, and what makes them a good or bad character.
The two most accessible roles of characters are the protagonist and the antagonist.
The protagonist is the main character. They are the one whose life we follow. It is important to note here that a protagonist does not necessarily have to be good but the man focus of the novel. The antagonist is the character or force in opposition to the protagonist. This is not necessarily a "bad guy." It might be the rival, society, nature, or even an internal conflict within the protagonist himself. Sometimes, the so-called "antagonist", is in fact right and the hero merely doing what he thinks is right.
We also have to search for character growth. A "static" is a character with no change, not developing or changing in the course of the whole story. On the other hand, a dynamic character does change throughout the story, due to suffering, realization, or gaining knowledge about something. This may be in their personality, view, or outlook. For example, in some really highly popular books that many people have read, the young protagonist is dynamic. They start off naive and end up wise by the end of the story. Once you decide whether or not a character is static or dynamic, then you are able to more easily decide the theme of the story and what it is that the writer is teaching us about personal change and strength or human potential for change. The travel of the protagonist is actually a very strange part of the story.
2) Protagonist vs. Antagonist and the Journey of Change
3) How Point of View Shapes a Story
Can you imagine how different a story might turn out if some other person were to tell the tale? One of the key choices any author will ever make concerns a narrative point of view, as it reveals what we learn and how we feel about the characters and what's happening to them.
In English 9, we will study three basic types of POV
First Person: It is told from the point of view of a character in the story, using "I," "me, and "we." This POV gives us direct access to the thoughts and feelings of that character and makes us very intimate with him or her. The caveat? We have access only to what that character knows and perceives. We have to question just how objective their version of what happens is.
Third Person Limited: The narrator is standing outside the story and refers to all of his characters as "he," "she," or "they." However, the narrator is only observing the thoughts and feelings of one single character. It's like having a camera tagging along behind one person. We see the things from their point of view, but it should, of course, have a more objective voice than in the first person.
Third Person Omniscient: The narrator who knows everything. This narrator will inform us as to what any or all of the characters are thinking and feeling. They can provide background information and remark about events. This POV gives the reader a "god's-eye view" of the story.
Understanding POV allows you to recognize the author's hand. Ask yourself: Why did the author choose this point of view? What am I being told, and what am I not being told? The whys will be a deeper layer of the meaning and impact of the story.
An interesting and eventful plot, compelling characters, and a point of view are all included in a story. In fact, all of these things are really about the theme. The theme is the general idea, message, or insight about life that the author wishes to convey to you.
You must remember then that a theme is not a summary of the plot. "A boy wizard fights an evil dark lord" is a plot. The theme might be "the power of love and friendship to conquer evil" or "the importance of choice in defining one's destiny." In other words, the message or lesson that the story tells you.
Identifying the theme can be challenging because authors never state a theme. You need to put the pieces together and find it through looking at several of the following elements:
-Character Arc: How is the character different at the beginning from the end? What does he/she learn along the way?
- Conflict: What is the principal conflict, and what does its resolution reveal?
-Symbolism: Does it have objects, places, or any other events signifying larger ideas?Key Statements: Notice any crucial dialogues or passages that sound important and weighted.
4) An Introduction to Theme
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