Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I'll keep this short and sweet since we all deserve a break:  I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season filled with family, friends and love.  Here are some pictures from the AHS choir Olde English Feast.  I love seeing my current students in different roles, and I love watching my former students blossom and grow.

Have a great two weeks!

 This one takes some explanation:  they "sang" Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and used lights to create the dance.

Lots to Do, and Lots to Celebrate

So much is happening right now, it's hard to keep track of!  We have accomplished so much this week, but we have a long way to go before Friday!

In English 9, we are finishing To Kill a Mockingbird.  We'll be done with the novel by Tuesday, and testing by Wednesday.  In addition, we're writing our first big essay:  an argumentative essay in the voice of one of the jurors from the Tom Robinson trial.  I'm pushing the kids fast in their reading, but I really don't want to test them at the end of the week...I don't think it would go well.  They're handling it beautifully and I'm not hearing too many complaints.  For the most part they seem to like the book and want to keep reading, anyway.

In English 11 we have pretty much finished the play Macbeth, and their test will also be on Wednesday (for the same reasons as English 9).  They have multiple projects to concentrate on this week, since they have a book project due Monday (I'll send out another Remind 101) and we're spending the end of the week working on our project for the Elizabethan Celebration in January.

Which brings me to my most exciting news!  The entire 11th grade will be completing projects for an Elizabethan Celebration which will be held January 8th, from 5:30 to 7:00 in the cafeteria, and everyone is invited:  parents, students, administrators, community - whoever would like to come!  Obviously we're not requiring attendance since it's after school, though each student needs to complete a project of their choice.  We gave them a list of things to choose from, plus they have come to us with many fabulous ideas we had not thought of; I think this will be lots of fun!  (Much more interesting than them completing independent class projects.)  Our ultimate goal is that we step back and they run the whole event; we're crossing our fingers!  My 9th grade projects for Romeo and Juliet will be down there, too, and they are all invited, as well.  I have not given them details yet, though I did give them a heads up that it would be happening.  I hope many will want to come and see what our fabulous students have been up to.  I'll email parents from school and attach the flyer so they can see full information, but we have students signed up to make posters and flyers so more information will be forthcoming!

I hope everyone has a fabulous week, and a wonderful break!  Let's hope it's filled with family, fun, and relaxation!

Cheers!

Two Weeks To Go...Too much, or Too Little?

What a busy week we had last week, and what a busy weekend!  I'm exhausted!  Yesterday involved a family party in Lansing, a Shakespearean play in Ann Arbor, and those of you familiar with my alma mater know why I did not get much sleep this last Saturday night (hint, hint:  the colors are green and white).  So needless to say, I'm running on empty, but since life goes on, there's no choice but to get things done!

Let's start with English 9.  Last week we finished a creative project and a couple of writings.  We're currently heading into the most emotionally charged portion of To Kill a Mockingbird so we've been dealing with the tough issue of race.  They read an article about a case from 1944 of a teenager tried and executed for a murder he most likely did not commit being reopened today, and then wrote a 10% summary about it.  We're also discussing tough topics like lynchings.  I'm trying to get a point across about intolerance and the cost to society and human life, so our discussions tend to be charged with tension.  I hope that they are learning that fiction can teach us as much about life and society as non-fiction.  This week we'll be reading about the trial and writing a persuasive essay about it.  Then we'll finish the book!

In English 11, we're currently looking at Act III of Macbeth.  I'm trying to get them to play with it; I don't want them to take Shakespeare so seriously, otherwise all they learn is that it's boring.  I want them to find his humor, and his energy, so we're not only reading and watching the play, we're running around the building doing activities.  This last Friday we tried a "Walk and Talk" where they partnered up and read passages to each other, and then proceeded to answer some questions.  The feedback I got overall was very positive.  Here are some pictures from our day:

 1st Hour Working Their Way Through the Halls

 3rd Hour - lots of talk, then lots of leaning on lockers to work.

5th Hour - Walk and Talk, and then Giving Input

This coming week we'll mostly be working on finishing the play.  I want to test them early to mid-week next week so that we're not doing it right before they go to break.

I'm a little torn:  part of me wants to just relax and celebrate the upcoming holidays, and part of me is having a crisis over not having enough time to get things done.  In the end, it all comes together; I have faith in that.

Have a wonderful week!

On to December!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, and feels rested and ready to go again.  The nice part about the Thanksgiving holiday is that the Christmas holiday is right around the corner!

As short as last week was, it was very busy in the classroom.  I was able to incorporate active lessons in both groups, a much needed change from sitting in rows reading text.  In English 9, we are finished with Part I and have done a creative writing assignment, we're working on artistic representations of items in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, we'll do a personal essay this coming week, and then it's on to Part II of the novel.  My goal is that we have the book done before Christmas.  They will not have reading to do until mid-week, but they will have some writing to work on.

Here are some picture collages from the artistic activities:

2nd Hour English 9

6th hour English 9

In English 11, we finished reading Act I of Macbeth.  It's still a struggle for them to understand it, so after we read the text I had them do an activity where they spoke some of the Shakespearean speech and created statues and movements to represent them.  What follows is a collage of pictures and a video of the three groups acting things out:

Video - English 11 Macbeth Actions

This coming week we'll work on solidifying their knowledge of Act I and move on to Acts II and III.  My goal is to have the play done by Christmas.  In addition, we'll be handing out information regarding a project that will be presented in the first week of January.  You will be invited to come see everything they accomplish at that time; more information will be coming soon!

I hope everyone has a great week as we get back in the swing of things.  Ciao!

Let the Festivities Begin!

We've finally made it to the holidays!  I don't know about anyone else, but it seems like I'm noticing more people already set up for Christmas this year than I've ever seen before...way before Thanksgiving!  I'm thinking everyone is just really ready for holidays, festivities, relaxation, celebration, and family.  I know I am! I love Thanksgiving because it's not about presents and stress...it's just about gathering together and being thankful for what we have...a wonderful idea!

Last week both of my classes made great headway into their texts.  English 9 is now through Chapter 10 of To Kill a Mockingbird.  We're almost at the end of Part I, which means this week we'll pause to reflect and do some creative writings with it.  I'd also like to put in a couple of activities that get them up and moving...we'll see, since the week is so short.  They have read the whole thing on their own.  I prefer to mix in some reading in class, but time constraints have prevented this.  Hopefully they're all taking care of this in a responsible fashion.  I keep telling them that the academic habits they form now will carry them into their post-high school future!

English 11 classes are reading a book independently (due date December 6th) since we're working on Macbeth in class together.  We did the preliminary background work this week, and we're into Act I.  My goal for this short week is to finish this act, and do some kinesthetic activities to get them up and moving.  I'm adding a video here of my 1st and 3rd Hours doing a game that involved them calling out a word from the play and tossing a ball to someone across from them.  I had two goals:  get them moving, and speaking/hearing Shakespeare's words.  I want them to play, play, PLAY with the language - it makes Shakespeare so much more fun.

The Language of Macbeth

I hope everyone has a very easy, fun short work week, and a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

One More Full Week, and then VACATION!

Another busy week has come and gone, and with it the leaves left the trees (for the most part).  I'm so relieved to have made it through a "normal" week, however, because we get so much more done!  This week was full of projects, tests, new books, work, and fun.  It had everything!

In English 9 we completed and turned in the Romeo and Juliet projects.  I took some pictures of the kids who created models of the Globe Theatre, including one made out of cake!  Of course, after I took the picture and made a quick evaluation, they had to eat the cake at 8:30 A.M.  I think it was a big hit!  Then we quickly turned our attention to our new text: To Kill a Mockingbird.  They have gotten some background information on the history and author, and are now reading the book.  So far, I've assigned through chapter 4 for reading.  Expect them to bring their books home every night to read about two chapters; there will also be written work that they'll need to complete.  It's my favorite novel of all time, so I'm very excited that we're reading it right now!

In English 11, we're completing the Canterbury Tales unit.  They have been tested and turned in their study guides and are now writing their own poetic tale - in couplets!  It's a struggle to get going, but I'm encouraging them to embrace the silly and ridiculous and to have fun with it.  On Friday, they seemed to relax into it a bit and a few even came back later in the day to share with me what they had accomplished so far.  It is due on Monday, and then we'll turn our attention to Macbeth - another favorite of mine.  I can't wait!  I hope to have them not just reading and listening, but getting up out of their chairs and speaking lines.  (I love Shakespeare if you can't tell.)  They will read the play in class, so their homework is to read a book of their choosing; it needs to be read by December 6th.

The weather looks like it's going to cooperate for the most part for the week (which in my book means it's not going to be overly chilly), so I hope everyone has a great full week, and then we'll all be ready to prepare for the holiday season!  Have a good one!

Two Weeks of Normal (Maybe?)

I was so happy to meet so many parents last week at conferences!  Thank you so much for caring enough to come in and meet with me.  I truly love working with your children and I thank you for sharing them with me.  If you were unable to come to conferences, but would like to set something up, please let me know.

Last week was short as far as time in the classroom, so here are just a couple of highlights:  in English 9 we are finishing up our Romeo and Juliet unit by completing creative projects.  They are due on Monday, and some have even already turned them in!  In English 11 we're working on completing the "Prologue" for The Canterbury Tales.  Third Hour English 11 also completed a second independent novel, had a donut party (thanks to those who contributed), and have moved on to their third independent novel.

Coming up this week, English 9 will be turning their attention to the novel To Kill a Mockingbird - a personal favorite of mine.  Expect more homework - both reading and writing - since they will all have a book signed out to them.  In English 11 we will complete the "Prologue" and move on to the "Pardoner's Tale."  Expect a test mid- to late-week, and then they will be writing their own tale - in poetic couplets no less!  They will also be working on another independent novel for Term 2, since our reading from the textbook is still all done in class.

Just as an FYI, I think I have Edmodo up and running.  I'm attempting to keep a calendar with assignments on it, so that if they're absent they can look up what we are doing.  I'm also going to attempt to use it this week for a poll and a discussion forum for English 9.

That's about all I've got for this week.  I hope everyone has a wonderful one as we start to get prepped for the holidays!