I Can't Wait to See What This Week Will Bring!

One week is done, and boy did it go fast!  I really enjoyed meeting all my new students, and for those I had last year it was like we were having a reunion.  I don't know about them, but I truly enjoyed last week and hope the year continues in this positive vibe.  We had issues with technology, but everyone stayed upbeat and flexible.  It was great.

So what did we accomplish last week?  Both English 9 and 10 did the same thing, so I'll just give one recap.  We started many things: parent letters were sent out and the signatures collected, interest surveys were collected, Type 1's and Exit Tickets were completed each day - and collected (I'm trying to grade those and get them into HAC this weekend), we struggled through technology to try to complete the iAm videos, they wrote a Type 3 paragraph and turned it in on Friday, and we made it to the library, started silent reading, and I handed out the reading logs for week one.  Whew!  I will be spending part of my Sunday trying to get some of these papers graded and in HAC.  If you go to check HAC, you'll see a couple of things there already.

A note on the reading logs: parents have a task to do!  Each week, on Wednesday, your student should hand you their reading log for your signature.  You are signing for two things:

• You believe that they read at least 50 pages in their books this last week.
• You read through the work they did for the written portion and you feel that they put good effort into it and did their best.

The point totals for both aspects are listed at the top of the log.  Please do not sign the log if your student is not doing the task.  I would rather they take a hit on one week's log and learn to put the effort in than have them learn that our expectations (yours and mine) are low for what we think they can do.  The homework they have from my class is to read a book of their choice so that they get into a habit of reading.  This will do more than anything else to teach them lifelong reading skills and will also improve their grades in almost every class and increase scores on tests.

So what will we do this week?  Here's the plan:

English 9

• Monday, 9/11 - we will try to share our iAm videos (cross your fingers it all works); then I will go over the written assignment on the reading log and ask them to set goals for the week for reading.
• Tuesday, 9/12 - we'll do a sample PSAT test (this is what they will take in April) that will serve two functions - it shows them what it's like and will function as a pre-test for English 9; we're doing a KWL for the idea of assimilation in order to start previewing the core concept in our first unit "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves." It is a short story about daughters of werewolves who are sent to a boarding school and are forced to assimilate into regular society (weird, I know).
• Wednesday, 9 /13 - we'll be previewing information for our first unit by watching a video on Indian Boarding Schools and taking notes.  This is a real-world situation of children forced to assimilate into society.
• Thursday, 9/14 - we'll turn in our Week 1 Reading Logs.  Then we'll read an article about Indian Boarding Schools and do a 10% Summary.  
• Friday, 9/15 - Silent Reading Day!  I'll hand out the reading log for Week 2 and we'll start reading.

English 10

• Monday, 9/11 - we will try to share our iAm videos; I'll go over the written portion of the reading log.
• Tuesday, 9/12 - we'll do a sample PSAT test as a pre-test for English 10 - this year we'll focus on the English section; we'll do a KWL for Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter Raleigh - they're authors of the two poems we focus on in Module 1.
• Wednesday, 9/13 - we'll watch a video about Christopher Marlowe and his mysterious death; we'll take notes, looking for his biographical information.
• Thursday, 9/14 - we'll turn in the Week 1 Reading Logs.  Then we'll read an article on Sir Walter Raleigh and write a 10% Summary.
• Friday, 9/15 - Silent Reading Day - I'll hand out the reading log for Week 2 and we'll start reading.

That is the plan.  As with all plans, they change, so I'll keep the online calendar updated.  I hope everyone has a great week.  Please let me know if you need anything.  Ciao!
 
I Can't Wait to See What This Week Will Bring! by Laura Stubbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://www.laurastubbs.blogspot.com.