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!

Narrative Projects

In English class, all classes have been working on narrative writing.  They have also learned the basics of MLA format, which is the standard format for English and literature classes.  The tenth graders are presenting their "I Remember" poems this week.  Parents, you should have received and email with times for each class.  Feel free to bring grandparents or other family members who are available at that time. Please come and listen to these wonderful narrative poems.  The tenth graders had a review on sentence fragments and run on sentences have some IXL work to do this week.  After presentations, the tenth graders will begin learning about the Heroic Journey and how it is expressed in literature, both ancient and modern.

The ninth graders are finishing their Introduce Yourself narrative project.  They have worked hard to write five essays about themselves, some on assigned topics and some self-selected topics.  They will make a cover in class on Thursday.  They may want to bring in a pciture of something from home for this task.  They will have an oral presentation to deliver to their classmates that they will prepare after Labor Day.  Soon we will start reading a biography of a founding father.

We are accomplishing many goals in all classes.  I appreciate the students' hard work and cooperation in class each day!  Have a great week!

Foundational Writing Skills

The second week of school is off to a busy start.  The signed syllabus slips were due today for all students.  If your student forgot, they have one more day to get it in, for a 25% reduction in their grade.  Also, parents, thank you for those who signed the reading logs.  Those should be signed each weekend.

This week we are focusing on foundational skills in both grade levels.  In ninth grade, we learned the basics of MLA format.  This is the format they will use for all their English writing, so it's good to learn it early on.  We are applying this with our Introduce Yourself Narrative essays.  Students should have their first three reflective essays done by the end of this week.  We are spending time in class working on these essays, but many students will want to perfect their essays, which will require more time outside the classroom.  This project is due Tuesday, September 6, including the biography which is about your student, written by someone else.

Tenth graders are writing poetry, which is challening them to use precise word choice.  They are focuing on the small moment and choosing words to accurately descirbe their memory.  This week, tenth graders will apply the skill of selecting strong verbs in their writing.  They will also review MLA formatting basics.  Their "I Remember" poem is due this week, Thursday, August 25.  They have class time Monday and Tuesday, after that, they are on their own to complete their poem.  They have a rubric to guide them as they write revise.

It was a pleasure to meet so many parents at Back to School Night last week.  Thank you for attending and for supporting your student's education!

First Day of School

We survived the first day of school!  Actually, it was a great day in the English classroom.  All students read their course syllabus and have the assignment to explain it to their parents and get it signed.  This will be their first quiz grade, due back next Monday.  All students need to have their 100 page spiral notebook in class on Wednesday.  We will start putting tabs on them to make our resource journals. All students should start their home reading logs tonight.  This assignment is to read a minimum of 20 minutes (distraction-free!) each school night.  The first book report is September 29, so they should choose a book and get it read before that date.  Even when they finish their book, they still have the assignment to read each night.  This is a proven correlating factor in students who perform well on college entrance exams, so it is worth the effort.  

This week we will begin narrative writing in both ninth and tenth grades.  We will also try to get everyone matched up with a book they enjoy and get the resource notebooks made.  We are really getting the school and class procedures down this week and hope to be in full swing very shortly.  I enjoyed every class today!  It was good to see the familiar faces of the returning students and we have some delightful new students as well.  I even have some former fifth grade students, something I love!  If you have any questions, please email me.  Have those students get some rest, if they are anything like me, they will be tired tonight!