It’s Final Exams Sophies!  In English, I will be giving you a two-fold final:  MOW Quiz #3 and a Persuasive Essay in the style of the CAHSEE.  Monday and Tuesday we will do some final prep work for writing thesis statements and preparing for on-demand writing exams along with a preview of the final writing task.  Then we have 3 glorious half days in which are dubbed “Final Exams”.  I have an incredibly short amount of time to get all my grading done and post grades by next Tuesday at midnight.  In short, you are not the only one to feel some pressure.  Make sure you get enough sleep, nutrition and study time to do and feel your best.

P.S.  The HOOF final project/movie is due no later than this Friday, 1/27.  Performances will be next week!

MONDAY:

Due:

• “Juvenile Justice” Activity Packet from last week with a 2 paragraph summary of the last article, “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains”

In class:

• Notes on writing Thesis Statements + Practice Writing Thesis statements
• Return Animal Rights Essays
• MOW Review?

Homework:

• None/Study Morphemes that will be on the Final Exam:  circ/circum, over/under, cide, extra

TUESDAY:

Due:

• Nothing

In class:

• Notes on On-Demand Writing Tips
• The Final Exam CAHSEE-style Writing Prompt & Article to read
• Start crafting your thesis statement:  bing, bang, bongo!

Homework:

• Study for the Final Exam:  MOW + Come to the final with a thesis statement

WEDNESDAY:

8:00 – 10:00 —  1st period final

10:30 – 12:35 —  2nd Period Final

THURSDAY:

8:00 – 10:00 —  3rd period final

10:30 – 12:35 —  4th Period Final

FRIDAY:

8:00 – 10:00 —  5th period final

10:30 – 12:35 —  6th Period Final

WEEKEND:

Relax and Invite your friends and family to the HOOF Project presentations, Monday/Tues/Wed next week in the Library from 6p-8p.

Two more weeks until the end of the semester everyone!  This week we will start a new persuasive/rhetorical unit called “Juvenile Justice”.  We will read four articles about teens and the crimes they commit.  We will discuss whether teens should be tried as adults for the same crimes.  There will be homework and hopefully great discussion!

Tuesday:

In class –

I.  Journal 2.7:  If you committed a crime (murder, rape, etc.) do you think it would be fair for you to be punished the same way as an adult who committed the same crime?  Give your argument (logos) to support your opinion.

II.  Juvenile Justice:  New handout of activities for the week + 2 articles to read tonight.

III.  Activities #2-4 — Preparing to Read:  Survey, Predict, Question

IV.  Activity #5:  Vocabulary Pre-Assessment (finish for HW)

HW:  Activity #6 Read “Supreme Court Rules” and “Kids are Kids” + complete graphic organizer on the minors mentioned in the articles.

Wednesday

In Class:

I.  Review Key Vocabulary (Activity 5);

II.  A.  Review Words you Underlined,  B. Review Cases,  C. Highlight Arguments For/Against in the 2 articles

III.  Look closely at the language in the Liptak & Lundstrom articles (Activity 7)

HW:

1.  Finish Activity 7

2. Read 2 new articles “Many Kids Called Unfit for Adult Trial” and “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains”

3.  Underline unfamiliar words

Thursday –

In Class:

I. Activity #8:  Re-read & Annotate “Many Kids” and “Startling Finds”

A.  Label the Left Margin

B.  React/Comment/Question in the Right Margin

C.  Share annotations with class

HW: Catch up on any activities you haven’t fully completed

Friday –

In Class:

I. Pay Day!

II. Activity #10 (we will skip Activity #9)

A.  Descriptive Outlining of “Startling Finds on Teenage Brains”

HW: Activities #11 (Summarize)  – 2 full paragraphs, please.  Turn in with Activity Packet on Monday.

Happy 2012 and welcome back everyone!  I hope you enjoyed your two weeks homework-free (at least English hw-free).

For the rest of this semester we will be doing an expository reading and writing unit to prepare for the CAHSEE (without those awful diagnostic tests and worksheets).  The final exam will be a 4-5 paragraph essay in the style of the CAHSEE and based on one of the readings we will cover together.  In addition, we will also do a short public speaking unit to prepare you for your short introduction to the Histories of Our Families project presentations this month.  For those of you who really want a break from reading novels, this will (hopefully) satisfy you.  The essays we will read are interesting too!

Finals are 3 weeks away and the CAHSEE is in 5 weeks.  And in case you were wondering, I go out on Maternity Leave in 13 weeks.  School is over in 23 weeks (not including Spring Break).  OK, that kind of sounds far away, doesn’t it?  Let’s stick to short-term plans then (a perfect segue to my next topic).

Here’s the Week-At-A-Glance:

Monday — We stayed home another day.  I hope you made the best of it.  I know I did!

Tuesday — Get your graded notebooks back (remember, they were worth 100 pts.); Journal 2.6:  2012 Resolutions;  MOW:  cide = murder;

Wednesday — Notes on Reading Expository Texts

Thursday —  Vocab study:  Persuade;  Read essay “3 Ways to Persuade”;

Friday — Pay Day, Persuasive Skits (Activity #1); Activities #2, 3, & 4 from the first unit:  Rhetoric of the Op-Ed Page/Jeremy Rifkin’s article ” A Change of Heart About Animals”

Weekend —  Finish reading article SQ3R and Activities #3 & 4 (Due Monday)

Here we are, Quarter 2, Week 5 and looking forward to two events:  Progress Report Grades and Winter Break!  Grades are due by Tuesday at midnight and progress reports will be mailed out on Friday.  I really hope to send home good news for you.  One way to ensure good news home is to get that HOOF story completed, finish reading Fahrenheit 451 and study for the test on Thursday.  Of course the test grades will not be on the progress report, but being on top of your work will definitely help.  I will be collecting English Notebooks this week so get yours updated if you were absent.  Also, we will end this week on a high note, with a guest speaker, Jeff Paul, animator and instructor at the Art Institute of CA SF.

Agenda, Assignments and HW:

Monday:  MOW = over/under;  Review “Burning Bright” and the basics of Plot today by creating a timeline (or read)

HW:  Finish Timeline for F451:  due Wednesday

Tuesday:  Review Literary Devices and work on Visual Timeline (or read)

HW:  Create a Wanted Poster for Montag (XC)

Wednesday:  BIG Review for Test on Thursday:  Vocabulary & Character Shenanigans & Quote ID

HW:  Study For TEST!

Thursday:  Fahrenheit 451 Test today

HW:  none

Friday:  Guest Speaker, Jeff Paul, from the Art Institute of CA SF to talk about careers in Media Arts and Animation and Motion Graphics

HW:  Have a relaxing, safe, and fun break!

Wow, last week was kind of a blur for me.  My health was my #1 priority, and I admit I wasn’t exhibiting the best teaching.  It happens.  Me being sick doesn’t happen often, and you can count on that from me.  I’m rarely sick and when I am, I will power through until it’s serious and then I will take care of business.  So, that means I was out 2 days last week (3 for 6th period).  Thanks for being supportive and understanding.

On the curriculum front, we will finish Fahrenheit 451 either this week or next.  I want to spend a good part of this week reviewing with you before moving on to Part 3, “Burning Bright”.  This is the shortest section, so I know we’ll finish it within a few days.

Monday:  Reading Quiz, Part 2 (questions at the end of this blog posting);  Sand and the Sieve Activity + Quote Analysis (p.78);

HW:  Study for MOW Quiz #2:  path, bi/di, hemi/demi/semi, port, anti

Tuesday:  MOW Quiz #2;  New MOW:  Uni = One;  Review Quiz Answers from Monday and discuss Part 2   HW:  Study Guide Q’s due Wed.

Wednesday:  Quote I.D. & Analysis #2;  Plot Review Activity (art!);  Turn in Study Guide Q’s today

Thursday:  Vocabulary, Part 3:  Burning Bright;  Start reading part 3;

Friday:  More reading + Quote I.D. Practice #3

Weekend:  Finish the book! (page 165)

Questions on the Reading Quiz

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!  I know I had a great time and now it’s time to get back to work for a few weeks before another wonderfully long break.  I hope you have enough sleep and play along with a little work (that maybe you are doing today, and that’s okay!).

This week we will do some review activities for Fahrenheit 451, Part 1:  The Hearth and the Salamander.  We will also start reading Part 2:  The Sieve and The Sand.  We will start with a little quizzy quiz on Monday.  So look over you study guide questions before class!

Homework, Assignments, and Agenda:

Monday:  Reading Quiz, Part 1;  M-O-W:  micro/macro;  Review Part 1 via Figurative Language Practice

Tuesday: Vocabulary for Part 2:  The Sieve and the Sand;  Start reading Study Guide Questions due Tomorrow

Wednesday:    Since I was absent on Tuesday, this is what we did today:   Opener:  what page are you on?;  Review Quiz from Monday, esp. question #5 and re-read pages 53 – 63 and everyone had a chance to re-do their answer.  Only 2nd period actually did the Characterization Chart.

HW:  Read tonight!  Read to 110 by Monday

Thursday:  More reading…I’m moving the MOW #2 Quiz to next week so you can catch up on some reading today and ask me questions before Monday.

HW:  Read tonight!  Read to 110 by Monday

Friday:  Today will be a day with the substitute, Mr. Candless;  Journal 2.5 – Reflect on the main characters and compare to people you know or know of.;  Characterization Practice. + Silent or Small group Reading;

HW:  Finish part 2 by Monday (page 110)  + Study Guide Q’s.  Another short quiz on Monday, 12/5

Monday, 11/28 Quiz Questions (thanks for reading the blog!):

What is Guy Montag’s job?

What are the parlor walls?

Clarisse is part of the old society where people were encouraged to talk and think.  How is she viewed in the new society?

How do firemen know which houses had books?

Why are books banned in Montag’s society (according to Beatty)?

We’re startin’ a book this week!  It’s the second quarter and we’re off to a fresh start!  The book is Fahrenheit 451 and from now on it will be referred to as F451.

Monday:  MOW;  Journal 2.1:  How do you distract yourself?;  Pre-Reading Sci Fi Creative Writing exploring Symbolism (due tomorrow)

Tuesday:  Journal 2.2:  Write about how you are different than society and how that has affected your life growing up.;  Share Symbolism HW;  Vocabulary for Part I (get study guide);  Read about background on F451 & history of censorship;  Get books!

Wednesday:  Journal 2.3:  What makes for an empty relationship?  What makes for a meaningful relationship?;  Today is a reading day. The goal for today and HW tonight is to read to page 28 and answer Study Guide Q’s.

Thursday:    Read!  Today we read in groups based on how much you read last night.  HW:  Read to page 40 tonight.

Friday:  Pay Day.  Journal 2.4:  What does Montag’s “future” world look like?;  Read!  If you don’t finish to page 68 (end of Part I), then you need to finish it over the break.

Thanksgiving HW:  Finish Part I to page 68 and study guide questions.  Go outside for a walk all by yourself and pay attention to the natural world, look people in the eyes and really listen to the world.  In other words, practice being “insane” like Clarisse!