This area is not a substitute for the daily agenda which each student has been provided with. However, I will post general information so parents have a better idea what students should be working on. Week of:12/21 - 12/23 We have been working on poetry, and students are developing "group poems" with two or three in a group. This is the closest to a performance we've gotten. Students have also been writing different types of poems. They have written a "recipe" poem entitled "The Perfect _____." So far we have had everything from "The Perfect Friendship" to "The Perfect Star Trek Episode" to "The Perfect Rock Video." Students have tried their hands at Love poems. The poems have been odes to squids, lost love, pizza slices, etc. Time, absences, and special programs have made it difficult to stick to my schedule. The Slam will have to be postponed until after the holiday. In the meantime we'll try our hand at haiku and the development of a special performance poem. Assignments All poems written so far will be due on Wednesday to be gathered into a packet. This will be a composition grade. I anticipate that these will be good grades as the students have enjoyed this assignment. If students are not going to be in school on Wednesday, they should get the packet in on Tuesday. Students should have been reading their independent reading book. Homework has been light so students will have time to read. Periods 1,2,6 are looking over a series of questions every 30 pages or so. They are taking notes on these questions. Some of these questions will be on a test given toward the end of the week we return from the break. I'll be checking the progress of these notes on Tuesday 12/23. This is worth 3 homework checks. Period 7 will also be reading their independent book. We will do the first free write based on the first quarter of the book. If students are not in class on Wednesday, they must be sure to do the free write on their own. Students should follow the reading and writing schedule provided.