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March 25-29, 2013: Fourth Term Begins!

For this final term, you will learn....
  • ...more word cells!
  • ...new vocabulary words.
  • ...to use colons for something besides the eyes in emoticons.
  • ...advanced strategies for close reading literary and informational text.
  • ...writing in various genres for a multitude of purposes: memoirs, letters, analysis, argumentation, exposition.
  • ...VOICE.
  • ...connotations and denotations of words.
  • ...to analyze style in writing.
  • ...more poems o' the day!

Monday, March 25: A Day
Tuesday, March 26: B Day

  • Welcome to the beginning of the end!
  • Hall Passes, Handouts and Return to Routines
  • Last chance to to something nice for a teacher who made a difference.
  • C'mon! It'll take ya five minutes! (Nominations due Wedensday!)
  • Poem o' the Day: "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost
    (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...."
  • Term Reading Assignment
  • 1st Period: Something Wicked This Way Comes
  • 3rd Period: The Martian Chronicles
  • 8th Period: The Illustrated Man
  • Finish this first one by April 9/10.
  • Note: Thursday Intervention is now SILENT READING TIME!
    Take advantage of it!
  • Word Cells List #1 Assignment
    (Quiz on this set will be next time!
  • Homework: Finish the assignment and study the cells!


Wednesday, March 27: A Day
Thursday, March 28: B Day

  • Poem o' the Day: "I Knew a Teacher Once" by William Strong
  • Quiz on Word Cells Set #1 (Turn in Assignment)
  • Analyzing Style: "A Sound of Thunder" MPT, pp. 499-510
  • Carefully read pp. 496 & 497
  • Fill in the definitions on the back of your reading schedule: diction, tone, mood.
  • Writing Notebook: Quickwrite on page 508: Write a 1/2 page response.
  • Read the story on pp. 500-510.
  • Writing Notebook Answer questions 8, 9, & 10 on p. 514 (bottom half of same page)
  • Term Reading Book #1 -- Why not finish it over Spring Break?


Friday, March 29: A Day

  • Poem o' the Day: "Today" by Billy Collins
  • Learning Mood from the Master: Edgar Allan Poe
  • "The Cask of Amontillado" MPT, pp. 173-179
  • This story (and several other Poe stories) are referenced in a chapter of The Martian Chronicles called "Usher II," so not only is this an opportunity to see how a master develops mood, but it will help you fully appreciate the Bradbury story when you get to it.
  • Word Cells List #2 Assignment
    (Quiz on this set will be on April 11/12.)


April 1-5, 2013: Spring Break!

April 8-12, 2013

Monday, April 8: B Day

  • Poem o' the Day: "Today" by Billy Collins
  • Learning Mood from the Master: Edgar Allan Poe
  • "The Cask of Amontillado" MPT, pp. 173-179
  • This story (and several other Poe stories) are referenced in a chapter of The Martian Chronicles called "Usher II," so not only is this an opportunity to see how a master develops mood, but it will help you fully appreciate the Bradbury story when you get to it.
  • Word Cells List #2 Assignment
    (Quiz on this set will be on April 11/12.)


Tuesday, April 9: A Day
Wednesday, April 10: B Day

  • Poem o' the Day: "Tuesday, 9:00 A.M." by Denver Butson
  • Test/Review on Bradbury Book #1
  • Exchange Books
  • Grammar Punk: When Not to Use a Colon -- Do you know?
  • Poe Biography: Terror of the Soul (30 minutes' worth)
  • Since Bradbury was influenced in many ways by the work of Poe, it pays to know a bit about the man and his work. Remember: We are focusing on style, so watch for the recognizable elements of it.
  • Poetry Month Assignment: On your own time, choose one of the "Poems o' the Day" from this year to present aloud to this class during National Poetry Month. You will need a copy of the poem, and you will need to sign up for the one you choose as soon as you select it. No duplicates! More to come on this assignment....
  • Homework: Study Word Cells List #2


Thursday, April 11: A Day
Friday, April 12: B Day


April 15-19, 2013

Monday, April 15: A Day
Tuesday, April 16: B Day


Wednesday, April 17: A Day
Thursday, April 18: B Day


Friday, April 19: A Day


April 22-26, 2013

Monday, April 22: B Day


Tuesday, April 23: A Day (Writing Lab)
Wednesday, April 24: B Day (Writing Lab)


Thursday, April 25: A Day
Friday, April 26: B Day


April 29 - May 3, 2013

Monday, April 29: A Day
Tuesday, April 30: B Day


Wednesday, May 1: A Day
Thursday, May 2: B Day


Friday, May 3: A Day



May 6-10, 2013

Monday, May 6: B Day


Tuesday, May 7: A Day
Wednesday, May 8: B Day


Thursday, May 9: A Day
Friday, May 10: B Day


May 13-17, 2013

Monday, May 13: A Day (CRT)
Tuesday, May 14: B Day (CRT)


Wednesday, May 15: A Day (CRT)
Thursday, May 16: B Day (CRT)

  • 7
  • Finish State-Mandated Testing
  • Life Soundtrack Final Draft
  • Type it up in Word.
  • Include and Intro and a Conculsion as per the Instructions
  • Sample Soundtrack
  • Poem o' the Day: "Free Verses" by Sarah Kirsch
  • (The verses are you! The speaker is me.)


Friday, May 17: A Day

  • 6
  • Why are you wearing glasses today? (Uh-oh! Here we go again!)
  • (Wanna see something really gross?)
  • Grammar Punk Review:
  • Semicolon Rules #2 & #3
  • Dice Roll for Rule 2: RI4 adjective eyeballs
  • Dice Roll for Rule 3: DA5 conjunction summer
  • Stargirl: Read Chapters 15-17
  • Poem o' the Day: "The Way to Start a Day" by Byrd Baylor
  • While out in the desert with Leo (Chapter 17), Stargirl seems to find special insight and inner peace by "erasing herself" through meditation. Consider an activity you are especially familiar with in which you find peace and insight into Life and the world. Write a non-literal poem describing the way to do that activity. Instead of just listing the steps involved, describe the process from the inside. Create metaphors to explain the thoughts and emotions that the activity conjures in you. This fill-in-the-blank outline is only for those who aren't creative enough to come up with all the lines on their own. Don't use it if you don't absolutely need to. You may create a decorated final draft that is suitable for classroom display. Here's an example. Here's another. Be creative and artistic!
  • Neil's Solo: Think of the state of mind one must be in to perform a task this well. Imagine the thousands of hours of thought and practice that went into it. Then consider how he has to put all that aside for the eight minutes in which it all coalesces. He can't stop to think about each of the basic mechanics that make up his craft; he has to "get in the zone" where it all comes together without thinking. Your "The Way to _________" poem should focus on this zone, this state of mind, not on the literal how-to instructions of the activity you describe. well?
  • Writing Notebook: Continue the Order of Operations
  • (Most students who were in class at least finished Chapter 17, but almost half of you were gone for AP testing and/or Science Olympiad. You'll need to catch up.)
  • Finish Final Bradbury book for next time!


May 20-24, 2013

Monday, May 20: B Day

  • 6
  • Why are you wearing glasses today? (Uh-oh! Here we go again!)
  • (Wanna see something really gross?)
  • Grammar Punk Review:
  • Semicolon Rules #2 & #3
  • Dice Roll for Rule 2: RI4 adjective eyeballs
  • Dice Roll for Rule 3: DA5 conjunction summer
  • Stargirl: Read Chapters 15-17
  • Poem o' the Day: "The Way to Start a Day" by Byrd Baylor
  • While out in the desert with Leo (Chapter 17), Stargirl seems to find special insight and inner peace by "erasing herself" through meditation. Consider an activity you are especially familiar with in which you find peace and insight into Life and the world. Write a non-literal poem describing the way to do that activity. Instead of just listing the steps involved, describe the process from the inside. Create metaphors to explain the thoughts and emotions that the activity conjures in you. This fill-in-the-blank outline is only for those who aren't creative enough to come up with all the lines on their own. Don't use it if you don't absolutely need to. You may create a decorated final draft that is suitable for classroom display. Here's an example. Here's another. Be creative and artistic!
  • Neil's Solo: Think of the state of mind one must be in to perform a task this well. Imagine the thousands of hours of thought and practice that went into it. Then consider how he has to put all that aside for the eight minutes in which it all coalesces. He can't stop to think about each of the basic mechanics that make up his craft; he has to "get in the zone" where it all comes together without thinking. Your "The Way to _________" poem should focus on this zone, this state of mind, not on the literal how-to instructions of the activity you describe. well?
  • Writing Notebook: Continue the Order of Operations
  • (Try to at least get through Chapter 17.)
  • Finish Final Bradbury book for next time!


Tuesday, May 21: A Day
Wednesday, May 22: B Day


Thursday, May 23: A Day
Friday, May 24: B Day


May 27-31, 2013

Monday, May 27: Memorial Day

  • No School


Tuesday, May 28: A Day
Wednesday, May 29: B Day


Thursday, May 30: A Day: Stargirl Projects/Serenades
Friday, May 31: B Day

  • 2 -- Last "Real" Day in 198
  • Life Soundtracks due Friday by midnight
  • Poem o' the Day: "George Grey"
  • Writing Notebook: Get it ready to be scored!
  • Finish the Order of Operations
  • The Final Entry: Write a letter to yourself in ten years. Keep the journal until then and read it. Then write me a letter or an e-mail (or whatever the latest communication technology is by then) to tell me if things turned out as you planned.
  • Copy this on the last page:
    Thompson's Words of Wisdom as You Head to High School
    Life is Short: Don't be a George Grey!
    Be Nice: We're all in this together, and nobody gets out alive!
  • Take the notebooks home.
  • Hide 'em somewhere safe.
  • You'll be glad you did.
  • Serenades, Anyone?



June 3-7, 2013

Monday, June 3: A Day
Tuesday, June 4: B Day (Alice Cooper Show!)


Wednesday, June 5: A Day
Thursday, June 6: B Day (Lagoon Day)

  • Watch Stargirl Serenades!
  • Party at Lagoon!

Friday, June 7: A/B Day

  • School's Out for Summer!


"Did I miss anything?" This is the most annoying question students who have been absent can ask. My usual sarcastic reply is something like this: "Oh, heck no! We knew you were gone, so we just sat around all day and looked at each other. You don't really think I'm going to assign work on a day you're not here, do you?" So, in order to keep everyone (students and their parents) apprised of what exactly is going on each day in class, I am going to put it here. Check back often!

Despite the absence of any support from the school district, I have made every reasonable attempt to insure that this website is educationally sound and does not contain direct links to inappropriate material.
©2013 M. Wolfman Thompson - All rights reserved.
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