English I and English 8 students went over the coming TDA, planning a bit how to attack Thursday's prompt. We, of course, did not go over the actual prompt but discussed how to attack a prompt in...
Archive
What our classroom did in previous days, weeks, months, even years…
Compare and Heroes
English 8 students continued working on text structures focusing today on the compare/contrast structure. We'll be finishing up the short unit this week. English 8 students began working on their...
Library, Sequence, and Phrase Prep
All classes went to the library today for the second half of the Junior Book Awards presentations (or the first half, in the case of English I). English I students, after their library visit, took a...
Wrapped and Text Structures
English I students finished with The Police song "Wrapped Around Your Finger" as we covered allusions and introduced motifs. And that song is an excellent exemplar of them all. This quarter's major...
First Assessment and a Reward
English 8 students worked on their first assessment for the text structure lesson we've been working on. The results were fantastic -- a good start to the new unit. English I students were a little...
Unit Beginnings and Homeric Similies
English I students worked on Homeric similes, looking at two examples to determine how these odd similes are created. English 8 students began the new unit (a very short unit) on text structures. We...
Test and Short Project
English 8 students completed their Flowers for Algernon unit with a short test. We'll begin a new short unit on text structures tomorrow. English I students worked on their article of the week...
Socratic Seminar and Final Source
English 8 students had a Socratic seminar today about Flowers for Algernon and some moral implications from the story. We discussed two things: Should Charlie have gone through with the operation?...
Algernon Text Evidence and Calypso in Art
English I students worked on an examination of how various artists throughout history have represented the story of Calypso in the Odyssey. We began by examining the etymology of the word and came...
Algernon and the Opening
English I students went over the opening of the Odyssey, examining the things that make the piece a challenging passage to read. We finished up the prologue and will move to the first part tomorrow....
Infinitives, Epic, and the Diner Incident
English I students worked on the start of the new unit covering briefly the elements of an epic and what an epic simile looks like (very briefly). We then turned to infinitive phrases in order to...
Gerunds and Final Writing
English I students completed work on gerund phrases in today's short post-test session. English 8 students had a final day to work on their final Schaffer paragraph about Flowers for Algernon.