Happy Memorial Day!

I love this time of year, and I love this holiday.  Yes, it's a day of picnics, friends, and family, but in my family's tradition, it's also a day of remembrance.  This is the day we clean the gravesites of family gone but not forgotten, and we share stories so that the next generation will know those who came before.  It is also a day for me to remember the service of my grandfathers and uncles in WWII, and my dad in Vietnam.  Thankfully, all of my family members made it home, but I try to remember and honor all those who didn't.  I'm truly grateful for their sacrifice.  Please keep my nephew in your thoughts and prayers as he makes his journey as a serviceman.

My grandfather, John G. Fitch, ready to leave for the European front in January, 1942

 

As we move forward through the week, we'll be heading toward the end of each of our units.  Last week English 9 began reading The Odyssey.  We started with some preliminary games to get some of the language and story line into their comfort zones, then they started reading.  This week, they will continue to read Part I, before watching the movie to see the story as a whole.  English 11 is reading the book Night.  My goal this week is for them to finish the book.  So here is what is coming up:

English 9 - they will continue to read and do study guides for The Odyssey.  There will not be any vocabulary quiz due to the shortened week.  Unfortunately, I'll be out on Tuesday working on English 9 curriculum for next year, so they'll be reading with partners.  When I get back on Wednesday, we'll go back over what they read and do some activities.  My goal for this week is to finish reading Part I.

English 11 - they will watch a video of our author, Elie Wiesel, giving a tour of Auschwitz as it looks today, pointing out places that are mentioned in the book.  Then Wednesday through Friday, we'll finish the book.  They will not have a vocabulary quiz due to the shortened week.

By the end of the school year, both groups will have assessments for the semester, but I'll make sure they're prepared in class before they take them; I definitely won't throw them to the wolves since the goal is success for every student.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day and a great week!  Ciao!

 
Happy Memorial Day! by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://www.laurastubbs.blogspot.com/.