Tuesday 9-30

Today we completed and corrected Two Word Completions in the Vocabulary Book (Lessons 1-3 review)

We spent the rest of the period peer editing

If you wish me to take a personal look at your paper, see me before school Wednesday or during my lunch duty.

Monday 9-29-14 (October Due Dates)

Today we reviewed this week's assignments and discussed upcoming due dates for the month of October (and posted on SOTW). In class we completed the TOME and MOOD worksheet. Then discussed the difference between a FOCUS STATEMENT and a THESIS STATEMENT.

Writers Choice pages 735-737 were read...exercise 6 (odds) were completed and corrected.

THIS WEEK:
Monday - upload paper draft to turnitin.com NLT 11:59 PM, print draft AND rubric and bring to class tomorrow
Monday - Stage of Life Bonus

Tuesday Peer Review in Class
Tuesday - Make up Vocab Quiz 7:10 AM
Tuesday - 7:10 AM Giver Bonus if you are doing that (and all work is completed)

Friday - Bring rubric to class, upload ppr to turnitin.com NLT 11:59 PM
Friday - Vocab Test 1-3

BONUS...turn in paper early...10% bonus


Upcoming...

Friday October 10th
Grammar Quiz (unit 19 - Multiple Choice Format) and Maus I Quiz...Short Anser

Monday October 13th
Work on Project in Library
CATE Rough Draft due 11:59 PM, print draft AND rubric and bring to class Tuesday

Tuesday October 14th
Peer Editing Workshop

Monday October 20th
Work on Project in Library

Tuesday October 21st- Bring CATE rubric to class, upload ppr to turnitin.com NLT 11:59 PM
BONUS...use vocabulary words in your story...highlight them...+1 point for each correctly used. Up to 15 points.

Friday October 24th
Maus II Quiz - Short Answer
Grammar Quiz - Multiple Choice - Unit 19 and 21

Tuesday October 28th - Maus Test - Multiple Choice and Short Answer

Thursday October 30th - Stage of Life Bonus (if you wish)
Friday October 31st - Maze Runner Bonus (if you wish)

NOVEMBER...
Monday 11-3
Library Contest Rough Draft due 11:59 PM, print draft AND rubric and bring to class Tuesday
Tuesday 11-4 Peer Edit Workshop in class
Friday 11-7 Bring Library Contest rubric to class, upload ppr to turnitin.com NLT 11:59 PM

Vocabulary Lesson 3 Make-Up Quiz

Tuesday 9-30 BEFORE SCHOOL

7:15 AM Room 322

Friday 9-26-14

Today in class we took the lesson 2 VOCABULARY QUIZ.
After the quiz...homework if not completed:
Tone/Mood (Blue worksheet I gave out on BLOCK DAY) complete the BACK side
Writers Choice pages 733-734 exercise e (ALL), pages 738-739 exercises 7 and 8 (EVENS)
BLOCKS 1,3, and 6 completed and corrected Writers Choice in Class.

REMINDERS for NEXT WEEK:
Schedule Change...MASS is Tuesday...It is NOT a block day but it IS a Tie Day

English Class Assignments for Next Week:
Author Letter is due uploaded to turnitin.com by 11:59 PM Monday Night. Print out the letter and COMPLETE rubric and bring to class on Tuesday for a PEER EDITING Session.

Friday - Vocabulary TEST Unit 1 (lessons 1-3), Turn in Author Paper Rubric, Final Draft of Paper is due uploaded to turnitin.com by 11:59 PM

Forgot where the rubric is for the paper? The September 12th blog post lists ALL details for papers this semester...It tells you to go to the PAPERS page of the class website and the paper is titled 1415AuthorLetter.

Block Day

Today I passed back papers while students worked on:
Writers Choice Page 701 exercises 9 and 10 evens
Vocabulary Book page 41 and numbers 11-20 in Completing the Sentences and Choosing the Right Word

We corrected the above class work assignments then discussed UPFRONT as well as The Lottery.

Concepts covered re: The Lottery include the difference between TONE and MOOD

UPCOMING:
Vocabulary Quiz Friday
Paper Draft due uploaded to turnitin.com Monday...print and bring WITH rubric to class Tuesday

Tuesday 9-23-14

Today MAUS II reading WS were collected. Vocabulary Lesson 3 Choosing the Right word and Completing the Sentence (1-10 each) were completed and corrected.

Some papers were returned

We discussed this week's VTS and connected the exercise to reading ... and speaking/writing about what we read.

We began to discuss the Upfront Magazine. We started with a reading and discussion of TEAM MASCOTS and moved on to discuss the Middle East.

The rest of the week:
Upfront, "The Lottery", and Maus discussion...along with Grammar and Vocabulary.

THURSDAY TUTORING TIME (LUNCH)...BONUS TIME LUNCH DUTY WEDNESDAY
See me if you wish Vocabulary Strategies and/or assistance with the rough draft of next week's paper.

Make-Up Vocabualry Lesson 2 Quiz

(For those absent on Friday 9-19)

Tuesday 9-23-14

7:10 AM

Monday 9-22-14

It is officially FALL...although the temperatures do not seem to reflect the season change...

This week's known assignments:
Today Vocabulary Story Lesson 3 is being turned in
Maus II WS is due tomorrow
Vocabulary Quiz 3 Friday

NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Look at the September 12 Blog Post regarding Semester 1 papers. The rough draft for the AUTHOR LETTER is due next week. It is due MONDAY NIGHT 9-29-14 uploaded to turnitin.com and then needs to be brought to class with the complete rubric on Tuesday 9-30 for a PEER EDITING Workshop in class.

The rubric needs to be brought BACK to class Friday...and the final draft uploaded to turnitin.com by 11:59 PM Friday. Yes, if you have plans Friday you need to get this done early...it is a short paper...just a letter...the revision process should not take three full days. I believe you can get teh revisions complete within an hour or so...if your rough draft is well thought out/complete.

Friday 9-19-14

I will be out today. Please pass in THE LOTTERY question sheet with your name and block # on it to the sub.

The Vocabulary lesson 2 quiz will be given

AFTER the quiz...read UPFRONT MAGAZINE...start with pages 8-11 and 14-17. We will discuss/have a debate on the topics on Monday.

NEXT WEEK:
Vocabulary Story #3 due Monday
MAUS II due Tuesday
Vocabulary Quiz 3 Friday

GRAMMAR APP that can help you while woroking online

Grammerly is a site that might be of interest to you...

Check them out!

Today's Grammerly FACEBOOK post included this tip:

If you’re like most English speakers, you know that there’s a difference between who and whom but you aren’t sure what that difference is. We’re here to help.

Who should be used to refer to the subject of a sentence.
Whom should be used to refer to the object of a sentence.

When in doubt, try this simple trick: If you can replace the word with ‘he’ or ‘she,’ use who. If you can replace it with ‘him’ or ‘her,’ use whom.

Here are two examples:

Who ate my sandwich? (Did he eat my sandwich? Did she eat my sandwich?)

Whom should I talk to about labeling food in the refrigerator? (Should I talk to him? Should I talk to her?)

To make sure you’re using the correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation in your online writing, use the free Grammarly app.

Block Day

Block 6 WEDNESDAY - I was at St. Vincent de Paul for part of class. The first part of class was spent taking a GRAMMAR DIAGNOSTIC TEST to see what units we need to address. This is a tool for me, not to be entered into the gradebook.

After- there was time to read the short story THE LOTTERY by Shirley Jackson. A worksheet with questions (YOU DO NOT need to answer questions on the reading page) was passed out to complete after active reading the short story. DUE FRIDAY 9-19-14.

After I returned, block 6 corrected WC homework from yesterday and completed the IRONY study.

Blocks 1-3-5 on Thursday - I will be in class. We will start with WC correcting and Irony...then move on to the diagnostic and short story.

VOCABULARY QUIZ FRIDAY

Tuesday 9-16-14

Today Maus I WS was collected and Vocabulary Book LESSON 2 Completing the Sentences (evens) was used as review.

All classes completed the TPCASTT of I Dwell in Possibility by Emily Dickinson.

Block 1 Completed the IRONY WS. The rest of the blocks will on Block Day this week.

HOMEWORK DUE BLOCK DAY:
READ and Complete in the Writers Choice book...
690-691 ex2 evens
692-693 EX 3 odds

Reminder...

Friday...Vocabulary Quiz Lesson 2

Monday - Vocabulary Story Lesson 3

Monday 9-15-14

Today Vocabulary Lesson 2 stories were collected and Synonyms and Antonyms from lesson 2 were completed and corrected (pages 28-29).

We discussed the Emily Dickinson poem I dwell in possibility

Summer reading tests were passed back in some classes...everyone will have theirs by Tuesday.

VOCABULARY MAKE UP QUIZ was held at lunch in room 322 (air conditioned room 322)

REMINDERS:

Maus I Study Guide due Tuesday
Friday Vocabulary Quiz Lesson 2 (Multiple Choice)

Monday 9-22 Vocabulary Lesson 3 story is due
Tuesday 9-23 Maus II study guide is due
Friday 9-26 Vocabulary Quiz lesson 3 (MC format will be consistent)

Semester 1 Papers

The documents are able to be downloaded from the PAPERS PAGE of the class website.

Paper 1: Library of Congress Letters about Literature (titled 1415AuthorLetter)
Read online about the contest
Due Dates:

ROUGH DRAFT UPLOADED to www.turnitin.com by MONDAY 9-29-14 BY 11:59PM. Turn in PRINTED copy and rubric on TUESDAY 9-30-14 in class. We will have a peer-editing workshop in class.

FINAL DRAFT UPLOADED to www.turnitin.com by FRIDAY 10-2-14 BY 11:59PM. Turn in rubric in class FRIDAY 10-3-14.


Paper 2: CATE Creative Writing Contest (titled 1415CATEContest)
Due Dates:

ROUGH DRAFT UPLOADED to www.turnitin.com by MONDAY 10-13-14 BY 11:59PM. Turn in PRINTED copy and rubric on TUESDAY 10-14-14 in class. We will have a peer-editing workshop in class.

FINAL DRAFT UPLOADED to www.turnitin.com by TUESDAY 10-21-13 BY 11:59PM. Turn in rubric in class TUESDAY 10-21-14.

PAPER #3 Library Writing Contest

Due Dates:

ROUGH DRAFT UPLOADED to www.turnitin.com by MONDAY 11-3-14 BY 11:59PM. Turn in PRINTED copy and rubric on TUESDAY 11-4-14 in class. We will have a peer-editing workshop in class.

FINAL DRAFT UPLOADED to www.turnitin.com by FRIDAY 11-7-14 BY 11:59PM. Turn in rubric in class FRIDAY 11-7-14

A PERSONAL NARRATIVE will be started in Semester 1 and completed during Intersession/semester 2.

Friday 9-12-14

Today we took the vocabulary quiz. Make-up quiz will be Monday at LUNCH!

After the quiz, papers were returned and there was time to read MAUS.

Reminders:
Vocabulary Story Due Monday
Maus study Guide Due Tuesday
Vocabulary quiz Friday

++Check previous posts for Vocabulary and Maus details!

Block Day 9-10 and 9-11

Blocks 1-3-and 6:

In class we will complete and correct:
Vocabulary Book page 19 (1-10) Completing the Sentences
Writers Choice Read page 697 and complete exercises 5 and 6 EVENS
We discussed MAN vs SELF and MAN vs SOCIETY conflicts in BOTH summer reading texts

We took the test

A POEM Was distributed...directions changed...COMPLETE the BEING CURIOUS SIDE #2 for FRIDAY...you DO NOT need to memorize the poem this week!!!

BLOCK 5 ... I will be gone for the first part of your class...
First you will take your test...then...
Completing the Sentences pages 19-20 in Vocabulary Book
Writers Choice read page 697 and complete exercises 5 and 6 evens
Read MAUS if you have extra time...
NOTE: The poem assignment in BOLD applies to you as well...

BONUS Literature Opportunities

Warwick's Bookstore in La Jolla (family owned) has many author events through the year. Check their website to see if there is an author event that you can make.

If you wish to attend an author event to get a bonus you must, not only have all required work done, but also print this post to obtain your parents signature for approval _____________________________________. Then you need to have an employee of Warwick's sign the form. You need to have a picture taken of you with the author.

Pay attention to the author during the presentation...come to see me BEFORE school the NEXT school day (with the signatures and photo) and share the experience with me!

Tuesday 9-9-14

Today in class we will be in the library getting our groups and working on the Semester 1 project.

We will spend a few minutes completing and correcting Vocabulary in Context in the Vocabulary Book (page 27).

Block Day...we will review vocabulary, papers will be passed back, and the Summer Reading Test will be given. BRING MAUS to read if you finish your test before the block concludes!

Semester 1 Project/Paper - Tuesday 9-9 in the LIBRARY

Tuesday 9-9 we will be in the library to get our groups and have an opportunity to begin researching for our semester 1 GROUP Project/INDIVIDUAL Paper. This semester we will have THREE larger papers...this is the first...since it is a GROUP Project I am giving you QUITE a bit of time to complete it/coordinate schedules. We will have THREE days to work in class/the library. This is the first of those days.

The document is linked on the PAPERS PAGE of the website and is called 1415English2Semester1Project.

The other papers this semester will be 100% individual. The group component will be in-class peer editing.

DUE November 3rd

LIBRARY DATES: October 13th and 20th

Monday 9-8-14

Today we turned in the vocabulary stories and completed and corrected Vocabulary Lesson 1 SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS.

We also completed a VTS - Visual Thinking Strategy Activity to practice looking close/reading close ... and backing up our claims with evidence.

We discussed Mitch Albom's use of FLASHBACKS in Tuesdays With Morrie.

Reminders:

Summer Reading Test (short answer format ... use COW) on BLOCK DAY
Vocabulary Quiz - Multiple Choice Format - on FRIDAY

HINT HINT HINT:
Maus 1 Study Guide is due NEXT WEEK...9-16-14. Start reading and working on the study guide. Perhaps read Chapter 1 tonight since there is nothing specific assigned!

Word Crimes...

A funny video by "Weird Al" Yankovic...Word Crimes

BONUS Writing Opportunity - September

Stage of Life has monthly writing contests. If you wish to participate in the September contest and earn credit for the PAPERS category in the gradebook...

go to www.stageoflife.com

Look at the bottom left hand side of the webpage for the September Writing Contest.

To get credit from me...When you submit your entry you must...
1. Follow all guidelines for the contest...name of essay, submission guidelines, etc.
2. Forward to me the receipt for submission
3. Email me a copy of your submission (send in the body of the email...include word count...must be 250-500 words).

DUE DATE: September 29th.

Tuesdays with Morrie Essential Questions

Essential Questions for today and Monday:

Who got more out of the Tuesday meetings, Mitch or Morrie?
What was the biggest lesson Mitch learned from his Tuesday meetings?
Both of our summer reading texts deal with the concept of materialism. Explain how both books represent this concept. What lesson can we draw from the books?
Morrie wants to be remembered as a "teacher till the end" ... how is that a fitting way to describe him?
Morrie shared his life with everyone. He died alone. Why is this significant?
What role do FLASHBACKS play in the story?

Block Days 9-3 and 9-4

Homework: Complete Hunger Games WS - due Friday - Archetypes

Today in class we read pages 687-689 in Writes Choice and completed exercise 1 page 689

We discussed Hunger Games WS that were due Tuesday (Symbolism/Irony/Real World Connections)

Miscellaneous items were collected...Binder Checks, Turnitin.com, Upfront Money, and Kleenex.

Tuesday 9-2

Today we completed some classroom organization:
I did a binder check...all students who were not prepared need to show me their binder either between 7:15-7:30 Wednesday AM or while I am on LUNCH duty on Wednesday.

Some classes created their "card" ... the rest will tomorrow.

Grades have been posted on SOTW.

If you have not turned in your UPFRONT MAGAZINE MONEY...it is due NO LATER than FRIDAY 9-5-14.

In class we worked on WRITERS CHOICE PAGES 666-667
We completed exercises 8-9-10 evens

Our First Grammar Unit...Commonly Confused Terms

The plan for block day and Friday:
Writers Choice
Summer Reading Discussion

Homework Due Monday: Vocabulary Story Lesson 1 (typed...see previous blog for details)

I included a picture of The Book Thief and Divergent

...TWO GREAT MOVIES...and even GREATER BOOKS.