Maha Yuga Writing Day

Students worked on writing their Maha Yuga research essays, and a few actually finished! The English 2 exam will be on Thursday.

Portfolio Checks and Maha Yuga Writing Day

Students checked their writing portfolios using a checklist to see if they are missing any writing assignments. We discussed the structure of the Maha Yuga essay, and students worked on their introductions and thesis statements.

Library Lab: Works Cited List and Extra Source

Students went to the library lab and typed their Works Cited lists. Then they found another source for their Maha Yuga essay. Students were instructed to find an outrageously expensive purchase for rich people.

Note Check and Burke, Hsiang, and Miguel Article

We read and discussed and took notes on the article "Weather and Violence," by Burke, Hsiang, and Miguel. Students got caught up on their notes, and I gave a completion grade for those who have notes on the Maha Yuga reading and the three articles.

Unit 7 Vocabulary Quiz and Burke Article

Students took their Unit 7 vocabulary quiz over roots and words, including some sentence completions and questions about MLA Works Cited entries. Afterwards we created a Works Cited entry for the article by Burke, Hsiang, and Miguel. We started the article on "Weather and Violence," and will continue reading and discussing it, and finding evidence from it tomorrow.

Maha Yuga Essay: Jaslow article

As a class, we created a Works Cited entry for the Jaslow article. Then we read and discussed it and gathered evidence for the essay. Students will only have their notes to work from during the in-class essay.

Gathering Evidence for the Maha Yuga Essay

I gave a lesson on the three types of evidence--facts/statistics, examples, and testimony--and students took notes. Then we read the Fessler article and recorded notes for the Maha Yuga essay.

Welcome Back!

I posted and discussed class grades and graded essays. We reviewed the Unit 7 worksheets; there is a quiz on Thursday over the words and roots. I gave a lesson on MLA format for news articles on the Internet, and students took notes. Then, as a class, we created a Works Cited entry for the first article.

Career Day at SWCCC

Career Pathways class only: students travelled to the SWCCC campus for Career Day.

Tuesday, November 18

Substitute teacher: Unit 7 Vocabulary derivatives and worksheet.

Maha Yuga: Reading and Notes

I gave a brief introduction to Hindu mythology and students divided into four groups. Each group, jigsaw style, was assigned a reading about one of the four yugas in a Maha Yuga, or Great Age. Students recorded their notes, then presented their piece to the class. I wrote notes on the board and students recorded them in charts.

Writing Day

Final writing day for Aliens essay.

Vocabulary Quiz and Aliens Writing

Students took the Unit 6 vocabulary quiz today, then continued to work on their Aliens essays for the rest of the period.

Aliens Writing

Students worked on their Aliens essay during class.

In-class Writing Prep: Comparing Aliens

Students finished reading and discussing the aliens stories, then took notes on "Bloodchild" for the in-class writing assignment.
Homework: Study Unit 6 vocabulary words and roots

Vocabulary Review and "Bloodchild"

I showed students their graded Unit 5 quizzes, which they may retake for a better grade, if desired. We reviewed the Unit 6 vocabulary worksheet. We finished reading and discussing "Bloodchild," and took notes on the story.
Homework: Study Unit 6 vocabulary

Red Sky Wrap-Up, Discuss Achebe; Begin Short Story Unit

We discussed the closing of Red Sky at Morning and Josh's coming of age, and Bradford's style of writing. We discussed the cultural conflict in the Achebe story. I talked about our short story unit and the short story notes students need to keep for each story, handing in a packet at the end of the unit, when there will be a summative test.
Homework: Write Red Sky comparative analysis essay

Continue "Bloodchild"

We continued reading and discussing "Bloodchild."

Finish "The Father-Thing" & Start "Bloodchild"

We finished reading and discussing "The Father-Thing" and students added notes and quotes to their analysis charts We had time to begin reading and discussing "Bloodchild."

"The Father-Thing"

After some brief vocabulary review, we continued reading and discussing "The Father-Thing."

Unit 5 Quiz and PKD's "The Father-Thing"

After a few minutes of studying, students took the Unit 5 Quiz.

Unit 6 Vocabulary

Today we had shorter periods, 50 minutes, due to the Rachel's Challenge Assembly. We brainstormed derivatives and began Unit 6 vocabulary. The worksheet is due tomorrow.

No School

Teacher Professional Day

1950s SciFi, Continued

We finished watching Forbidden Planet, and discussed the aliens in the movie. Then students watched part of a documentary about the influence of 1950s scifi films upon modern filmmakers, such as George Lukas, Ridley Scott, and Steven Spielberg.

Wednesday, October 29

We continued watching Forbidden Planet.

The Evil Alien: Monsters as Metaphors

We discussed monsters such as vampires and zombies, and how they symbolizes cultural fears. Then we began watching and discussing the portrayal of aliens in Forbidden Planet.

Monday, October 27, 2014

On Monday I took students to the East Wing computer lab to finish typing their Benet/Bradbury essays.

Vocabulary Exam

Students took the vocabulary exam for Units 1-4 today, words and roots only. Students who missed class today may make up the exam during the Monday class period.
 

Star Reading Test

Today students took the Star Reading Test, so we can get some data on our students' reading skills.
Homework: Students should study their Unit1 1-4 roots and words for tomorrow's end-of-the-quarter exam

Writing Day 3

Students worked on their comparative analysis essays during the 45-minute period today.

Comparative Analysis Writing Day

I gave a short lesson on using a general topic statement to begin an introduction. Students worked on their essay outlines, setting assignment, and writing essay paragraphs.

Comparative Analysis Essay Outline

Writing Day: Students finished up their writing about the settings of Benet's "By the Waters of Babylon" and Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains." Students who were already finished began filling in their outlines for the entire essay.
Handout: Outline form for Comparative Analysis Essay

Quarter 1 Writing Assessment: Comparative Analysis of Settings

Students spent the entire period writing a highly structured analysis of the settings of the Benet and Bradbury stories. This writing assessment is worth one hundred points.

Vocabulary Unit 4 Quiz and Comparative Analysis Essay Structure

Students were given a few minutes to study before taking the Unit 4 Quiz over the twelve new vocabulary words, three roots, and the roots from Units 1-3.

Finish Bradbury Story

Today we finished reading and discussing "There Will Come Soft Rains," and students wrote short quotes in their notes to use in their writing assignment.

Begin "There Will Come Soft Rains"

We discussed the Cold War a bit more, as well as automated houses and housekeeping machines. Then we began reading, discussing, and taking notes about Ray Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains."

Bradbury Background: "There Will Come Soft Rains"

We finished the Benet story (2 classes). To give Cold War background for the Bradbury story I showed the "Duck and Cover" video from the 1950s. Then we read and analyzed the Sarah Teasdale poem of the same title as the Bradbury short story. We barely started Bradbury's "There Will Come Soft Rains."

Finish Benet Story

I showed students the Ted Talks video "Putting the Awe in Awesome." We looked at Manhattan on Google Earth, to understand the setting of Benet's story. We finished reading and discussing "By the Waters of Babylon." Students added to their notes.

Tuesday through Thursday Classes

Tuesday: "Deep Survival"
Mr. Archibeque took over my classes. Students read the selection "Deep Survival" from the textbook and answered the first five response questions.

Wednesday: Essay Feedback Lesson
I gave students a feedback lesson using a slideshow of student examples, focusing on quoting skills and writing an evaluative conclusion. I asked students to take notes on the conclusion lesson. We discussed the Biblical allusion to Psalm 117 of the title of Stephen Vincent Benet's "By the Waters of Babylon," our next short story.

Thursday: "By the Waters of Babylon"
We began reading, discussing, and taking notes on Benet's Post-Apocalyptic short story. Students will use their notes on this story and the next one to write a structured comparative analysis that will constitute half of their first quarter assessment; the other assessment will be a vocabulary exam over Units 1-4.

Unit 4 Vocabulary Lesson

I posted and discussed grades today, reminding students that they may retake the Unit 3 vocabulary quiz to add points to their grade. I am also missing a number of writing assignments from some students. We brainstormed derivatives for the three roots in Unit 4, and students copied them down. The two prefixes for this unit are ob- ("against; in the way of") and pro- ("for). I presented the new words, and students spent the rest of the period working on their worksheets, which are due tomorrow.
Homework: Finish Unit 4 Vocabulary Worksheet

No School: Teacher Professional Day

There was no school today in order that teachers could have meetings, trainings, and planning time.

No School: Parent-Teacher Conferences

Today students had no school so that parents could come in for individual conferences with teachers.

Unit 3 Vocabulary Quiz

Students were given about ten minutes to study their words and roots. Then they took the Unit 3 vocabulary quiz, worth twenty points.

"To Build a Fire" Writing Assignment

After a brief vocabulary review for tomorrow's quiz, students wrote their London essays.

Writing Assignment: Quote Selection and Planning

I handed back the Unit 3 vocabulary worksheets, and we reviewed parts 2 and 3. Students shared ideas and quote selections from "To Build a Fire" to prepare for tomorrow's in-class writing assignment. I wrote many of the selections on the board. Students can only use their notes for the assignment, and won't have access to the text tomorrow.

Vocabulary Review and Finishing London Story

Students reviewed the new Unit 3 vocabulary using white boards. We finished reading "To Build a Fire," and students worked on gathering details, inferences, and short quotes to use in their writing next week: Write a summary of what the man did wrong.

London's "To Build a Fire"

We continued reading and discussing "To Build a Fire."

Jack London's "To Build a Fire"

We began reading and discussing "To Build a Fire."

Monday and Tuesday Classes

MONDAY: Unit 3 Vocabulary
I returned and reviewed the Unit 2 vocabulary quiz from Thursday; students may retake the quiz during lunch if they are unhappy with their grade. We brainstormed derivatives from the four new Latin roots in Unit 3 and discussed each of the twelve new vocabulary words. Students were given the remainder of the class period to work on their worksheets.
Homework: Unit 3 vocabulary worksheet due tomorrow

TUESDAY: In-class Writing Assignment
After we reviewed quoting skills, students wrote several paragraphs about "The Man in the Woods" practicing those skills. Writing prompt: Use details, inferences, and quotations from the story to describe how the trees are personified in "The Man in the Woods." Since this assignment focusses on the same skills as "The Lottery" assignment, students may use it for a portfolio grade.
Homework: Finish writing, if necessary

Complex Sentences: Lesson and Practice

We reviewed clauses, wrote some sample sentences as a class, and students completed a practice worksheet on dependent and independent clauses. Students will have to write ten complex sentences for their Writing Portfolios. We played a few Will Shortz word games at the end of class

Unit 2 Vocabulary Quiz and Quote Selection

Students were allowed to study for about five minutes, then took their Unit 2 Vocabulary quiz. When finished, students selected quotes about the monstrous trees in "The Man in the Woods," and handed them in at the end of the period.

Jackson's "Man in the Woods"

We finished reading and discussing the Jackson story, breaking it into parts and seeing what we could find.

"The Man in the Woods" and Individual Writing Conferences

Students continued reading Jackson's "The Man in the Woods" while I conferenced with each of them about their first two writing assignments. Portfolio requirements are a 70% or higher for every assignment.
Homework: Study for Unit 2 vocabulary quiz

Writing Feedback and a New Jackson Story

I returned and discussed the Unit 2 vocabulary worksheet. Students may still hand in their completed worksheets for partial points. Next I gave students feedback on the two writing assignments I graded over the weekend: "The Fish" and "The Lottery," showing and discussing many student examples, and asking students to take strategic notes. Lastly, we began reading Shirley Jackson's recently published short story "The Man in the Woods," which students will finish reading tomorrow.
 

Writing Assignment: "The Lottery"

Sophomore counselor Mrs. Rightley talked to students for a few minutes about the services that the counseling department offers at M-CHS. I gave the students a few reminders about quoting from a text, and they wrote their "Lottery" paragraphs based upon the following prompt: Use details, inferences, and quotations from the story to discuss how the author uses patterns (repetition, contrast, anomalies) in the short story "The Lottery" to support the meaning of the work as a whole.

Analyzing "The Lottery"

We briefly reviewed vocabulary, and I asked students to study this week's prefixes: ex- "out of" and di- "two; double; twice. I presented the writing prompt for "The Lottery," and we continued analyzing and discussing the story. Students will write about it tomorrow during class.

Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery"

I discussed grades and makeups, especially missing quizzes and writing that needs to be made up outside of class time. We read "The Lottery," which we will discuss tomorrow.

Quote Integration Practice and Unit 2 Vocabulary

Students practiced integrating and citing short quotations from "The Fish."
Then we brainstormed derivatives from the four new Latin and Greek roots. I introduced the new words, and students worked on the worksheets for the remainder of the period.
Homework: Unit 2 Vocabulary Worksheet due tomorrow

Writing Snapshot

Today students wrote an in-class analysis of Elizabeth Bishop's "The Fish," a snapshot of their beginning-of-the-year writing. This is the first requirement of the sophomore writing portfolio. The assignment is for a completion grade, but I will assess strengths and weaknesses in terms of each student's ideas, development, structure, formal voice, and conventions.

Vocabulary Quiz 1 and Bishop's "The Fish"

Students took the Unit 1 vocabulary quiz at the beginning of class. We spent the remainder of the period applying the steps of analysis the Elizabeth Bishop's poem "The Fish," which students will write about tomorrow. Tomorrow's in-class writing is the first sophomore writing portfolio requirement, so we discussed the writing prompt, which I've written on the board.

The Process of Analysis in Five Moves

I gave a short presentation on Bloom's Taxonomy to emphasize the important of higher level thinking in high school. We finished discussing in detail the five steps of analysis; students took notes and participated in class discussion.
Homework: Study Unit 1 vocabulary for tomorrow's quiz

Fish Tank Reading and Vocabulary Review

Students read a Craig's List ad called "Large dirty fish tank, contents," then answered some questions on a handout. They spent the rest of the period making Unit 1 vocabulary cards to study for Thursday's quiz.

The Process of Analysis

I discussed grades, then handed back and reviewed and discussed the answers for the Unit 1 vocabulary worksheet, and the Friday quiz. Students need to get their parent signatures or emails in. We began reading and discussing the five-step process of analysis. We at least got through Step 1, one of the most difficult steps: Postpone judgment. 

Lesson: How to Remember Things

Students handed in their completed Vocabulary Unit 1 worksheets for a grade. I taught a brief mythology lesson on the Saraswati, Hindu goddess of knowledge. Then I taught a lesson on how to memorize new information, based on educational research on vocabulary: 1) Time and focus; 2) Use your personal learning style to study; 3) Make connections; and 4) Repetition. Students took a short quiz (a low-points formative assessment) on etymology and vocabulary to see how much they have retained from this week's lessons.

Vocabulary Unit 1 Roots, Words, and Worksheet

Today we finished brainstorming derivatives from the Unit 1 roots, which students wrote down. We looked at example words for the three prefixes in the Unit--in-/im-, con-, and re- --to determine their meanings. I presented the Unit 1 words, and students used the remaining class time to work on their first vocabulary worksheet, due tomorrow.
Handouts: Prefix List; Unit 1 Vocabulary Worksheet
Homework: Unit 1 Vocabulary Worksheet due tomorrow

The Roots of English: Derivatives

We finished the Etymology slide show, and students took notes. We discussed questions at the end of the lesson. After explaining what derivatives are (modern words that come from old words, or roots), I wrote the first four Latin roots with their meanings on the board, and we started to brainstorm derivatives for them.
Handouts: Suffix Lists
Homework: Parent email or signature due by Friday

Welcome, Wise Fools!

The first day of school in my classroom was devoted to classroom orientation and the first part of a slide show lesson on vocabulary (etymology, the origin of words). I am trying to learn the names of my new students, so be patient. Students took short notes on the etymology lesson, which will continue tomorrow.
Handouts: English 2 Syllabus
Homework: Parents read syllabus and acknowledge with an email or signature