Graded Assignments

This week we have several big graded assignments in all classes.  Tenth graders are presenting their Heroic Journey group projects to their peers for feedback on Tuesday and to a parent audience on Wednesday.  Parents, please come!  These will be held in the English classroom.  Your student will know their order in the line-up by Tuesday.  (10 White begins at 9:40, 10 Blue begins at 11:10, both for about an hour) After these presentations, we will have our first in class book report on Thursday.  These will always be the last Thursday in the month.  All students should have finished their books by Wednesday.  Many students finished earlier in the month and hopefully have started on their October book already!  The project and the book report are both test grades,

Ninth graders turned in their vocab study guides from last week and took a vocabulary quiz today.  They began reading chapter 7 today with a study guide to fill out as they read individually.  Ninth graders also have two IXL standards due on Tuesday of this week, J.1 and J.2 on sentence fragments and run-on sentences.  Ninth graders will also have an in class book report on Thursday.  The only preparation needed is to read the book.  Students may refer to their book if they have it in class, but it isn't necessary to have it to complete the book report.  This is a week with many  graded assignments in all classes.  This is a good time to bring grades up or maintain grades with quality work turned in on time!  Have a great week!

Reading, Reading, Reading

This week, all students are doing many reading related assignments inside and outside of class.  The tenth graders are finishing a book club book where they have identified the twelve stages of the heroic journey.  They will turn in notes in class tomorrow, then begin working on a presentation to show how this pattern is shown in the book they read.  They have been having discussions along the way and after the reading is done, they get to use their creativity and their knowledge to make a multimedia presentation.  Today we created our rubric, then groups will start working on their presentations.  We hope to have an audience full of parents for our presentations, which will be next week, on Wednesday or Thursday.  Watch your email for information on this event!

In ninth grade students are reading a biography of James Madison and summarizing chapters as they read. We are currently reading about the writing of the Constitution and the many difficult decisions that were considered in that process.  Students took their first vocabulary quiz today and made an organizer for next week's quiz.

Students in all grades will also have their September book report on Thursday, September 29.  This is their self-selected book from their reading log. This book report will be a one-questions essay done completely in class.  Check in with your student to make sure his or her book is completed before this date.  Once the book is done, students should choose their October book and get reading on that one! Have a great week!   Keep reading!

Book Clubs

In English class, we have shifted from writing to reading in all classes.  In tenth grade, we have learned about the Hero's Journey pattern in literature.  After learning the 12 stages, the students were put in book club groups to read a book that follows this pattern.  Students are identifying the steps in this journey as they read.  They will complete their books next Tuesday, 9/20 and begin creating a presentation to share with the class and parents.  Date and time to follow.

In ninth grade, we finished the Introduce Yourself narrative projects and we are starting to read The Great Little Madison, a biography of James Madison.  We made vocabulary study guides for a quiz next week.  We will begin with chapter one on Tuesday.  We will read a chapter each day, then summarize and discuss.  We will have a writing task, a test, and several quizzes as we go through this book.

Even with the increased reading in the classroom, home reading is still required.  All students have an in class book report on Thursday, September 29.  The only preparation needed is to read the book and students may use the book when they answer the question on that date.  Have a great week!

Project Presentations

Thank you to the tenth grade parents who came to the "I Remember" poetry sharing!  The students were thrilled to have so many parents and younger students to come listen to them.  Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to come listen to what the students wrote.  This week, tenth graders are working on forms of writing and we will begin learning about the Heroic Journey as it appears in literature.   This is the start of a new project, so in a few weeks, we will invite you again to come listen to what we've learned about this pattern.

We look forward to having the ninth grade parents come Wednesday and Thursday to listen to the students present their Introduce Yourself narrative speech.  These are short speeches, from one to five minutes, but they will go end to end.  Ninth graders turned in their projects today.  The covers look fabulous!  They are also getting a grade on their organizers and a grade for their MLA basic formatting.  Thank you for helping get their biographies done.  I look forward to listening to these speeches!

Check out the homework tab above for this week's homework.  Keep reading and have a great week!