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