Preparation, Completion, and Subtexts

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First and sixth periods worked on their Anne Frank projects. This involved close-reading the text to determine necessary props, movements, body language, tone, and all the other myriad elements that make up a successful performance.

Planning for the Anne Frank Project

Second and sixth periods spent another day working on inferring subtexts from a given text — critical for act four of Romeo and Juliet.

Seventh period completed Hatchet. We’ll soon be moving to research based on the book.

Homework
  • First, sixth, and seventh periods: none.
  • Second and fourth periods:
    • read Romeo and Juliet 4.1 and 4.2;
    • for each scene, write a paragraph based on the following guidelines:
      • For 4.1: Select Paris, the Friar, or Juliet, and write a paragraph describing what the character’s subtext is for this meeting.
      • For 4.2: Select Juliet or her father and write a paragraph describing what you think the character’s subtext is for this meeting.

Planning

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First and sixth periods began the first of two and a half days of planning and preparing for their Anne Frank acting project.

Second and fourth periods took the act three quiz. We began looking afterward at Shakespeare’s use of sub-textual elements in Romeo and Juliet.

Seventh period had something of a catch-up day with Hatchet.

Homework
  • First and sixth periods: none.
  • Second and fourth periods: turn in “Decoration Day” work by midnight.
  • Seventh period:
    • complete Hatchet through chapter 19;
    • complete questions through chapter 18.

PASS Practice and Friday Wrap-ups

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First and sixth periods went over the PASS writing exam. It’s in a few weeks, and we’ll be dedicating every Friday to PASS preparation. Second and fourth continued with Romeo and Juliet, and seventh period took a quiz on Hatchet vocabulary and continued with the book.

Homework
  • First, second, fourth, and sixth periods: you have major work due Monday (either the ballad essay or the “Decoration Day” portion of the Romeo and Juliet project).
  • Seventh period: none.

Beginning Drama, Finishing Up Act 3, and Figurative Language

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First and sixth periods began (some students might add “finally” to that) acting out The Diary of Anne Frank. We went over the first scene in class, looking at all the little things that students will have to incorporate into their own performances, which we will begin preparing for next week.

Second and fourth periods finished act three today. We also worked in groups to determine which quotes might appear on the act three quiz (Monday and/or Tuesday).

Seventh period students continued with Hatchet, looking at Paulsen’s use of figurative language in the book.

Homework
  • First and sixth periods: final draft of ballad essay due Monday 6 February.
  • Second and fourth periods:
  • Seventh period:
    • read chapter 17 from Hatchet;
    • look for clues to help us decide which event from chapter 16 was more important, the moose attack or the tornado.

The Secret Annex, Performances, Think Alouds

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First and sixth periods went over homework before taking a look at the portion of the diary in which Anne describes the Secret Annex. We used a virtual tour available at annefrank.org to see what the Annex looked like in photographs.

Second and fourth periods presented their cut versions of 3.2-3.5. Much of the play was left intact, but a couple of groups cut some critical portions that we went over quickly as a class.

Seventh period worked on Hatchet, using their Effective Readers’ Skills to work a Think Aloud with a partner.

Homework
  • First and sixth periods: final draft of ballad essay is due Monday.
  • Second and fourth periods:
    • draft of “Decoration Day” song due Monday;
    • act three quiz on Monday or Tuesday (depending on class).
  • Seventh period: complete chapter 16 in Hatchet.

German Antisemitism, Redaction Work, and Problem Solving

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First and sixth periods looked at an article about rising antisemitism in Germany to explore non-textual elements of online sources and practice effective readers’ skills again. I actually provided an altered version of the article (available here) that incorporated a review of the skills we used yesterday.

Second and fourth periods worked on redacting their selected scenes from Romeo and Juliet. “Mr. Scott, this is hard!” was the common refrain, to which I replied, “Well good — I don’t want anything in here to be easy because you wouldn’t improve!”

Seventh period looked at the steps of solving a problem and looked at how Brian, the protagonist of Hatchet, applied the steps.

Homework
  • First and sixth period: complete the BBC article’s effective readers’ skills questions (11-19).
  • Second and fourth periods:
    • quiz on act three is Monday — study;
    • first song draft is due Monday.
  • Seventh period:
    • choose one of the problems Brian solved (from the chart in class today);
    • analyze how Brian employed the problem solving steps we practiced in class today.

Hiding, Act 3 Blitz, and Think Alouds

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First and sixth continued with the Think Aloud from Friday. We’ll begin the play tomorrow.

Second and fourth began a redaction project, working to reduce 3.2-3.5 into a one-period production, with groups taking individual scenes and determining what can be safely cut. It’s an extreme reading comprehension check: students really have to read closely and discuss each line in the scene to determine what’s truly necessary.

Seventh period finished up the Think Aloud from Friday as well. We’re nearing the end of Hatchet and will soon begin a research project based on the material from the book.

Homework
  • First and sixth periods:
    • read pages 16-19 in Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl;
    • using “Effective Reader’s Skills,” make four entries (with your starters), with each having the following information:
      • an identifiable fragment of the sentence you read which sparked the thought;
      • your thoughts;
      • a statement identifying the skill you used for that thought.
  • Second and fourth periods:
    • work to cut as much as possible from your scene (to share tomorrow);
    • prepare first draft of first song for R&J project (turn in here Monday);
    • read 3.2-3.5 on your own (by quiz Monday).
  • Seventh period:
    • complete chapter 15;
    • begin studying for quiz on vocabulary for chapters 10-16, which will be Friday.

Think Alouds and a Quiz

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First, sixth, and seventh periods all worked with a reading strategy called the Think Aloud. First period completed the teacher modelling and whole-class work but didn’t have time to transition to the pair work; sixth period completed the teacher modelling and whole-class work, and they had time to practice in pairs. Seventh period only completed the teacher modelling.

Second and sixth periods took a quiz on act two and watched a performance of 3.1 from Romeo and Juliet.

Homework

None.

Holocause Discussion, Planning, and Reading

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First and sixth periods finished up the intro to Anne Frank, working in groups of four to have a discussion based on the “Written Conversation” best practice. We’ll begin the diary proper tomorrow.

First period working on "Written Discussion."

Second and fourth periods used the Schaffer model to help organize the first part of their Romeo and Juliet soundtrack project.

Second period planning Romeo and Juliet project.

Seventh period completed chapter thirteen of Hatchet, using the “Say Something” engagement.

Homework
  • First and sixth periods: none.
  • Second and fourth periods:
    • study for act two quiz (tomorrow);
    • continue working on soundtrack project.
  • Seventh period:
    • complete chapters 13 and 14;
    • write on reader’s journal entry for chapter 13 and two for chapter 14.

Final Research, Project Start, and Brian’s Change

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First and sixth periods (see below) had a final bit of research time for the Holocaust. We’ll go over what we learned tomorrow, then begin the diary Friday.

First Period at Work

Students from Sixth Period Researching

More images in the gallery.

Second and sixth periods began working on the Romeo and Juliet soundtrack project, looking at a song as a class and determining how it could be connected to the play.

Seventh period looked at the question of how Brian has changed in the novel Hatchet. We used the “Written Discussion” engagement to have a very effective class discussion.

Homework
  • First and sixth periods: none.
  • Second and fourth periods: make sure you’ve selected both your difficult and easy soundtrack song within the next couple of days.
  • Seventh period: none.