Our English Class

English with Mr. Scott
Daily UpdatesLesson Plans

Every student can learn, just not on the same day, or the same way.

George Evans

Recent Events in the Classroom

Completing the Scene and First Lit Circle

English 8 students finished up act 1 scene 1 of The Diary of Anne Frank, noting in particular the creation of a flashback with Mr. Frank's reading of the diary that morphs into Anne reading the...
Research and Last Soliloquy

Research and Last Soliloquy

English 8 students continued working on their research for the argumentative essay we will be writing next week. Students should be finishing the research tomorrow. The next TDA will take place on Thursday, so we will have a shortened lesson then. We won't begin...

Subtext and Research

Subtext and Research

English I students worked on determining the subtext of certain passages in scenes one and two from act four of Romeo and Juliet. The occurrence of subtextual elements will increase as the play continues. English 8 students had day two of their research for their...

Timeline and Assessment

Timeline and Assessment

English I students read 3.4, where we make a couple of discoveries: Juliet has to marry by Thursday. It's late Monday evening. Things have gotten From this information, we were able to create a timeline, which surprised students. Yes, only approximately 36 hours have...

Let the world burn through you. Throw the prism light, white hot, on paper.

Ray Bradbury

Experience

Years

Students

Class Periods

Resources

Article of the Week

The Article of the Week (AOW) is a year-long, on-going project patterned after Kelly Gallagher’s “Article of the Week” curriculum. It provides students with weekly critical reading, analytic, and critical thinking practice.

Lesson Plans

Benjamin Franklin famously said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” While planning is important in all jobs, it is essential in teaching. All lesson plans are available for interested parties.

Class Notes

Here you’ll find almost all the materials used in class, including handouts, class notes, screeen-casts, and more. Students who have lost materials provided in class should find this particularly useful.

A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies … The man who never reads lives only one.

George R.R. Martin

Need to Contact Mr. Scott?

The best way to contact Mr. Scott is through email as he usually responds within twenty-four hours. Additionally, one could call directly at 864-355-6251. (Bear in mind this number goes directly to the answering service during school hours.)

About Mr. Scott

Mr. Scott and his children on Babia Gora in July 2022

One of three eighth-grade English Language Arts teachers at Hughes Academy, Mr. Scott has over twenty years’ experience in the classroom, including experience teaching English as a Foreign Language and working with at-risk youth.

Much of Mr. Scott’s teaching experience is international. For seven years, he taught English in Lipnica Wielka, a small village in the south of Poland. It was a constant challenge, but immensely rewarding…

 

The Sound of Music

One of Mr. Scott’s favorite things in the world is music. For the 2023-24 school year, he is making a playlist of some of his favorite music. The challenge: one new song every school day without repeating artists once.

Update: Already behind but still working on it…

Sharing a song does not equate to endorsing the musicians, other compositions they’ve created, composers, or anyone else connected to the music.

Working to improve students’ reading, writing, and critical thinking skills.

From Former Students

Every year, students write letters to next year’s class. Here are a few of the kind words they have said about Mr. Scott and his class.

K. G. (Class of 2023)

[T]hroughout the beginning this class may seem like it is never going to end but as you get through the year you will notice that each unit feels shorter and shorter. It may even seem as if it is getting easier, but it is all just a sign of how much you have grown within the year.

M. H. (Class of 2023)

This class will greatly prepare you for English 2, however, it will be a tough year and there may be some tears.

S. L. (Class of 2023)

This class has many qualities such as hilarious, complex, and depressing, but it’s definitely one you will never forget in comparison to any other English classes you have ever and will ever take.

M. S. (Class of 2023)

Welcome to Mr. Scott’s class. The place where I shed many tears, stressed so much I almost went bald, and learned more than I could have ever imagined. This class will most likely be one of the hardest you ever take. So now, go ahead and prepare yourself for some of the hardest and most work you will ever receive from any teacher. Go ahead and prepare yourself for countless late nights, wasted boxes of tissues and piles of papers. Finally, go ahead and prepare yourself for the longest year of your life.

P. C. (Class of 2023)

This class is both one of the most stressful, and beneficial that you have taken, or will take for the rest of your time at Hughes. In English 1 Honors, you might face difficulties like being organized, staying focused, or keeping up with the writing assignments and projects.

S. B. (Class of 2023)

Mr.Scott may come across as a harsh grader however he is preparing you. Next year when you walk into English 2 honors it will be a breeze.

N. M. (Class of 2023)

Overall, Mr. Scott is not a mean teacher, but his class is one of the worst things you’ll experience this year.

Y. B. (Class of 2023)

Mr. Scott may seem like an innocent, and nice English teacher, but he will always make sure that his students are having a terrible time. […] Mr.Scott’s class is just pure evil.

I. S. (Class of 2023)

If you are thinking that this year will be easy-going because it is your last year here, you are gravely mistaken and this class is the reason why. This class will be the hardest class you have ever taken, and there will be many times when you wish that you would have been in the other class. […] This class will be extremely difficult, but the result will be worth all of the hard work.

L. L. (Class of 2023)

Welcome to one of the hardest classes you have taken in middle school. You might be thinking that this class will be a breeze like English classes in the previous years, but Mr. Scott’s class is no joke. […] He will push you to your absolute max, and him doing this can cause a lot of stress, confusion, frustration, and maybe some crying. Aside from this, his class will definitely construct you into a better student, writer, worker, and reader.

R. G. (Class of 2023)

Mr. Scott’s class is definitely a difficult class, but afterwards you will find yourself writing much better paragraphs and noticing things in passages that you never would have seen before.

S. S. (Class of 2023)

This class will challenge you to think outside of the box and may stress you out sometimes. But ultimately if you pace yourself, pay attention, and ask questions you will end the school year with good grades and new amazing knowledge.

To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.

Victor Hugo

Blog

Warszawa Centralna

Looking at some old pictures, I found a shot of Warszawa Centralna train station from about 2002. It was an exterior night shot, and there was little indication of what the station looked like inside. What it looks like now is vaguely similar, but there have been so...
Dworzec

Dworzec

I gave my students an article of the week about the Kaliningrad House of the Soviets, an administrative building constructed during the Soviet era but never occupied because of structural issues. The structure was redolent of all the communist-era buildings I'd grown...

Easter Afternoon, 2003

Easter Afternoon, 2003

My mother-in-law, her mother-in-law (my father's-in-law mother, i.e., my wife's grandmother), and my wife's cousin were having cakes and juice on the afternoon of Easter Sunday in 2003. It was a brilliantly and unseasonably warm day, and everyone was outside. It's the...

There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.

Maya Angelou

Subscribe to the Daily Update

Students, interested in getting daily updates about your homework? Parents, interested in keeping track of what's going on in Mr. Scott's class? Subscribe today!

You have Successfully Subscribed!