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.