In this course, students will work collaboratively and independently to develop critical reading, writing, speaking/listening, and language skills. Students will engage with texts taken from a variety of genres, both literary and informational. They will make “real world” connections to literature and other texts through interdisciplinary units. These integrated units involve various proficiency based assessments including annotations and other close reading strategies, Deeper Thinking Questions, multiple discussion formats, writing opportunities and more. For honors students, there will be additional rigorous academic assignments supplemental to the regular English 9 curriculum. They are also expected to develop a sense of independence in their academic work and push themselves to reach mastery through hard work and revision.