All classes took something of a break today. I read some Poe to everyone (most classes heard “The Tell-Tale Heart”) to get students in the Halloween mood.
I also showed some slides from Poland during All Saints’ Day. I’ll be posting something here about it shortly.
Homework
None

Fourth and sixth periods looked at a scene from The Diary of Anne Frank that shows how Peter and Anne’s relationship is changing, and then began working on a similar entry for their diary project. As students worked, I conferenced with individual students regarding various elements of the new PASS rubric.
Second period examined ballads. We [...]

First period finished The Diary of Anne Frank. We took a moment to look at a scene from the Disney adaptation: the arrest of the Franks. The students were literally breathless as the SS officers stormed into the building.
Fourth and sixth periods took a quiz on the final scene of Act I, then worked on [...]

Second period finished up their in-class preparation time for their student-teaching projects. The first group, covering meter and rhyme, will be launching their project tomorrow.
First, fourth, and sixth periods focused on improving their “We Are Anne” diary projects by focusing on the use of good adjectives to add sensory detail.
Homework

Second period: work on discussion forum [...]

First period looked at the question of internal and external motivation as Peter and Anne grow closer in The Diary of Anne Frank.
Fourth, and sixth periods, with the completion of their homework, will have finished the first act of The Diary of Anne Frank tomorrow. We’ll be having a quiz on the final scene of [...]

First, fourth, and sixth periods worked on revising some of their diary entries for:

clarity of content;
descriptive details; and
sentence variety.

Students looked at each other’s work to find elements that could be improved, then worked in pairs to improve them.
Second period continued working on their poetry projects. They’ve got quite a bit to get finished, so we’ll [...]

First, fourth, and sixth periods began the day with free writing on the following prompt:
Would you leave this country, never to return again, for $1 million? If not, why not? Is there some sum of money that would convince you? If so, where would you go?
In an effort to improve writing, I need to be [...]

Since I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not stressing writing enough, I’m in the process of re-planning some lessons. As such, first, fourth, and sixth periods worked revision strategies today, using the history of Anne Frank as a thematic base. We looked at three ways of revising:

For clarity of meaning
For descriptive details
For sentence variety.

We [...]

First period continued with Anne Frank, completing the first scene of the second act. Things are heating up for the Franks, the Van Daans, and Dussel. We’ll be finishing up the play early next week and then working on a compare/contrast essay.
Second period continued researching for their own compare/contrast essay. Today was the last day [...]

First period began a small project on the effect of point of view. Working in pairs, students took an episode from The Diary of Anne Frankthat affects all characters and looked at it from a different point of view. We did this in two ways: first, students wrote diary entries from another character’s point of [...]

He was a kind young man who, with the help of his parents, had his own general store at the age of twenty-five. He spoke slowly and laughed easily. I often leaned against the counter in his store, sipping a Coke and chatting about nothing in particular.
Shop Keeper, Lipnica Wielka, Poland

Obviously, no updates today. I leave you with a picture from my seven years in Poland:
Lipnica Wielka, Poland, October 31, 2001

We did a little housekeeping in all classes. It being the end of the quarter, it was time to do another self-evaluation for participation, using this rubric. Additionally, students evaluated their starters, this time using this rubric.
Homework

First period:

3 diary entries
questions on page 832
cause/effect graphic organizer for question on page 830

Second period: participation self-evaluation (online)
Fourth period:

second [...]

Most students from second period were taking the PSAT.
First period read/performed Act 1 Scene 4.
Fourth period finished the play through Act 1 Scene 2. We also began working on the cause and effect graphic organizer.
You can download the organizer here:

jpg image
Microsoft Publisher file

Sixth period took a little longer with the graphic organizer, so we’re going [...]