Monday, March 21, 2011

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:  "It is difficult to get the news from poems, yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there." 
 William Carlos Williams
21 March 2011 

English 12 CP Word of the day:  aviary
There will be a word quiz on Friday, 3-25-11.  Be familiar with the following 15 words>
inchoate/insolvent/winsome/meager/cachet/arbiter/infinitesimal/supplementary/vivacious/ambivalent/
visceral/disparity/hue and cry/rebus/behoove
*A great deal of material has been covered since the last time I posted information.  For one, all of you had to write a summative reflective essay for your portfolio presentations scheduled for the week before April vacation.  The due date for your rough drafts was 3-14-11.  (I am still correcting them, so the due date for the final drafts may change...I'm not sure yet.)  These essays are considered a "common task" and must be uploaded to your portfolios.
*I also assigned a project for your outside reading, a re-creation of "Shortcuts" which appears in the Sunday newspaper each week.  The due date for that project is Wednesday, 3-23-11.
*We began a new unit on Metaphysical poetry.  You had to read the introduction in your anthologies and take notes -- that was a homework assignment.  Afterwards, there was quiz on the information (true/false).  You are responsible for several definitions:  metaphysical poetry/allusion/apostrophe/metaphysical conceit/hyperbole/paradox.  We read all the John Donne selections in your books -- you must be familiar with the three poems and the "Meditation 17".  There will be a test on the readings on Monday, 3-28-11.

English 10 CP  Periods 1 and 4
We continue our reading of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.  This week, you should be completing chapters 10 and 11.  Be sure to remain current with your reading journals!  You should have at least 10 entries by now.  The due date for the newspaper project will be extended because we need to read a bit more of the book.

Homework includes responding to chapter questions.  Tomorrow, Tuesday, 3-22-11, we will continue with the interviews.

...and that's all she wrote!  Have a good night!





Thursday, March 3, 2011

Thought for the day:  "A day without sunshine is like, you know, night."  Steve Martin


3 March 2011


English 12 CP  WORD OF THE DAY:  meager


Period 3  Today, we reviewed the reflective essay common task.  Due date for your rough draft is Monday, 3-14-2011.  We have a sign-up sheet for refreshments for our research paper celebration on Tuesday, 3-3.  Tomorrow, there will be an assembly with Mr. Kelly to discuss the portfolio presentation process.  HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!


Period 6  Today, the class sat in on a presentation by guest speaker Dr Al Silverstein, a Holocaust survivor.  There is no class tomorrow, so have a great week-end and I will see you on Monday!


English 10 CP


Period 4  We attended an assembly for "Pennies for Pasta".


Period 1  I explained the process for completing your outside reading assignment, including how to go about composing a thesis statement when writing about a theme in literature.  Tomorrow, we will begin a lesson in persuasive writing, in preparation for your next common task.


Have a good night!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Thought for the day:  "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant." 
 Robert Louis Stevenson

1 March 2011

English 12 CP  Word of the day:  insolvent

Period 3 NO CLASS TODAY  Remember to study for word quiz tomorrow.

Period 6  Today, there was a word quiz.  I also collected your Hamlet journals.  The "Claudius" character group made their presentation today, and we engaged in a Socratic seminar with each student asking three questions to the class.  
 
English 10 CP

Period 1  Today, there was a cumulative vocabulary quiz.  Tomorrow, we will continue with our poetry writing.

Period 4  Today, there was a cumulative vocabulary quiz.  You shared your poetry (which was quite moving!) and we began a lesson in writing about theme.

See you tomorrow!