English 9--11/9/2015

Jump Off (2-3 mins.)
--On your desk, you will find your Article of the Week #3 work.  Take a moment to reflect on your performance and read any comments that I may have written for you.

S. the C. (5-8 mins.)

--agenda/HW

Old Business -- Article of the Week #3 (5-8 mins.)

--exemplary AoW #3 purposeful reading notes shared:

• A few sample lefthand margin summaries:
• Paragraph 1: "Because some kids are not in the "cool" group, they feel left out."
• Paragraph 2: "Robbins is drawn to these kids and told them social status is irrelevant."
• Paragraph 3: "Robbins' new book shows the reality of popularity and bullying in schools."
• A few sample detailed connections to "St. Lucy's...":
• Next to book author response beginning with "Many of" on second page: "Humans like the nuns do not seem to value the protectiveness and teamwork that the wolf-girls valued and mastered growing up."
• Next to book author response beginning with "Bill Gates" on third page: "Some of the wolf-girls that thrived at the home/in the pack may not have thrived in the vice versa."
• A few sample detailed connections to personal experience:
• Next to article author comment beginning with "It sounds" on second page: "I am considered 'popular,' but my parents are not worried because I am not what is stereotypical of the popular kids."
• Next to book author response beginning with "I think celebrity culture" on third page: "I'm part of the 'popular' group, and my friends and I don't feel like 'mini-celebrities.'  We're all close with each other.  We never chose to be called the 'popular' group, so why do people call us it?"
• Next to book author response beginning with "I think the goal" on last page: "Or the cult-like circle in the hallway during homeroom that takes up the entire space so people have to squeeze by, and if people happen to walk through the circle, they get yelled at for being rude?"

--If your score falls within the ineffective or developing range on this particular assignment, you likely did not carefully follow directions, complete precise work, or follow our classroom commitment of completing mindful work that best represents your ability.  I cannot stress enough how important care, precision, and effort are and will continue to be as you move throughout high school into adulthood.  Let's keep working together on these qualities! :)

Looking Ahead -- Article of the Week #4 (5-8 mins.)
--find and view a video about upcoming fast food worker strike
--thoughts/opinions?! (brief share-out)

Transition (3-5 mins.)
--Pick up the following items from the front table: 

• "English 9--Article of the Week #4 (11/9-11/13)--2015-2016 School Year"
• "Application Activity"
• an index card

Purposefully read the directions in the box at the top of the page of the Article of the Week. What questions do you have?
--Q & A

Application Activity/Discussion -- Livonia High School and St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves (20-30 mins.)
--purposeful oral reading of the activity directions
--Q & A
--complete the task at hand quietly and independently
--discussion protocol shared:

• Use the ball--consequence system for lack of compliance
• No more than two contributions maximum (class participation grade via "Discussion Contribution Rating Scale")
• I reserve the right to "jump in" to the conversation where appropriate and randomly select students to share

--"Discussion Contribution Rating Scale" reminder
--quick-share with a neighbor?
--Transition--form an alphabetical-by-middle-name circle out of the desks--make it snappy!
--engage in discussion via the protocol--contributions will be assessed via the "Discussion Contribution Rating Scale"

Transition -- re-column desks

"St. Lucy's..."--First Half of Stage 2 ("Stage 2: After a time..." [239] to "...she couldn't smell a thing" [242])

"SHARE": Share-Out/Discussion (cont.) (flex time)
--continue sharing out paragraph-by-paragraph in the following order:

• structure
• character
• theme
• diction

--as you and your peers share and I mark up the text on the SmartBoard, do the same on your personal copy of "St. Lucy's..."

Closure -- "During today's work with "St. Lucy's...," I realized/concluded/learned that..." (5 mins.)
--write your name at the top of the lined side of your index card
--complete the sentence-starter above--try to be specific, please!

HW (Take-Home Assessment)
--Complete Article of the Week #4, which is due at the beginning of class on Monday, 11/16.  This task will include purposefully reading the directions in the box at the top of the page and completing your best work with regard to the directions. 
HW (Class Preparation)

--Finish purposefully reading Stage 2 of "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" ("I was one of the good girls." [242] to the end of Stage 2 [244]) and complete your assigned purposeful reading task to the best of your ability.  Expect an assessment of your efforts/understanding during class next time (Thursday, 11/12).
--Read your free reading book for at least 15 minutes between now and next class.  ALWAYS BRING YOUR FREE READING BOOK TO CLASS.  You have up until the first week of December to finish your book.

English 10 Honors--11/6/2015

Jump Off (20-25 mins.)
--Turn in your typed-in-MLA-format unifying theme statement paragraph by placing your writing in the black basket on the front table.
--Pick up the Unit #3 vocabulary quiz from the front table.  Make sure to carefully read all of the directions as some additional directions exist in one of the sections and another of the sections is a bit different than it has been in the past.  Complete the quiz quietly and independently. Good luck!
--When you finish with the assessment, place it facedown under your desk.  Then, engage in free reading until you receive further instructions.

S. the C. (15-20 mins.)
--trade and grade
--return quizzes to rightful owners--reflect on performance and note still-not-mastered words in vocabulary books--I will collect quizzes momentarily
--list of students needing to revise for the Cumulative Writing Portfolio shared:

• Would anyone like to schedule a meeting for a time slot during today's class (during the group activity) or my office hours (posted on the front board)?

--agenda/HW

Transition (6-8 mins.)
--directions given for the next block of time
--review our classroom "Compact for Group Work"
--Block 2: Form two groups of two and a group of three
--Block 4: Form three groups of four
--Pick up a copy of the "General Writing Rubric" from the front table on your way to your group meeting.

Application Activity/Writing Workshop--Part 1 -- Unifying Theme Statement Paragraphs--"Social Class": "The Necklace" and "Richard Cory" (flex time)
--familiarize selves with the "General Writing Rubric"
--purposeful oral reading/purposeful listening:

• Purpose while reading:
• read clearly and deliberately so that your peers can follow along
• Purpose while listening:
• work to answer these questions:
• As per the "General Writing Rubric," what score-ish would you give the paragraph?  Why?

--come to a consensus in answering these two questions:

• Which of the paragraphs shared is the strongest?  Why?

--If your group finishes and others are still collaborating, return to your desk and engage in free reading until you receive further instructions.

Transition (2-3 mins.)
--form an alphabetical-by-the-name-of-your-first-pet circle out of the desks

Application Activity/Writing Workshop--Part 2 -- Unifying Theme Statement Paragraphs--"Social Class": "The Necklace" and "Richard Cory" (flex time)
--purposeful oral reading/purposeful listening ("best three"):

• Purpose while reading:
• read clearly and deliberately so that your peers can follow along
• Purpose while listening:
• work to answer these questions once all three paragraphs have been read (again, we will come to a consensus):
• Which of the paragraphs shared is the strongest?  Why?

Transition (2-3 mins.)
--pick up the “Short Story Analysis Sheet,” a story map (if desired), analysis/discussion questions (if desired), and a copy of "The Open Boat" from the desks located by the door and re-column the desks
*AS THIS OCCURS, I WILL SCAN IN THE "TOP DOG" PARAGRAPH SO THAT WE CAN GIVE IT ONE FINAL LOOK TOGETHER.*

Closure -- Think-Aloud--The Four Cs of Quality Academic Writing (flex time)
--"top dog" paragraph annotated, scored, etc. on the front board--this is intended as another exemplar in preparation for the writing that you will complete at the end of the unit as part of your exam!

Looking Ahead (5-8 mins.)
--note-taking (Naturalism as a Literary Movement)--date the page in your notebook (11/6/2015)

DEAR/HW Time -- Free Reading or “The Open Boat” (time permitting)
--purposefully read "The Open Boat" (use "Short Story Analysis Sheet")--align your annotations with the "Reading Literature Like a Champ" expectations/standards that we went over earlier in the unit, especially zeroing in on theme

HW (Class Preparation)
--Begin/finish purposefully reading “The Open Boat” prior to the beginning of next class (Tuesday, 11/10).  Make sure to zero in on theme:

• What are some themes that emerge in "The Open Boat"?
• When and how do these themes emerge?
• What literary techniques does Crane use to develop some of the emergent themes, and how does he effectively use these techniques?
• What does Crane want readers to think about these themes/what insights into the human experience is he presenting (theme statement vs. mere theme)?
• How often do we really stop to think about the ideas about the human experience conveyed to us in literature, from story-to-story, etc.? 

Be prepared for an assessment and/or a discussion about the reading next class.
--Read your free reading book for at least 15 minutes between now and next class. ALWAYS BRING YOUR FREE READING BOOK TO CLASS.  You have up until the first week of December to finish your book.
HW (Writing)
--The due date for submitting a revised Thematic Writing Assignment--Partner Interviews essay for the Cumulative Writing Portfolio is Friday, 11/13 (one week from today [Eeeeeek!?])--YOU MUST schedule a meeting with me to go over your revisions; simply handing in the revisions is unacceptable as per the protocol. When time permits, meetings can/will occur during class time.
Miscellaneous
--Enjoy the weekend--you only get so many of 'em!

English 9--11/5/2015

Jump Off (5-8 mins.)
--Pick up a highlighter and the "Parts of Speech--Post-test" from the front table.  Complete the assessment quietly and independently back at your desk.  Good luck!
--Find your name card and sit in your new assigned seat.

S. the C. (10-15 mins.)
--When you finish with the assessment, place your work in the black basket on the front table and...

• return your highlighter 
• see me so that I can give you the document that you will need for the remainder of the class block.  (For students with the character task, assign specific characters.)  Purposefully read through the document so that your reading purpose for today's lesson is clear.  Then, engage in free reading until you receive further instructions.

--agenda/HW
--The following students need to see me before leaving class today:

• Nic R.
• Kiara S.
• Cameron V.
• Christina B.
• Trevor C.
• Collin J.

"St. Lucy's..."--First Half of Stage 2 ("Stage 2: After a time..." [239] to "...she couldn't smell a thing" [242])
 
"THINK": Purposeful Reading (15-20 mins.)
--purposeful independent reading of the first half of Stage 2 of the short story--complete your assigned purposeful reading task to the best of your ability
--continue completing your assigned purposeful reading task via rereading, filling in your tool, looking up words, etc.

"GROUP": Share-Out, Note-taking, and Planning Discussion Contributions (20-25 mins.)
--review our classroom "Compact for Group Work"
--share the "Discussion Contribution Rating Scale"--individual contributions to today's share-out/discussion will be assessed using this scale
--What is our ultimate purpose for re-reading and discussing the story again?!
--Transition--form groups by task
--share annotations and notes with each other, add to personal notes, and decide who will share what during the forthcoming share-out/discussion, bearing in mind the "Discussion Contribution Rating Scale"--MODEL WITH A GROUP OF STUDENTS

Transition -- re-column the desks and pick up an index card for today's "Closure" (2 mins.)

"SHARE": Share-Out/Discussion (until 5 mins. remain)
--share-out paragraph-by-paragraph in the following order:

• structure
• character
• theme
• diction

--as you and your peers share and I mark up the text on the SmartBoard, do the same on your personal copy of "St. Lucy's..."

Closure -- "During today's work with "St. Lucy's...," I realized/concluded/learned that..." (5 mins.)
--write your name at the top of the lined side of your index card
--complete the sentence-starter above--try to be specific, please!

HW (Class Preparation)

--Read your free reading book for at least 15 minutes between now and next class.  ALWAYS BRING YOUR FREE READING BOOK TO CLASS.  You have up until the first week of December to finish your book.
Miscellaneous

--Enjoy the weekend--you only get so many of 'em!

English 10 Honors--11/4/2015

Jump Off (3-5 mins.)
--Turn in your short story and your argumentative paragraphs by placing both in the black basket on the front table.
--Pick up both a BINGO board and a highlighter from the front table.
--Copy down this week's "Whimsical Words" from the front board.
--Wait for me to give further directions.
*AS YOU WORK, I WILL RETURN YOUR UNIT #2 VOCABULARY QUIZ WITH THE ROUGH GOAL YOU SET STAPLED TO IT.  ALSO, I WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER HALF-INDEX CARD SO THAT YOU CAN SET ANOTHER ROUGH GOAL.*

S. the C. (15-20 mins.)
--agenda/HW
--list of students needing to revise for the Cumulative Writing Portfolio shared:

• Would anyone like to schedule a meeting for a time slot during today's class (during the "Application Activity") or my office hours (posted on the front board)?

--pronounce each of the five "Whimsical Words"

--reflect upon your performance on the Unit #2 vocabulary quiz one last time and set a rough goal for the Unit #3 quiz on your half-index card

--directions given for how to fill in BINGO boards (unit word + "helper" word)--I WILL MODEL

--directions given for writing five sentences on the back of your BINGO board (you may NOT just use the sentences from the book)--I WILL MODEL/TALK STRATEGY

--fill in BINGO boards/write sentences quietly and independently

 

Transition (1-2 mins.)

--When you finish the last task described above, turn in your half-index card and your Unit #2 vocabulary quiz to me at the front of the classroom.

 

Review -- Vocabulary Unit #3 BINGO (25-30 mins.)

--independent work time--finish writing five sentences

--share "how to win" boards

--share information about “board validation” (at podium, share words, basic definitions, and a sample sentence)

--play 3ish games (depending on time)--+1 bonus to winners

 

Transition (2-3 mins.)
--Recycle or FILE AWAY your BINGO board.

--Pick up a copy of the "Unifying Theme Statement Practice--'Social Class'" document from the front table.

 

Application Activity -- Unifying Theme Statement Practice--"Social Class": "The Necklace" and "Richard Cory" (2o mins.)

--complete the document quietly and independently:

 

• explicate the poem 
• craft a unifying theme statement
• cite strong textual evidence supporting the theme statement
• tie back via explanation

*AS YOU WORK, I WILL HAND OUT AN EXEMPLAR FOR YOU TO REFERENCE WHEN COMPLETING YOUR HOMEWORK.*
--engage in discussion via a drawing of cards

HW Time/DEAR (time permitting)

HW (Class Preparation)
--Finish preparing for the Unit #3 vocabulary quiz, which will take place next time (Friday, 11/6), bearing in mind your rough goal set during today's class.  Make sure to familiarize yourself with the “Whimsical Words.”  REMEMBER THAT WORDS FROM PREVIOUS UNITS ARE "FAIR GAME" ON ANY VOCABULARY QUIZ THEREAFTER (EXCLUDING PAST "WHIMSICAL WORDS")!
--Read your free reading book for at least 15 minutes between now and next class. ALWAYS BRING YOUR FREE READING BOOK TO CLASS.  You have up until the first week of December to finish your book.
HW (Class Preparation/Take-Home Assessment)
--Use your notes from today's "Application Activity" to type a well-developed unifying theme statement paragraph in MLA format to turn in at the beginning of class next time (Friday, 11/6).  Consult the exemplary unifying theme statement paragraph that you picked up at the end of today's class block.
HW (Writing)
--The due date for submitting a revised Thematic Writing Assignment--Partner Interviews essay for the Cumulative Writing Portfolio is Friday, 11/13 (1.5 weeks from today)--YOU MUST schedule a meeting with me to go over your revisions; simply handing in the revisions is unacceptable as per the protocol. When time permits, meetings can/will occur during class time.

English 9--11/3/2015

Jump Off (3-5 mins.)
--Pick up a highlighter and the document entitled "Parts of Speech--Pretest" from the front table.  Complete the pretest quietly and independently.  Good luck!

S. the C. (5-8 mins.)
--agenda/HW
--The following students need to see me before leaving class today:

• Nic R.
• Bonnie K.
• Kiara S.
• Cameron V.
• Christina B.
• Trevor C.
• Collin J.

--prepare slides for next activity--drop the hammer--share routine/rationale with students and link to vocabulary and the writing that we've done so far this year
--directions given for first activity

Transition (2 mins.)
--return highlighter and pick up a tile, an Expo marker, and a scrap for erasing from the front bookshelf--be kind to my markers!

Review Activity/Instruction -- The Grammar Hammer--Parts of Speech TILES (20-25 mins.)
--indicate pretest responses as directed by the PowerPoint slides/take any necessary notes

Transition (5-8 mins.)
--Reminder: Our ultimate purpose for re-reading the short story (beginning with the end in mind):

End-of-Mini-Unit Assessment Writing Prompt:
Write a well-developed paragraph in which you support a meaningful and complex theme statement for Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves."  Use at least three pieces of strong textual evidence spanning the entire text, and be sure to tie back to your theme statement often.

--more specific purposeful reading tasks intended both to help us work toward mastering certain standards and "unwrap" the story in preparation for the writing assessment:

• Task A--RL.2 (Theme)
• Task B--RL.3 (Character)
• Task C--RL.4 (Diction)
• Task D--RL.5 (Structure)

*BY THE END OF STAGE 4, YOU WILL HAVE COMPLETED EACH OF THESE TASKS.*
--Please go back through your purposeful annotations and tool (where applicable) and come up with at least one potential contribution for today's forthcoming share-out/discussion, which is a continuation of the work we began last class.  We've barely made a dent in the story yet!

Share-Out/Discussion (cont.) -- "St. Lucy's..."--Stage 1 (flex time)

--as you and your peers share and I mark up the text on the SmartBoard, do the same on your personal copy of "St. Lucy's..." (volunteers first, then cards drawn)

Closure -- Take a Stand (flex time)

--reminder of the protocol for Take a Stand (with a twist!):

• Momentarily, I will make a claim about Stage 1 of "St. Lucy's...":
• If you agree with the claim, STAND ON your desk chair.
• If you neither fully agree nor disagree with the claim and instead have a more precise claim of your own, STAY SEATED in your desk chair. 
• If you disagree with the claim, SIT ON THE FLOOR next to your desk.

--The claim: The Stage 1 epigraph of Karen Russell's short story "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" accurately depicts the girls' actual experiences during the first section of the story.

--show your position
--cold-calling--students randomly selected to briefly explain their thoughts (no more than three sentences)

DEAR -- Free Reading Books (time permitting)
--students without books will read Upfront newsmagazine

HW (Class Preparation)
--Prepare for the "Parts of Speech--Post-test," which will take place at the beginning of next class.  It might be in your best interest to review via the following website if you struggled on today's pre-test: http://arts.uottawa.ca/writingcentre/en/hypergrammar/the-parts-of-speech/review-parts-of-speech

--Read your free reading book for at least 10 minutes between now and next class.  ALWAYS BRING YOUR FREE READING BOOK TO CLASS.  You have up until the first week of December to finish your book.