English 9--2/6/2019 & 2/7/2019

Jump Off (1-2 mins.)
--Please pick up a copy of the sheet titled "Irony Check Charts" from the front table.  Following attendance, I will explain how these charts work/the rationale behind these charts and how we will use them today as review prior to the irony assessment.  Please bear in mind the irony-related objectives that today's assessment "checks on":

You should...

• be able to define both irony in general and the three main types of irony
• be able to recognize each of the types of irony in action.

S. the C./Review (20-25 mins.)
--agenda/HW
--"Irony Check Charts" sheet explained via a Monsters, Inc. example for each type of irony

Many of the monsters are afraid of kids:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTj0uh6XGrM

Roz tells Mike she is "sure [he has] filed [his] paperwork correctly":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWoQRz-8ac0

Sully thinks Boo died:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDwiybWUwKM

Transition (1-2 mins.)
--Please take out your copy of the "Purposeful Viewing of Gnomeo & Juliet" document.
--Reminder: The following are our focal points with Gnomeo & Juliet, which we will finish viewing during the next part of today's class block:

• opening up a window into Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
• working toward mastery of a Reading Literature standard that we have not yet addressed
• continuing to "stay fresh" with regard to some of the work that we have been completing recently (e.g., reviewing and applying theme, APPLYING IRONY, etc.)

Pre-reading/Film Analysis Activity (cont.) -- Purposeful Viewing of Gnomeo & Juliet (15-ish mins.)
--jot down notes on your "Purposeful Viewing of Gnomeo & Juliet" document for discussion, FOCUSING ESPECIALLY ON #7 (IRONY)

Review -- The Three Types of Irony (10-15 mins.)
--pair/share potential examples of irony present in Gnomeo & Juliet OR other examples from real life, movies, etc.
--whole-class share-out (just the example, not the explanation)
--quietly and independently, run an "irony check" on a potential example of your choice
--pair/share
--whole-class share-out

Transition (1-2 mins.)
--Please pick up a copy of the quiz from the front table.

Assessment -- Irony Quiz (remainder of class)
--complete the assessment quietly and independently--good luck!
--When you finish taking the quiz, ...

• place your work in the black basket on the front table
• engage in free reading...

Closure -- "Today, I learned/understood/realized..." Ball Toss (time permitting)
--brainstorm sentence-starter conclusions quietly and independently
--whole-class share-out via ball toss

HW (Practice/Take-Home Assessment)
--Due to the way that last week played out, please complete a total of 45 minutes of Membean training by 11:59 PM this Thursday, 2/7 (see the "English Department Membean Routine" sheet).  Any minutes completed either last week or this week count!
HW (Class Preparation)
--Read at least 10 pages of your free reading book between now and next class.  Your book must be finished by mid-March.  ALWAYS BRING YOUR FREE READING BOOK TO CLASS!

• "When I got [my] library card, that was when my life began" (Rita Mae Brown).

Miscellaneous

--Consider working toward achievement of your S.M.A.R.T. Goal.  Your deadline is likely approaching!

On the backburner:

• Finishing Gnomeo & Juliet
• opening a window into The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
• continuing to master Reading Literature standards, irony, and theme
• Prior to last part of film, engage in irony lesson and apply it to Gnomeo & Juliet.
• Prior to "The Interlopers", complete acting activity reviewing the types of irony from both Gnomeo & Juliet and Act 1 of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.
• Writing returned/revised in waves
• Wave 1?!?!
• Wave 2--organization as per sample paragraphs for "The Cask of Amontillado"
• Prior to "The Interlopers", share a few paragraphs as review of both organization and concepts therein.
• Wave 3--grammar hammer as per common errors
• Continuing to master Reading Literature standards, irony, and theme
• Short works--The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Unit
• Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado"
• Saki's "The Interlopers"

English 10--Positive/Negative Life Events Graph Checklist

• Clearly display full name on the paper
• Label "x" and "y" axis
• Include five specific positive events and five specific negative events
• Label event points with legible/neat printing and correct spelling
• Include a picture for each high and each low (colored illustrations = optional)
• Connect points using a straight edge

English 10--2/5/2019

Jump Off (2-3 mins.)

--Please place your best work in the black basket for the assignment titled "Purposeful Reading Questions/Prompts for Pages 51-65".  I hope that this information does not apply to anyone, but I have included Room 203 policies below as a reminder:

• When an assignment for collection is not turned in on time (more often than not, at the beginning of class), you will not receive credit and will come in for homeroom detention the following day, a block of time during which you are expected to wrap up your work.  Failure to stay for homeroom will result in a referral for central detention.
• Make sure that your homework assignments are entirely completed, as partial completion = incomplete and will also result in no credit and homeroom detention.
• You will not receive full credit for a homework assignment turned in late for several reasons.  First, I do not want to give you the wrong impression about the important soft skill of responsibility by seeming to disregard tardiness, thus aiding in the development of bad habits that could potentially negatively impact the rest of your life.  Also, I do not want to contribute to grade inflation.  (For example, a student that takes four additional days to complete an assignment has had many more hours than his or her peers and might therefore produce work that is an inflated representation of skill level based on the parameters of the assignment.)  At best, a homework assignment turned in late will receive and ineffective score of 64%.
• I will not always accept homework turned in late.  If an assignment has already been gone over in class or if I have already scored and provided feedback upon an assignment, I will not accept that work late.
• As always, if you have trouble on an assignment, you should let me know before class (preferably long before class!) so that I can assist you in any way possible.

--Open your notebook to the section labeled "The Alchemist--Quick Write #3".  Draw a line under what you wrote a few weeks back.  Date this section of your notes (2/5/2019) and label it "The Alchemist--Quick Write #4".

S. the C. (5-8 mins.)
--agenda/HW

Thinking, Writing, and Looking Ahead Activity -- The Alchemist--Quick Write #4 (10-20 mins.)
--write for 8 minutes in response to the prompt below:

• Part of growing up is recognizing that people whose job it is to take care of us--parents, teachers, and other adults in authority--are human, just as we are, and have experienced the same kinds of difficulties that we have.  Think about a time when you had a moment of insight into the life of an adult close to you.  Perhaps you felt sympathy with that person because of something he or she had gone through?  Maybe you heard a story about something that had happened to this person when he or she was younger?  Write about this moment of insight.

--pair/share

• What did you write about?  Why?
• Consider the questions below.  In a few minutes, I am going to draw cards and populate the front board.
• What is poetry?
• Why do we study poetry?
• How should a reader go about purposefully reading a piece of poetry?
• What might it mean to "speak the language" of poetry while annotating?

--whole-class share-out with regard to the poetry questions

Transition (1-2 mins.)
--Please pick up a copy of the halfsheet titled "Poety Protocol--Mary Oliver's "The Journey".

Poetry Analysis Practice Activity -- Mary Oliver's "The Journey" (10-20 mins.)
--Step 1: Familiarize ourselves with the poetry protocol. 
--Step 2: Run the poetry protocol on the poem titled "The Journey".  I will be around with the poem momentarily.
--Step 3: Confer, compare, and clarify in groups of three (formed via a drawing of cards).
--Step 4: Engage in a whole-class share-out via a drawing of cards.  (As this occurs, I will mark up a class copy of the poem on the SMART Board.)

Teambuilding/Writing/Speaking/Looking Ahead Activity -- Positive/Negative Life Event Graphs (remainder of class)
--finish the final copy of your graph and place your best work in the black basket on the front table--make sure that your work aligns with the checklist below:

• Clearly display full name on the paper
• Label "x" and "y" axis
• Include five specific positive events and five specific negative events
• Label event points with legible/neat printing and correct spelling
• Include a picture for each high and each low (colored illustrations = optional)
• Connect points using a straight edge

--If you already finished your final copy, please place it in the black basket.  Then, complete one of the following until class ends:

• read your free reading book
• conduct a "first-draft" reading of the next set of pages of The Alchemist as directed

HW (Practice/Take-Home Assessment)
--Due to the way that last week played out, please complete a total of 45 minutes of Membean training by 11:59 PM this Thursday, 2/7 (see the "English Department Membean Routine" sheet).  Any minutes completed either last week or this week count!
HW (Class Preparation/Take-Home Assessment)
--Reminder: If the policy information reviewed today pertains to you, make sure to come for homeroom tomorrow.
--FYI: I will accept graphs at the beginning of next class block for anyone needing to finish.
--Read pages 65-84 of The Alchemist.  Demonstrate your best skill level in "first-draft" reading, aiming to both basically comprehend the text and respond to the following questions:

• How does Coelho continue portraying his "Four Obstacles" philosophy through his characters? 
• Why do the characters that we encounter in the novella say what they say, do what they do, etc.?  What are human beings really like?
• How does this section of the reading connect to Mary Oliver's poem "The Journey" that we began studying in class today?

Reminder: the nature of a typical “first-draft” reading of a difficult text:

• A gist reading = “survival mode” in order to understand/comprehend the text on a literal level
• Ask the “curious questions”
• Basic comprehension is essential if any deeper understanding is to occur.
• Easier with some sort of defined purpose (therefore, often a purposeful reading)
• Most effective when it is still somewhat active reading (annotate: jot down curious questions, jot down notes related to your defined purpose[s], etc.)

Expect any or all of the following to occur during our next class block: 

• a "60/40" reading assessment
• a discussion geared around your "first-draft" reading

Writing

--Continue thinking about the following questions:

• Research Unit: What might you argue with regard to your research topic?
• I would like for us to head back over to the library again sometime soon!
• End-of-Course Assignment: What is your "why?"?

HW (Class Preparation)
--Read at least 10 pages of your free reading book between now and next class.  Your book must be finished by mid-March.  ALWAYS BRING YOUR FREE READING BOOK TO CLASS!

• "Think before you speak. Read before you think" (Fran Lebowitz).

Miscellaneous

--Consider working toward achievement of your S.M.A.R.T. Goal.  Your deadline is likely approaching!


On the backburner:

• Library
• print a promising source procured from a database
• back at the classroom, engage in active/purposeful reading as per the same directions given on last AoW

English 10 Honors--2/5/2019

Jump Off
--Please take out the following: 

• the materials associated with both of the last two "Poetry Analysis Practice" experiences ("On Living" and "Give Us Our Peace")
• the "Poetry 'Unit' Notes -- English 10 Honors" document

--Please pick up the following from the front table: 

• a copy of the "Poetry 'Unit' Notes -- English 10 Honors--Effect/Authorial Purpose 'Cheat Sheet'"

S. the C.
--agenda/HW
--directions MODELED for multiple choice #10 for the poem "On Living"
--directions further MODELED with the phrase "It would be impossible..." from Pass-Back Poetry activity

Note-taking Activity -- Poetry "Unit" Notes -- English 10 Honors--Effect/Authorial Purpose "Cheat Sheet"
--quiet and independent work time

• By re-processing through your "Poetry Analysis Practice" documents, thinking about the Pass-Back Poetry activity, and otherwise activating your prior knowledge, complete some of the "Cheat Sheet" in the time permitted.

--pair-share
--Closure

• continue note-taking (both the skeletal notes page and the "Cheat Sheet") via a whole-class share-out

Brain Break -- Pass-Back Poetry
--oral reading of poems submitted last class block
--vote for the "best" poem in the class for submission to the GVEP Literary Contest!

Transition
--Please pick up a copy of the halfsheet titled "Poetry Protocol--'We Are Many'" from the front table.  Purposefully read the sheet.  What questions can I answer before we get started today?

Poetry Analysis Practice Activity -- "We Are Many "
--Re-familiarize yourself with the poetry protocol.  Then, run it on the poem titled "We Are Many". I will come around with the poem momentarily.

HW (Practice/Take-Home Assessment)
--Due to the way that last week played out, please complete a total of 45 minutes of Membean training by 11:59 PM this Thursday, 2/7 (see the "English Department Membean Routine" sheet).  Any minutes completed either last week or this week count!
HW (Class Preparation)
--Read at least 10 pages of your free reading book between now and next class.  Your book must be finished by mid-March.  ALWAYS BRING YOUR FREE READING BOOK TO CLASS!

• "Think before you speak. Read before you think" (Fran Lebowitz).

--Finish running the poetry protocol on the poem titled "We Are Many".  Review your annotations prior to next class block.
Writing

--"Poetry Writing Assignment #1" is due at the beginning of class on Monday, 2/11.  Make sure that your work aligns with the scoring parameters.  My classroom is available after school today and tomorrow for any individuals looking to "workshop" together.

Miscellaneous

--Consider working toward achievement of your S.M.A.R.T. Goal.  Your deadline is likely approaching!

On the backburner:

• Literary Conventions Work
• LotF

English 9--2/4/2019 & 2/5/2019

Jump Off
--Please take out your notebook, date the page (2/4/2019 [ACE] or 2/5/2019 [BDF]), and label this section of your notes "Irony Rough Notes".  Then, write down each of the following items, skipping a few lines between each item.  (SEE THE MODEL ON THE FRONT BOARD.):

• Irony
• Situational Irony
• Verbal Irony
• Dramatic Irony

Finally, under each of the items, write down everything that you think you know so that I can get a sense of your collective prior knowledge and tailor the contents of the forthcoming mini-lesson accordingly.  I will post an illustrated Shel Silverstein poem that is ironic in an attempt to help you out a little bit!

S. the C.

--agenda/HW

Mini-Lesson -- The Three Types of Irony

--Objectives:
By the end of the mini-lesson, you should...

• be able to define both irony in general and the three main types of irony
• be able to recognize each of the types of irony in action
• understand some of the reasons why writers implement irony
• have a solid page of notes to study in order to master irony--your mastery and the notes page itself should aid you in future endeavors.

--share out work from the "Jump Off"  in order to begin creating class definitions for each of the terms--add to your rough notes in your notebook
--purposefully view three video clips, each of which corresponds with one of the three types of irony--your purpose:

• Knowing that each video exemplifies a type of irony, add to each of the definitions in your notebook
• Consider the way that you feel/the impact that the irony is having on you as a viewer--write your thoughts in your notebook

Video Clips:

Clip from M. Night Shyamalan's 2002 film Signs (I'll provide a brief plot summary first):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLZ5_Z5Qhv8

Will Ferrell's "Dissing Your Dog" skit from Saturday Night Live (I'll give a heads up about language first):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI6Jmgb04lU

Clips from DreamWorks' 2001 film Shrek (a student provides a brief plot summary first):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSrEf2OU6DU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obN8EIOj19M

--following each video clip, add to our rough notes up on the front board/your rough notes in your notebook
--Transition

• Please pick up the "Irony Notes" page from the front table.

--independently or in pairs (assigned by me), purposefully read the notes page (How did we do?!), fill in the blanks, write an example for each type of irony (from the video clips, other movies or television shows you have seen, works you have read in school in the past, and/or real life), and jot down in list form authorial purpose(s)/intended effect(s) (e.g., humor)--whole-class share-out--add to official notes page
--Closure

Directions: 

• For each of the following examples, if you think that the example is situational irony, hold up ONE finger.  If you think that the example is verbal irony, hold up TWO fingers.  If an example best fits dramatic irony, hold up THREE fingers.  Finally, if an example is in no way ironic at all, hold up a FIST.
• Put your head down on your desk, listen to each example, and throw your hand up in the air!

1. I failed the test because I did not study.

2. Dave’s blood pressure medication gave him a heart attack.

3. Juliet took a sleeping potion, but Romeo, who has no idea, thinks that she is dead and hastily takes his own life.
4. The box of airdropped humanitarian aid landed on the refugee and crushed him to death.
5. I missed the job interview because I overslept.
6. “Thank you for this ticket, Officer. You just made my day.”
--Where should you put this notes page?

Transition

--Please take out your copy of the "Purposeful Viewing of Gnomeo & Juliet" document.
--Reminder: The following are our focal points with Gnomeo & Juliet:

• opening up a window into Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
• working toward mastery of a Reading Literature standard that we have not yet addressed
• continuing to "stay fresh" with regard to some of the work that we have been completing recently (e.g., reviewing and applying theme, applying irony, etc.)

Pre-reading/Film Analysis Activity (cont.) -- Purposeful Viewing of Gnomeo & Juliet
--jot down notes on your "Purposeful Viewing of Gnomeo & Juliet" document for discussion, focusing especially on #7

• Can anyone think of (an) example(s) of irony from the first 2/3 of the film?!

--share notes/finish notes with a partner

HW (Practice/Take-Home Assessment)
--Due to the way that last week played out, please complete a total of 45 minutes of Membean training by 11:59 PM this Thursday, 2/7 (see the "English Department Membean Routine" sheet).  Any minutes completed either last week or this week count!

HW (Class Preparation)

--"Clean up" your irony notes (e.g., finish copying information from your rough notes onto your "Irony Notes" page, write a clean page of notes in your notebook, etc.).
--Review your "Irony Notes" page.  A multiple choice assessment aiming to measure the following will occur NEXT CLASS:

• your ability to define the three main types of irony
• your ability to recognize each of the types of irony in action  
  

--Read at least 10 pages of your free reading book between now and next class.  Your book must be finished by mid-March.  ALWAYS BRING YOUR FREE READING BOOK TO CLASS!

• "Think before you speak. Read before you think" (Fran Lebowitz).

Miscellaneous

--Consider working toward achievement of your S.M.A.R.T. Goal.  Your deadline is likely approaching!

On the backburner:

• Finishing Gnomeo & Juliet
• opening a window into The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet
• continuing to master Reading Literature standards, irony, and theme
• Prior to last part of film, engage in irony lesson and apply it to Gnomeo & Juliet.
• Prior to "The Interlopers", complete acting activity reviewing the types of irony from both Gnomeo & Juliet and Act 1 of The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.
• Writing returned/revised in waves
• Wave 1?!?!
• Wave 2--organization as per sample paragraphs for "The Cask of Amontillado"
• Prior to "The Interlopers", share a few paragraphs as review of both organization and concepts therein.
• Wave 3--grammar hammer as per common errors
• Continuing to master Reading Literature standards, irony, and theme
• Short works--The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Unit
• Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado"
• Saki's "The Interlopers"

English 10--2/1/2019

Jump Off
--Obtain your Chromebook from the cart in the back of the classroom.  After logging in, log in to Membean and set up and complete a 15-minute training session.  Once you finish training, take out your book and engage in free reading until you receive further instructions.

Transition

--Please take out your folded sheet of lined paper upon which you began the "Positive/Negative Life Event Graphs" activity prior to Midterm Week.  It's been a while, I know!

S. the C.
--agenda/HW

Teambuilding/Writing/Speaking/Looking Ahead Activity (cont.) -- Positive/Negative Life Event Graphs
--work through activity steps so that each student leaves with a rough draft mostly completed (SEE GOOGLE SLIDES)

Transition
--Please pick up a copy of the "Purposeful Reading Questions/Prompts for Pages 51-65" sheet from the front table.  We will read through the questions/prompts together so that the expectations are clear.

HW Time (time permitting)

HW (Practice/Take-Home Assessment)
--Due to how this week has played out, please complete a total of 45 minutes of Membean training by 11:59 PM next Thursday, 2/7 (see the "English Department Membean Routine" sheet).  Any minutes completed either this week or next count!
HW (Class Preparation/Take-Home Assessment)

--Read pages 51-65 of The Alchemist and complete the assignment titled "Purposeful Reading Questions/Prompts for Pages 51-65" as directed.  Expect to place your best work in the black basket at the beginning of NEXT CLASS (Tuesday, 2/5).
Writing

--Continue thinking about the following questions:

• Research Unit: What might you argue with regard to your research topic?
• I would like for us to head back over to the library again sometime soon!
• End-of-Course Assignment: What is your "why?"?

HW (Class Preparation)
--Read at least 10 pages of your free reading book between now and next class.  ALWAYS BRING YOUR FREE READING BOOK TO CLASS!

• "There is no substitute for books in the life of a child" (May Ellen Chase).

Miscellaneous

--Consider working toward achievement of your S.M.A.R.T. Goal.  Do something great this year!
--Enjoy the weekend--you only get so many of 'em! :)


On the backburner:

• Library
• print a promising source procured from a database
• back at the classroom, engage in active/purposeful reading as per the same directions given on last AoW

English 10 Honors--2/1/2019

Jump Off
--Obtain your Chromebook from the cart in the back of the classroom.  After logging in, log in to Membean and set up and complete a 15-minute training session.  Once you finish training, take out your book and engage in free reading until you receive further instructions.

S. the C.
--agenda/HW

Transition
--Re-create the writing group columns that you were in prior to Midterm Week.  (Create another group out of the students who were absent.)

Application Activity/Writing Activity (cont.) -- Pass-Back Poetry
--continue/complete the writing activity via the directions included within the "Pass-Back Poetry Activity" document
--select the most promising poem of those shared with the entire class block

Transition
--Please take out the the following: 

• the materials associated with both of the last two "Poetry Analysis Practice" experiences
• the "Poetry 'Unit' Notes -- English 10 Honors" document

--Please pick up the following from the front table: 

• a copy of the "Poetry 'Unit' Notes -- English 10 Honors--Effect/Authorial Purpose 'Cheat Sheet'"

Note-taking Activity -- Poetry "Unit" Notes -- English 10 Honors--Effect/Authorial Purpose "Cheat Sheet"
--directions MODELED for multiple choice #10 for the poem "On Living"
--quiet and independent work time

• By both activating your prior knowledge and re-processing through your "Poetry Analysis Practice" documents, complete some of the "Cheat Sheet" in the time permitted.

--pair-share

Closure
--continue note-taking (both the skeletal notes page and the "Cheat Sheet") via a whole-class share-out

HW (Practice/Take-Home Assessment)

--Due to how this week has played out, please complete a total of 45 minutes of Membean training by 11:59 PM next Thursday, 2/7 (see the "English Department Membean Routine" sheet).  Any minutes completed either this week or next count!
HW (Class Preparation)
--Read at least 10 pages of your free reading book between now and next class.  ALWAYS BRING YOUR FREE READING BOOK TO CLASS!

• "There is no substitute for books in the life of a child" (May Ellen Chase).

Writing

--"Poetry Writing Assignment #1" is due at the beginning of class on Thursday, 2/7.

Miscellaneous
--Consider working toward achievement of your S.M.A.R.T. Goal.  Do something great this year!
--Enjoy the weekend--you only get so many of 'em! :)