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)!