Everyone was thankful it’s Friday — including me.
Homework

First and seventh periods: complete ballad.
Second period period:

complete ballad;
complete month poem.

Fourth period:

finish To Kill a Mockingbird;
evaluate poetry project according to the rubric.

First, second, and seventh periods are still working on ballads. They’re finding it more challenging than they initially assumed: the rigors of structured poetry, with a set meter and rhyme scheme, can be daunting at first.
Fourth period went over the missionary circle chapter in To Kill a Mockingbird. We ended with one of my favorite [...]

First, second, and fourth periods began class by looking at the poetry project rubric. Afterward, we spent the period working on their ballads. With its strict structural demands, the ballad more of a challenge than they thought.
Additionally, second period is working to make sure their ballads have a proper metrical pattern. While we’re not using [...]

First, second, and seventh periods finished up the question of what a ballad is. We looked at a second ballad — “The Ballad of Birmingham” — and used with “Boots of Spanish Leather” to create a master list of ballad attributes. The fifth required poem in our poetry unit is a ballad. We began working [...]

First, second, and seventh began by adding a poem to the portfolio we’re creating. It was an effort to help the students understand a simple process of creating poems that involves brainstorming, organizing, and modifying to create sentences that can be shaped into a poem.
Afterward, the classes returned to the Bob Dylan ballad “Boots of [...]

First, second, and seventh periods began exploring ballads. We used Dylan’s “Boots of Spanish Leather” as a model ballad. Tomorrow, we’ll be finishing up with the attributes of a ballad.
Fourth period spent some time with an extended starter/bell-ringer that dealt with the use of quotation marks. We determined that more practice is definitely in order, [...]

First and seventh periods had an essay test on The Diary of Anne Frank. The question was assigned Friday:
Write a letter to a theater manager asking him or her to stage The Diary of Anne Frank for your community. To persuade the theater manager, follow these steps:

Connect the events in the play to current events [...]

First period finished up “Runagate Runagate”, looking at one passage in particular.
Moon so bright and no place to hide,
the cry up and the patterollers riding,
hound dogs belling in bladed air.
And fear starts a-murbling, Never make it,
we’ll never make it. Hush that now,
and she’s turned upon us, levelled pistol
glinting in the moonlight:
Dead folks can’t jaybird-talk, she [...]

Second period began Romeo and Juliet. We made it through the brawl scene that introduces the first conflict in the play. It’s already clear that this will take a bit longer than I thought, due to the challenging language of the play.
First, fourth, and sixth periods continued working on ballads. We finished “Boots of Spanish [...]

Christmas break is over. Everyone seemed anxious to get back to learning. No — really. No joke.
First, fourth, and sixth periods began a two-day lesson on ballads. Today we began by looking at Bob Dylan’s “Boots of Spanish Leather” and using it to determine the elements of a ballad. Tomorrow we’ll be continuing with “Boots” [...]

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 [...]