Pre-AP English 9
We had a guest speaker in second block today. Amber Barnes, Hillcrest's AP Language instructor, spoke to the students about both the rigor and the advantages of an AP course track. In fourth block, we continued our survey of poetry. (For a copy of the poetry PowerPoint, please refer to Monday's blog post.)
Homework: Students need to read chapters 5-9 of A Separate Peace by Tuesday, December 4th.
Also, students who are completing the extra credit assignment given with To Kill a Mockingbird must have the assignment completed by Monday, December 3rd. For a copy of the assignment, please refer to yesterday's blog post.
English 10
In today's class,we continued our discussion of the American Gothic, looking at examples of the Gothic's influences on modern media. For a copy of the Gothic Prezi presentation, please click here.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Thursday, November 29th
Pre-AP English 9
Today in class, we discussed intra-text punctuation, which includes hyphens, dashes, parentheses, and ellipses. Afterwards, we continued our brief survey of poetry.
Homework: Students need to read chapters 5-9 of A Separate Peace by Tuesday, December 3rd.
EXTRA CREDIT! For those students who attended the extra-credit movie sessions every day this week, here is the other extra credit assignment, worth a possible twenty points: Type a five-paragraph essay comparing and contrasting the cinematic and novel versions of To Kill a Mockingbird.
English 10
Today in class, we reviewed adverbs one more time, and then we discussed intra-text punctuation, which includes hyphens, dashes, parentheses, and ellipses. Afterwards, we began discussing the American Dark Romantic, or Gothic, genre of literature and poetry.
EXTRA CREDIT! For those students who attended the extra-credit movie sessions every day this week, here is the other extra credit assignment, worth a possible twenty points: Type a five-paragraph summary of the cinematic version of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Today in class, we discussed intra-text punctuation, which includes hyphens, dashes, parentheses, and ellipses. Afterwards, we continued our brief survey of poetry.
Homework: Students need to read chapters 5-9 of A Separate Peace by Tuesday, December 3rd.
EXTRA CREDIT! For those students who attended the extra-credit movie sessions every day this week, here is the other extra credit assignment, worth a possible twenty points: Type a five-paragraph essay comparing and contrasting the cinematic and novel versions of To Kill a Mockingbird.
English 10
Today in class, we reviewed adverbs one more time, and then we discussed intra-text punctuation, which includes hyphens, dashes, parentheses, and ellipses. Afterwards, we began discussing the American Dark Romantic, or Gothic, genre of literature and poetry.
EXTRA CREDIT! For those students who attended the extra-credit movie sessions every day this week, here is the other extra credit assignment, worth a possible twenty points: Type a five-paragraph summary of the cinematic version of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Wednesday, November 28th
Pre-AP English 9
Today in class, we reviewed apostrophe usage. Afterwards, we continued our study on poetry. To download a copy of the poetry PowerPoint, please refer to Monday's blog post.
Homework: Students need to read chapters 1-4 of A Separate Peace by tomorrow!
Also, if a student is planning on attending The Hobbit field trip, he or she MUST bring his or her money and field trip form by FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30th (this Friday). We must have 60 students sign up to be able to go on the trip, so please make sure to bring your money as soon as possible!
English 10
After reviewing apostrophes and adverbs, we finished our discussion of the major American Romantic authors and poets today, including Longfellow, Bryant, and Emerson.
For a copy of the American Romantic PowerPoint, please refer to Monday's blog post.
Today in class, we reviewed apostrophe usage. Afterwards, we continued our study on poetry. To download a copy of the poetry PowerPoint, please refer to Monday's blog post.
Homework: Students need to read chapters 1-4 of A Separate Peace by tomorrow!
Also, if a student is planning on attending The Hobbit field trip, he or she MUST bring his or her money and field trip form by FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30th (this Friday). We must have 60 students sign up to be able to go on the trip, so please make sure to bring your money as soon as possible!
English 10
After reviewing apostrophes and adverbs, we finished our discussion of the major American Romantic authors and poets today, including Longfellow, Bryant, and Emerson.
For a copy of the American Romantic PowerPoint, please refer to Monday's blog post.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Tuesday, November 27th
Pre-AP English 9
Today was a bit of a catch up / get ahead day in class. Students began reading A Separate Peace by John Knowles. Afterwards, we continued on with our poetry discussion.
Homework: Students need to read chapters 1-4 of A Separate Peace by Thursday, November 29th.
Also, students who would like to attend the field trip to see The Hobbit need to make sure to bring their forms and $15 to me by FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30th!!! If we don't have sixty students sign up, we cannot attend the trip. So please make sure to get those forms in!
English 10
After a parts of speech review, students learned the definition of the word "disillusioned" by listening to two popular songs, "Brown-Eyed Girl" and "In the Air Tonight," and learning the fabled meanings behind the songs. Afterwards, we continued our discussion of American Romantic literature.
Today was a bit of a catch up / get ahead day in class. Students began reading A Separate Peace by John Knowles. Afterwards, we continued on with our poetry discussion.
Homework: Students need to read chapters 1-4 of A Separate Peace by Thursday, November 29th.
Also, students who would like to attend the field trip to see The Hobbit need to make sure to bring their forms and $15 to me by FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30th!!! If we don't have sixty students sign up, we cannot attend the trip. So please make sure to get those forms in!
English 10
After a parts of speech review, students learned the definition of the word "disillusioned" by listening to two popular songs, "Brown-Eyed Girl" and "In the Air Tonight," and learning the fabled meanings behind the songs. Afterwards, we continued our discussion of American Romantic literature.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Monday, November 26th
Welcome back from the holiday break and to the last stretch of this very busy semester!
Pre-AP English 9
In today's class, we spent a great deal of time focusing on apostrophes and their uses. We especially focused on the over-arching rule of apostrophe, which is, "Apostrophes show contraction and possession, but not plurality." Parents, students should be able to explain this rule to you very easily. If not, then you know that they will need some extra help with apostrophes.
After studying this grammatical concept, we then began our survey of poetry. Specifically, we discussed poetry's definition and the sonnet form.
Homework: Students are to compose an original Shakespearean or Petrarchan sonnet that they will turn into class tomorrow. Students must give their work a TITLE and LABEL the sonnet at Shakespearean or Petrarchan.
Also, students need to MAKE SURE to bring their copies of A Separate Peace to class tomorrow!!
For a copy of the Poetry PowerPoint, please click here.
English 10
After studying apostrophes and their uses, students began to study the background of American Romanticism.
For a copy of the American Romanticism PowerPoint (provided courtesy of Leah Tollison) please click here.
Pre-AP English 9
In today's class, we spent a great deal of time focusing on apostrophes and their uses. We especially focused on the over-arching rule of apostrophe, which is, "Apostrophes show contraction and possession, but not plurality." Parents, students should be able to explain this rule to you very easily. If not, then you know that they will need some extra help with apostrophes.
After studying this grammatical concept, we then began our survey of poetry. Specifically, we discussed poetry's definition and the sonnet form.
Homework: Students are to compose an original Shakespearean or Petrarchan sonnet that they will turn into class tomorrow. Students must give their work a TITLE and LABEL the sonnet at Shakespearean or Petrarchan.
Also, students need to MAKE SURE to bring their copies of A Separate Peace to class tomorrow!!
For a copy of the Poetry PowerPoint, please click here.
English 10
After studying apostrophes and their uses, students began to study the background of American Romanticism.
For a copy of the American Romanticism PowerPoint (provided courtesy of Leah Tollison) please click here.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Tuesday, November 20th
I hope everyone has a very restful and appreciative Thanksgiving!
Pre-AP English 9
Students took their unit test on To Kill a Mockingbird in class today.
Homework: After the test, students received a packet of poetry that we will be using all of next week. They are to read through Tennyson's In Memoriam (pages 1-5 of the packet) and write a short paragraph (3-4 sentences) summarizing each of the poem's cantos. (There should be 10 paragraphs in all.) These paragraphs will be due on Monday, November 26th.
Also, students need to have their copies of A Separate Peace and Lord of the Flies by Monday, November 26th as well.
English 10
Students took a test today on the "Hypocrisy in Early American Literature."
Monday, November 19, 2012
Monday, November 19th
Pre-AP English 9
As we finish up our time in To Kill a Mockingbird, we are keeping a wary eye on the national consequences that the book had on America's populace. As a direct result of the book, many of our citizens' sentiments turned against the segregation that was occurring at the time, and the Civil Rights movement took hold of our country in earnest. That being the case, we spent time in class today annotating Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech" for his use of figurative language and rhetorical devices. We also spent a little bit of time discussing irregular verb forms.
Homework: Students need to finish To Kill a Mockingbird for their test tomorrow. The test will cover the following:
-- Words of the Day
-- Troublesome Verbs
-- Active/Passive Voice
-- Verb Mood
-- Irregular Verb forms
-- To Kill a Mockingbird
Also, students need to have their copies of A Separate Peace and The Lord of the Flies by Monday, November 26th.
English 10
After finishing Amazing Grace, we discussed irregular verb forms in class today, before listening to MLK Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech" and annotating it for allusions to the Declaration of Independence.
Homework: Students need to study for their test that will be given tomorrow. The test will cover the following:
-- Words of the Day
-- Troublesome Verbs
-- Active/Passive Voice
-- Verb Mood
-- Irregular Verb forms
-- Harriet Beecher Stowe
-- Uncle Tom's Cabin
-- "To His Excellency, George Washington"
As we finish up our time in To Kill a Mockingbird, we are keeping a wary eye on the national consequences that the book had on America's populace. As a direct result of the book, many of our citizens' sentiments turned against the segregation that was occurring at the time, and the Civil Rights movement took hold of our country in earnest. That being the case, we spent time in class today annotating Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech" for his use of figurative language and rhetorical devices. We also spent a little bit of time discussing irregular verb forms.
Homework: Students need to finish To Kill a Mockingbird for their test tomorrow. The test will cover the following:
-- Words of the Day
-- Troublesome Verbs
-- Active/Passive Voice
-- Verb Mood
-- Irregular Verb forms
-- To Kill a Mockingbird
Also, students need to have their copies of A Separate Peace and The Lord of the Flies by Monday, November 26th.
English 10
After finishing Amazing Grace, we discussed irregular verb forms in class today, before listening to MLK Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech" and annotating it for allusions to the Declaration of Independence.
Homework: Students need to study for their test that will be given tomorrow. The test will cover the following:
-- Words of the Day
-- Troublesome Verbs
-- Active/Passive Voice
-- Verb Mood
-- Irregular Verb forms
-- Harriet Beecher Stowe
-- Uncle Tom's Cabin
-- "To His Excellency, George Washington"
Friday, November 16, 2012
Friday, November 16th
Pre-AP English 9
After briefly reviewing the subjunctive mood (reference yesterday's blog post for online help with this subject), we finished our To Kill a Mockingbird debate today.
Homework: Students need to finish reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Tuesday, November 20th. They also need to have their copies of A Separate Peace and The Lord of the Flies by November 26th.
English 10
Today, we finished our conversation about slavery in early America by watching Amazing Grace, the story of the slave abolitionist movement in England.
After briefly reviewing the subjunctive mood (reference yesterday's blog post for online help with this subject), we finished our To Kill a Mockingbird debate today.
Homework: Students need to finish reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Tuesday, November 20th. They also need to have their copies of A Separate Peace and The Lord of the Flies by November 26th.
English 10
Today, we finished our conversation about slavery in early America by watching Amazing Grace, the story of the slave abolitionist movement in England.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thursday, November 15th
Pre-AP English 9
In today's class, we spent a majority of our time reviewing active and passive voice and learning about the different moods of verbs. We particularly focused on the subjunctive mood, and how that mood can change the form of the verb in the sentence. For extra review with the subjunctive mood, click here. For several examples of verbs in the subjunctive mood, click here.
Homework: Students need to finish reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Tuesday, November 20th. They also need to have obtained their copies of A Separate Peace and Lord of the Flies by November 26th.
English 10
In today's class, we spent a lot of time reviewing active and passive voice. We also heavily discussed the hypocrisy of slavery in early American life, and read samples from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.
In today's class, we spent a majority of our time reviewing active and passive voice and learning about the different moods of verbs. We particularly focused on the subjunctive mood, and how that mood can change the form of the verb in the sentence. For extra review with the subjunctive mood, click here. For several examples of verbs in the subjunctive mood, click here.
Homework: Students need to finish reading To Kill a Mockingbird by Tuesday, November 20th. They also need to have obtained their copies of A Separate Peace and Lord of the Flies by November 26th.
English 10
In today's class, we spent a lot of time reviewing active and passive voice. We also heavily discussed the hypocrisy of slavery in early American life, and read samples from Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Tuesday, November 13th
I hope everyone had a restful Veteran's Day weekend! Thanks to all of the men and women who have sacrificed life and family so that we can have the opportunity to live in a democratic nation!
Pre-AP English 9
Students took the first To Kill a Mockingbird test in class today.
Homework: Students need to finish To Kill a Mockingbird by Tuesday, November 20th!
English 10
Students took the "Revolutionary Literature Test" in class today.
Pre-AP English 9
Students took the first To Kill a Mockingbird test in class today.
Homework: Students need to finish To Kill a Mockingbird by Tuesday, November 20th!
English 10
Students took the "Revolutionary Literature Test" in class today.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Friday, November 9th
Pre-AP English 9
In our shortened classes today, we covered commonly confused irregular verbs, including lie/lay, sit/set, and rise/raise. We learned the differences between all of these words, as well as their conjugation into the past tense, past participial form, and present participial form. For a quick review on the uses of these words, please click here. We also continued chunking and analyzing the first chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Homework: Students need to have chapters 1-10 of To Kill a Mockingbird read by Tuesday, November 13th in preparation for their first TKaM test. The test will cover Words of the Day, modifiers, degrees of comparison, commonly confused verbs, the first ten chapters of TKaM, and chapters 14-20 of Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
English 10
In today's class, we focused on studying subject-verb agreement, as well as finishing our analysis of The Declaration of Independence.
Homework: Students need to study for the "Revolutionary Literature Test" that will be given on Tuesday, November 13th.
I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend!
In our shortened classes today, we covered commonly confused irregular verbs, including lie/lay, sit/set, and rise/raise. We learned the differences between all of these words, as well as their conjugation into the past tense, past participial form, and present participial form. For a quick review on the uses of these words, please click here. We also continued chunking and analyzing the first chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Homework: Students need to have chapters 1-10 of To Kill a Mockingbird read by Tuesday, November 13th in preparation for their first TKaM test. The test will cover Words of the Day, modifiers, degrees of comparison, commonly confused verbs, the first ten chapters of TKaM, and chapters 14-20 of Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
English 10
In today's class, we focused on studying subject-verb agreement, as well as finishing our analysis of The Declaration of Independence.
Homework: Students need to study for the "Revolutionary Literature Test" that will be given on Tuesday, November 13th.
I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Thursday, November 8th
Pre-AP
We discussed misplaced modifiers and dangling modifiers in class today. Students should have a copied sheet that enumerates the points of the lessons. Parents, please go over these with your student and ensure that he or she understands the material! After learning this grammatical concept, we then began annotating chapter one of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Homework: Students should finish reading Boy in the Striped Pajamas by tomorrow! Also, students need to read chapters 1-10 (pgs. 1-82) of To Kill a Mockingbird by Tuesday, November 13th.
English 10
We discussed misplaced modifiers and dangling modifiers in class today. Students should have a copied sheet that enumerates the points of the lessons. Parents, please go over these with your student and ensure that he or she understands the material! After learning this grammatical concept, we continued our analysis of the Declaration of Independence.
We discussed misplaced modifiers and dangling modifiers in class today. Students should have a copied sheet that enumerates the points of the lessons. Parents, please go over these with your student and ensure that he or she understands the material! After learning this grammatical concept, we then began annotating chapter one of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Homework: Students should finish reading Boy in the Striped Pajamas by tomorrow! Also, students need to read chapters 1-10 (pgs. 1-82) of To Kill a Mockingbird by Tuesday, November 13th.
English 10
We discussed misplaced modifiers and dangling modifiers in class today. Students should have a copied sheet that enumerates the points of the lessons. Parents, please go over these with your student and ensure that he or she understands the material! After learning this grammatical concept, we continued our analysis of the Declaration of Independence.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Wednesday, November 7th
Pre-AP English 9
After finishing the Hey, Boo! documentary, we discussed modifiers and degrees of comparison in class today. Students are bringing home a worksheet for practice with this concept, but if they need extra review on this grammatical concept, they can click here.
Homework: Students need to finish reading Boy in the Striped Pajamas by Friday, November 9th. Also, students need to read chapters 1-10 (pages 1-82 in the class text) of To Kill a Mockingbird by Tuesday, November 13th, which is the day that the first To Kill a Mockingbird test will be administered.
English 10
In class today, we reviewed modifier use and the different degrees of comparison. Then, we continued analyzing closely the Declaration of Independence.
After finishing the Hey, Boo! documentary, we discussed modifiers and degrees of comparison in class today. Students are bringing home a worksheet for practice with this concept, but if they need extra review on this grammatical concept, they can click here.
Homework: Students need to finish reading Boy in the Striped Pajamas by Friday, November 9th. Also, students need to read chapters 1-10 (pages 1-82 in the class text) of To Kill a Mockingbird by Tuesday, November 13th, which is the day that the first To Kill a Mockingbird test will be administered.
English 10
In class today, we reviewed modifier use and the different degrees of comparison. Then, we continued analyzing closely the Declaration of Independence.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Tuesday, November 6th
Pre-AP English 9
In class today, students watched the documentary entitled Hey, Boo! which gives a background for Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird. Students also answered several questions about Lee's life and the background for the book. Parents, please make sure that students have completed these questions as they will serve as their study guide for that portion of the next test.
Homework: Students need to finish reading Boy in the Striped Pajamas by Friday, November 9th.
English 10
In today's class, we discussed modifiers and how adverbs and adjectives can often be confused. Specifically, we focused on the differences between bad and badly, real and really, good and well, and slow and slowly. We also discussed the different degrees of comparison, which include the positive degree, comparative degree, and superlative degree. Finally, we finished out our time by beginning to analyze The Declaration of Independence.
Homework: Students should review their grammar notes from the day and make sure they understand the concepts of modifiers and comparative degrees. If a student needs further help on this subject, he or she should seek extra help outside of class.
In class today, students watched the documentary entitled Hey, Boo! which gives a background for Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird. Students also answered several questions about Lee's life and the background for the book. Parents, please make sure that students have completed these questions as they will serve as their study guide for that portion of the next test.
Homework: Students need to finish reading Boy in the Striped Pajamas by Friday, November 9th.
English 10
In today's class, we discussed modifiers and how adverbs and adjectives can often be confused. Specifically, we focused on the differences between bad and badly, real and really, good and well, and slow and slowly. We also discussed the different degrees of comparison, which include the positive degree, comparative degree, and superlative degree. Finally, we finished out our time by beginning to analyze The Declaration of Independence.
Homework: Students should review their grammar notes from the day and make sure they understand the concepts of modifiers and comparative degrees. If a student needs further help on this subject, he or she should seek extra help outside of class.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Monday, November 5th
Pre-AP English 9
2nd- In today's class, students took the third reading quiz for Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Afterwards, students finished presenting their research findings from their research papers.
4th- In today's class, students took part in a debate on several of the themes that are present in To Kill a Mockingbird after taking the BSP reading quiz. We also went over the analysis questions that the students completed Tuesday and Wednesday of last week.
Homework: Students need to read the rest of Boy in the Striped Pajamas (chapters 14-20) by Friday, November 9th.
English 10
After discussing adequate summaries, students finished analyzing Patrick Henry's "Second Speech to the Virginia Convention."
Homework: Students need to begin reading The Declaration of Independence and making their way through the reading guide for the Declaration.
2nd- In today's class, students took the third reading quiz for Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Afterwards, students finished presenting their research findings from their research papers.
4th- In today's class, students took part in a debate on several of the themes that are present in To Kill a Mockingbird after taking the BSP reading quiz. We also went over the analysis questions that the students completed Tuesday and Wednesday of last week.
Homework: Students need to read the rest of Boy in the Striped Pajamas (chapters 14-20) by Friday, November 9th.
English 10
After discussing adequate summaries, students finished analyzing Patrick Henry's "Second Speech to the Virginia Convention."
Homework: Students need to begin reading The Declaration of Independence and making their way through the reading guide for the Declaration.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Friday, November 2nd
Pre-AP English 9
In today's class, students continued to present their research findings from their research paper.
Homework: Students need to finish reading chapters 10-13 of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by Monday, November 5th.
English 10
In today's class, we discussed commonly confused words, and then we began analyzing Patrick Henry's "Speech to the Second Virginia Convention."
Homework: Students need to finish their "Virtue Journals" and turn them in on Monday.
In today's class, students continued to present their research findings from their research paper.
Homework: Students need to finish reading chapters 10-13 of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by Monday, November 5th.
English 10
In today's class, we discussed commonly confused words, and then we began analyzing Patrick Henry's "Speech to the Second Virginia Convention."
Homework: Students need to finish their "Virtue Journals" and turn them in on Monday.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Thursday, November 1st
Sorry for the lack of posting this week. I have been out of school on school-related activities. I'm glad to be back though!
Pre-AP English 9
Students have been working on research papers this week, and they will begin presenting their findings to the class today.
Homework: Students who do not present their findings today need to make sure that they are ready to present tomorrow. Also, students need to read chapters 10-13 of Boy in the Striped Pajamas by Monday, November 5th.
English 10
Today, students finished activities that they started in class yesterday, including writing a biography of Patrick Henry.
Pre-AP English 9
Students have been working on research papers this week, and they will begin presenting their findings to the class today.
Homework: Students who do not present their findings today need to make sure that they are ready to present tomorrow. Also, students need to read chapters 10-13 of Boy in the Striped Pajamas by Monday, November 5th.
English 10
Today, students finished activities that they started in class yesterday, including writing a biography of Patrick Henry.
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