Wednesday, January 5, 2011

5 January 2011

English 12 CP Word of the Day: pretentious
Periods 3 & 6 Finished reading the summary of Hamlet. Read Act I scene i lines 1-80.
*Remember there is an assessment of your outside reading books on Friday, 1-7-2011.

English 10 CP
Periods 1 & 4 Work continues on your memoir writing. Final drafts are due on Friday (for Period 1) and Monday (for Period 4).

HAVE A GREAT NIGHT! SEE YOU TOMORROW!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

4 January 2011

Grade 12 CP WORD OF THE DAY:  prevaricate
Period 3  Sonnets due today.  We began reading a narrative summary of the play Hamlet.  
Dates to remember:  *1-6-2011 there will be a word quiz (be familiar with the words from precipice to prevaricate); *1-7-2011 there will be an assessment on your outside reading books (10 short answer questions on basic information);*1-14-2011 rough drafts of research papers are due.
Reminder:  Bring your Hamlet journals to class each day!

Period 6  WORD OF THE DAY:  prevaricate
Sonnets due today.  There was a quiz on the Renaissance/pastoral poems/carpe diem poems.  We are almost finished with the narrative summary of Hamlet.  
Dates to remember:  *1-5-2011 there will be a word quiz (be familiar with the words from precipice to prevaricate); *1-7-2011 there will be an assessment on your outside reading books (10 short answer questions on basic information); *1-14-2011 rough drafts of research papers due.
Reminder:  Bring your Hamlet journals to class each day!

Grade 10 CP
Period 1 Today, we conducted a "silent warm-up" of the memoir Night.  Rough drafts of your memoirs are due tomorrow, Wednesday, 1-5-2011.  We will be peer-editing.

Period 4  (No class today.)  Tomorrow, we will begin the second step in the memoir writing process.  Rough drafts are due on Friday, 1-7-2011 for peer-editing.  Do not forget your vocabulary homework due tomorrow, Wednesday, 1-5-2011.

HAVE A GREAT NIGHT!  SEE YOU TOMORROW.

Monday, January 3, 2011

3 January 2011

English 12 CP (Word of the Day:  fractious)
Period 6  Welcome back and Happy New Year, everyone!  I hope you are all well rested because there is much to be done in the next few weeks.
*For starters, tomorrow (1-4-11), there will be a quiz on the Renaissance, pastoral poetry, and carpe diem poems.
*Also, tomorrow, your sonnets in the style of Shakespeare's Sonnet #18 are due.
*On Wednesday, 1-5-11, there will be a vocabulary quiz; please know the words from precipice to prevaricate (the words in between are:  burnish, cantankerous, exhaustive, lethargic, decry, euphonic, troglodyte, redoubtable, extrapolate, and fractious).
*Friday, 1-7-11, there will be an assessment on your outside reading books -- 10 short-answer, basic questions about your books.

You should also be working on the rough draft of your research paper which is due Friday, 1-14-11.  Writing two or three paragraphs every night will surely lighten the burden of this arduous task.  DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE NIGHT BEFORE TO TRY TO WRITE 7 PAGES!

English 10 CP
Periods 1 and 4  Welcome back and Happy New Year, everyone!  Right now, both classes are working on writing memoirs in the style of Truman Capote.  Rough drafts are due this week for peer editing.  Please remember that this assignment is for your portfolio.

In addition, there are new vocabulary words.  Homework due tomorrow, Tuesday, 1-4-11>Using 8-10 vocabulary words, write a paragraph which includes all 5 of the verbs in this group of words.

Have a great evening...see you tomorrow.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

2 January 2011

Happy New Year, everyone!!

I just want to make it official that one of my New Year's resolutions is to post a current blog every day. I hope your Christmas break was restful and fun. Unfortunately, reality recommences tomorrow for us all

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

7 December 2010  THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:  So what is life all about?  Well, you often hear that "life is a journey," but a journey to where, exactly?


English 12 CP  
Words of the day since 11-30-2010>>vapid/preclude/deleterious/impecunious/precipice


We've been doing a whole bunch of stuff all at once, but I'll try to keep it logical:
The students have begun the research paper process.  Letters of information with due dates for each step of the paper were sent home and signed contracts returned by 11-29-2010.  We spent two (one?) days in the library doing a bit of research.  Preliminary thesis statements/preliminary outlines/preliminary works cited pages are due tomorrow, Wednesday, 12-8-2010.

Students also wrote an analysis of one critical essay of their research paper book.

We completed the literature of the Middle Ages, namely, The Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and Mort d'Arthur with tests and /or quizzes on each.

Tomorrow, we begin the Renaissance.






Tuesday, November 30, 2010

30 November 2010

English 10 CP
Period 1  Yesterday was back to reality after four restful days!  I assigned 10 new vocabulary words and read sentences using each one.  For homework, I asked that you write a paragraph using no fewer than 8 of the new words.  Then the class began work on the Common Task assessment which they finished today.

Period 4  Yesterday, I assigned 10 new vocabulary words and read sentences using each one.  For homework, I asked that you write a paragraph using no fewer than 8 of the new words.  Afterward, the class broke off into groups and began creating "Body Biographies" -- life size images of the main characters from Julius Caesar.  Today, the class began work on the Common Task assessment which they will finish tomorrow.

English 12 CP  WORD OF THE DAY:  CACOPHONY (11-30) and TACITURN (11-29)

Period 3  Today, the class spent time in the Library computer lab, searching for critical essays related to their research paper books. 

Homework (due Friday 12-3-2010) Write an analysis of a critical essay.  Also, do not forget the final drafts of your college essays due this week.

Period 6  NO CLASS TODAY  Remember to study for the quiz on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.  Also, read the excerpt from Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory in your literature books.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

23 November 2010

English 10 CP
Period 1  Today, I collected your Julius Caesar journals.  I also collected your vocabulary homework and reviewed the 20 vocabulary words you have defined in this set.  Tomorrow, there will be a quiz, so be sure to study your definitions.  We continued our reading of the play and are almost done with Act III.

Period 4  Today, the students had a vocabulary quiz on the words from "abridge" to "usurp".  We then continued our reading of the play and finished Act III.  Tomorrow, we do not have class, but next week we will be working on "common tasks" -- those mandatory writing assignments which should be incorporated into your portfolios.  This first task will be writing a response to poetry.  On Friday, 12-3-2010, there will be test on Acts II and III of Julius Caesar.

English 12 CP  WORD OF THE DAY:  evince
Period 3 NO CLASS TODAY

Period 6  You have been working rather hard these last few weeks, what with tests, quizzes, writing assignments, and college essays.  So, I thought you might enjoy a little comedy.  Today, we watched a bit of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a spoof of King Arthur and his knights' quest for the holy grail.

DATES TO REMEMBER:  Monday, 11-29-2010>signed research paper contracts from parents are due!!  It is a test grade, so don't forget.

For those whom I may not see tomorrow, have a wonderful, bountiful Thanksgiving; remember to practice gratefulness for all you have!