Tag Archives: grammar

Spring 2012 Book Fair and Various Work

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All classes attended the book fair. Pictures are available here.

First and sixth periods created a rubric for the quick two-day political cartoon project we’ll be working on during the next two days.

Second and fourth periods, after having internet problems, switched from the planned start of the Great Expectations unit and did some more work with clauses and sentence types.

Seventh period went over clustering in preparation for a small writing project based on what we just read.

Homework
  • First and sixth periods: find and print appropriate political cartoon for project. (You must have a good understanding of the cartoon, or at the very least, you must know what current event the cartoon is editorializing. This might require some research.
  • Second and fourth periods: complete final writing for Lord of the Flies.
  • Seventh period: none.

Political Cartoons, Grammar, and Moving

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First and sixth periods started a short unit on reading a political cartoon. We looked at several today and discussed the main strategies cartoonists use in creating such cartoons.

Second and fourth periods continued working on sentence types.

Seventh period, due to the activity next door installing a new Promethean board and the activity soon to be in our room, helped me rearrange the room in preparation for the installation of a Promethean board in my room: there was little point trying to do anything else with all the wonderfully productive noise and activity.

Homework
  • First and sixth periods: find a political cartoon that you understand by Monday.
  • Second and fourth periods: read chapters 11 and 12 from Lord of the Flies by Monday.

A Test, More Clauses, and Additional Summary Practice

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First and sixth periods had their tests on Diary of Anne Frank today. I’ll have them graded and ready for review on Monday.

Second and fourth periods continued working with clauses, following through on our new plan to alternate grammar and Lord of the Flies for a while to give us some breathing room.

Seventh period completed vocab and went over summarizing strategies in anticipation of our drama unit.

Homework
  • First and sixth periods: none.
  • Second and fourth periods:
    • read chapter eight of Lord of the Flies;
    • complete chapter four writing assignment.
  • Seventh period:
    • review word list A;
    • complete vocab activity A (related to word list A).

More Inferring and Grammar

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First and seventh periods worked on The Glory Field‘s fourth part, “April 1964.” The main character has just been offered an opportunity to be the first African American student at a local college. Myers makes reference to Marian Anderson, so we watched her historic performance in 1939 (available by clicking her name above).

Second period began a short science fiction story. We’ll be comparing it to The Giver to determine what some of the elements of good science fiction are.

Fourth period finished up (“Finally!” everyone’s saying.) sentence types. We’ll have a test on it later, and there will be an element on the research project rubric dealing with sentence types.

Homework
  • First and seventh periods:
    • read through page 234;
    • write at least two summaries.
  • Second period: none.
  • Fourth period: read through chapter 52 by Friday.

Thursday Overview

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First period completed the 1930 section of The Glory Field. We completed the plot chart and discussed the upward motion of the plot (how, even though Luvenia doesn’t get what she wants, she still gains something).

Second period went over the escape in The Giver.

Fourth period completed sentence types. We’ll be doing some more isolated practice, and we will certainly be applying the skills to the term paper we will begin shortly.

Seventh period read: so many students were out for MAP make-up testing that I decided not to go forward with the lesson.

Homework
  • First and seventh periods: look over vocabulary words for 1930.
  • Second period: read chapter 22.
  • Fourth period: see yesterday’s update.

Reviewing Words, Notes, and Roles

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First and seventh periods reviewed some vocabulary words, and we began looking at how we’ve used our reader’s journals over the weekend to summarize our reading. First period also began working on a review of the structure of a plot.

Fourth period worked on complex sentences.

Homework
  • First and seventh periods: by class tomorrow, read through 171.
  • Second period: read chapters 16 and 17.
  • Fourth period: read chapter 38.

Reading Hints and Compound Sentences

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First and seventh period used their reading journals as a method of keeping track of what they’ve read. Students have complained about not remembering what they read, so I decided to practice summarizing and make it a required element of the novel we’re reading, The Glory Field.

Second period had a quiz  and then work on The Giver, looking at things from Jonas’s point of view.

Fourth period worked on compound sentences.

Homework
  • First and seventh periods: by Monday’s class, you’ll need to have The Glory Field completed through page 154. Additionally, you’ll need to have three or four one-sentence summaries in your reader’s journal
  • Second period: read through chapter 15.
  • Fourth period: read to chapter 38. You can skip chapter 37, but skim it if you’re interested in seeing how Dickens dealt with writer’s block under the pressure of a weekly installment deadline.

Writing and Review

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First and seventh period wrapped up the first fifty pages of The Glory Field. We’ll have a vocab quiz on Friday.

Second period went over the chapter in The Giver in which Jonas learns that he is to be the new Receiver of Memory.

Fourth period took a break from Great Expectations and began applying previous information about clauses. We’ll continue it tomorrow during the second half of the hour.

My related arts class — creative writing — began today. We did some initial writing for me to get a baseline for future lessons.

Homework
  • First and seventh periods: study for vocab quiz.
  • Second period:
    • read chapters eight and nine;
    • reader’s journal: “Based on what we read in class about the Receiver of Memory, what do you anticipate this job being like?”
  • Fourth period:
    • read chapters nineteen and twenty;
    • use the forms on the “Courses” site to evaluate participation and starters.

Grammar Day

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First, second, and seventh periods went over linking verbs in a desperate attempt to get subject-verb and pronoun-antecedent agreement finished before the PASS writing test next week. We should finish up working on verbs tomorrow.

Fourth period went over clauses, both independent and dependant/subordinate. This is in preparation for Great Expectations, when one of the grammar focuses will be on sentence type.

Homework
  • All classes: journal.

Sensory Details and Review

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Second period (English I) went over the material from the first half of our parts of speech review (nouns, pronouns, and adjectives). We began reading Antigone.

First and seventh periods worked on sensory language a little more. We’ll start applying that to our memoirs on Monday.

Second period didn’t have class due to the magazine sales fund raiser kick off.

Homework
  • First and seventh periods: questions 1-4, 7 on page 470 (for the selection from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings).
  • Fourth period:
    • read Antigone through the bottom of page 120;
    • look up any proper nouns/adjectives (i.e., “Argives” on page 115);
    • evaluate Lord of the Flies project according to the modified rubric.