Time Is Moving Quickly

How is it possible that last week went by so fast?  We're already on week two of semester two and I see mid-winter break looming (over President's Day weekend), 10th Grade Wax Museum evening is going to be here faster than we know it (March 13th, 6:30-8:30), and PSAT testing in April seems like it's just around the corner.  I think I'm my own worst enemy because I allow all this to stress me out way too far in advance.  Sometimes it helps to reflect on the past, and slow down and take things one step at a time, so here goes...

Last week we started the semester with both groups focusing on comma usage, a topic we'll continue this week.  We really need to hammer sentence structure since both groups seem to have large numbers of students that struggle with this. English 9 started reading Act I of The Crucible and English 10 read the short story "The Devil and Tom Walker." We finished the week by picking back up with Independent Reading and students in both groups located books to read for the week and new reading logs were handed out (they're due this week Thursday, 2/1).

This week, we'll continue with all of this in the following schedule:

English 9

• Monday, 1/29 - I'm in a meeting (but 2nd Hour, Mrs. V. will be there), so students are going to continue reading Act I of The Crucible.  All parts have been assigned.
• Tuesday, 1/30 - Academic Advisory - bell work = commas as interrupters; we'll discuss what they read in Act I on Monday and add to the vocab., notes, and character packets; if time, we'll continue with Act I.
• Wednesday, 1/31 - bell work = commas; we'll finish Act I and all written work.
• Thursday, 2/1 - PSAT Advisory - TURN IN READING LOG #13; bell work = commas; quiz for Act I; turn in all paperwork for Act I; if time, start Act II.
• Friday, 2/2 - get reading log #14; silent reading day.

English 10

• Monday, 1/29 - bell work = commas as interrupters; finish "Devil and Tom Walker" discussion; notes and pre-writing for analytical assessment for "Devil and Tom Walker."
• Tuesday, 1/30 - Academic Advisory - bell work = commas; write analytical paragraph for "Devil and Tom Walker;" turn in story map and annotated story.
• Wednesday, 1/31 - SAT-style writing with article about the importance of poetry (50 minutes timed assessment - 5-paragraph essay).
• Thursday, 2/1 - PSAT Advisory - TURN IN READING LOG #13; bell work = commas; background for Emily Dickinson; begin reading and analyzing one of her poems.
• Friday, 2/2 - get reading log #14; silent reading day.

That is the plan, but as always, plans may change.  I'll keep the electronic calendar updated.  I hope everyone has a great week. Ciao! 

Time is Moving Quickly 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.

Welcome to Semester Two!

Good morning everyone, and welcome to those who are new to my English classes.  We're halfway through the school year and I'm doing my regular Sunday morning routine and updating my blog with information for what we did last week and for what's coming up this week.  It's not mandatory reading; it's just here for those who would like a little more detail about what their student is doing in English 9 and/or English 10.

For those who were with me last semester, last week we finished the semester by turning in a final paper.  I'm currently working on grading them so that two more grades will be entered in the gradebook: 10 practice points for the rough draft and editing marks, and 20 academic points for the final copy.  My grades are due on Thursday, so everything will be completed by then.

This week both groups start new units.  In English 9 we're getting ready to read The Crucible. In English 10 we're getting ready to do some background readings toward our Wax Museum Research Project.  For all English 10 parents, the Wax Museum Evening Presentations (with required presence by your student) are scheduled for March 13, 2018 from 6:30-8:30. Save the Date flyers were sent home to you with your student.  It is a great evening and we hope to see you all there.

So here is this week's schedule:

English 9

• Monday, 1/22 - Bell work - comma usage; Type 1's for commas and The Crucible; get all paperwork for The Crucible; go check out the text.
• Tuesday, 1/23 - Academic Advisory - read Act I of The Crucible and do notes and vocab.
• Wednesday, 1/24 - Bell work - comma usage; continue reading and working on Act I of The Crucible.
• Thursday, 1/25 - PSAT Advisory - Bell work - comma usage; continue reading and working on Act I of The Crucible.
• Friday, 1/26 - get new reading log - due Thursday, 2/1; silent reading day.

English 10

• Monday, 1/22 - Bell work - comma usage; Type 1's for commas and literary elements; background for "The Devil and Tom Walker."
• Tuesday, 1/23 - Academic Advisory - read "The Devil and Tom Walker" and fill in story map.
• Wednesday, 1/24 - Bell work - comma usage; discuss and take notes on "The Devil and Tom Walker."
• Thursday, 1/25 - PSAT Advisory - Bell work - comma usage; finish "The Devil and Tom Walker."
• Friday, 1/26 - get new reading log - due Thursday, 2/1; silent reading day.

I hope everyone has a great week!  Ciao!

Welcome to Semester Two! 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.

Final Week of Semester 1

We've finally made it to the end of Semester 1!  Most of my students are staying with me, so we're at the mid-way point in the year.  A few are leaving me, but for the most part they'll just move across the hall, so I still get to see them.  As we finish the semester, I wanted to give my classes an exam reflective of the type of thing they'll encounter in 2-year and 4-year colleges in English classes, but I ran out of time.  Usually you'll encounter one of three types of exams: occasionally you'll get an objective test over the books covered; sometimes you'll show up with a blue book and be given a writing prompt, and you then write an essay for three hours; often you'll show up for your exam and turn in your final paper.  So what I decided was to not rush through the final paper we were doing, to do it right with editing and revisions, and just think of the final papers that are being submitted on Tuesday as their "final" paper.  I'd rather do things correctly than rush to cram in a bunch of stuff and do nothing well.

Here's this week's schedule:

English 9

• Tuesday, 1/16 - Academic Advisory - finish final edits and revisions; print and submit the final paper, stapled to the rough copy; turn in prewriting for the intro/conclusion; turn in Romeo and Juliet books to the library
• Wednesday, 1/17 - preview information and activities for The Crucible
• Thursday, 1/18 - PSAT Advisory - preview information and activities for The Crucible
• Friday, 1/19 - 1/2 Day

English 10

• Tuesday, 1/16 - Academic Advisory - print and submit the final paper, stapled to the rough copy; turn in prewriting for body paragraph 3/conclusion; turn in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks to the library; begin watching the Henrietta Lacks movie
• Wednesday, 1/17 - continue watching Henrietta Lacks
• Thursday, 1/18 - PSAT Advisory - finish watching Henrietta Lacks; overview of wax museum and research project
• Friday, 1/19 - 1/2 Day

That's the plan for this final week of the term.  We're half way there, folks!  Have a great week! Ciao!

Final Week of Semester 1 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.

Will It Be One of THOSE Winters?

It's funny, but I sort of feel like we had a mini-vacation from our vacation by going back to school for two days last week.  We'd just started to get back into the groove, and then Mother Nature said, "Nope!  Go back to vacation mode."  Mind you, I don't mind being off, but it certainly doesn't help with the motivation factor in getting things done!

Despite that, I have gotten some things done, including grading some papers.  My plan is to continue working on them today.  And despite only having two days last week, we did get a couple of things accomplished.  English 9 wrote the third body paragraph for their Romeo and Juliet essay and then started watching the movie Letters to Juliet.  English 10 read the final section of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and took a quiz.  Their other quiz for this section will happen on Monday (it was supposed to happen on Friday).

In addition to this, I have decided to give a short semester exam.  The biggest complaint I hear from returning college students is that they had trouble with exams because they'd never had to prepare for them.  This will not be huge, and will not be a huge part of their grade, but we'll go through some study skills and preparation techniques and then do a short written exam that gets to the heart of what we've done this semester.  Both classes will be doing this.  These exams will not happen until the last week of the semester (watch the calendar - I have them posted there).

So here's the plan for this week:

English 9

• Monday, 1/8 - watch the rest of Letters to Juliet.
• Tuesday, 1/9 - Academic Advisory - write the introduction of the Romeo and Juliet essay; edit and revise the body paragraphs, copying them into the full essay; write the conclusion of the essay.
• Wednesday, 1/10 - revising activity for the Romeo and Juliet essay.
• Thursday, 1/11 - PSAT Advisory - print and submit the Romeo and Juliet 5-paragraph essay; begin review for the semester exam which will happen on Wednesday, 1/17.
• Friday, 1/12 - continue review for semester exam.

English 10

• Monday, 1/8 - quiz for pp. 261-67; finish study guide and turn in; begin body paragraph #3.
• Tuesday, 1/9 - Academic Advisory - finish body paragraph #3 and write conclusion.
• Wednesday, 1/10 - revising activity for the 5-paragraph essay.
• Thursday, 1/11 - PSAT Advisory - print and submit the Henrietta Lacks 5-paragraph essay; begin watching the Henrietta Lacks movie; directions for exam review given out - exam will be Friday, 1/19.
• Friday, 1/12 - continue watching the Henrietta Lacks movie.

Those are my plans, but we'll see what the weather does next.  I'll keep things updated as we go.  I hope everyone has a great week!  Ciao!

Will It Be One of THOSE Winters? 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.

Happy New Year!

Happy 2018 Everyone!  I hope everyone has had a relaxing vacation full of friends, family, and enjoyment.  Unfortunately, once we reach New Year's Day it means that vacation is coming to an end, but it also means that we are refreshed and ready to start again.

This coming week is short, so this will be brief, also:

English 9

• Wednesday, 1/3 - we'll pick up where we left off and write the third body paragraph of an analytical essay.
• Thursday, 1/4 - we'll watch Letters to Juliet.
• Friday, 1/5 - we'll continue Letters to Juliet; a new reading log will be handed out.

English 10

• Wednesday, 1/3 - we'll read the second to last section of Henrietta Lacks and do a study guide.
• Thursday, 1/4 - quiz over the reading from Wednesday; we'll finish our reading of Henrietta Lacks.
• Friday, 1/5 - quiz over the final reading; finish the study guide and turn it in; a new reading log will be handed out.

That's all I've got for this week.  The semester is coming to an end on 1/19, which gives us two and a half weeks to finish our units.  I'm still mulling over semester exams.  For those going to some sort of college after high school, it is useful to practice the skill of prepping for and taking these tests, but we do not have an exam schedule built in, so I haven't decided whether to do one or not.  I'll let everyone know when I know!  Have a great week everyone. Ciao!


Happy New Year! 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.