Week at a glance May 21 - 24, 2012

Our last week of classes are structured for review and the semester final.

• Mon: Review for the Semester Final
• Tues: Check in Gatsby books.  4th and 6th hour finals
• Wed: 2nd, 3rd, and 7th hour finals
• Thurs: 1st and 5th hour finals.  '11-'12 school year dismissed at 11:35.
• Fri: Staff workday - First full day of summer vacation!

Week at a glance May 14 - 18, 2012

Curriculum focus: identifies, interprets, and analyzes figurative language including: idiom, imagery, and symbolism (11.1.2.K4), uses information from the text to make inferences and draw conclusions (11.1.4.K5), compares/contrasts textual aspects: character traits, themes, character motives, and author's purpose (11.1.4.K7), analyzes and evaluates how the author's style (word choice and sentence structure) and use of literary devices work together to achieve his/her purpose by using tone, mood, and imagery (11.1.4.K11d, e, and h), and analyzes contextual aspects of setting and their influence on characters and events in the story including the contexts of history, society, and culture (11.2.1.K2a-c).

During this last full week of the '11-'12 school year, we'll wrap up reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.  Students should be on the lookout for the climax of the novel -- the intense moment that resolves the novel's central conflict.  At the beginning of the novel, narrator Nick Carraway tells us that what happened to him in New York was awful enough for him to move away and not want to see anyone for awhile.  Now we finally see the fatal decisions that left Nick disgusted with humanity.  Students will need to pay careful attention, particularly as the novel will be the focus of our semester exam next week.

• Mon: The Great Gatsby - read and discuss Chapter VII. For Tues: finish reading Chapter VII.
• Tues: The Great Gatsby - Chapter VII quiz, study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Wed: The Great Gatsby - read and discuss Chapters VIII and IX. For Thurs: finish reading Chapters VIII and IX.
• Thurs: The Great Gatsby - Chapter VIII and IX quiz, study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Fri: Begin reviewing for the semester final.

Week at a glance May 7 - 11, 2012

Curriculum focus: identifies, interprets, and analyzes figurative language including: idiom, imagery, and symbolism (11.1.2.K4), uses information from the text to make inferences and draw conclusions (11.1.4.K5), compares/contrasts textual aspects: character traits, themes, character motives, and author's purpose (11.1.4.K7), analyzes and evaluates how the author's style (word choice and sentence structure) and use of literary devices work together to achieve his/her purpose by using tone, mood, and imagery (11.1.4.K11d, e, and h), and analyzes contextual aspects of setting and their influence on characters and events in the story including the contexts of history, society, and culture (11.2.1.K2a-c).

This week we'll continue reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.  Last week Daisy and Jay Gatsby were reunited (and it feels so good).  This week we'll start to see how much of a chance their happiness has for a lasting future.  Students should also be working on their Thematic Analysis this week.  The Thematic Analysis is our wrap-up assignment for the Independent Reading Project.

• Mon: No school - Professional Learning Day
• Tues: The Great Gatsby - read and discuss Chapter VI. For Tues: finish reading Chapter VI.
• Wed: The Great Gatsby - Chapter VI quiz, study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Thurs: The Great Gatsby - review Ch 4 - 6.  Gatsby mood and tone assignment, due Friday.  Finish the Thematic Analysis for Friday.
• Fri: Thematic Analysis due - brief discussion and sharing.  Continue The Great Gatsby - film review.

Week at a glance April 30 - May 4, 2012

Curriculum focus: identifies, interprets, and analyzes figurative language including: idiom, imagery, and symbolism (11.1.2.K4), uses information from the text to make inferences and draw conclusions (11.1.4.K5), compares/contrasts textual aspects: character traits, themes, character motives, and author's purpose (11.1.4.K7), analyzes and evaluates how the author's style (word choice and sentence structure) and use of literary devices work together to achieve his/her purpose by using tone, mood, and imagery (11.1.4.K11d, e, and h), and analyzes contextual aspects of setting and their influence on characters and events in the story including the contexts of history, society, and culture (11.2.1.K2a-c).

This week we'll continue reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.  Last week we finally met Jay Gatsby.  This week we discover the cause for all of his parties and his interest in Nick, Daisy, and Tom.  As we read Chapters IV and V this week, students may wish to reflect on the quote from Fitzgerald that heads our class website. Think of a time when we have returned to a friend or a place we enjoyed in the past -- is our return ever as joyful or wonderful as the happy memories?

• Mon: The Great Gatsby - read and discuss Chapter IV. For Tues: finish reading Chapter IV.
• Tues: The Great Gatsby - Chapter IV quiz, study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Wed: The Great Gatsby - read and discuss Chapter I. For Thurs: finish reading Chapter V.  Pass out and discuss Independent Reading Project thematic analysis.
• Thurs: The Great Gatsby -Chapter V quiz, study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Fri: Independent Reading Project - finish reading your selected book and taking notes for the upcoming thematic analysis and book talk.  The Great Gatsby - film review.

Week at a glance April 23 - 27, 2012

Curriculum focus: identifies, interprets, and analyzes figurative language including: idiom, imagery, and symbolism (11.1.2.K4), uses information from the text to make inferences and draw conclusions (11.1.4.K5), compares/contrasts textual aspects: character traits, themes, character motives, and author's purpose (11.1.4.K7), analyzes and evaluates how the author's style (word choice and sentence structure) and use of literary devices work together to achieve his/her purpose by using tone, mood, and imagery (11.1.4.K11d, e, and h), and analyzes contextual aspects of setting and their influence on characters and events in the story including the contexts of history, society, and culture (11.2.1.K2a-c).

This week we'll continue reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Students have already met Nick, Daisy, Tom, Jordan, and Gatsby. They've encountered some of the most enduring symbols in all of literature: the valley of ashes, the eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg, and Gatsby reaching out to the green light across the bay. We'll continue on with readings and discussion over chapters 1 - 3. During these chapters, students will come to understand who Gatsby actually is and why he was reaching out across the bay.

• Mon: The Great Gatsby Ch I-II review.  Begin Ch I-III vocabulary, due by the end of the hour on Tuesday.
• Tues: The Great Gatsby - read and discuss Ch III.  Vocabulary due by the end of the hour.
• Wed: The Great Gatsby - Chapter III quiz; Chapter III study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Thurs: The Great Gatsby - review Ch I-III.  Crossword due by the end of the hour.
• Fri: Independent Reading Project - continue reading your selected book and taking notes for the upcoming thematic analysis and book talk.  The Great Gatsby - film review.

Week at a glance April 16 - 20, 2012

Curriculum focus: identifies, interprets, and analyzes figurative language including: idiom, imagery, and symbolism (11.1.2.K4), uses information from the text to make inferences and draw conclusions (11.1.4.K5), compares/contrasts textual aspects: character traits, themes, character motives, and author's purpose (11.1.4.K7), analyzes and evaluates how the author's style (word choice and sentence structure) and use of literary devices work together to achieve his/her purpose by using tone, mood, and imagery (11.1.4.K11d, e, and h), and analyzes contextual aspects of setting and their influence on characters and events in the story including the contexts of history, society, and culture (11.2.1.K2a-c).

Root Words Exam this Friday - students will receive a study guide on Monday. We'll review throughout the week.

This week I will not be in the building because I must take care of a deeply personal matter.  I will return on Monday, April 23.  Though I will be gone, our work continues.  Students will check out their Great Gatsby books on Monday.  Our focus for the week will be the first two chapters.  Students will have in-class quizzes and in-class study guides due on Tuesday and Thursday this week.  We'll wrap up the week with the final root words exam of the semester and some time to continue our Independent Book Project.  Mr. Anderson will be available to answer any questions.

• Mon: Pass out the self-test for the Root Words, 2nd Half Exam.  Check out The Great Gatsby - read and discuss Chapter I. For Tuesday: finish Chapter I, pages 1-21.
• Tues: The Great Gatsby - Chapter I quiz; Chapter I study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Wed: The Great Gatsby - read Chapter II, pages 23 - 38.
  
• Thurs: The Great Gatsby - Chapter II quiz; Chapter II study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Fri: Root Words, 2nd half Exam. Independent Reading Project - continue reading your selected book and taking notes for the upcoming thematic analysis and book talk.

Have an exciting, fun, and safe Prom :)

Week at a glance April 9 - 13, 2011

Curriculum focus: identifies, interprets, and analyzes figurative language including: idiom, imagery, and symbolism (11.1.2.K4), uses information from the text to make inferences and draw conclusions (11.1.4.K5), compares/contrasts textual aspects: character traits, themes, character motives, and author's purpose (11.1.4.K7), analyzes and evaluates how the author's style (word choice and sentence structure) and use of literary devices work together to achieve his/her purpose by using tone, mood, and imagery (11.1.4.K11d, e, and h), and analyzes contextual aspects of setting and their influence on characters and events in the story including the contexts of history, society, and culture (11.2.1.K2a-c).

Root words for this week (root - definition - examples):

1. endo - internal - endocrine, endorse
2. exo - external - exoskeleton, exonym
3. tact/tang - touch - contact, intangible
4. veloc - quick - velocity, velociraptor
5. vers/vert - turn - invert, conversion

This week we will do our last set of root words before our 50-point exam, coming up next week.  We'll also begin our last unit of the school year over F. Scott Fitzgerald's great American classic, The Great Gatsby. We'll set the stage for the novel by focusing on the historical, cultural, and social context of Fitzgerald's work as we have an overview of the Roaring 20's, Prohibition, and the Jazz Age--a name for the era given by Fitzgerald himself.  We'll wrap up the week doing a root words quiz, reading for our Independent Reading Project, and previewing The Great Gatsby's opening scenes.

• Mon: No school - snow day :)
• Tues: New root words; quiz on Friday. The Great Gatsby background -Roaring 20s video, 10 facts due by the end of the hour.
• Wed: The Great Gatsby background - lecture and notes
• Thurs: The Great Gatsby background - lecture and notes, turn in notes sheet.
• Fri: Root words quiz.  Independent Reading Project, 20 minutes of in-class reading. Preview The Great Gatsby opening scenes.

Week at a glance April 2 - 6, 2012

Curriculum focus: identifies, interprets, and analyzes figurative language including: idiom, imagery, and symbolism (11.1.2.K4), uses information from the text to make inferences and draw conclusions (11.1.4.K5), compares/contrasts textual aspects: character traits, themes, character motives, and author's purpose (11.1.4.K7), analyzes and evaluates how the author's style (word choice and sentence structure) and use of literary devices work together to achieve his/her purpose by using tone, mood, and imagery (11.1.4.K11d, e, and h), and analyzes contextual aspects of setting and their influence on characters and events in the story including the contexts of history, society, and culture (11.2.1.K2a-c).

Root words for this week (root - definition - examples):

1. anni/enni - year - annual, bicentennial
2. giga - billion - gigajoule, gigavolt
3. kilo - thousand - kilogram, kilometer
4. mega - million - megabyte, megawatt
5. proto - first - prototype, protein

This week we'll wrap up our brief unit over American Folklore.  Students will begin the week with a quick overview of urban legends.  Students will then have a creative writing opportunity as they write their own urban legend -- within specific and set boundaries.  We'll wrap up the week with a root words quiz, an opportunity to share urban legends, and time to read for our 4th Quarter Independent Book Project.

• Mon: "Sleep Hollow" study guide due.  New root words; quiz on Friday.  American Folklore: Urban Legends - discussion and assignment overview.
• Tues: Urban legend - continue shaping and writing the short story.
• Wed: Urban legend - rough and final draft due by the end of the hour.
• Thurs: Root words quiz.  Urban legend - opportunity to share.  Independent book project reading.
• Fri: No school - teacher in-service

Week at a glance March 26 - 30, 2012

Curriculum focus: identifies, interprets, and analyzes figurative language including: idiom, imagery, and symbolism (11.1.2.K4), uses information from the text to make inferences and draw conclusions (11.1.4.K5), compares/contrasts textual aspects: character traits, themes, character motives, and author's purpose (11.1.4.K7), analyzes and evaluates how the author's style (word choice and sentence structure) and use of literary devices work together to achieve his/her purpose by using tone, mood, and imagery (11.1.4.K11d, e, and h), and analyzes contextual aspects of setting and their influence on characters and events in the story including the contexts of history, society, and culture (11.2.1.K2a-c).

Root words for this week (root - definition - examples):

1. ambi/amphi - both- amphibian, ambidextrous
2. dom - house/home - domain, domestic
3. hema/hemo - blood- hemoglobin, hematoma
4. paleo - ancient - paleontology, paleoanthropology
5. xeno - foreign/alien - xenophobia, xenobiology

This week is a transitional week: we'll wrap up all remaining Career Project presentations, begin a brief unit over folklore and mythology, and begin our 4th Quarter Independent Reading Project.  The American Folklore unit will give students a bit of background and wrap up with an opportunity for some creative writing toward the end of next week.

• Mon: New root words - quiz on Friday.  Final Career Project Presentations.  Folklore Unit - definitions and background - notes in class.
• Tues: 4th Quarter Independent Reading Project - introduction and selecting a book.  Unit overview.
• Wed: American Folklore - examples and discussion.
• Thurs: Begin reading/discussing "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
• Fri: Root words quiz.  Finish reading/discussing "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" - questions due by the end of the hour.

Week at a glance March 12 - 16, 2012

Curriculum focus: organizing and planning a written piece (11.7.1.3), composes persuasive writing (11.7.2.1c), adapts writing by identifying, analyzing, and understanding audience (11.7.2.2), writes using one or more text structures when appropriate to a achieve a specific purpose or to address a specific audience: problem/solution (11.7.2.4d), and develops clear and purposeful ideas with sufficient evidence and/or relevant detail to satisfy purpose using sufficient evidence, examples, anecdotes, quotations, expert opinions, and/or statistics (11.7.2.1d)

This week we will wrap up our research project over a potential career in our future.  Students have spent one week already gathering research and information for the PowerPoint project.  Students will put the finishing touches on the presentation this week from Monday - Wednesday.  We'll end the week before spring break with students presenting their findings to the class.

• Mon: Career Project - meet in Lab D and continue putting together the PowerPoint
• Tues: Career Project - meet in Lab D and continue putting together the PowerPoint
• Wed: Career Project - finish the PowerPoint.  The Career Project must be completed and saved to the student drive.
• Thurs: Career Project presentations
• Fri: Career Project presentations

Week at a glance March 5 - 9, 2012

Curriculum focus: organizing and planning a written piece (11.7.1.3), composes persuasive writing (11.7.2.1c), adapts writing by identifying, analyzing, and understanding audience (11.7.2.2), writes using one or more text structures when appropriate to a achieve a specific purpose or to address a specific audience: problem/solution (11.7.2.4d), and develops clear and purposeful ideas with sufficient evidence and/or relevant detail to satisfy purpose using sufficient evidence, examples, anecdotes, quotations, expert opinions, and/or statistics (11.7.2.1d)

This week we will start working on the Career Project. The Career Project is a presentation students will assemble and create using research they gather this week in the library. The assignment, guidelines, rubric, and resources are all posted under the Course Materials section to the right. The main thing that students should keep in mind is that our time with computers is limited. Students will need to be focused and working efficiently in order to be successful with this project. If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.

• Mon: Career Project - overview, expectations, rubric, and guidelines. Begin research for the Annotated Bibliography.
• Tues: Career Project - meet in the Library. Continue the Annotated Bibliography. Aim to have at least one source and five facts by the end of the hour. Writing process grade assessed at the end of the hour for the first source.
• Wed: Career Project - meet in the Library. Wrap up the Annotated Bibliography.
• Thurs: Career Project - meet in the Library - annotated bibliography with a minimum of three sources with five citations each (15 citations total) due. Begin synthesizing the researched information into pieces to be on the presentation . Type facts with citations, headers, and Works Cited page.
• Fri: No school - End of the 3rd quarter - Teacher work day

Week at a glance February 27 - March 2, 2012

Curriculum focus: analyzing and interpreting figurative language: simile, metaphor, and symbol (11.1.3.K4a, b, i), identifying and analyzing the development of theme in a narrative text (11.1.4.K10d), identifying and analyzing the author's style: flashback, symbolism, tone, and mood (11.1.4.K11), comparing and contrasting narrative elements: character traits and character motives (11.1.4.K7), identifying and analyzing types of characters: flat, round, static, and dynamic (11.2.1.K1), and contextual aspects of setting: historical, social, and cultural (11.2.1.K2).

Root words for this week (root - definition - examples):

1. leuc/leuk - white - leukemia, leukocyte
2. mela/melo - old - melanin, melancholy
3. neuro - nerve - neurologist, neurosis
4. osis - diseased condition of - metamorphosis, tuberculosis
5. pneumo - breathing/lungs - pneumonia, pneumatic

This week we focus on wrapping up one unit and beginning another.  For our Death of a Salesman unit, we'll first work on typing up a final draft of the essay.  Although we may not be able to complete it in one computer lab day, students will have the opportunity to either finish it at home, meet with me and finish it during Advisory, or finish it before/after school in the library.  Either way, a final draft of the essay will be accepted for full credit through the end of the school day on Wednesday.  Anything past 3:00 on Wednesday will be late.  We'll also take our final exam for the play on Wednesday.  Thursday and Friday will find us previewing our next unit, which will be a research unit over a specific career.  Students will pick up plenty of details on Thursday.  We'll wrap up the week on Friday with a preview of the Annotated Bibliography assignment that we will do to start the Career Project next week.

• Mon: Death of a Salesman - Meet in the library to type up the final draft.
• Tues: New root words; quiz on Friday.  Death of a Salesman - review for the Unit Exam.
• Wed: Death of a Salesman - Exam, final day for accepting essays for full credit.
• Thurs: Career Project - overview, goals, expectations, timeline, and example.
• Fri: Root words quiz.  Career Project - annotated bibliography preview.  Meet in the computer lab next week to begin assembling research.  Pass back and discuss Death of a Salesman Exam and Essay grades.

Week at a glance February 20 - 24, 2012

Curriculum focus: analyzing and interpreting figurative language: simile, metaphor, and symbol (11.1.3.K4a, b, i), identifying and analyzing the development of theme in a narrative text (11.1.4.K10d), identifying and analyzing the author's style: flashback, symbolism, tone, and mood (11.1.4.K11), comparing and contrasting narrative elements: character traits and character motives (11.1.4.K7), identifying and analyzing types of characters: flat, round, static, and dynamic (11.2.1.K1), and contextual aspects of setting: historical, social, and cultural (11.2.1.K2).

Root words for this week (root - definition - examples):

1. fid - faith - fidelity, confident, bona fide
2. ger - old - geriatric, gerontology, gerontophobia
3. nat - birth - neonatal, natural, nation
4. phyt - plant, growth - neophyte, geophyte, phytobiology
5. spir - breathe - inspire, perspire, spirit

Our focus for this week is the Death of a Salesman (DoaS) Essay.  Students began the essay last week.  This week we continue our progress paragraph-by-paragraph.  Progress is slow, but it gives us a chance to slow down and make corrections as we go along.  We'll wrap up the week with our usual root words quiz and by reflecting on the essay as a whole.  Students will meet in the computer lab the following week to compose the final draft.

• Mon: No school
• Tues: New root words; quiz on Friday. DoaS essay - second body paragraph due by the end of the hour.
• Wed: DoaS essay - third body paragraph due by the end of the hour.
• Thurs: DoaS essay - conclusion paragraph due by the end of the hour.
• Fri: Root words quiz.  DoaS essay - revise the introduction.  Review the essay as a whole.

Week at a glance February 13 - 17, 2012

Curriculum focus: analyzing and interpreting figurative language: simile, metaphor, and symbol (11.1.3.K4a, b, i), identifying and analyzing the development of theme in a narrative text (11.1.4.K10d), identifying and analyzing the author's style: flashback, symbolism, tone, and mood (11.1.4.K11), comparing and contrasting narrative elements: character traits and character motives (11.1.4.K7), identifying and analyzing types of characters: flat, round, static, and dynamic (11.2.1.K1), and contextual aspects of setting: historical, social, and cultural (11.2.1.K2).

Root Words - 3rd quarter quiz on Thursday. Details on Monday.

After reading Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, this week our focus will shift to creating an essay analyzing the primary theme or lesson of the play. We'll go over the essay assignment on Tuesday. Students will complete an assignment for each step of the writing process. Students who use their time in class wisely should not have any homework during the week.  Students will turn in at least one paragraph at the end of each class period.  We'll wrap up the week with a quiz over the first 25 roots of the semester.

• Mon: Pass out and discuss Root Words mid-term practice self-test.  Pass back papers and current grades.  Death of a Salesman - review Act Two.  Act Two study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Tues: Death of a Salesman - Essay assignment, goals, and expectations.  Begin brainstorming a possible topic.  Come to class Wednesday ready to write.
• Wed: Death of a Salesman - essay paragraph assigned and due by the end of the hour.
• Thurs: Root Words mid-term.  Death of a Salesman - essay paragraph assigned and due by the end of the hour.
• Fri: No school due to Parent/Teacher Conferences

Week at a glance February 6 - 10, 2012

Curriculum focus: analyzing and interpreting figurative language: simile, metaphor, and symbol (11.1.3.K4a, b, i), identifying and analyzing the development of theme in a narrative text (11.1.4.K10d), identifying and analyzing the author's style: flashback, symbolism, tone, and mood (11.1.4.K11), comparing and contrasting narrative elements: character traits and character motives (11.1.4.K7), identifying and analyzing types of characters: flat, round, static, and dynamic (11.2.1.K1), and contextual aspects of setting: historical, social, and cultural (11.2.1.K2).

Root words for this week (root - definition - examples):

1. caust - fire/burn - caustic, cauterize, holocaust
2. grav - heavy - gravity, grave, grief
3. lite/ite/lith - rock - monolith, lithium, coprolite
4. son - sound - sonar, consonant, supersonic
5. terra - earth - terrain, territory, extraterrestrial

"Attention must be paid..." This week we'll finish the reading portion of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. As we'll see, Act One ends on a bit of a high note, with the potential of good things ahead for Willy and his sons. However, questions remain: what caused Willy to kick Biff out of the house, why can't Biff hold down a job, and what will happen to Willy? As we read we'll also analyze Miller's use of symbols and tone to enhance the events of the play.

• Mon: New root words; quiz on Friday.  Review the first half of Act One.  Begin reading/discussing the rest of Act One.
• Tues: Root words quiz.  Finish reading Act One.  Act One, part two study guide due Wednesday.
• Wed: Act One, part two study guide due.  Review Act One.  Begin reading/discussing Act Two.
• Thurs: Continue reading/discussing Act Two.
• Fri: Root words quiz. Finish reading/discussing Act Two.  Begin working on the Act Two study guide.

Week at a glance January 30 - February 3, 2012

Curriculum focus: analyzing and interpreting figurative language: simile, metaphor, and symbol (11.1.3.K4a, b, i), identifying and analyzing the development of theme in a narrative text (11.1.4.K10d), identifying and analyzing the author's style: flashback, symbolism, tone, and mood (11.1.4.K11), comparing and contrasting narrative elements: character traits and character motives (11.1.4.K7), identifying and analyzing types of characters: flat, round, static, and dynamic (11.2.1.K1), and contextual aspects of setting: historical, social, and cultural (11.2.1.K2).

Root words for this week (root - definition - examples):

1. cis/cide - cut or kill- precise, homicide
2. crypto - secret/hidden - crypt, cryptography
3. lud/lus - play/tease - delusion, illusion, allude
4. necro - death - necropsy, necropolis
5. nihil - nothing - annihilate, nil, nihilism

"Attention must be paid..." This week we begin reading Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. It's a tale of a salesman desperately aiming for the American dream brought down by his own tragic flaws. As we read the play in class, we'll be focusing on the relationships between the characters and how Miller shows how events in the past inescapably shape our future. We'll also pull from the five American themes we studied during our American Poetry Unit and analyze how the themes are developed in the play.  We'll wrap up the week with a trip to the Library to revise and type the final drafts of the Definition Essay and the American Poem.

• Mon: New root words.  DoaS - Background information and context.  Select parts.  Begin reading/discussing Act One.
• Tues: DoaS - Continue reading/discussing Act One.
• Wed: DoaS - Finish reading/discussing Act One.  Act One, part I study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Thurs: Meet in the library to revise and type the final drafts of the Definition Essay and American Poem.
• Fri: Final drafts - Definition Essay and American Poem due by the end of the hour.

Week at a glance January 23 - 27, 2012

Curriculum focus: identifies, interprets, and analyzes the use of figurative language (11.1.K3), uses information from the text to make inferences and draw conclusions (11.1.4.K5), compares/contrasts themes in texts (11.1.4.K7b), compares/contrasts author's use of literary devices (11.1.4.K7k), uses paraphrasing and organizational skills to summarize underlying meaning of the text (11.1.4.K9e), analyzes and evaluates how an author's style work together to achieve purpose: irony, symbolism, tone, mood, imagery, allusion (11.1.4.K11c, d, e, f, h, and j), and analyzes contextual aspects of setting: historical, social, cultural (11.2.1.K2).
Root words for this week (root - definition - examples):

1. cardio - heart - cardiac, cardiologist
2. cerb - brain - cerebral, cerebellum
3. gastr - stomach - gastric, gastritis
4. osteo - bone - osteoporosis, osteopathy
5. rhin - nose - rhinoceros, rhinoplasty

This week we'll do our final readings and assignments for our American Poetry unit.  Students have spent three weeks studying our authors' development of the unique American themes within their poetry.  On Wednesday, it's the students' turn: students will begin the American poem assignment.  This assignment challenges them to develop their own free verse American Poem and will serve as a unit exam for this assignment.  As always, we will also begin and end the week with root words and a quiz.

• Mon: New root words; quiz on Friday.  American Poetry - The Melting Pot, Okita and Hughes.  Study guide due by the end of the hour. 
• Tues: American Poetry - American Dreams, Hughes and Robinson.  Study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Wed: Pass back papers and current grades.  American Poem - assignment, expectations, and example.  Come to class on Thursday with a selected theme.
• Thurs: American Poem - identify the selected theme.  Begin shaping and drafting the free verse poem.
• Fri: Root words quiz.  Handwritten rough draft of the American Poem due by the end of the hour.

Week at a glance January 16-20, 2012

Curriculum focus: identifies, interprets, and analyzes the use of figurative language (11.1.K3), uses information from the text to make inferences and draw conclusions (11.1.4.K5), compares/contrasts themes in texts (11.1.4.K7b), compares/contrasts author's use of literary devices (11.1.4.K7k), uses paraphrasing and organizational skills to summarize underlying meaning of the text (11.1.4.K9e), analyzes and evaluates how an author's style work together to achieve purpose: irony, symbolism, tone, mood, imagery, allusion (11.1.4.K11c, d, e, f, h, and j), and analyzes contextual aspects of setting: historical, social, cultural (11.2.1.K2).


Root words for this week (root - definition - examples):

1. chrom - color - chromosome, monochromatic, chromograph
2. -cracy - rule by - democracy, aristocracy, bureaucrat
3. esth/aesth - sensation or feeling - aesthetic, anesthesiology, kinesthetic
4. flor - flower - flour, floral, Florida, fleur de lis
5. plas/plast - to form - plasma, plastic, protoplasm

This week we'll continue on with our American Poetry unit.  We'll begin with poets considering America's potential identity in the world.  We'll then move on to Modernist and Surrealist perspectives and writing techniques.  We'll wrap up the week with a look at how the Modernists and Surrealists influenced the later works of two more poets pondering America's potential identity.  As we work through the week, we'll also continue our second semester Root Words unit and take care of last week's quiz.

• Mon: No school - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Tues: New root words, quiz on Friday.  American Poetry - The Search for Identity, part 1. Study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Wed: Root Words quiz.  American Poetry - begin reading poems on Modernism and Surrealism.
• Thurs: American Poetry - American Dreams - finish reading poems on Modernism and Surrealism.  Study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Fri: Root Words quiz. American Poetry - The Search for Identity, part 2.  Study guide due by the end of the hour.

Week at a glance January 9 - 13, 2012

Curriculum focus: differentiates between connotation and denotation, determines meaning of words based on context clues (11.1.3.K1), generates ideas from personal experience (11.7.1.1), selects a topic and relevant details for form, purpose, and audience (11.7.1.2), composes narrative writing (11.7.2.1a), writes using descriptive text structure (11.7.2.4a), develops clear and purposeful ideas with sufficient evidence and/or relevant details (11.7.1.1c), organizes ideas in a logical structure (11.7.3.2), writes with energy and enthusiasm using appropriate tone and word choice (11.7.3.4), creates text that flows easily with a variety of sentence structures (11.7.3.5), uses standard writing conventions effectively to enhance readability (11.7.3.6), and produces final written products that are of a quality to present to others (11.7.3.7).

Root words for this week (root - definition - examples):

1. cad/cide - to fall - accident, coincidence, deciduous
2. geno - creation - genesis, genetics, genocide
3. meta/muta - change - mutate, metamorphosis, metabolism
4. somn - sleep - insomnia, somnolent, somniloquacious
5. vor - eat - voracious, carnivore, herbivore, omnivore

This week, we launch into the second semester of our root words unit. Students will be learn five new roots, definitions, and examples, review them throughout the week, and have a quiz on Thursday. We'll also begin a brief poetry unit that highlights many famous poets in American literature and challenges students to analyze and interpret their poems. The purpose of the unit is to do a study of five themes common and unique to American literature, as well as to study American free verse as a poetic style. Our unit will eventually wrap up with students writing their own free verse poem centered around one of the five American themes. This week, however, will wrap up with students typing a rough draft of their Definition Essay.

• Mon: American Poetry - unit overview. Songs of America: Whitman and Hughes. Study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Tues: American Poetry - Free verse: Whitman and Frost. Study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Wed: Definition Essay - pass back the shaping packet.  Create an effective thesis for the essay and evaluate it.
• Thurs: Root Words quiz. Definition Essay - meet in the library to begin typing a rough draft of the essay. Definition Essay rough draft due Friday.
• Fri: Root Words quiz.  Meet in the library and type the Definition Essay. Typed rough draft due by the end of the hour.

Week at a glance January 2 - 6, 2012

Welcome back!

Curriculum focus: differentiates between connotation and denotation, determines meaning of words based on context clues (11.1.3.K1), generates ideas from personal experience (11.7.1.1), selects a topic and relevant details for form, purpose, and audience (11.7.1.2), composes narrative writing (11.7.2.1a), writes using descriptive text structure (11.7.2.4a), develops clear and purposeful ideas with sufficient evidence and/or relevant details (11.7.1.1c), organizes ideas in a logical structure (11.7.3.2), writes with energy and enthusiasm using appropriate tone and word choice (11.7.3.4), creates text that flows easily with a variety of sentence structures (11.7.3.5), uses standard writing conventions effectively to enhance readability (11.7.3.6), and produces final written products that are of a quality to present to others (11.7.3.7).

This week we'll hit the ground running with our first essay of the semester: a definition essay. A definition essay in an essay in which we thoroughly explain a word or phrase, including connotations, denotations, and personal connections. This may sound vague and abstract now, but it will make much more sense as we work step-by-step together in class. Look for a copy of the assignment and rubric to be posted on this site by Friday.

• Mon: Winter Break
• Tues: No school - staff work day
• Wed: 2nd Semester overview and review.  Definition Essay - assignment, strategies, and graphic organizer.
• Thurs: Definition Essay - complete the graphic organizer.  Begin shaping the essay.
• Fri: Definition Essay - outline/shaping packet due by the end of the hour.