Monday, May 20th
IN CLASS: Students took a Rorschach
Test and discussed how it applies to "Flowers for Algernon".
HOMEWORK:
-
Finish the story (Part III) for
tomorrow! Make sure to include at least one jot per page.
-
Finish the vocabulary list for
Wednesday! Remember, the last set of words (starting with 'astute') is not in
the story. You must write your sample sentences for those words ABOUT the
story.
Friday, May 17th
IN CLASS: Students discussed Part II
of "Flowers for Algernon" and watched the opening scenes from the movie
"Charly".
HOMEWORK: Write for 30 minutes about a
personal experience (narrative) when you dealt with "wisdom" or a "loss of
innocence". Use the following questions to help guide your thinking:
- Wisdom Questions/Topic Tips
-
Pick a moment when you were a mentor
or leader! How did you use your own wisdom to help another?
-
Pick a moment when you learned
something about yourself! What wisdom did you take away from that experience?
- Loss of Innocence Questions/Topic
Tips
-
Tell the story of a time when your
parents or an adult lied to you, and you first realized that they lied.
Emphasize how your perspective changed.
-
Tell the story of a time when
something you thought was "perfect" was no longer so perfect. Show how it
changed. Show how you changed.
Thursday, May 16th
IN CLASS: Students discussed the first
part of "Flowers for Algernon" and then started reading Part II.
HOMEWORK: Finish part II! Remember to
jot which parts of intelligence Charlie is using for the marked report entries
from class. Make sure to jot your reaction to Part II at the end when you are
done reading. You can do this in your notebook if you wish.
Wednesday, May 15th
IN CLASS: Students went to the Book
Fair, and started reading "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes.
HOMEWORK: Write for 30 minutes on some
aspect of intelligence. Use the directions found on the 'Announcements' page.
Tuesday, May 14th
IN CLASS: Students completed the first
part of our discussion on intelligence.
HOMEWORK: Answer the following
questions in your notebook! You should be able to produce a page or more! If
you do not have your notebook, do it on a separate sheet of paper:
-
What are the possible effects of
changing your intelligence surgically?
-
How is it different from earning your
intelligence by studying or working through exercises that are meant to
improve your brain's processing speed?
-
How might this surgery affect your
relationships with others?
-
What aspects of growing more
intelligence naturally might a person miss?
Monday, May 13th
IN CLASS: Students shared their final
lens essays before turning them in. Students then started to analyze the idea
of intelligence.
HOMEWORK: Work on cleaning up your
notebooks! Collection starts tomorrow!
Friday, May 10th
IN CLASS: Students worked on revising
their dystopian notebooks and completing their final notebook entry. Entry
prompts are available for download in the 'Handouts' section.
HOMEWORK: Final draft of your essay is
due on Monday! Remember to include at least two rough drafts and your rubric
with a completed pre-final draft evaluation on the back.
Thursday, May 9th
IN CLASS: Students had one final
opportunity to revise and work on their essays.
HOMEWORK: Final draft of your essay is
due on Monday! Remember to include at least two rough drafts and your rubric
with a completed pre-final draft evaluation on the back.
Wednesday, May 8th
IN CLASS:
-
Advanced - Students reviewed body
paragraph structures and elaboration before workshopping their papers.
-
English 8 - Students completed a
pre-final draft evaluation of their essays using the rubric as a guide plan
revisions.
HOMEWORK:
-
Advanced - Complete a new, clean draft
of your essays for tomorrow. Make sure to include textual evidence if you have
not already done so!
-
English 8 - If you did not finish the
pre-final draft evaluation, please do so and come with your revision plan
ready for tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 7th
IN CLASS:
-
Advanced - Students planned their
rubric and worked on specific needs in their essays.
-
English 8 - Students discussion
conclusions and worked on various parts of their essays.
HOMEWORK:
-
Advanced - Work on an aspect of your
essay based on your rubric discussion today.
-
English 8 - Bring a clean draft and
your old draft to class tomorrow. Add all of your revisions to date!
Monday, May 6th
IN CLASS: Students participated in
inquiry activities to evaluate samples and improve their own essays.
HOMEWORK: Complete the following
journal activity. Answer the following questions in your dystopian notebook...
-
What are you doing well in your essay?
-
What do you still need help on your
essay?
-
Based on the work we've done in class,
what do you want to see on the rubric?
Friday, May 3rd
IN CLASS: Students worked on building
elaboration in their body paragraphs.
HOMEWORK: Type up a clean draft of
your essay for Monday! Do NOT throw out your hand written drafts!
Thursday, May 2nd
IN CLASS: We talked about cohesive
introductions in class, and students looked at each other's work as samples
and guides for their own thinking.
HOMEWORK:
-
Advanced - Research at least five (5)
facts about your social problem that you can include in your essay.
-
English 8 - Develop a clean copy of
your introduction based on today's work OR develop a new conclusion that
relates your analysis of the novel to a social problem in our world today.
Wednesday, May 1st
IN CLASS:
-
Advanced - Students worked on
developing multiple textual connections in their essays.
-
English 8 - Students worked on the
structure of their body paragraphs focusing on connections to the novel.
HOMEWORK: *NOTE: The chart provided in
class today is available on the 'Handouts' page.
-
Advanced - Add one or two new
paragraphs to your rough draft based on the work we started today.
-
English 8 - Complete your rewrite of
the body of your essay OR complete your additions to the body of your essay,
which you started in class.
Tuesday, April 30th
IN CLASS: Students created a flash
draft, in which they built a rough draft based on their planning from
yesterday.
HOMEWORK: Spend no more than 15
minutes working on your flash draft if you are not done. This translates to
doing ONE of the following:
-
Finish the paragraph you were writing
when I stopped you in class.
-
Write one more paragraph if your paper
is not done.
Monday, April 29th
IN CLASS: Students started planning
their next essay assignment in their writer's notebook.
HOMEWORK: Finish your plan in your
notebook! Feel free to draft out ONE paragraph of your essay for tomorrow's
flash draft. NO TYPING!
Friday, April 26th
IN CLASS:
-
Advanced - No class due to Career Day
activities.
-
English 8 - Students participated in a
full-class roundtable discussion about various quotes they found that relate
to their dystopian novels.
HOMEWORK:
-
Advanced - Finish quote work from
yesterday. See below.
-
English 8 - READ!
Thursday, April 25th
IN CLASS:
-
Advanced - Students participated in a
full-class roundtable discussion about various quotes they found that relate
to their dystopian novels.
-
English 8 - We talked about how to
select interesting topics to write about when studying literature, and
practiced on a topic in class.
HOMEWORK:
-
EVERYONE - SUIT UP! Dress
professionally for Career Day tomorrow!
-
Advanced English (Due Monday) - Write
two notebook entries, one for each of the following topics:1) According to
Albert Einstein, "It has been appallingly obvious that our technology has
exceeded our humanity." Do you agree or disagree? Do you do anything to fight
this belief in your personal life? How/Why? Why not? Explain!2) Find your own
quote about ISOLATION and use the prompts from yesterday to analyze it in your
notebook!
-
English 8 (Due TOMORROW!) - Using one
of the quotes I presented in class, analyze it in your notebook using the
prompts from yesterday! (See below!) We will use this information for our full
class discussion tomorrow!
Wednesday, April 24th
IN CLASS: Students finished their
quote collection and started analyzing their meaning with connects to their
novels and the real world.
HOMEWORK: Finish your second quote
analysis in your notebooks. Remember to address the following four questions
in your response. Your "goal" length should be two pages hand written:
-
Define your quote completely!
Include/Emphasize all of the key terms!
-
Connect the meaning of your quote to
the novel! Make sure to explain this connect by referring to specific
characters and/or a specific moment from the text.
-
Include textual evidence from the
novel in making your connection!
-
Apply the meaning of this quote to the
real world! Make sure to go beyond your immediate existence and apply to
something globally!
Tuesday, April 23rd
IN CLASS: Students collected various
famous quotes about the big ideas they applied to their novels.
HOMEWORK: Respond to the following
questions in multiple paragraphs. Your entry should be at least two pages!
Feel free to talk about multiple topices if you run into a road block.
-
What has your novel taught you about
your world?
-
How has your perspective/understanding
of your world changed?
Monday, April 22nd
IN CLASS: Students watched a movie
clip from V for Vendetta and analyzed how the message about control applied to
their own novel.
HOMEWORK: Collect at least three (3)
quotes about the big ideas we collected before vacation. Instructions are on
the 'Announcements' page!
Monday, April 15th through Friday,
April 19th - SPRING BREAK!
Friday, April 12th
IN CLASS: Students held their final
book club meeting today and filled out a group debrief sheet.
HOMEWORK: READ! Please have a new
independent reading book when you return from vacation! I'll be looking for a
new one!
Thursday, April 11th
IN CLASS: Students completed some
writing about social critiques in their dystopian novels.
HOMEWORK: Prepare for your final book
club meeting!
Wednesday, April 10th
IN CLASS: Students held their sixth
book club meeting and finished their archetypes sheet.
HOMEWORK: Prepare for your seventh
book club meeting on Friday! (a.k.a. Finish your novel!)
Tuesday, April 9th
IN CLASS: Students met with Mr. Pavia
about planning for next year, the high school, and beyond.
HOMEWORK: Prepare for your sixth book
club meeting!
Monday, April 8th
IN CLASS: Students held their fifth
book club meeting and started analyzing archetypes in their novels.
HOMEWORK: Prepare for your sixth book
club meeting on Wednesday!
Friday, April 5th
IN CLASS: Students held their fourth
book club meeting and discussed the archetypes (character types) of this
genre.
HOMEWORK:
-
Prepare for the fifth book club
meeting on Monday!
-
Produce a draft of the promotion poem.
Thursday, April 4th
IN CLASS: Students worked with the
concept of the quest in dystopian literature. They developed analytical
summaries and shuffled with students in other groups to share their reading
experiences.
HOMEWORK: Prepare for your fourth book
club meeting tomorrow! Remember to include your two "Big Ideas" into your note
work.
Wednesday, April 3rd
IN CLASS: Students held their third
book club meeting.
HOMEWORK: Prepare for your fourth book
club meeting on Friday! Remember to include your two "Big Ideas" into your
note work in your Dystopian Literature notebook.
Tuesday, April 2nd
IN CLASS: Students worked on a Flight
Day activity. They developed a poster using as many flight terms (vocabulary)
as possible.
HOMEWORK: Prepare for your third book
club meeting! Remember to produce at least twice the amount of notes as you
have for the previous two sections.
Monday, April 1st - NO SCHOOL!
Staff Development Day!