Mrs. Stubbs's English Blog: Two Weeks Left in Term 1

We are heading for the finish line in Term 1. It's always at this point that I try to remind everyone that this is really just a mid-point, not a final grade. The grade that is most important is the semester grade which is averaged from Term 1 and Term 2. The semester grade will establish their GPA, so if they're doing well, they just need to hold it; if not, now is the time to kick it into high gear and hold it through January. On that note, on Thursday this coming week, the counselors are coming in with a group of seniors to talk about how to negotiate high school in a successful way: things to make sure you do, and pitfalls to avoid. They hear it from you, they hear it from me, they hear it from their principals and counselors, so maybe if they hear it from their peers, it will sink in.

Last week we turned a corner and focused on mixing types of literature together to find a common central idea. We read a non-fiction article and the Edgar Allan Poe piece "The Cask of Amontillado." I like to do Poe right about now since it seems like an appropriate time of year to focus on him. They also submitted their Term 1 Independent Reading Project which are in the process of being displayed in the front lobby. I've graded over half of them, so they should be able to bring those home on Friday.

This coming week they will do the following:

Read "The Raven" (a poem) and create a Google Slide which will focus on: the Central Idea between all three pieces of text, a quote and explanation from each, and an explanation of how the authors developed this central idea. This will be done on the Chromebooks in school and submitted to me online.
A Type Three Vocab. Card Sheet.
Get a new book for the Term 2 Independent Reading Project. Focus: Fantasy and Science Fiction.
Spend an hour with the counselors and some seniors talking about high school.
Hopefully start the background information for Romeo and Juliet.

I will be out dealing with doctor's appointments on Monday, but all of the sub plans are in place, and last I checked I have a sub assigned to my classes, so I'm sure everything will go smoothly.

On another note, one of the highlights of my week last week was going to the JV Football game and watching many of my students play and cheer. Here are a few photos I took while there:

And as a Final Note, I live in a house divided. I'm an MSU grad (and grew up there, so my whole family are State fans) and my husband is a UM grad (and his whole family root for the Maize and Blue). My sons are divided in their allegiance, also, so you can imagine what our house was like on Saturday. All I'm going to say about it is: good game! So nice to have a real rivalry back since both teams are doing well.