First and fourth periods returned to Lord of the Flies and the question of what an allegory is. We accomplished this by continuing our examination of Plato's "Allegory of the Cave." After marking...
Archive
What our classroom did in previous days, weeks, months, even years…
SCPASS Writing 2014, Day One
Today we began the 2014 SCPASS test, with the extended response portion of the writing test. The topic was ... confidential, as it still is. Too bad: it would have been fun to talk to the kids about...
Last SCPASS Prep 2014
All classes used the state-provided sample questions one last time for one last day of SCPASS preparation. Tomorrow's the big day!
Nearing PASS Practice Conclusion
All periods continued working on the final PASS practice test. First and fourth periods had the following topic: Walt Disney once said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” Write about a time when...
More PASS Practice
All periods worked on strategies for making a better score on the PASS Writing assessment that all eighth grade students will take next week. We reviewed all strategies we worked on this week, and...
Allegories
First and fourth periods began studying allegories today, as part of our study on Lord of the Flies. We first learned what an allegory is, and then looked at an allegory, "The Allegory of the Cave."...
The Plan Revised and Practicing Steps Two and Three
First and fourth periods, having gone quickly yesterday over introductions, took the time today to look at the five steps they'll be taking during next Tuesday's PASS writing test: Narrow topic to...
Introduction: The Funnel
First and fourth periods worked on introduction paragraphs using the funnel metaphor, and then after practicing, broke into groups to attempt to write their own paragraph with a partner. The idea is...
Phrases and More Close Reading
In second and seventh periods, we continued our multi-day close-reading work with a text on empathy. We'll be putting it all on pause for a while next week, though, as we have our final PASS...
Text Marking and Project Work
Second and seventh periods did some heavy lifting today, working with extensive close reading and text marking for Flowers for Algernon. We first worked to mark the text for unknown words and...
MAP Spring 2014
All classes took the Measures of Academic Progress test today. I'll be publishing some general results as soon as all students compete the test. All homework today is the same as it was yesterday.
MAP Prep and Hero Mapping
First and fourth periods worked on a mini-project to conclude the Odyssey. We're applying Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces to various films that have the hero/journey motif. Second and...
