Literature for 9th Grade Reading

A Beka Literature for 9th grade

A few years ago, I went to a book swap.  That's where a homeschool mom can sell or trade her curriculum and other educational material.  I saw the book (pictured above) and snatched it up quickly.  I paid $1.  What a find!

I knew I could use it for my oldest child.  I didn't even know what grade is was for, but I knew that I wanted it.  I just knew that A Beka churns out Christian-based curriculum.  I felt blessed when I found it and was able to buy it for so cheap.

I researched online and found that this particular book is for ninth grade.  At www.abeka.com, this book sells for almost $25.  It pays to attend book swaps.  Yes!

Literature book that is about 500 pages

The next step was to make a plan for my teenage son to use this book.  I checked to see how many pages the book covers.  I divided 500 pages by 180 instructional days.  I figured he should read about  3 pages per day.  

Sample page of a story in book

Then, we looked at the actual book.  The table of contents shows short stories and poems separated by units.  I decided he should read one short story and whatever accompanying poem(s) within one week.  He would also answer the questions to the short stories, using complete sentences.  Also, at his discretion, he can practice hand-writing, while answering the questions.

Questions listed at the end of story

Sample of a poem in the book

To recap, I would like to bring together what we are covering for ninth grade English.  Previously, I blogged about:

Grammar & Writing for Ninth Grade

Spelling for High School

Now, we have the reading blog of today.  That's it.  That's my English for ninth grade: grammar, writing, spelling, and reading (literature).

Well, thanks for reading this entry about how I am addressing the issue of reading for my teenage son, for a high school course in Texas. 

How about you, my readers?  For those of you who homeschool, what are you using for reading in high school?  Are you satisfied with your reading curriculum for high school?  What are you using for English for ninth grade?  It's perfectly fine to combine subjects.  Reading is required in Texas.  I have chosen to address reading separately in my homeschool.

I pray that God helps us all, whether we are homeschooling or are thinking of homeschooling.

May God bless you all with His wisdom and peace, as you teach your children.

This has been an entry for Thorough Thursdays.  Hope you liked it.

Grammar & Writing for Ninth Grade

I found this at a flea market.

It is important that teenagers (including my son) learn how to communicate by using the written word. Being able to write concisely, correctly, and creatively requires practice.  It is also vital to attain the basic skills of grammar. Additionally, applying the different writing methods can help teenagers to attain their needs and desires. The homeschooling materials that parents provide to their teenagers is a means for the students to learn the skills they need to survive in this world.

Researching the internet to find what a ninth grader needs to learn about grammar and writing in Texas yielded me the following results:

Grammar components would include-

-plurals of nouns

-types of sentences

-subject/verb agreement predicate

-nouns and pronouns

-verbs adverbs adjectives

-phrases 

-conjunctions

-punctuation (period, commas, semicolons, colon, apostrophe, quotation marks, ellipsis)

-capitalization

-prefixes, suffixes, root words

Formal writing would involve the following assignments-

-persuasive essay- convincing someone about a viewpoint in a certain situation

-personal essay- writing about oneself

-compare/contrast essays- finding similarities and differences between two things

-research writing- composing a presentation by collecting data from several sources

This is a checklist to assess the writing-

-the voice (using unique words to write)

-development of ideas (utilizing thoughtful, insightful ideas)

-organization (transitioning smoothly within the writing)

-focus and coherence (remaining on topic)

-conventions (using rules of grammar correctly)

I recently went shopping at a flea market and found this textbook which seems promising for teaching writing and grammar to my son:

English: Writing and Skills, Complete Course (Coronado Edition) by W. Ross Winterowd  and Patricia Y. Murray  Hold, Rinehart and Winston 1988

If more help is needed with writing, we could obtain help from the internet at:

http://www.writingfix.com/left_brain.htm

For grammar, I can buy this:

http://www.timberdoodle.com/Editor_In_Chief_C1_p/410-596.htm

If more help is needed for grammar, my son could obtain help from the internet at:

http://englishgrammar101.com/

The above is just a sampling of what is required learning for a ninth grader in Texas in the areas of writing and grammar.  It is, by no means, an exhaustive list.  I scoured the internet to find information specific to Texas because this is where I am homeschooling. 

How about you, my readers?  What resources do you use for your children, if you homeschool?  Do you scour the internet for help to teach writing and grammar?  Or do you have favorite books or curriculum that you use with your children?  I encourage you to turn to the internet if you are on a limited budget.

God bless you all with His peace, my beloveds.

This has been an entry for my Thorough Thursdays series.

I found some of my information at: http://www.georgetownisd.org/ccorner/language/9.asp