SUMMER READING PART II

Share what you've been reading. I'm making my way through "Eat the Document". It is good--I just haven't been reading as much as I like to in the summer.

June 8--SUMMER READING

Hi all. I don't know how many of you will ever check this over the summer, but I'd like to encourage SUMMER READING that isn't the required books for our class. I started The Wednesday Letters by Jason Wright. I'll let you know what I think. I'd recommend both She's Come Undone and I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb if you are looking for good reads.
What are you reading, and what do you recommend?

May 27

Last day for vocab extra credit! Then we reviewed the Romeo and Juliet test. Started discussing FEAR--will return to this on Friday and apply it to Animal Farm.
TOMORROW: In-class applied practice activity with Animal Farm--bring your book. You may work with others to reach your conclusions. Think analytically!! :)
Continue studying for Vocab final!

May 26

We did another vocab review activity--mad libs. We read and "acted" the first significant scene in Animal Farm, then compared it to the "acted" version of the scene where Napoleon leads the meeting. We will continue discussion tomorrow, focusing on the blog assignment that is due tomorrow. We will also review the Romeo and Juliet test tomorrow and complete similar applied practice for Animal Farm.
DUE WEDNESDAY: Blog assignment #3; Last day for vocab extra credit
NEXT WEDNESDAY: Vocab cumulative final with Cult Lit and Etymology

AF Blog Assignment #3

As we discuss the theme of POWER and the ABUSE OF POWER, reflect upon the role of leaders in different situations. Comment on the types of leaders that you think are most effective and why leaders may struggle with the power with which they are charged. Give specific examples, but please refrain from using names.

May 22

Reviewed for Vocab final. We began discussing Animal Farm. Blog assignment #3 is posted and due by class on Wednesday.

May 20

We took the Romeo and Juliet test. Have Animal Farm read by tomorrow. We will begin discussions. Study for the cumulative vocab final that will be June 3! Blog assignment #3 will be posted tomorrow and is due Monday!!

May 18

We began reviewing for the cumulative vocabulary test (June 3). This test is part of the semester final. Students were informed of Missing Assignments--need to turn in by the end of this week.
TOMORROW: Group #7 will present, Vocab #12 quiz, review for RJ test and vocab test
WEDNESDAY: Romeo and Juliet test
THURSDAY: Have Animal Farm read! Prepare to discuss!

May 14

Began Romeo and Juliet presentations. First three groups presented; great job with timing and info. Next three groups present tomorrow, and the last group presents on Monday. Don't forget about the Vocab #12 quiz on Monday. Pick up your sentences and definitions from your mailbox on Friday during class! Read Animal Farm!

May 13

Turned in Vocab #12 sentences. We completed our in-class preparations for the Romeo and Juliet presentations. Presentations begin tomorrow! (Did anyone notice that the dates have been wrong on the blog?)
MONDAY: Vocab #12 quiz
NEXT THURSDAY: Have Animal Farm read! :)

May 11

Stephanie reviewed the definitions for Vocab #12. We then divided into our RJ groups. Presentations start Thursday! Each group turned in a timeline for their 20-minute presentation.
DUE TOMORROW: 5 sentences (no sentence patterns)

May 10

Words for Vocab #12 were given--last new vocab!! We will review vocab over the next few weeks and then take the cumulative vocab test. Vocab #12 quiz will be next Monday. We went over the rubric and expectations for the Romeo and Juliet group project, then worked the remainder of the block in groups. Group presentations will begin on Thursday. The Romeo and Juliet test will be next Wednesday. Read Animal Farm in its entirety by next Thursday, May 21.
DUE TOMORROW: Vocab #12 definitions, Timeline for 20-minute presentation
DUE WEDNESDAY: 5 sentences (no sentence patterns)

May 8

We took the Vocab 11 quiz. Not as good...be sure to study!! We finished the picture journals...loved them!! We divided into our Romeo and Juliet groups.
NEXT WEEK:We will prepare the 20-minute group presentations in class on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Three groups will present on Thursday and two groups will present on Friday. I will give you a rubric with expectations on Monday. Be sure to TEACH your classmates about your topic. Vocab #12! Have a good weekend!

May 7

We watched Act IV, then went to the auditorium where Matt and Eddie had prepared the props and set the stage for Act V, Scene 3. Grant provided the music and special effects as we acted out the end of the play! We finished reading Romeo and Juliet. We will begin the group project for the play tomorrow. We raved and line danced :)
DUE FRIDAY: Romeo and Juliet Blog Assignment #2; Vocab #11 quiz

Romeo and Juliet BLOG ASSIGNMENT #2

From ACT IV, scene 3: Before Juliet takes the potion prepared by Friar Laurence, Juliet seems fearful; what is she afraid of? Explain your response with support from the text.

May 6

We turned in 5 sentences with attached definitions. Vocab #11 quiz on Friday. We went to the auditorium again and continued to act out Romeo and Juliet. Thank you for continuing to be enthusiastic about reading the parts. We finished Act IV, scene 3. We will watch the remainder of the play as well as act out Act V, scene 3.
DUE FRIDAY: Blog assignment #2 for Romeo and Juliet; quiz on Vocab #11

May 5

Matt reviewed the definitions for Vocab 11. We then went to the auditorium where we acted out Act III, scenes 1 and 2. We are partway through scene 3. We will finish acting out Act III tomorrow. Oh...and Brad spilled Mrs. Headrick's coffee :)
DUE TOMORROW: 5 sentences (no sentence patterns)

May 4

We introduced the Vocab #11 words: anomalous, arbiter, aspersion, bizarre, brusque, cajole, castigate, contrive, demagogue, disabuse, ennui. We also talked about this week's Cult Lit: Uncle Tom; Vanity Fair; Water, water everywhere/Nor a drop to drink). We finished Act II of Romeo and Juliet and cast parts for Act III, which we will begin acting out tomorrow.
DUE TOMORROW: Definitions for vocab#11
DUE WEDNESDAY: 5 sentences (no sentence patterns)

May 1

Happy May! Students should have posted a comment for the Romeo and Juliet BLOG assignment by today. The in-class vocab "quiz" was completing the vocab 9&10 vocab packet together in 30 minutes. Students used their definitions, sentences, and each other as resources. Students then resubmitted vocab10 definitions and sentences for grading. We then ventured down to the Black Box where we acted out Act II, Scenes 1 & 2. Great job to all participants, esp Nina and Eric for providing visuals for the balcony scene.
NEXT WEEK: Vocab11; finish reading Romeo and Juliet, continue discussing themes, motifs, and symbols as well as important quotes; we will also discuss the writing style of Shakespeare
Enjoy your weekend!

Romeo and Juliet BLOG ASSIGNMENT

Explain the most significant part of Act I. Post your comment with reasoning. Additionally, you may also comment on other posts. I will be checking and contributing as well.
You must post by the beginning of class on Friday!

April 29

We finished Act I of Romeo and Juliet. Thanks again to all the volunteer readers! We will continue with Act II on Friday--Nina and Eric will be Romeo and Juliet! We turned in 5 sentences with definitions.
IN CLASS ON THURSDAY: Write a one-page response to the following question: "Why is the power of love and hate a universal theme that still has relevance today?" Give examples from Romeo and Juliet paired with real life examples as your support.
DUE FRIDAY: Post a comment that answers the question in the ASSIGNMENT post.

April 28

Chris reviewed the definitions and parts of speech for Vocab #10. We read 1.1 of Romeo and Juliet. We divided in groups of 3 and used characters to "act" the scene. Thank you for volunteering to read aloud today! If you are having difficulty following the play, it is a good idea to reread the scene and look at the footnotes on the lefthand pages. We will continue with 1.2 and 1.3 tomorrow.
DUE TOMORROW: 5 sentences (no sentence patterns)
FRIDAY: Vocab. #10 Quiz with Cult. Lit. and Etymology
**Be sure to log in to the BLOG! Your first BLOG assignment will be assigned on Wednesday!!

April 27

We reviewed the Vocab #10 list of words, introduced Etymology (more Latin phrases...hope you don't think we cover this ad nauseam!), and Cult Lit phrases. We discussed what we already know about Romeo and Juliet and read the Prologue. We will continue reading and discussing in class tomorrow, introducing the themes, motifs, symbolism, and characters.
DUE TOMORROW: definitions for Vocab #10
DUE WEDNESDAY: 5 sentences (no sentence patterns)

April 24

We took the essay test. Both short responses are worth 25 points. The extended response is worth 50 points. We will begin Romeo and Juliet on Monday. Enjoy the beautiful weekend!

APRIL 23

We discussed the short answer questions for To Kill a Mockingbird. Possible topics include positive role models for Scout and Jem (Atticus, Calpurnia, Miss Maudie), loss of innocence, Boo Radley characterization, racism as an influential antagonist, mirror and foil pairs. The in-class essay test is FRIDAY. You may use your novel and the mirror/foil pairs worksheet as references. You should include citations and page numbers from the text as support for your answers.

April 22

We finished the To Kill a Mockingbird movie with few minutes to spare. Therefore, the in-class essay test will be moved to FRIDAY. Tomorrow we will review the Q&A from the book.
DUE THURSDAY: Answer two questions from the movie:
1. Bullet the differences between the movie and the book
2. Explain one element from the book that was portrayed well in the movie and why
ALSO DUE THURSDAY: Updated Q&A from book with QUOTES and PAGE #s.

April 21

We are back on the blog! And now we have a website--http://thsenglish9honors.weebly.com! We are finishing the To Kill A Mockingbird movie, then preparing for the in-class essay test, which consists of 2 short-answer response and 1 extended response questions. You may use your book and the mirroring/foil pairs worksheet as resources. The test will be THURSDAY in class. All students should sign in to the blog by Monday. We will discuss this in class. Yay for blogging!

February 6

We took the Vocab2 quiz, which included correcting capitalization and endmarks and a section on etymology #1 and #2. We read "Black Snack". Each student wrote a paragraph about the mood of the poem, identifying specific lines for support. We discussed the individual responses, and students turned in the paragraphs at the end of the block.
DUE MONDAY: Thesis statement for Analytical Essay on poem.
DUE WEDNESDAY: Rough draft of Analytical Essay
DUE FRIDAY: Final draft of Analytical Essay

February 5

DUE: Endmarks and Capitalization Handout, POL in-class presentation, POL in-class peer evaluation
We held our Poetry Out Loud competition in class. Congratulations to Michael Dages, who was selected by his peers to represent our class at the school competition Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium.
Revised Vocab2 Sentences due tomorrow. Vocab, grammar, and etymology quiz tomorrow.

February 4

DUE: Vocab2 sentences with vocab2 definitions.

The first part of today was catch-up on all the little things we needed to finish. We shared extra credit MACRO and vocabulary words. Then we finished the grammar #1 packet, and I distributed the grammar #2 packet. This is due Friday at the beginning of the block. I also gave a handout that reviews the capitalization and punctuation from packet #1. This is due tomorrow at the beginning of the block. I introduced Cultural Literacy and gave the second set of Etymology bases.

We finished the block preparing for tomorrow's Poetry Out Loud class competition. Students also had the opportunity to work on their analytical essay on their assigned poems. The thesis statement is due Monday, the rough draft due Wednesday, and the final draft due Friday.