Changing Website Location

Per our school district initiative to migrate all teacher websites to a site that allows for inclusive accessibility, our new class website is located here: https://www.d11.org/Page/9120

Monday, April 23rd

• Reading and Notes: We'll read and discuss "In the Field," focusing on O'Brien's techniques as a teller of difficult stories. 
• Then you'll have WORK TIME for the following:
• Lesson Five Vocabulary Review (Due Today)
• Choose one Greek or Latin root from Lesson Five and draw a labelled image that relates to the root. 
• Choose four English words from Lesson Five and write one excellent sentence per word that uses it correctly. 
• Metafiction Memoir Segment 2 Rough Draft (Due Wednesday)
• Remember that this is not an additional draft of your first piece. Rather, it is an additional piece. Think of it like O'Brien's chapters -- some are closely related to each other while others read more like one-offs or individual essays that tell a whole story by themselves. 

Thursday, April 19th

• Reading and Notes: You'll finish reading the chapter "Notes." 
• Then you'll take a reading quiz over chapters 15-16: "Speaking of Courage" and "Notes." You may work together with a partner on this quiz, but you need to turn in your own copy. Remember that you must write full sentence answers to earn full points. 
• Finally, you'll have WORK TIME for the following:
• Metafiction Memoir Assignment Segment 1 Rough Draft (Due Today)
• Turn in your Writer's Notebook for Notebook Check #2 (Due Today) 

Wednesday, April 18th

• Notes: Lesson Five Vocabulary
• Reading and Notes: We'll finish reading and discussing the chapter "Speaking of Courage," about Norman Bowker's experience after the war. Then you and a partner will read and take notes on the following short chapter: "Notes." 
• Finally, you'll have WORK TIME for the following:
• You'll take a reading quiz over these two chapters. (Due Today)
• Metafiction Memoir Assignment 1st Chapter Rough Draft (Due Tomorrow)

Tuesday, April 17th

• Notes: First, we'll revisit some techniques to explore in relation to paragraphing your Metafiction Memoir Assignment. Specifically, we'll focus on paragraphing dialogue and making paragraphing decisions to offset key statements or ideas in prose. 
• Reading and Notes: We'll begin reading and discussing "Speaking of Courage," chapter fifteen of The Things They Carried. 
• Finally, you'll have WORK TIME for the following:
• Lesson Four Vocabulary Test (Due Today)
• Metafiction Memoir Segment One Rough Draft (Due Thursday, 4/19)

Monday, April 16th

• I'll introduce your Metafiction Memoir Assignment:
• You'll craft 5-7 segments (like O'Brien's chapters). Each of the segments must do/contain the following:
• MLA formatted, minimum of 3/4 page -- varying lengths are more effective
• a unique title
• concrete details
• a blend of story truth/happening truth so it makes the reader feel what you feel/felt
• must contribute a piece of the puzzle of the story of you/your life/your experience
• experiment with techniques that O'Brien introduces, such as:
• metaphor, symbolism, or abstraction
• concrete details
• repetition (of key phrases or details, or of events with varying versions of details)
• Reading and Notes: We'll read and discuss chapters 12-14 -- "The Man I  Killed," "Ambush," and "Style." We'll focus our discussion on O'Brien's choices as an author and the effect of those choices (such as repetition of key phrases and concrete details) on the reader and on the story as a whole. 
• Reading Quiz: You'll take a brief reading quiz over chapters 12-14. 
• Then you'll have WORK TIME for the following:
• Metafiction Memoir Segment One Rough Draft: (Due Thursday, 4/19)

Friday, April 13th

• Notes: You'll take Lesson 4 Vocabulary Notes.
• Reading and Notes: We'll read and discuss Chapters 10-11. "Stockings" and "Church," of The Things They Carried. 
• Then you'll have WORK TIME for the following: 
• Reading Quiz: Chapters 10-11 (Due Today)
• Vocabulary Review Worksheet: Lesson 4 (Due Today)

Thursday, April 12th

• You'll take the Lesson Three Vocabulary Test. 
• Then you'll work in small groups to complete a music analysis project. At the end of the period, your group will present your findings to the class, and we'll discuss.

Tuesday, April 10th

• Due to 12/17ths of our class being in the SAT class today, we'll focus on making sure none of the seniors have any missing assignments. Then you'll have an extra credit opportunity. :) 

Monday, April 9th

• Reading and Notes: We'll read and discuss Ch. 9 of The Things They Carried: "The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong." Our focus will be on symbolism and the transformation of Mary Anne Bell. 
• Then you'll have WORK TIME for the following:
• Reading Quiz: Ch. 9 (Paragraph Responses!) (Due Today)
• Vocabulary Review Exercise: Lesson Three (Due Today)
• Choose four English words from L3 Vocabulary and write a really good sentence that correctly uses each. Then choose one Greek or Latin root from L3 and draw and label a visual for it. 

Friday, April 6th

• Viewing, Discussion, and Notes: We'll view and discuss the PBS American Experience documentary on the My Lai Massacre. 

Thursday, April 5th

• Notes: I'll introduce Lesson Three Vocabulary: "Open and Shut." 
• Then we'll review the difference between analyzing a text by making an argument about its meaning and supporting that argument with evidence and simply writing a book report by giving basic summary of what happens in the book without regard to what it means. 
• Finally, you'll work with a partner of your choice to complete an open book partner quiz over chapters 7-8 of The Things They Carried: "How to Tell a True War Story" and "The Dentist." Your goal will be not simply to answer questions about what happens in the book but to make arguments about what the events of the book mean and to support those arguments using textual evidence that is correctly cited and logically interpreted. 

 

(image source: Pixabay.com)

Wednesday, April 4th

• Reading and Notes: We'll begin reading and discussing "How to Tell a True War Story" (O'Brien 67-88) and "The Dentist" (O'Brien 86-88). We'll focus on "story truth" versus "happening truth" as we dig into the concept of meta-fiction. 
• Then you'll take the Lesson Two Vocabulary Test. Any extra time you have may be used for corrections and missing work, as necessary. 

Tuesday, April 3rd

Due to 80% of our class taking the CMAS test today, we'll spend some time working on review, catching up, and extra credit opportunities. :)

Monday, April 2nd

• Reading and Notes: We'll read and discuss two brief chapters: "Enemies" and "Friends." 
• Notes: I'll share my expectations for a paragraph response, specifically focusing on structure and how to develop an arguable claim by analyzing supporting textual evidence. 
• You'll take a Reading Quiz over the following chapters: "On the Rainy River," "Enemies," and "Friends."
• With any remaining time, you'll have WORK TIME for the following:
• Study for the Lessons 1-2 Vocabulary test (tomorrow)
• Turn in your class notebook for Notebook Check #1 (due today)
• Make up any missing work or reading from the first two weeks of class and complete any possible corrections

Friday, March 23rd

• Reading and Notes: After we return from the awards assembly, we'll read and discuss "On the Rainy River." I'll ask you to focus your reading and notes around answering the following question: what argument does this chapter make about courage?

Thursday, March 22nd

• We'll finish viewing and discussing Walter Cronkite's presentation of "Courage Under Fire," as we didn't get to it yesterday in class. 
• Then you'll work with a partner to complete a Vocabulary Review Exercise for Lessons 1-2. You'll need your vocabulary notes and maybe a dictionary. 
• Depending on time, we may begin reading and discussing "On the Rainy River."

Wednesday, March 21st

• We'll finish our notes on the historical and socio-political context of the Vietnam war. 
• Then I'll introduce Lesson Two Vocabulary because it's new words Wednesday!
• Finally, we'll continue viewing and discussing the Walter Cronkite special, "Courage Under Fire." 

Tuesday, March 20th

The countdown continues... great work being here and getting it done today!

• First, you'll take the Lesson One Vocabulary Test. I'll do some one-on-one grade and missing work check ins at this time, as a number of you have missing assignments that are dragging your grade down. 
• Notes: Then I'll share some historical, socio-political, and cultural context of the Vietnam war to inform our reading, discussion, and writing about O'Brien's The Things They Carried this quarter. 

Moonday, March 19th

• Reading and Notes: We'll finish reading and discussing "Spin" from Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. 
• Then you'll complete a reading quiz over Ch. 1-3. You'll also turn in your completed character chart after taking time to record the quotation that you feel captures the theme of this section. 
• Finally, we'll begin viewing and discussing some Walter Cronkite news footage of the Vietnam War and making connections to the characters and events in the text. 

Friday, March 16th

• Reading and Notes: We'll continue reading and discussing the first three chapters of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. 
• Then you'll have WORK TIME for the following:
• Lesson One Vocabulary Review Exercise (Due Today)
• "The Things I Carry" Write a one-page typed, MLA formatted response in which you detail the things that you carry with you each day. Explore the symbolism of the concrete objects (car keys, a picture of someone in your wallet, a heavy backpack with lots of folded up old papers in the bottom, etc.) you carry and be sure to also write about the abstractions (memory, worry, hope, etc.) you carry. (Due Today)

Thursday, March 15th ~ The Ides of March

• Reading and Notes: We'll continue reading, discussing, and taking notes on section one (Ch. 1-3) of The Things They Carried. 
• Then I'll introduce how we'll do vocabulary review exercises this quarter. 
• Finally, you'll have WORK TIME for the following:
• Vocabulary Review Exercise: Lesson One (Due Tomorrow)
• "The Things I Carry" Write a one-page typed, MLA formatted response in which you detail the things that you carry with you each day. Explore the symbolism of the concrete objects (car keys, a picture of someone in your wallet, a heavy backpack with lots of folded up old papers in the bottom, etc.) you carry and be sure to also write about the abstractions (memory, worry, hope, etc.) you carry. (Due Tomorrow)

Wednesday, March 14th

Happy New Words Wednesday!

• Notes: I'll introduce your Lesson One Vocabulary words, and we'll focus on how to take well-organized vocabulary notes for your studying this quarter. 
• Reading and Notes: We'll continue reading and discussing Ch. 1 "The Things They Carried," Ch. 2 "Love," and Ch. 3 "Spin" while filling out a note sheet that tracks both the concrete and abstract things the characters in the book carry with them while in Vietnam.

Tuesday, March 13th

• I'll introduce our new seating chart. 
• You'll turn in your course syllabus. 
• Then we'll go check out copies of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried.
• Reading and Notes: We'll begin reading and discussing Ch. 1 "The Things They Carried" while filling out a note sheet that tracks both the concrete and abstract things the characters in the book carry with them while in Vietnam.

Monday, March 12th

Welcome to English Eight! Here are our plans for today:

• We'll go over the syllabus and classroom expectations and norms. 
• We'll set up our notebooks and folders for this quarter. 
• Then you'll take some notes on a key concept for our work together this quarter: concrete vs. abstract nouns as they contribute to metaphor. 
• Finally, you'll write a personal response to begin preparing for our course reading and discussion.