English 1

Today in class, students turned in their Romeo and Juliet costume assignments. As always, I was impressed and entertained by many of the students' costume creations. Next students read Act Two Scene 2 -- the famous balcony scene where Romeo and Juliet agree to marry each other merely hours after they first meet. After reading the famous scene, students interpreted and wrote about the metaphors Romeo uses to compare Juliet's beauty to things in nature. Students worked on the very importatnt skill of using lead-ins and lead-outs to smoothly incorporate quotes into their literary analysis.

Participation Questions
1. What are two things in nature that Romeo associates with Juliet's beauty?

Homework

NONE! Enjoy your homework-free night!

English 2

Today in class, students in 1st and 2nd blocks completed an interactive, informational webquest on the Holocaust. After the webquest, they began gather sources for their Holocaust research papers. Many students were able to find lots of information on their topics by exploring the webquest site, so they already have one of their three required sources out of the way. Since 4th block did the webquest and research last class, today they watched and listened to Lolle Boettcher's holocaust presentation that I was able to record on my FlipCam on Wednesday. This presentation is also a great source of information for many students' research topics.

Homework

• Finish Night (chapters 7,8, and 9) -- we will complete the discussion sheet in class
• Come to next class with 3 sources for your research paper

English 1

Today in class, students turned in their Queen Mab depictions that they created for homework. Next, they located examples of various literary terms found in Act One of Romeo and Juliet. We then watched Act One of the 1968 film Romeo and Juliet. To end class, students started on their costume assignment and read the Prologue and Scene 1 of Act Two. Next class students begin with Act Two Scene 2 which contains the famous balcony scene.

Homework

• Complete the costume assignment by following these criteria:

1. Draw costumes for 4 characters -- 2 must be Romeo and Juliet, then draw 1 additional Montague and 1 additional Capulet.

2. Must use some distinguishing factor to tell members of the two families apart

3. Include a symbol for each character that resembles either their personality or their role in the play

4. Must be colored and neat -- remember the best ones will become magnets on display

English 2

Today in class, students turned in their Chapter 5 notesheet for Night. Students in 1st and 2nd block viewed a presentation about events leading to the holocaust by guest speaker Lolle Boettcher (4th block will view the presentation next class). Students in 4th block went to the computer lab to complete a webquest on the holocaust and begin finding information for their research papers (students in 1st and 2nd block will go to the computer lab next class).

Homework

• Read chapter 6 of Night (begins around page 84) and complete notesheet.

English 1

Today in class, students turned in their Perfect Mate: Parent Forms that their moms and/or dads completed for homework. We also checked out some Verona Persona posts on the class wiki so that we could decide what was a good (worth full points) post and what kind of post still needed some work (worth half points). Next, students began an assignment in which they create their own depiction/drawing of Queen Mab since Shakespeare paints such vivid pictures of her with his words in Act One Scene 4. To end class, students read Act One Scene 5, during which Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time and change the course of their lives forever.

Participation Questions (leave answers in the form of a comment)

1. Which character gave the Queen Mab speech?

2. Why are the events of Act One Scene 5 both good and bad for Romeo and Juliet?

(Hint: "My only love sprung from my only hate")

Homework

Finish your Queen Mab drawing

English 2

Today in class, students discussed both chapter 4 of Night and the film Into the Arms of Strangers which they viewed last week. In class students also began reading chapter 5 of Night during which we learn that critical selections at Buna threaten to drastically alter Elie's life (or what is left of it in the concentration camp). After reading, students received the assignment sheet and chose a topic for the research paper they will begin working on later in the week. In order to prepare for this project, students participated in a "paraphrasing practice" activity that will aid them in both the researching and the writing aspects of the upcoming task. We finished class by hearing a couple biographies of our "butterfly children". Thankfully, none of the stories we heard today ended in death.

Homework

• Finish reading chapter 5 and complete the notesheet

English 2

Today in class, students turned in their notesheets for chapters 2 and 3 of Night. After discussing the new developments in the book, including Elie Wiesel being separated from his mother and sister, and Elie and his father being sent from Auschwitz-Birkenau to Buna, students finished the second half of the film Into the Arms of Strangers. In this film, students learned about the Kindertransport that saved 10,000 children during the holocaust, but sadly left most of those kids orphans after the war. Next week, students will begin reading the biographies of their Butterfly Children. We also have a guest speaker coming next Wednesday to give a presentation on the holocaust.

Participation Question

1. Which countries participated in the Kindertransport?

Homework

• Read chapter 4 of Night and complete chapter 4 notesheet
• Finish the viewing guide for the film (if not turned in today)