For Wednesday, March 1, 2017

English 12
Lottery: find examples of irony in the story. Find quotes that go with your examples. We will be working on outlines tomorrow in class.

English 8
Speed book dating will be next Tuesday. Tomorrow we will continue our group work. Good working as a group today. I am looking forward to presentations tomorrow

Creative Writing
Highlight the details of dialogue tags for tomorrow. The sheet was handed out in class today.

For Monday, February 27, 2017

English 8
Today our essential question was:
What is friendship. We divided ourselves into groups and most of you have taken on 2 questions to bring back to the class for Monday. If you were away, choose any 2. Remember the answers to the questions are not right or wrong. You are discussing these questions in your groups to understand what you think. Remember that today we talked about virtues: loyalty, honesty, trust etc....these were all qualities that you value in your friends.

Guiding Questions:

1. What does it mean to be a good friend? 

2. Who is a true friend and how do you know? 

3. What kind of friend am I?

4. Is loneliness dangerous to human beings

5. Compare and contrast different levels of friendship

6. Explain specifically how our actions can hurt a friend.

7. For what reasons are we able to hurt a good friend?

8. Why is a best friend hard to find?

Creative Writing

Our description pieces are due for Monday. Please type them and bring your drafts with you. We will reflect on our progress on Monday in class. Look at books or stories and find a piece that uses dialogue well.

English 12

Write the definitions for the following words and use them in a sentence that shows the meaning of the word:

profusely, boisterous, reprimand, reluctantly, jovial, paraphernalia, perfunctory, lapse, interminably, gravely, petulantly, defiantly

If you can easily define the word, just use it in a sentence.

For Friday, February 24, 2017

English 8
Today we made a list of our friends. We chose 3 friends and then listed the qualities that we admired most in them. Bring that back for tomorrow.

Remember to finish your graphic stories. Today's stories were amazing!

English 12
Consider our questions for discussion for tomorrow. Note down your thoughts.

·         If the majority of the people are doing something, does it make it right?

·         Can good people do evil things?

·         What keeps a society or community together?

·         What purpose do rituals and traditions serve in a society?

·         Why do people sometimes engage in pointless violence and inhumanity?

Creative Writing 

Bring your draft to share tomorrow. Good copies for Monday. 

Zack is bringing a snack. Sammi is going to try to bring "Rent" 

Over the weekend, look for stories that use dialogue well.

For Feb 22

Wear pink for Anti-bullying day.

English 8
We will work on our graphic story in class tomorrow. If you need to do work at home, feel free.
Due on Thursday. You will sharing your endings.

English 12
Write a persuasive paragraph for question 5 on p. 66 in your book. It will be collected on Wed. in class.

Creative Writing
Bring silent reading book for tomorrow.
Work on description for sharing tomorrow.

For Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Happy Monday!

English 8
Silent reading tomorrow. Bring your book.
Sketch/draft  the next squares of the story: "John Joseph". It is up to you to show what happens next.
Be creative, but don't make your ending unbelievable.

English 12
Question 4: p. 66 in your reading book. Make sure to do this question, please.

Creative Writing
Bring silent reading book for tomorrow. Snacks on Friday: Zack :)
Work on your draft for tomorrow. We will be sharing in class/Small groups or pairs.
If you have writer's block....read some suggestions. www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/writersblock

For Monday

Have a great long weekend. Hopefully there is some sunshine in your weekend.

English 8
Write a reflection (1 paragraph). Write down what you learned about plot structure. Also note what you learned or noticed about working with others. What makes working together successful?

Creative Writing
First Draft of your descriptive writing piece for Monday. I will have a rubric ready for you to use as a guide. Try to keep in mind your intention for writing.
Your writing today was breathtaking. Thank you so much for sharing it!

English 12
Good copy of your Just Lather Poem. Poem should be typed, there should be an image on the page that relates to the theme of your poem. Please attach your draft and your rubric. You can pick up a paper clip at the beginning of class. Be prepared to share with a small group.

Read: The Nearest Exit is Behind You. p. 60 Do page 66: questions 1-3

For Thursday, February 16, 2017

English 8
Read:p. 8-13 in your I wonder book for tomorrow. Think about the plot outline of the story.

English 12
First draft of your Found poem for tomorrow. We will be sharing in class and then making revisions for your good copy that will be due on Monday. Just a heads up:
Draft
Good copy typed
Rubric with goal for revision
All need to be ready to hand in on Monday.

Creative Writing
Come tomorrow with your intentions for writing your description piece. Remember that you need to think about what we did today in class, what we noticed about good writing based on our reading and what our goal is for writing the piece. What do we want readers to take away?

For Wednesday

Hope you all have a fine Valentine's Day!

English 8
Finish the worksheet on Conflict in stories. Give examples of movies, stories, or novels that show the different types of conflict:
Character vs. Character
Character vs Self
Character vs. Nature
Character vs. Society


English 12
Look for 5 lines related to your thematic idea. If you have a laptop, bring it to school to help with the poem creation.

Creative Writing
Bring 2 pictures....one of anything....one of a place that is important to you.

For Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Have fun this family day weekend. It is important to celebrate your special people.

English 12
Just Lather Socratic Seminar....we will begin practice on Tuesday.
Prepare your answer to the question: Did the barber make the right decision?
Use examples from the text to support your answer and then research other possible connections. How might your answer apply in real life situations? Can you give an example...

Creative Writing
Follow the sheet for practice writing and describing place. If you were away,Go to this link
and follow the directions

English 8
Good copy of your "I am from" poem. Use the rubric to guide you. Display your poem by using pictures or other ideas to present your poem in a unique way. We will display your poem in the class. Bring your reading book to class on Tuesday.

For Thursday

Be careful in the snow.

English 8
First draft of "I am from" poem for tomorrow. We will edit in class. Use the rubric to help you with expectations.
Good copy will be due on Monday.

English 12
Read: Just Lather and nothing else. You can find it online.
List reasons for killing the Captain and for not killing Captain. Find quotes to support your ideas.

Creative Writing
Good copy of your poem. Typed.

For Monday, February 6, 2017

I hope you all are enjoying the snow today. It was great meeting you this week. Here are the assignments for the weekend.

English 12
Finish the worksheet about moral decisions. Write a brief reflection of your thought process. Try to look any connections that might exist between your thinking and the thinking of the students in the Ted talk.

English 8
Part A of the worksheet on similes and metaphors.
Finish your portfolios for Monday

Creative Writing
Have the draft version of your first writing piece ready to share on Monday. We will be reading aloud in class.