Grades/Homework

Class Calendar

Utah Write

Goodreads

Book Review Outline

Class Notebook Wiki
(Individual Work)

Collaborative Wiki
(Shared Work)

Guide to Writing Conventions
(Grammar Punk)

Independent Reading Practice

9th Grade Links

Honors English

Fairfield Writing Guide

English Links

Bad Signs

August 22-26, 2011: Welcome Back!

Monday, August 22: A Day
Tuesday, August 23: B Day

• Howdy!
• The first day will roughly follow this presentation: Great Expectations.
  (If you want to get a head start, click here to see it.)
• Poem o' the Day: "Invitation" by Shel Silverstein
• Why are we here?
• To learn this: "The Common Core"
• How do we do that?
• Read and Write a lot more than you ever have before.
• What resources will we use?
• You're looking at the best resource there is: this web page!
  (The first five people from each class to e-mail me -- name, period, e-mail address -- get extra credit! Hurry!)
• You will receive a Writing Notebook. Select one. Write now. Right now!
  (Writing notebooks stay in the classroom!)
• You will be assigned a Massive Purple Textbook. Take it home. Leave it there! You'll need it when we have homework.
• Want class reminders? "Like" this!
• What can we expect from this class and from you?
• (Reading) Letters from Last Year: The Advice of Your Elders
• What's due next time?
• Complete this Book Review Prewrite on a book you have read recently.
• Review the Course Disclosure with a parent, and then ask that parent to complete this online survey.
  (No forms to return! No fuss! No muss! And it's worth 25 points if you do it this week!!)
• And don't lose the hall pass I gave you!
• Honors English Applications (for those who might be interested)
• Is it always this hot in here?
• Zachary Rosenstein for Pres!

Wednesday, August 24: A Day (Computer Lab)
Thursday, August 25: B Day (Computer Lab)

• Poem o' the Day: "Writer Waiting" by Shel Silverstein
• Welcome to our home away from home!
• Computer Lab Orientation
• Book Reviews: I hope you finished your homework!
• Utah Write: Baseline Essay (45 Minutes) -- Go!
• Following Instructions: Whatever you don't finish today in class is homework!
• Wiki Instructions
• Many of you had wiki accounts with Mr. Wood or Mrs. Barney last year, so if you can remember how to login, you don't need to do the first 7 steps.
• Here's something scary! (See me for more details...if you dare!)
• Finished early? You must be pretty smart! You should check this out:
• Honors English, Anyone?
• 
  

Friday, August 26: A Day

• Poem o' the Day: O Captain, My Captain!
• (Close read it!)
• Writing Notebook: The Finer Details
  Copy this quotation on the first page of your WN:
  "You learn to write by writing. The only way to learn to write is to force yourself to produce a certain number of words on a regular basis."
  --William Zinsser

• Now title the next page Genre, and let's get started!
  (In-class Writing Notebook Assignment)
• Genre Intro: Who would have thought there was so many ways to write about one guy? (If you don't finish this in class, it is homework!)
• Using the personal list in your Writing Notebook, let's collaborate on this big, collaborative Genre List
• Wiki Instructions: If you did not get around to creating your own page in the Notebook Wiki, do so by next time! I need to see your page title (in the proper format: 08JaneD) in the margin with the rest of your class. Be sure to capitalize correctly.
• Reminders:
  Bring a reading book to class from now on!
  If not done already, review disclosure with a parent & submit survey.
• Goodreads Instructions: Follow them by Friday, September 2nd!
• 
  

August 29- September 2, 2012

Monday, August 29: B Day

• Poem o' the Day: O Captain, My Captain!
• (Close read it!)
• Writing Notebook: The Finer Details
  Copy this quotation on the first page of your WN:
  "You learn to write by writing. The only way to learn to write is to force yourself to produce a certain number of words on a regular basis."
  --William Zinsser

• Now title the next page Genre, and let's get started!
  (In-class Writing Notebook Assignment)
• Genre Intro: Who would have thought there was so many ways to write about one guy? (If you don't finish this in class, it is homework!)
• Using the personal list in your Writing Notebook, let's collaborate on this big, collaborative Genre List
• Wiki Instructions: If you did not get around to creating your own page in the Notebook Wiki, do so by next time! I need to see your page title (in the proper format: 08JaneD) in the margin with the rest of your class. Be sure to capitalize correctly.
• Reminders:
  Bring a reading book to class from now on!
  If not done already, review disclosure with a parent & submit survey.
• Goodreads Instructions: Follow them by Friday of this week!
• 
  

Tuesday, August 30: A Day
Wednesday, August 31: B Day

• Poem o' the Day: "The Hand" by Mary Ruefle
• Writing Notebook (WN) Assignment -- Reflection #1: How is 9th grade treating you so far? Give examples! Be specific! (80+ words)
• Turn in Genre Questions / Discuss Responses
• Have a reading book in class!
  (Set up your Goodreads account by Friday!)
• Did you forget an assignment today? Maybe this would help!
• Check out the massive and growing Genre List! Make sure yours (in your Writing Notebook) is complete! Add to it as necessary!
• Assignment (due next week): Find something to share aloud with the class. It can be any genre of text, but it can't be more than one minute long. We need to hear each others' voices early in the year to humanize ourselves for one another. What you share does not have to be memorized! You just have to read it loudly and clearly, so we can all hear you. Find a good one!
• Common Core, Unit 1: Literary Elements and the Short Story
  (A helpful link!)
• Notes on Literary Elements: In your own notebook, keep track of definitions for all the literary terms we will cover over the next three or four weeks. Do not lose your notes! You will need them for a test!
• Concept: Plot (MPT, pp. 2-3); Common Core Standard RL 9-10.5
• WN Quickwrite: All good stories have to have a conflict or problem, and that is often caused by the villain (bad guy, antagonist) of the story. Write about the most fascinating villain you have ever encountered.
• Read "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell (MPT, pp.5-22)
• Homework: Finish reading the story and answer all parts of questions 3, 4, 6, and 8 (in writing) from page 24. On the other side of the paper, draw and label a plot diagram for the story that illustrates all the plot elements of "The Most Dangerous Game."
• 
  
  

Thursday, September 1: A Day
Friday, September 2: B Day

• Turn in/Discuss Homework: Wrap up "TMDG" & Plot (Reading Quiz)
• WN Reflection #2: From your massive list of genres, choose one that begins with the letter M and fill a page writing in that genre.
• Poem o' the Day: "A Dream Within a Dream" by E. A. Poe
• And so we begin our "unit within a unit": As part of the short story unit, we will focus on the works of Edgar Allan Poe for a few days. "Oh, you're gonna love this....heh-heh-heh-heh!" said the homicidally insane narrator.
• Notes of Literary Elements: Add these to your notes.
• Concepts: Narrator, Point of View, Tone (MPT, pp. 148-149)
• Common Core Standards RL 9-10.1 & RL 9-10.5
• WN Quickwrite: "Revenge is a dish best served cold." Write about a time you wanted revenge. (Did you get it?) -- Not 1st period
• Read "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe (MPT, pp. 173-179)
• In-class Assignment: Write your response to "Fortunato's Version" on page 181.
• Book Review Assignment (due one week from today): Take your finished worksheet and turn it into a complete written draft of a proper book review. Staple the worksheet to the draft and turn them in on September 8/9.
• Here is a sample worksheet about Mockingjay.
• Here are two sample book reviews about Mockingjay.
  One is by a pro, and the other is by someone your age. This is the quality you should strive for in your own book reviews this year!
• Here is some more information about book reviews.
• Here are some other good (complete) book reviews.
• Assignment may be handwritten (legibly) or typed in your own words.
  Do not copy anything from the Internet.
• Remember also to be looking for a 1-minute reading you can share aloud with the class.
• 
  

September 5-9, 2011

Monday, September 5: Labor Day

• No School: Labor Day Holiday
  

Tuesday, September 6: A Day
Wednesday, September 7: B Day

• WN: Practice Paraphrasing
• What is paraphrasing?
• How is it different than summarizing?
• Paraphrase the first few paragraphs of this article.
• Poem o' the Day: The Raven: Read and Listen
• Pair up.
• Translate (paraphrase) an assigned stanza into regular modern English (no rhyme -- just story)
• Present "Translations" to the class so everyone knows the whole story.
• Create a Plot Diagram for The Raven (Remember: It is narrative poetry, so it tells a story; therefore, it has a plot.)
• Make notes on your own copy of the poem so you will remember what it all means because you're going to...
• ...work on The Raven Study Questions, due next time!
• 
  

Thursday, September 8: A Day (Computer Lab)
Friday, September 9: B Day (Computer Lab)

• Poem o' the Day: "Annabel Lee"
• Book Review due!
• Quick Review of "Tell-Tale Heart" (Listen to a professional reading!)
• Keep your copy of "The Raven" handy!
• Remember "The Cask of Amontillado" from last week?
• Maybe you've heard of "The Black Cat"?
• Check out "Annabel Lee," too (and this glog!)
• Utah Write: Seminar Question (Poe's Narrators)
  You will have one hour to address this question in an essay: Consider Poe's first-person narrators ("The Cask of Amontillado," "Tell-Tale Heart," "The Raven," "Annabel Lee," and/or "The Black Cat"). Are they reliable (normal? sane?) narrators? Cite at least three reasons to support your argument, and include quotations from the original texts to illustrate that your reasons are valid and correct. You can access the text of the stories and poems from the links above. Keep them open as you write. Quote them to support your argument. When you finish, submit your essay for scoring.
• Follow-up: You will have two weeks to view the Utah Write tutorials and revise your essay (you get two more chances) to achieve the highest score you can. DO NOT make minor changes and resubmit today! That would be a waste of one of your chances. You have time, so use it wisely. Learn from the tutorials. Then try again. And again.
  Common Core Standards RL.9.2, RL.9.3, SL.9.1, SL.9.3, SL.9.4
• Utah Write Tutorials: How to Improve that Score
• Goodreads/Wiki: Last Chance for Setup Points
• 
  

September 12-16, 2011

Monday, September 12: A Day
Tuesday, September 13: B Day

• Turn in Raven Study Questions
  Common Core Standards 9.RL.2 & 9.RL.5
• Present 1-minute readings
  Common Core Standards 9.SL.2 & 9.SL.6
• WN Reflection #3: What did you learn about some of your classmates from hearing their readings? What do you think they learned about you based on your selection and presentation? How comfortable are you speaking in front of groups? Discuss and reflect. (90+)
  Common Core Standard 9.W.2
• Poe Biography: Terror of the Soul -- You will use information from this resource to develop the essay about Poe's narrators. Respond to study questions and take notes as needed.
  Common Core Standard 9.SL.2 & 9.RIT.7
• Reminders/Due Dates:
• You have until September 23rd to view the prescribed tutoruials, revise, and resubmit (two more times!) your Utah Write essay about Poe's narrators.
• Book Talks and Goodreads Reviews will begin soon! Keep reading!
• 
  

Wednesday, September 14: A Day
Thursday, September 15: B Day

• Edgar Allan Poem o' the Day: "Alone"
• Finish Poe Biography (Video: "Cask of Amontillado")
• (Writing Notebooks have been scored. Start this on the next blank page.)
  WN Reflection #1: What scares you? Do you enjoy scary movies and books? Why do you suppose they are so popular? Are your fears more fantastical or realistic? Is there a difference between being afraid and being nervous or anxious? How do you conquer your fears? Discuss fear and all its variations. (90+)
• WN: These assignments are to be completed in the Writing Notebook:
  • Analyzing Informational Text (about Poe): Read MPT, 183-190
  • Make a Timeline for the events described in "Poe's Final Days" (pp. 184-186)
  • Practice Test (6 questions, pp. 191-192): Evaluate responses/Discuss
    Common Core Standards 9.RIT.2
• Book Review Review + New Book Review Outline Forms
  If you are reading a book for your science term project, you will get a different form from your science teacher. Turn that form in to your science teacher and post your formal, written review on Goodreads. Let me know when you have done that! (Don't wait 'til the last minute!)
• Share Good Examples
• Basic Problems with First Book Reviews: All summary, no evaluation; no effective attention getter/introduction; no "voice" -- just sounded like a report or a checklist of the items on the outline; did not include all the elements on the outline forms (quotes, themes, etc.).
• Remember that you are writing a REVIEW, not a report. The plot summary should only take a couple paragraphs. The rest needs to be your evaluation of the book, and it needs to include all the elements on the outline form, including quotations from the book.
• 
  

Friday, September 16: A Day

• Poe CRT Practice: (Formative Assessment) on separate paper
• Back to Literary Elements: Review what you know about plot.
• Poem o' the Day: "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost
• Notes on Literary Elements: Add these to your notes.
• Concepts: Setting (MPT, pp. 48-49)
• Common Core Standards RL 9.1 & RL 9.5
• WN: Setting Activity
• 1) Study the numbered pictures. For each, do the following:
  • a) Write a description of one of the characters. Who is s/he? How does s/he feel at this moment in time?
  • b) Write a description of the setting. Use as many sensory details as possible.
  • c) Identify what it is in the setting that contributed to the way you perceived the character. If the setting had been different, how would your perceptions have changed?
• 2) Choose one of the setting pictures and write a first-person (present tense) descriptive narrative that begins, "I am sitting/standing/walking...." (choose an action verb). In the course of your description, include how the setting makes you feel. Include as many sensory details as possible.
• 3) Discussion: Consider the stories and poems we have already read as part of this unit. How does the setting contribute to each one? Could the story take place in a different setting? If so, how would the story be different? Would it be as effective? Now think about a book you have read or a movie you have seen in which the setting was very important to the action and outcome of the story. Discuss with an "elbow partner" those stories and explain WHY the setting was so important. Share with the class.
• Your Goodreads account should accurately reflect what you are currently reading, and I should see you bringing the book to class...especially next Thursday!
• Don't forget to watch the tutorials and revise the Utah Write essay about Poe's narrators by next Friday!
• 
  

September 19-23, 2011

Monday, September 19: B Day

• Poe CRT Practice: (Formative Assessment) on separate paper
• Back to Literary Elements: Review what you know about plot.
• Poem o' the Day: "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost
• Notes on Literary Elements: Add these to your notes.
• Concepts: Setting (MPT, pp. 48-49) & Imagery (MPT, pp. 402-403)
• Common Core Standards RL 9.1 & RL 9.5
• WN: Setting Activity
• 1) Study the (3 or 4) numbered pictures. For each, do the following:
  • a) Write a description of one of the characters. Who is s/he? How does s/he feel at this moment in time?
  • b) Write a description of the setting. Use as many sensory details as possible.
  • c) Identify what it is in the setting that contributed to the way you perceived the character. If the setting had been different, how would your perceptions have changed?
• 2) Choose one of the setting pictures and write a first-person (present tense) descriptive narrative that begins, "I am sitting/standing/walking...." (choose an action verb). In the course of your description, include how the setting makes you feel. Include as many sensory details as possible.
• 3) Discussion: Consider the stories and poems we have already read as part of this unit. How does the setting contribute to each one? Could the story take place in a different setting? If so, how would the story be different? Would it be as effective? Now think about a book you have read or a movie you have seen in which the setting was very important to the action and outcome of the story. Discuss with an "elbow partner" those stories and explain WHY the setting was so important. Share with the class.
• Your Goodreads account should accurately reflect what you are currently reading, and I should see you bringing the book to class...especially on Friday!
• Speaking of Friday, don't forget to watch the tutorials and revise the Utah Write essay about Poe's narrators by then!
• 
  

Tuesday, September 20: A Day
Wednesday, September 21: B Day

• Utah Write Revisions of Poe's Narrators Essay due Friday!
• Poem o' the Day: "Cartoon Physics, Part 1" by Nick Flynn
• WN: Reflection #2 -- If you were a cartoon character, which one would you be? Why? What do you have in common with that character? Discuss all your cartoon-ish proclivities. (85+)
• Grammar Punk Rock: Parts of Speech Review -- Nouns
  (You can't play the game until you know the parts of speech!)
• Nouns: common, proper, concrete, abstract, countable, collective, compound, possessive, and gerunds
• DO NOT LOSE THIS PAGE OF NOTES!
• Common Core Standard L.9.3
• GP POS (Noun) Review: Look at one of the photographs used in the Setting activity. On a piece of paper, draw two intersecting lines to make four squares (one for each category: people, places, things, and ideas). In each square, list the nouns by category that you see in the image. Note whether they are common/proper, abstract/concrete, countable/non-countable, collective, possessive, or gerunds. (L.9.3)
• Notes on Literary Elements: Add these to your notes.
• Concepts: Characterization (MPT, pp. 84-85)
  • Speech: What character says
  • Actions: What chartacter does
  • Appearance: How character looks
  • Inner Thoughts: What character thinks
  • Others' Opinions: How others feel about the character
  • Inference: Using observations (evidence) to draw conclusions about something not directly stated.
• Common Core Standards RL 9.1 & RL 9.5
• "Thank You, Ma'am" by Langston Hughes, (MPT, pp. 87-90)
• Assignment: When Roger asks, "You gonna take me to jail?" Mrs. Jones replies, "Not with that face, I would not take you nowhere." What does this response tell you about her? Support your inferences by citing other things she says and does.
• Finish your final revision of the Utah Write Essay about Poe's Narrators! Print the copy with your highest score and turn it in on Thursday/Friday!
• BRING YOUR READING BOOK next time!
• 
  

Thursday, September 22: A Day (Midterm)
Friday, September 23: B Day (Midterm)

• TURN IN A PRINTED/SCORED COPY OF YOUR UTAH WRITE ESSAY ABOUT POE'S NARRATORS. Make sure your name and period are on it.
• Writing Notebook: Topics -- Look over this list and copy 20 of these topics that you think you could write about. Number them from 1 to 10. Someday you will write about each of them.
• SSR: While Thompson's away, the kiddies will...READ! The book you bring needs to be the one you say you are reading on Goodreads! For this and for reading silently today, you will get points. Don't blow it!
• Reflection #3: Write for 10-15 about a topic of your choice from the list you made at the beginning of the period. (100+)
• 
  

September 26 - September 30, 2011

Monday, September 26: A Day
Tuesday, September 27: B Day (Explore Test - 45-minute classes)

• Poem o' the Day: "Preteen Pretext"
• Grammar Punk Rock: Parts of Speech Review -- Verbs (MPT, pp. 1050-2)
• How 'bout a Quick Pretest?
• Verb Chart (Keep this with your other grammar handouts/notes!): principal parts of verbs, especially irregular past and past participles; simple, perfect, and progressive tenses; agreement of subject and verb, especially with collective nouns
• Common Core Standard: L 9.3
• Article of the Week: Cell Phones (2009)
• CLOSE READ -- All together! What's the genre? Purpose? Audience? Bias? Mark areas of confusion. Circle unfamiliar words. Argue with what you disagree with. Indicate what alarms you. Write your "inner dialogue" with the article in the margins, so it looks kinda like this one...but better and more. Show that you are thinking about and interacting with the text, not just sounding out the words as your eyes pass over them. Close reading is forcing yourself to pay full attention long enough to make meaning of what you're reading.
• Consider the purpose and audience of these two items:
• "Protect your brain!"
• Skeptoid Podcast on Cell Phones (2008)
• WN: Write a one-page reflection about cell phone radiation, the discussion we had, and why you will or will not change your behavior based on what you read and heard. When you are done, choose two sentences you would be willing to share aloud. Then do it.
• Homework: Re-read the AoW on Cell Phones with an especially critical eye. Mark it up with indisputable evidence of a close reading. Paraphrase two things: 1) the sentence in the second paragraph that begins "But some researchers..." and 2) the quote by Dr. Louis Slesin at the bottom of the front page.
• Can't get enough of this? Try these:
• "This is Your Brain on Cell Phones" (2008)
• Cell Phones and Kids (Blog, 2011)
• 
  

Parent-Teacher Conferences, 3:45-7:15 P.M.
Wednesday, September 28: A Day (Computer Lab)
Thursday, September 29: B Day (Computer Lab)

• Turn in Annotated AoW (Close Reading)
• SRI Reading Test (30 minutes)
• Goodreads: What does a complete book review look like? (It's not just a summary! It has to address the items on the outline form!) Here is Brigitte's latest! (She went through this last year.)
• Q: How many book reviews do we have to do?
• A: At least two per term; more if you read very short books.
• Q: By when?
• A: Whenever you finish the books...but before the end of the term.
• Argumentation: The Expectation for Ninth Graders
• The difference between Persuasion, Propaganda, and Argument
• For the Record: Argument is the best! That's what I want you to do in your writing for this class!
• Common Core Standards: RIT 9.2, RIT 9.6, RIT 9.8, SL 9.1, SL 9.2
• Wiki Assignment #1: Propaganda, Persuasion, Argument, Reflection
  Due (on Wiki) October 4th!
• Common Core Standard: W 9.1
• 
  

Friday, September 30: A Day

• Poem o' the Day: "My Life" by Joe Wenderoth
• Notes on Literary Elements: Add these to your notes.
• Concept: Symbolism (MPT, pp. 340-341)
• "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst (MPT, pp. 344-354)
• Assignment (front of page): Answer questions 6-10 (page 356) with thoughtful, complete responses.
• Common Core Standards RL 9.1 & RL 9.5
• GP POS (Verb) Review (back of page): Study the paragraph (p. 345) that begins "As he lay all the time in bed...." Identify all the verbs and name the tense of each verb you find. Your Verb Chart handout will come in handy.
• Common Core Standard: L 9.3
• Turn in the page with the questions on the front and the verb review on the back.
• WN: In the story you just read, the writer creates a lush, vivid setting by using sensory details. Choose a place and describe it completely. Use sensory details to make your place seem real. (100+)
• Share aloud.
• Don't forget the Wiki Assignment due October 4th!
• 
  

October 3-7, 2011

Monday, October 3: B Day

• Poem o' the Day: "My Life" by Joe Wenderoth
• Notes on Literary Elements: Add these to your notes.
• Concept: Symbolism (MPT, pp. 340-341)
• "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst (MPT, pp. 344-354)
• Assignment (front of page): Answer questions 6-10 (page 356) with thoughtful, complete responses.
• Common Core Standards RL 9.1 & RL 9.5
• GP POS (Verb) Review (back of page): Study the paragraph (p. 345) that begins "As he lay all the time in bed...." Identify all the verbs and name the tense of each verb you find. Your Verb Chart handout will come in handy.
• Common Core Standard: L 9.3
• Turn in the page with the questions on the front and the verb review on the back.
• WN: In the story you just read, the writer creates a lush, vivid setting by using sensory details. Choose a place and describe it completely. Use sensory details to make your place seem real. (100+)
• Share aloud.
• Don't forget the Wiki Assignment due Tomorrow!
• 
  

Tuesday, October 4: A Day
Wednesday, October 5: B Day

• Poem o' the Day: "Remember When"
• AoW Feedback: Why didn't I get full credit? (Check these examples!)
• Wiki Feedback: Propaganda, Persuasion, Argument -- Like this!
• WN: Write 100+ words in response to one of the topics you copied into your Writing Notebook on Sept. 22/23.
• Notes on Literary Elements: Add these to your notes.
• Concept: Theme (MPT, pp. 208-209)
• How to find and state a story's theme (See Book Review Format.)
• "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty (MPT, pp. 212-215)
• Assignment (in Writing Notebook):
  • 1) ___________ wanted __________, but ________________,
    so ______________.
    This illustrates that __________________________________.
  • 2) Answer question 8 on page 217.
  • 3) Grammar Link Practice 1 (Participial Phrases) on p. 219
  • (Check out the Mangled Modifiers before you start!)
  • 4) Grammar Link Practice 2: Use today's WN reflection to complete this; rewrite the reflection based on the instructions on p. 219.
• Common Core Standards RL 9.1 & RL 9.5, L 9.3
• Grammar Punk Rock: Parts of Speech Review: Pronouns (How are they related to nouns?)
• AoW -- Close Reading due next time (Don't write reflection yet!)
  Comprehension, Summarizing, and Evaluating
• 
  

Thursday, October 6: A Day
Friday, October 7: B Day

• WN: Write 100+ about the AoW you close read. (BTW: Turn that in!)
• Poem o' the Day: "Los Ancianos" by Pat Mora (MPT, p. 294)
• Notes on Literary Elements: Add these to your notes.
• Concept: Irony (MPT, pp. 284-285)
• Situational Irony, Dramatic Irony, Verbal Irony
• "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry (MPT, pp. 286 - 292)
• What kind of irony is most apparent in this story?
• Grammar Punk Rock: Parts of Speech Review: Modifiers
• Adjectives (What do they modify? What questions do they answer?)
• Adverbs (What do they modify? What questions do they answer?)
• Copy the paragraph on page 289 that begins "So now Della's beautiful hair...." Circle all the adjectives and draw arrows to the nouns/pronouns they modify. Put a square around the adverbs and draw squiggles to the words they modify.
• 
  

October 10-14, 2011

Monday, October 10: A Day
Tuesday, October 11: B Day

• Poem o' the Day: "Football" by Louis Jenkins
• WN: Homework -- Read/Discuss (parts of) this. Now fill a page in your notebook writing about it.
• Argument/Persuasion/Propaganda & Analysis Form
• Read the two articles about homework and (in groups) analyze each using the questions on the form. What kind of writing is each? How do you know?
• What the Research Says: NEA, NCTM
• Here are the district guidelines.
• Common Core Standards: RIT 9.2, RIT 9.6, RIT 9.8, SL 9.1
• Grammar Punk Rock: Parts of Speech Review: Conjunctions & Preopositions (What do they have in common?)
• Common Core Standard: L 9.1
• AoW: Homework (due Friday!)
• 
  

Wednesday, October 12: A Day
Thursday, October 13: B Day (Reflections Contest entries due!)

• Poem o' the Day: "Missing Sunshine" by Elizabeth Thompson
• This is merely a review of concepts you have seen many times before.
• Notes on Literary Elements: Add these to your notes.
• Review: Figurative Language (MPT, pp. 428-429) -- Simile, Metaphor, Personification
• This is new:
• Notes on Literary Elements: Add these to your notes. (Last One!)
• Concept: Style -- Diction, Tone, Mood (MPT, pp. 496-497)
• Common Core Standards: RL 9.4
• "A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury (MPT, pp 499-509)
• Bradbury's Style (WN): Find and copy and example of each of these from the story:
  • Vivid, descriptive image
  • Figure of speech (non-literal language)
• How would the story be different if Bradbury didn't use language like this? Would you like it better without all the stylistic flair, or would it be less interesting? Discuss his writing style.
• WN: If you could travel in time, which direction would you go? Who would you want to meet? What would you do on your journey? Discuss. (100+)
• Grammar Punk Rock: Parts of Speech Review: Interjections & Mr. Morton
• (For the Last Time: What is a Sentence?)
• Study your notes on Literary Elements: Text next time!
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Friday, October 14: A Day

• Unit Test on Literary Elements
• Poem o' the Day: "The Grammar Lesson" by Steve Kowit
• Grammar Punk Intro: One time through, slowly!
• "The Rules" of Language: Conventions (2 more green handouts to never lose)
• Assignment: "Roll the Bones!"
• There are two "practice boards" on the back of the GP Intro handout
• In Class: Complete the top one as an "all-together-now" practice
• Homework: Complete the bottom one based on the dice roll for your class period. We'll share 'em next time!

October 17-21, 2011

Monday, October 17: B Day

• Unit Test on Literary Elements
• Poem o' the Day: "The Grammar Lesson" by Steve Kowit
• Grammar Punk Intro: One time through, slowly!
• "The Rules" of Language: Conventions (2 more green handouts to never lose)
• Assignment: "Roll the Bones!"
• There are two "practice boards" on the back of the GP Intro handout
• In Class: Complete the top one as an "all-together-now" practice
• Homework: Complete the bottom one based on the dice roll for your class period. We'll share 'em next time!
• Term Ends Next Week!
• Have you been reading regularly?
• 
  

Tuesday, October 18: A Day
Wednesday, October 19: B Day

• Invasion of the Counselors
• Poem o' the Day: "Do You Have Any Advice For Those Of Us Just Starting Out?" by Ron Koertge
• Writing Notebook: Summarize the Counselors' Presentation, including purpose, new info you learned, and what you have to do by when.
• THEN: Paraphrase the slide called "Percentage of Jobs Requiring Post-Secondary Degrees.
• Grammar Punk: Get the five handouts in order and number 'em!
  This is your Grammar Punk Packet, which you will use for reference all year!
  DO NOT LOSE IT!
• Grammar Punk: Comma Rule #1
  Use a comma between two independent clauses (complete thoughts) that are joined by a conjunction.
• Let's put some on the wiki!
• Reading Reminder: First Term Book Reviews (Essays like this one! Yes, that long!) must be posted to Goodreads by October 26th! When you have posted the review, turn in your completed outline so I will know to go check the written work.
• 
  

Thursday, October 20: Fall Recess
Friday, October 21: Fall Recess

October 24-28, 2011

Monday, October 24: A Day
Tuesday, October 25: B Day

• Poem o' the Day: "The Student Theme" by Ronald Wallace
• Grammar Punk: Comma Rule #2
  Use a comma to separate adjectives that modify the same word.
• WN: Critical but Informal Approach to Reading Something New and Weird and Different:
  "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman" by Harlan Ellison
• What good readers do (and what YOU will do today):
• Pre-reading/Predicting (KWHL/SQ3R): What questions do you have? What does this title imply? (Here are a couple hints!)
• Vocabulary -- Which unfamiliar words are worth stopping to look up and which can be ignored or figured out from context?
• Visualize!
• Organize! (This story is told out of order.)
• Summarize!
• Now go look at these again. They might make more sense.
• Save the last word for me!
  (Find the most significant lines in the story. Why are they significant?)
• Other Options:
  • Review/Re-read: Story Pyramids (Topic: one word; description: two words; setting: three words; conflict: four words, etc.)
  • ________________ wanted ___________________, but ______________________, so _____________________.
• What does it mean? OR Why does Mr. Thompson love this story?
• Homework: Book Reviews due on Goodreads next time!
• Just so you can't say I asked you to do something I wouldn't do, here is my latest book review.
• And here is Sierra's.
• And here is Jenna's.
• And here is Katie's.
• You need two (2) of these posted to Goodreads by Wednesday, and I need the outline format in the "Book Review" box in the classroom, so I will know to go look at them. (Duh!!)
  

Wednesday, October 26: A Day
Thursday, October 27: B Day

• Term "Final Exam"
• This is your term test, so take it seriously...especially if you already have a low grade and/or you haven't done your book reviews. Speaking of which, while you are writing, I'll be calling you up one at a time to talk about your reading, extra credit, and your current grade.
• Log in to Utah Write.
• (Follow in-class instructions to get to the correct topic.)
• 30 minutes: Write a persuasive first draft based on your own opinions and impressions. Treat this as a timed assignment like the DWA. Submit the essay for a first score.
• 30 minutes: Revise your essay so that it changes from simple persuasion to ARGUMENT. (Remember the difference?) An argument requires you to include logical (scientific) evidence and sources. Where will you get this evidence? Remember these? And this? Or this? (Make sure you say in the body of your essay where you got your supporting information.) Submit for a second score.
• 15 minutes: Review the Utah Write suggestions and "finer details" of the writing. Check for run-ons and comma splices. Fix them using Comma Rule #1. Correct spelling and usage. Read it over for fluency. "Polish" it!
• Submit for a final score.
• Now that you know what you are to do, here's the topic:
• The school's current homework policy states that homework should not exceed two hours on a school night and should not be assigned before holidays or weekends. Administrators at the school want these restrictions removed. Are you for or against restrictions on the amount of homework that can be assigned? Be sure to develop your response fully.
• Poem o' the Day: "Grammar" by Tony Hoagland
• If you are one of those people who just refuses to spend any time or thought on writing, you don't care what your grade is, and you are "done" with 30 or more minutes to spare, you should go do one of these things:
• Add me as a friend on Goodreads so your reviews and updates are automatically sent to me.
• Go finish that Wiki assignment on Argument/Persuasion/Propaganda that you never completed and were hoping I wouldn't score. (I'm going to!)
• Review the Grammar Punk Hall of Fame and add a couple sentences of your own.
• 
  

Friday, October 28: A Day (Last Day of First Term)

• Poem o' the Day: "The Road Not Taken" (MPT, p. 315)
• All this goes in the Writintg Notebook:
• Quickwrite (p. 314): Think of a time you made a significant choice in your life. Now imagine you had made a different choice. How would your life be different? (Identify the choice and write three sentences in response.)
• Copy the poem into your Writing Notebook.
• Answer questions 1, 4, & 5 on page 318.
• Tone: Insert an adjective (to describe the tone of the poem) into line 16 before the word sigh: "I shall be telling this with a __________ sigh...."
• WN: Reflection/Preflection -- The first term is over. How did it go? What are your plans and goals for the second term? Discuss. Explain. Elaborate. Pontificate. (100+)
• Grammar Punk: Comma Rule #3
  Use commas to separate non-essential interrupting elements in a sentence.
• Article of the Week: Homework. Do not write the reflection! We'll do that part next time.
• See you next term!
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