October 30/31, 2008

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! (and for us Lutherans, happy Reformation Day as well)

English 1 -- Today in class students took their test over To Kill a Mockingbird. After the test, students were split into groups to begin working on their Maycomb Newspaper projects. For this activity, each student is personally responsible for creating 1 article, 1 editorial or obituary (their choice), 1 advertisement, and 1 of the following: advice column, hometown face interview, classified ad block, or comic strip. That means each student will create 4 pieces total to contribute to their group's newpaper. We will be working on this project for homework and during class for the next week or so.

English 1 Homework
Rough draft of article
Rough draft of advertisement

English 2 -- During this class meeting, classes went to the library to choose their own books for personal reading so that we can read these books for the first 20 minutes of each class for the next 4-5 weeks of class. At the end of this time period, students will give book talk presentations to tell about the book they read. After the trip to the library, students returned to read the rest of Act One, Scene II of Julius Caesar. Through this scene, we were able to begin to get a sense of Brutus and Cassius's true personalities and motivations for disliking Caesar's growing power. Next class we will continue with the play.

English 2 Homework
Make sure to bring your personal reading book to class!

October 28/29, 2008

English 1 -- Today in class, students turned in their last review packet for chapters 27 through 31 of TKAM. After going over the packet, we played two rounds of TKAM review Jeopardy in preparation for the test over the novel next class. Students were also encouraged to think about events and characters in the novel that would make good newspaper articles, in order to get ideas for the Maycomb newspaper project we will begin next class after we take the test.

English 1 Homework
STUDY for TKAM test next class period

English 2 -- Today in class, students viewed a film called "The Shakespeare Conspiracy". This film features a group of scholars and historians who propose that William Shakespeare was merely the pen-name for Edward De Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford. Since we are now reading Julius Caesar, students are getting their second high school experience with Shakespeare's work -- I believe it is also important that they learn more than one version of the possible existence of the playwright. After the video, we read a bit more of Act One, Scene 2 of the play. Next class, we will be going to the library to chose books for personal reading and moving on with Julius Caesar.

English 2 Homework
NONE

October 22/23, 2008

English 1 -- Today in class students took their reading check quiz over chapters 24 through 26. After discussing the chapters, students read chapter 27 to themselves, and I read chapter 28 aloud to the class. For the remainder of class, 2nd block finished watching the trial scene of the movie since the altered schedule last week only allowed us time to watch part of it. In 7th and 8th blocks, however, we were able to update our character blocks, and students were able to begin working on the two review packets they were assigned for homework. Next class period, we will FINISH THE NOVEL! Participation Question - How many times was Tom Robinson shot? Leave the answer in a comment on this posting.

English 1 Homework
complete review packets for chapters 17-21 and chapters 22-26
2nd block - finish reading the last few pages of chapter 28 - very important!

English 2 -- Today in class, students worked with groups to compile information on various minority groups featured in several short stories. First, students were assigned to groups, and asked to read a short non-fiction piece about a particular minority group in the United States. After reading independently, students joined their group members to create a "placemat" on which they each wrote their personal notes on the story in their own sections, and then wrote all the information they had in common in a circle section in the middle of their "placemat". To end class, each group presented to the class both a short summary of the story they read and the common information they all learned from the piece. Next class we will begin Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. Participation Question: Which American minority group did you read about in class? Leave your answer in a comment on this post.

English 2 Homework
Make sure you have the Soldier's Dilemma questions completed for next class.

October 20/21, 2008

English 1 -- Today in class, students started by taking their reading check quizzes over chapters 20 through 22. After discussing the quizzes, we discussed the traditional mockingbirds of TKAM (Boo Radley and Tom Robinson), and then discussed the possibility of Mayella Ewell being considered a mockingbird as well, based upon the life she was forced to lead by her father and her place in society (on the social ladder, with which students are familiar). Students were asked to express their opinion on the issue by writing a paragraph supporting their point of view, and we also debated the issue in class. After the Mayella Debate, we read chapter 23 aloud in class, and students received the review packet for chapters 12-16.

English 1 Homework
Read chapters 24, 25, and 26
Finish review packet for chapters 12-16, if not completed in class

English 2 -- Today in class, students turned in the personal narratives that they have been working on for the past few weeks. Then we watched a film called A Place at the Table, which shows eight teenagers telling how and why their ancestors came to the United States, and revealing hardships they all endured at the hands of prejudices that existed (and still exist) in American society. After the film, students answered questions regarding the film, and made comparisons between characters in the movie and characters in the short stories they have read in class. After the film, we began preparing for Julius Caesar with an activity called "A Soldier's Dilemma" which we will continue discussing next class. We will begin reading Shakespeare's play this week.

English 2 Homework
Finish questions over the film, if not completed in class
Finish "A Soldier's Dilemma" questions, if not completed in class.

October 15/16, 2008

So the schedule has been all switched around the past two days because of PLAN/PSAT testing, but tomorrow will finally be back to normal. So whether you are in 1st and 2nd block, and had this class yesterday, or in 4th block and had class at the normal time today, or in 7th and 8th block and will have my class tomorrow, this is what's going on:

English 1 -- During this class period, students took a quiz over chapters 17 through 19. Once we finished the quiz and discussed the chapters, we watched the trial scene of the film version of TKAM. While we will not watch the entire movie in class, seeing the trial scene helps students understand the gravity of Tom Robinson's case and the emotion involved with the situation from many characters.

Homework
Read chapters 20 through 22 of TKAM

Chapter 20

1. Who cheers Dill up with his Coca Cola that he pretends is whiskey?
2. Why is the Judge furious with Link Deas?
3. What one institution does Atticus say we have in our country that considers all men equal?

Chapter 21

1. How does Atticus find out that the children are at the trial?
2. What is the jury's verdict?
3. How do we know that the African American community thinks highly of Atticus after the trial?

Chapter 22

1. Why does Miss Maudie allow Jem to eat from the big cake instead of making him a small one like Scout and Dill?
2. How, according to Miss Maudie, did Judge Taylor help Tom?
3. What does Dill say he's going to be when he grows up?

English 2 -- During this class period, students watched a film called The Shadow of Hate. The film tells the stories of minority individuals who endured discrimination in the United States because of their race, religion, ethnicity, etc. Since 4th block was longer than the 45 minutes we have for 2nd block, 4th block also did a revision exercise that helped with the cohesion of their paragraphs and the fluency of their sentences.

English 2 Homework

Personal Narratives due next class. Must be typed in 12 point font, Times New Roma, double spaced, 1" margins. Please include the correct MLA heading as well.

October 13/14, 2008

English 1 -- Today in class, students took 2 short quizzes: the reading check quiz over chapters 14 through 16 of TKAM and an open-note quiz over the Scottsboro Boys case that they learned about last class. After taking the quizzes and discussing the chapters read for homework, students learned about the social classes of the southern USA during the time of TKAM by filling out a 5-rung social ladder. After filling in the traits and characters that belong in each catagory, students received the review packet for chapters 6 through 11, which they begun working on and will have time to finish next class period. We also got most of the way through the reading of chapter 17 in class. The chapters we are reading right now are some of the most important and most suspenseful of the entire novel; next class period we will see these chapters come to life in the TKAM movie.

English 1 Homework
Read chapters 18 and 19 (finish chapter 17 if not finished in class)

Chapter 18

1. Who is Mayella intimidated by when she is testifying?
2. Why does Atticus ask Mayella if Tom chokes and hit her?
3. Who does Scout say has spotted them sitting in the balcony?

Chapter 19

1. Who does Tom Robinson work for?
2. What does Tom say Mayella does to him?
3. According to Tom, who did Mr. Ewell direct his anger toward?

English 2 -- Today in class, students wrote in their Writer's Notebooks about either their best birthday memory or their worst birthday memory in preparation for the short story we read called "Eleven". After reading the story, students experimented with writing in different voices by writing an extension of "Eleven" from the point of view of the narrator's parents, trying to explain to her why she had been discriminated against by her teacher. After the writing assignment, students engaged in a peer response activity called PQP (praise, question, polish) during which they both gave and received advice on how to improve the personal narratives that will be due next week. Next class we will be doing some conferencing, revising, and editing of the narratives in order to get them ready for submission for a grade.

English 2 Homework

Make changes suggested by your responder on your narrative

Finish the "Eleven" writing assignment if not yet finished

October 9/10, 2008

English 1 -- Today in class, students took their reading check quiz over chapters 12 and 13 of TKAM. After discussing the two chapters, students viewed a powerpoint presentation about the Scottsboro Boys Case, the real life court case that took place in Alabama in the 1930s. This case, in which 9 African American young men were wrongly accused of raping two low-class white young women, is most likely the case after which Tom Robinson's trial is modeled in Harper Lee's novel. After viewing and taking notes over Scottsboro Boys information, over which students will have a quiz next class, students filled in a review packet over chapters 1-5 of the novel. Next class we will complete a review of chapters 6-11. These packets will serve as handy study guides for the test at the end of the novel, and they should be pretty easily earned points for students who have been keeping up with their reading homework.

English 1 Homework
Read chapters 14-16 of TKAM

chapter 14

1. What do Scout and Jem find under Scout's bed? Why is this surprising?
2. How does Jem break the "kid code"?
3. What does Dill tell Scout about his mother and her new husband? Why does Scout not understand this?

chapter 15

1. Why does Atticus go to the jail in town?
2. According to Atticus, how does Scout get Mr. Cunningham to "walk around in my shoes"?

chapter 16

1. Where do the children sit during the trial? How is this fitting with the rest of the events of the novel?
2. With whom do the children sit during the trial?
3. Who is the white man who lives among the black people?

English 2 -- Today in class, students wrote in their Writer's Notebooks about two different groups cultures, or communities to which they belong. Next, we read "The First Day" by Edward P. Jones, which is a short story about a young girl's first day of kindergarten, a day when she encounters her first lesson on the different communities people of the same race, ethnicity, religion, and even family can belong to. After reading the story, students created an extended Venn Diagram through which they made comparisons and found similarities among several other short stories we have read in class. To end class, students learned about and experimented with different ways to make their writing more powerful, through techniques such as vivid verbs, verbal phrases, similes, and metaphors.

English 2 Homework

reevaluate the verbs in your personal narrative. Be sure to add vivid verbs, similes, metaphors, and verbal phrases to your story before next class.

October 7/8, 2008

English 1 -- Today in class, students turned in the personal narratives that they have worked so hard on for the past few weeks. But before we dismissed the narratives, students had to rewrite their narratives...from the point of view of the person who made their decision for them. So parents, most of your students stepped into your shoes for a little while today -- it was their job to attempt to get inside the heads of the authority figures in their lives and figure out why those tough, sometimes unpopular decisions are made. Next we read chapter 11 of TKAM, and worked on filling out "character blocks" for some of the main characters. These blocks are a tool to aid students in keeping track of who's who in the novel, which will help them on the test as well.

English 1 Homework
Read chapters 12&13 of TKAM
Finish the reverse point of view of your narrative

Chapter 12

1. Who is Zeebo?
2. Why do the children feel that Calpurnia leads a double life after they go to church with her?
3. How did Cal learn to read?

Chapter 13

1. Who comes to stay with Scout and Jem?
2. Why does Scout feel it wouldn't make much of a difference if Uncle Jimmy?
3. What does Atticus try to talk to the children about? What is their reaction?

English 2 -- Today in class, students reviewed and discussed the stories they read on Friday during my absence, "Everyday Use" and "Two Kinds". After reviewing the questions students completed for homework, we engaged in a fun dialogue activity in which students wrote fictional conversations between two animals. During this activity students also learned the two rules for creating writing dialogue. Next, students learned about the four elements of fiction while creating fictional scenarios using plot, setting, character, and theme.

English 2 Homework
add dialogue to personal narratives

October 3/6, 2008

Sorry this post is so late, but since I was gone from school on Friday, I seem to have forgotten to keep everyone updated.

English 1 -- In this class period, students took a reading check quiz over chapters 7-9 of TKAM. After finishing and discussing the quiz, students read chapter 10 in class. When finished reading, students traded their personal narratives with another classmate in order to participate in a peer response activity called PQP (Praise, Question, Polish). Once the responses were complete, students were given presented with a 5 step systematic revision for their narratives that would put the finishing touchs on the papers, which are due next class period (Tuesday for 2nd block & Wednesday for 7th and 8th blocks). The five steps of revision are:

1. Circle all "be" verbs (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been). Eliminate half of those that are used as the primary verb in the sentence (not used as a helping verb for an action)
2. Draw a wavy line under words that are often repeated. Find synonyms for half.
3. Place brackets [ ] around the first four words of every sentence. Make sure you use a variety of sentence beginnings.
4. Count and label the number of words in each sentence. Make sure you have a good mix of short and long sentences.
5. Mark out and "dead" words (good, rather, quite, nice, sort of, kind of, quite)

Personal narratives should be double spaced, typed in Times New Roman 12 point font, with 1" or 1.25" margins. The title should be centered, but not bolded, underlined, italicized, etc. The heading (also double spaced) should appear in the top left-hand corner and read as follows:

Your Name

Mrs. Krysl

English 1 - block __

7/8 October 2008

English 1 Homework

Finish personal narratives

No reading assignment in TKAM

English 2 -- In this class meeting, students finished reading and answering questions for the story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker. Next, they read the story "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan, and answered the questions after the story in the book. Once all reading and answering of questions was finished, students began writing the first draft of their personal narratives which are on the topic of a time/situation in which students have learned an important lesson. Since I was gone from school on Friday and not able to discuss the stories with the students, we will discuss and review both stories in the next class meeting. Thanks to all my English 2 students for behaving so wonderfully for the substitute on Friday -- I appreciated it, and you made me proud!

English 2 Homework

rough draft of personal narrative due next class

finish questions for both "Everyday Use" and "Two Kinds"

October 1/2, 2008

English 1 -- Today in class students took a reading check quiz over their homework, which was to read chpaters 2-4 of To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM). Students will be taking these quizzes at the beginning of nearly every class period as we read the novel -- this is my way of holding them accountable for their homework. I have already warned students that even though each quiz is only worth 5 points, those points will add up quickly and could seriously damage their grades if they do not do the reading outside of class.

After taking and discussing the quiz, students read chapter 5 to themselves and I read chapter 6 aloud. We then put the books away for the class period and worked a bit with the personal narratives. This time, students worked on an activity called "explode a moment" or "creating a snapshot" of their stories using words. Their jobs are to take an important moment that occurs during their story and slow it down, make it dramatic, and add tons of details to give readers a clear mental image of what is going on. This activity, along with the dialogue that students added for last class period, both help students develop characteristics of great writing.

English 1 Homework
read chapters 7-9 of TKAM (that means stop when you get to chapter 10)
add your "exploded moment" or "snapshot with words" to your narrative
**A few students have said they are having trouble following the novel and/or staying focused during reading. Here are a few guiding questions for those readers -- these questions will not be worth any points, but they should help with reading comprehension:
Chapter 7

1. What was weird about Jem's pants when he went back to get them on the Radley fence?
2. What items do Jem and Scout find in the knot hole?
3. What does Nathan Radley do to the knot hole

Chapter 8

1. Who dies in the winter?
2. Why does Scout think the world is ending?
3. What event(s) cause(s) Jem to finall y reveal all that has happened to him in regards to Boo Radley?

Chapter 9

1. What reason does Atticus give for not saying the "n-word"?
2. Why does Atticus say he's defending Tom Robinson?
3. Where does the family go for Christmas? What happens there between Scout and Francis?

English 2 -- Today in class students gave mini-presentations of their memory maps that they created last class. Next, students prepared for the story we were going to read in class by writing in their Writer's Notebooks about either a family heirloom they have inherited/hope to inherit one day, or about an argument/fight they have had with a sibling. This helped them focus for the story "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker, which is about a conflict between two very different siblings over family heirlooms. We will finish this story next class, when we will also exlore some aspects of good writing as we begin putting pen to paper on the personal narratives.

English 2 Homework
NONE (lucky you)!