Reading Assignments

This week in English, both classes are reading literature.  Ninth grade is reading either The Red Badge of Courage or Iron Thunder.  Both are Civil War books dealing with similar themes.  The ninth grade classes are having vocabulary quizzes on Tuesday, covering words from the first few chapters of their books.  Ninth graders will also have a Root Word quiz on Thursday, covering all 15 roots.

Tenth graders are halfway through Animal Farm. They will need to be prepared for both a vocabulary quiz and a comprehension quiz next week.  Both classes will complete their January book report in class this Thursday, Jan. 28.   We are reading four books in four months and will have a one page assessment on each book.  This will count as a test grade.  The books should be appropriately challenging for the students.  If any student needs help selecting their February book, I will be happy to help.  Keep reading!

Starting New Books

In all classes we are preparing to start reading new books.  Tenth graders will read Animal Farm and are preparing by researching different revolutions.  They will present their information to the class this week.  Ninth graders are reading either Iron Will or The Red Badge of Courage.  They are preparing by sharing their knowledge of the Civil War and their opinions about war at this point.  We will compare after finishing the books and see if they have shifted opinions on any of the topics.  Along with reading the books, there will be some writing assignments and some other texts we will read, poems, articles, fables, etc.  This will provide a broad base of knowledge and topics covering the same theme.  

At the end of these reading projects, there will be presentations where we will invite families and younger grades to attend.  More information on this in the weeks to come.  

Have a great week!

Welcome Back

We started the new semester today, welcoming three new freshmen, with one more coming later this week!  In English class, we got a chance to share some of our experiences in writing by writing a Top Ten list.  Each of those entries on the list then became a possible topic to use for further writing.  Today we wrote to express and reflect, as well as to analyze and interpret.  As the week progresses, we will prepare to read books in both grades.  Ninth graders will be reading Civil War books in book club format, and tenth graders will be reading Animal Farm by George Orwell.  In preparation for reading these books, we will talk about allegories in tenth grade and symbolism in both classes.  We will choose vocabulary words from each book to enhance the reading experience.  Both of these reading selections will be accompanied by writing tasks.  We hope to have a display to share with the middle school students and parents.  Be on the lookout for an invitation to see the finished products.

Please start the semester off strong by organizing after-school time so that students have enough sleep and enough time to do quality work at home.  It makes a difference!

Have a great week!  Please contact me via email with any questions.  jstockard@oasisacademyfallon.us