Mrs. Stubbs's English Blog: A New Semester, A New Start

I was so busy last weekend driving my children all over the earth, celebrating family birthdays, grading papers, and planning for a new semester, that I didn't get my blog done! So this is going to double up for the past two weeks.

Let me first finish off Semester 1 by sharing some photos from my English 9 class. We tried something new and I asked adults (teachers, counselors, parents) to help me by interviewing my students for a faux job at McDonald's. I didn't give my students warning that adults they didn't know would be doing this (wanting to take them out of their comfort zone), so it was a real eye-opener for many of them to have to work on professional speaking skills on the fly. I got positive feedback from the group; the realities of what they need to be prepared for hit home. I want to thank Mrs. Agrusa, Mr. Redmond, Mrs. Krechnyak, Mrs. VanWasshenova, Mrs. Moore, and a very special Thank You to Mrs. Hill! I was so excited that Mrs. Hill wanted to come spend time with us, and I have to say that it was fun for both me and her son to watch her in a role different from that of "mom."

I'm sad that so many of these students in these photos have now left me, but I know they'll do great things with their new English 9 teachers.

On to Semester 2...

For those of you I already know, welcome back; for those who are new, welcome to my blog. This is where I put detail about what we've done, sometimes pictures and/or video from our class time, and give you information about what is coming up. So here goes:

In English 9 we've started our new semester. I sent home a parent letter with a rough schedule and class information; I hope you all saw it and signed the parent signature sheet and sent it back for a grade. We're spending these first two weeks creating routines and looking at the 6+1 Traits of Good Writing. Last week we focused on Ideas and Content (and I even brought them in a popcorn experience); this week we'll focus on the other six traits with activities and a couple of creative writings. There is not a lot of homework coming home yet, so don't be alarmed, and please check the calendar on my webpage to know what they need to be doing.
In English 11 we've got three focuses: Lord of the Flies, ACT, and preparation for English 12. Last week we primarily focused on ACT skills by doing 10% Summary worksheets, paragraphs, and then we did a timed argumentative essay. The topic of survival, however, links to Lord of the Flies, and so we've done some preview information for the novel. This coming week we will finish our preview, and then they will begin reading and annotating. Please expect the novel to be coming home regularly, and hopefully you'll see it in their hands (open). We will work on Chapters 1-3 this week. They will also have vocabulary on Monday with a quiz on Friday. I'm tightening up the ship, so to say, to prepare them for English 12, where the teachers accept very few excuses. I'm not accepting late work unless there's a very good reason, so a few students were unhappy that I wouldn't just take their late work because life got busy. I try to make sure they know that I'm not angry with them, but they need to be held accountable for their deadlines. It's a hard lesson for some.