Winter Wonderland

Well, folks, I don't even know what to say about this week's plans, other than that I can give you an overview and then we'll all just need to be flexible.  If anyone has any questions, feel free to contact me.  Because of the snow day last week, we still need to finish Semester 1.  The next time I see your student it will be the last day of the semester.  Following that, we'll switch to Semester 2.  I keep most of my students, even if they switch hours, so most of you will continue to hear from me.  I do have a couple of students who are leaving me (which makes me sad), so for those of you in that boat, thanks for a great semester.

Last week I only saw your kids for two and a half days, so not much was accomplished, but here's what we got done: English 10 - all papers and projects should be submitted and we're watching the movie Hidden Figures, comparing and contrasting it with The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks; English 9 has begun reading The Crucible and we have read most of Act I.

Here is an overview of this coming week, not broken down by day because of the snow days (cold days?) I know are coming:

• English 9 - first, we will finish reading Act I to finish off the semester; after that, we'll take time to work on a packet and making sure we've got Act I understood for plot, literary elements, theme, and structure.
• English 10 - we'll finish the semester by finishing the movie and turning in the compare/contrast worksheet; after that we'll be diving in to information that is a prelude into the very large Wax Museum Project.  Once we've made the switch, I'll start to get information out to you about this.

In addition to all this, I realized that I took a few pictures of my English 10 doing Socratic Seminars and I never posted them here, so that's what follows:

I swear he's talking and thinking, not sleeping.

So that's the scoop.  I hope everyone endures the snow, ice, and cold with good humor.  Thanks for sharing your kids with me; they are what help me endure it all - I love them!  Have a great week!

Winter Wonderland 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 the Semester

Good sunny morning to you!  That sun is deceptive, is it not?  I hope everyone stays warm today.

Since we're down to the final week, this is going to be short and sweet.  Last week in English 10 we finished typing and submitted the final essay for The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  Tuesday we'll turn in the books and all those late notices will go away (I'm sorry about that).  In English 9 we looked at preview information for The Crucible and checked out the books.  This week we'll read Act I.

So here's the plan for the week:

English 9

• Tuesday, 1/22 - Academic Advisory - read Act I of The Crucible
• Wednesday, 1/23 - read Act I of The Crucible
• Thursday, 1/24 - NO ADVISORY - read Act I of The Crucible
• Friday, 1/25 - 1/2 Day - finish Act I of The Crucible

English 10

• Tuesday, 1/22 - Academic Advisory - finish and submit Electronic Portfolio; compare and contrast Henrietta to Hidden Figures
• Wednesday, 1/23 - compare and contrast Henrietta to Hidden Figures
• Thursday, 1/24 - NO ADVISORY - compare and contrast Henrietta to Hidden Figures
• Friday, 1/25 - 1/2 Day - finish comparing and contrasting Henrietta to Hidden Figures

That's the plan as I see it.  I hope everyone has a great week!

Final Week of the Semester 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.

Is It Really Winter?

Happy Mid-January Sunday!  I don't know what it's like in Monroe County this morning, but up here in Washtenaw, we have no snow.  If it's going to be cold, I want snow!  Otherwise I might as well move to someplace warm and at least enjoy being out in the sunshine.

Anyway, we're cruising toward the end of the semester - two weeks to go.  We're finishing off what we've been working on and we're getting ready to transition to our next units. Last week in English 9 we worked through an Emily Dickinson poem which we'll finish on Monday.  In English 10 we finished reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and this week we'll write the essay.  They also started working on their electronic portfolios for the Passion Project.

Here's this week's schedule:

English 9

• Monday, 1/14 - prepositions; finish Dickinson packet and turn in
• Tuesday, 1/15 - Academic Advisory - preview activity for The Crucible
• Wednesday, 1/16 - prepositions; finish preview for The Crucible
• Thursday, 1/17 - PSAT/SAT Advisory - turn in Reading Log #15; start Act I of The Crucible
• Friday, 1/18 - get new reading log; silent reading day

English 10

• Monday, 1/14 - final TIQA paragraph; get writing packet; plan intro of essay
• Tuesday, 1/15 - Academic Advisory - create and type essay
• Wednesday, 1/16 - finish typing essay; writing revision activity
• Thursday, 1/17 - PSAT/SAT Advisory - ESSAY DUE; work on electronic portfolio for Passion Project
• Friday, 1/18 - work on electronic portfolio for Passion Project - due Monday by midnight

Reminder - Monday, 1/21 is a day off for students and staff; Friday, 1/25 is a half day.  Have a great Sunday!

Is It Really Winter? 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 Back!

Good morning!  I know we've already been back two days, but this is my 1st post of the new year, so welcome back!  While I didn't really want to go back to work for two days last week, it did help ease me back into routine, so now I'm ready to go. 

Last Thursday all of my classes did a reality check with their grades.  What is most important in the scheme of things is the semester grade, so I had them average 1st quarter with 2nd quarter to determine what their grade would be at this moment.  I then had them determine if they would get credit or not for the semester and make a goal for the last three weeks of the semester.  I have emailed parents of those not passing quarter two, so hopefully everyone is well aware of the reality of the situation.

In English 9 last week we finished off Edgar Allan Poe and got a new reading log - due this coming Thursday.  In English 10 I gave them Cornell Notes to fill out in preparation for a Socratic Seminar - they're due Monday.

So here's the schedule for the upcoming week:

English 9

• Monday, 1/7 - prepositions; Emily Dickinson intro and packet
• Tuesday, 1/8 - Academic Advisory - prepositions; Dickinson packet
• Wednesday, 1/9 - prepositions; Dickinson packet
• Thursday, 1/10 - PSAT/SAT Advisory - turn in Reading Log #13; prepositions; finish and turn in Dickinson packet
• Friday, 1/11 - get Reading Log #14; silent reading

English 10

• Monday, 1/7 - Socratic Seminar for Ch. 33-36; Reflection Packet
• Tuesday, 1/8 - Academic Advisory - PSAT Bell Work; Ch. 37 Cornell Notes
• Wednesday, 1/9 - PSAT Bell Work; Ch. 38 Cornell Notes
• Thursday, 1/10 - PSAT/SAT Advisory - Socratic Seminar for Ch. 37-38; Reflection Packet
• Friday, 1/11 - Passion Project - Work on Electronic Portfolio

That's the schedule as I see it today.  I hope everyone has a great week!

Welcome Back! 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.