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April 4-8, 2016: Fourth Term Begins!

For this final term, you will learn....
  • ...more word cells...lots more!
  • ...how to torture a confession out of a poem.
  • ...Poetry Out Loud: More poems o' the day! (Your turn!)
  • ...connotation vs. denotation of words.
  • ...advanced strategies for close reading literary and informational text.
  • ...writing in various genres for a multitude of purposes: memoirs, letters, analysis, argumentation, exposition.
  • ...Voice/Word Choice.
  • ...what the SAGE has in store: April 15
  • ...more cartoon analysis.
  • ...the Argument Clinic

April 4-8, 2016

Monday, April 4: B Day


Tuesday, April 5: A Day (Writing Lab - Last Utah Compose Practice Essay)
Wednesday, April 6: B Day (Writing Lab - Last Utah Compose Practice Essay)


Thursday, April 7: A Day
Friday, April 8: B Day



Sections of English Binder: Journal, Word Study, Composition, Reading/Literature, Grammar/Conventions

April 11-15, 2016

Monday, April 11: A Day
Tuesday, April 12: B Day

  • Quiz on Word Cells Set #1 + Turn in Word Cells List #1 Assignment.
  • Poetry Out Loud Assignments: You will be assigned a poem that you will read aloud at some point during this term. By the time that happens, you will become an expert on every nuance of the poem -- no simile will escape you, and no descriptive image will go undissected. Also, you will practice reading the poem aloud mutliple times, so you master the pronunciation of all the words and the rhythm of all the lines. When you read it, you will command the attention of everyone in the room, and we will be completely blown away by your presence and performance. For a minute, we will forget we are in a classroom doing an assignment, and we will be swept away to the world of your poem. Study the poem carefully and bring it back next time!
  • Homework: Due when you present your poem aloud.
  • Poem o' the Day: "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins
  • Handout: How to Torture a Confession Out of a Poem
  • Here's a model! (Do this with your assigned poem.)
  • (In lieu of) Journal: Close Read/Discussion: "I Am Very Real" by Kurt Vonnegut (Turn in!)
  • F451: Term 4 Reading Schedule & Novels
  • Study Questions for the first 31 pages of F451.

Wednesday, April 13: A Day
Thursday, April 14: B Day


Friday, April 15: A Day (SAGE Writing)

  • Testing...1...2...3...Testing...



Sections of English Binder: Journal, Word Study, Composition, Reading/Literature, Grammar/Conventions

April 18-22, 2016

Poem o' the Week: "A Student's Prayer"

Monday, April 18: B Day -- (SAGE Writing)
Tuesday, April 19: A Day --(SAGE Writing)
Wednesday, April 20: B Day -- (SAGE Writing)

 


Thursday, April 21: A Day
Friday, April 22: B Day



Sections of English Binder: Journal, Word Study, Composition, Reading/Literature, Grammar/Conventions

April 25-29, 2016

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


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



Friday, April 29: A Day (SAGE Language Arts)

  • Testing...1...2...3...Testing...



Sections of English Binder: Journal, Word Study, Composition, Reading/Literature, Grammar/Conventions

May 2-6, 2016

Monday, May 2: B Day (SAGE Language Arts)
Tuesday, May 3: A Day (SAGE Language Arts)
Wednesday, May 4: B Day (SAGE Language Arts)


Thursday, May 5: A Day
Friday, May 6: B Day



Sections of English Binder: Journal, Word Study, Composition, Reading/Literature, Grammar/Conventions

May 9-13, 2016

Monday, May 9: A Day
Tuesday, May 10: B Day


Wednesday, May 11: A Day
Thursday, May 12: B Day


Friday, May 13: A Day

  • 8
  • (A-Day Students in AP Geo: You'll need to do some reading on your own to catch up!
    (Intervention is open from this day forward!)
  • Poetry Out Loud
  • "Keeping Things Whole" by Mark Strand
  • "God Says Yes to Me" by Kaylin Haught
  • "I Knew a Teacher Once" by William Strong
  • "Gratitude to Old Teachers" by Robert Bly
  • Stargirl: Continue the Order of Operations to .... ?
  • Start with Chapters 4 & 5...and go as far as you can!
  • The Math of Stargirl: Since there are 186 pages in the novel and last time we read to page 20, that means that starting today, there are 166 pages left. Including today's time after the test, that leaves 6 (six) sessions of class in which you will need to finish the reading. This means you should average 27.6 pages of reading per day of class. Most of you can do that handily, but for those who may need some extra time, remember that my Intervention period is open (M-Th) to anyone who wants to come in and read.
  • Homework:
  • Life Soundtrack First Drafts due May 19/20!
  • Log in to the class wiki from home. Visit your page. Get it ready for the final draft of your Life Soundtrack.
    You do remember how, right?
  • Also, study for the GIANT WORD CELLS TEST!



Sections of English Binder: Journal, Word Study, Composition, Reading/Literature, Grammar/Conventions

May 16-20, 2016

Monday, May 16: B Day

  • 8
  • F451 Synthesis Essay due on Utah Compose by May 25th @ 11:59 P.M.!
  • Poetry Out Loud
  • "Keeping Things Whole" by Mark Strand
  • "God Says Yes to Me" by Kaylin Haught
  • "I Knew a Teacher Once" by William Strong
  • "Gratitude to Old Teachers" by Robert Bly
  • Stargirl: Continue the Order of Operations to .... ?
  • Start with Chapters 4 & 5...and go as far as you can!
  • The Math of Stargirl: Since there are 186 pages in the novel and last time we read to page 20, that means that starting today, there are 166 pages left. Including today's time after the test, that leaves 6 (six) sessions of class in which you will need to finish the reading. This means you should average 27.6 pages of reading per day of class. Most of you can do that handily, but for those who may need some extra time, remember that my Intervention period is open (M-Th) to anyone who wants to come in and read.
  • Homework:
  • Life Soundtrack First Drafts due May 19/20!
  • Log in to the class wiki from home. Visit your page. Get it ready for the final draft of your Life Soundtrack.
    You do remember how, right?
  • Also, study for the GIANT WORD CELLS TEST!


Tuesday, May 17: A Day
Wednesday, May 18: B Day

Thursday, May 19: A Day
Friday, May 20: B Day

  • 6
  • Life Soundtrack First Drafts due NOW!
  • Poetry Out Loud: "The Psalm of Life" (audio)
  • Word Pools: "In the beginning was the Word...."
  • Chapter 3 of poemcrazy by Susan Goldsmith Woolridge
  • Word Me (Open in IE)
  • Create your own Word Pool: a collection of cool, specific, precise, powerful, descriptive, wonderful words!
  • Stargirl Order of Operations to Chapter 17 (?)
  • How's it coming? You 'bout done?
  • Handout: "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!
  • 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.
  • Speaking of music...



Sections of English Binder: Journal, Word Study, Composition, Reading/Literature, Grammar/Conventions

May 23-27, 2016

Monday, May 23: A Day
Tuesday, May 24: B Day

  • 5
  • F451 Synthesis Essay due on Utah Compose by May 25th @ 11:59 P.M.!
  • Poetry Out Loud
  • Poem o' the Day for the young women:
    "For a Girl I Know About to Be a Woman" by Miller Williams
  • ...and for the young men:
    "If--" by Rudyard Kipling
  • Finish if you can: Stargirl Order of Operations
  • What about those Rocks & Serenades?
  • Handout: Life Soundtrack Final Draft (with Intro & Conclusion) due on Wiki by May 27th @ 6:00 P.M.
    • Introduction—Explanation of yourself (one paragraph): This is basically a brief autobiography, and it will serve as your introduction. Introductions are important because they give the reader a frame of reference. Who are you? Where have you been and where are you going in life? What do you think this Life Soundtrack says about you?
    • Conclusion—Final remarks and reflection on the soundtrack as a whole (one paragraph): This is your conclusion. Thank your reader for listening and offer any final reflections upon this project as a whole: What does it tell people about you? Is it truthful? What do you want listeners of your Life Soundtrack to think about? What did you learn about yourself while putting this together?
  • I enjoyed reading your drafts! Here's mine!


Wednesday, May 25: A Day (Falcon Finale, 7:00 P.M.)
Thursday, May 26: B Day

  • 4
  • Poetry Out Loud
  • Poem o' the Day: "Free Verses" by Sarah Kirsch
    (The verses are you! The speaker is me.)
  • Finish: Stargirl Order of Operations
  • "The Road Not Taken" (Cartoon)
  • 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 Gray!
    Be Nice: We're all in this together, and nobody gets out alive!
  • When all of the above is finished, show the notebooks to me for a score.
  • Then take 'em home.
  • Hide 'em somewhere safe.
  • You'll be glad you did.
  • Life Soundtrack Final Draft (with Intro & Conclusion) due on Wiki by Friday @ 6:00 P.M.
  • Psst! Hey B-Day Classes: Need some extra credit?
  • Read this. Answer these.


Friday, May 27: A Day



Sections of English Binder: Journal, Word Study, Composition, Reading/Literature, Grammar/Conventions

May 30 - June 3, 2016

Monday, May 30: Memorial Day

  • No School


Tuesday, May 31: B Day


Wednesday, June 1: A Day (50) [Writing Lab 137]
Thursday, June 2: B Day [Writing Lab 137]



Friday, June 3: A/B Day

  • 1
  • School's Out for Summer!
  • "Will you remember me?"
  • You know where to find me. Stay in touch.
  • What are you still doing here?
    Go enjoy your summer!

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