Let Summer Begin (Sort of)!

It feels strange to say "Happy" Memorial Day, since it's not really a happy event, but I hope everyone has enjoyed a longer weekend and is looking forward to summer. I'm trying to enjoy it, but I'm also trying to stay on top of grading papers, planning the end of the year, and...oh yeah...prepare for my son's graduation from high school.  I usually wait to prepare my house for summer until school lets out, but we've had to jump in early this year since his grad party is in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, I am preparing for the end of the school year. In English 9 we've begun reading Of Mice and Men. They will have a short exam at the end of it to cover all of semester 2, but most of the test will be over this book. I'll pull things together to get them prepared and it won't be until the end of that last full week.  In English 10 we're reading Tuesdays with Morrie, and I have pulled together their final exam.  I have a study guide and will give that to them on Monday so that they're well aware and have time to study. I have the exam set for Wednesday, 6/5.  It's also not overly strenuous, but it's a little heftier than the English 9: I need to get them ready for 11th grade!

So here's the schedule for this week:

English 9

• Tuesday, 5/28 - Academic Advisory - 2nd Hour: quiz for ch. 1; Blackish episode to address the n-word; start ch. 2; 5th Hour: Blackish episode; work on ch. 2
• Wednesday, 5/29 - ch. 2 and activities; quiz
• Thursday, 5/30 - no advisory - read ch. 3 and do activities
• Friday, 5/31 - finish ch. 3; group poster for theme and symbolism

English 10

• Tuesday, 5/28 - Academic Advisory - read pp. 26-61; study guide; read pp. 62-99 and prepare for Socratic Seminar
• Wednesday, 5/29 - Socratic Seminar for pp. 62-99; read pp. 100-29; study guide
• Thursday, 5/30 - no advisory - bucket list assignment; read pp. 130-59; prepare for Socratic Seminar #2
• Friday, 5/31 - Socratic Seminar #2; finish bucket list assignment

And that's the plan! I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend and a fabulous week!

Let Summer Begin (sort of)! 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.

Arrivedirce, Seniors!

Seniors are walking into school for their final Monday, and we'll send them on their way on Friday.  I have a lot of positive memories about this group, so this week is nostalgic.  My own senior, the one I live with, has two weeks left to go, but because of Memorial Day, this will be his last Monday. Please forgive my sentimentality; it's really kicking right now. Speaking of that, here's a picture from my son's final band concert with the Pioneer Symphony Band at Picnic Pops yesterday:

They played Star Wars, Jurassic Park, and the end of The 1812 Overture.  If you are on Instagram or Facebook with me, I posted a clip of that there. I will miss being a Pioneer Band Parent.

Anyway, back to your kids.  We're cruising along and finishing up papers, ready to head for the last units of the year. Last week English 9 got through the process of how to draft the research paper, so we'll be submitting final copies this week. English 10 finished Macbeth, took the objective test, and they're now writing the final essay which will be turned in early this week.

Here's the schedule as I see it now:

English 9

• Monday, 5/20 - finish drafting the papers; self edit; peer edit; submit
• Tuesday, 5/21 - Academic Advisory - get Of Mice and Men books; preview; start Ch. 1
• Wednesday, 5/22 - bell work (verbs); finish Ch. 1; quiz for Ch. 1?
• Thursday, 5/23 - Academic Advisory (A.P. Computer/Psychology Meetings) - bell work (verbs); quiz for Ch. 1? Start Ch. 2
• Friday, 5/24 - bell work (verbs); finish Ch. 2

English 10

• Monday, 5/20 - finish essays; submit; work on symbolic shields
• Tuesday, 5/21 - Academic Advisory - finish shields; write paragraph; turn in
• Wednesday, 5/22 - go get Tuesdays with Morrie book; start reading "The Curriculum" and get study guide.
• Thursday, 5/23 - Academic Advisory (A.P. Computer/Psychology Meetings) - continue reading "The Curriculum"
• Friday, 5/24 - finish "The Curriculum" section; write letters

In addition to all this, we have an exciting event with a Notable Author. Here is a flyer for the event:

If anyone chooses to attend and takes a picture with the author, I'll bet Extra Credit could be arranged!

So there's the week. If you need me, you know where to find me. Ciao!

Arrivedirce, Seniors! 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 Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! I hope your day is filled with love, laughter, and your children cleaning your home. Make them do it: it's good for them!

I'll make this short and sweet because I'm as busy as you are, so here goes:

Last week English 9 started the research paper and they've had two days in class to take notes and we're now working on the Works Cited. This week we'll outline, do the rough draft, and revise and edit.  In English 10 we have gotten through Act III of Macbeth, and now we'll finish the play.

Here's the plan:

English 9

• Monday, 5/13 - finish and submit Works Cited; form thesis statements; outline the paper.
• Tuesday, 5/14 - Academic Advisory - check in thesis statements and outlines
• Wednesday, 5/15 - create Rough Draft with Parenthetical Citations
• Thursday, 5/16 - Academic Advisory - continue to create Rough Drafts with Parenthetical Citations
• Friday, 5/17 - attach Works Cited pages, revise and edit papers - Final Copy of Research Paper is due on Tuesday, 5/21!

English 10

• Monday, 5/13 - read Act IV of Macbeth
• Tuesday, 5/14 - Academic Advisory - finish Act IV of Macbeth; begin Act V
• Wednesday, 5/15 - finish Act V
• Thursday, 5/16 - Academic Advisory - objective test for Macbeth
• Friday, 5/17 - pull together essay for Macbeth - final copy is due Monday, 5/20.

That's the plan! I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their weekend.  Ciao!

Happy Mother's Day! by Laura Stubbsis licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https:://www.laurastubbs.blogspot.com.

April Showers Brought May Flowers

Another week down, another one on deck.  We're cruising along now, fighting the distraction of it being May, though the rainy weather is helping us fight through it since the outdoors isn't calling to us to come play.  Speaking of playing, though, English 10 has been able to do some fun activities with Macbeth, including making statues, or tableaux, for each scene of Act II.  I've included a link to a video of the pictures I took; I hope you can see it:

Video of Tableaux Pictures for Macbeth, Act II

We also managed to cruise about halfway through Act III, so I'm sure we'll finish the play in the next couple of weeks. 

In English 9 we finished reading Chapter 1 of Animals in Translation and we wrote our analytical paragraphs for each section. I'm in the middle of grading them right now. Now they are ready to start a two-week unit on writing MLA research papers.

Here's the schedule for the week:

English 9

• Monday, 5/6 - finish and submit paragraph for Animals in Translation; introduction for research unit; start note taking
• Tuesday, 5/7 - Academic Advisory - notes - 25 facts due by end of hour Wednesday
• Wednesday, 5/8 - finish taking notes; build Works Cited - submit
• Thursday, 5/9 - Academic Advisory - form thesis - check in; create outline for paper
• Friday, 5/10 - Half Day - finish outlines for paper - due for check in Monday

English 10

• Monday, 5/6 - finish verb packet; act out Scene iii; continue Macbeth Act III
• Tuesday, 5/7 - Academic Advisory - adverbs; finish Act III; add to notes; Act III assessment - analytical paragraph
• Wednesday, 5/8 - adverbs; finish Act III analytical paragraph and submit
• Thursday, 5/9 - Academic Advisory - adverb; read Act IV of Macbeth
• Friday, 5/10 - Half Day - Act IV of Macbeth