First and seventh periods had a final day of work on the memoir final draft. It is due tomorrow, along with several other documents:

First draft
Peer editing form
Second draft
Final draft
Rubric

Fourth period worked on the nonfiction form and will continue tomorrow. We’ve begun a short unit on the memoir and we will be focusing on the relationship [...]

We completed the final day of group work for the memoir today. We’ll be spending two more days polishing it up, and then turn it in Monday.
English I began verbs today. We’ll finish up tomorrow, testing willing.
The testing in question is the Explore test. We’ll be taking that test Thursday and Friday.
Homework

First and seventh periods: [...]

This is my second draft for my memoir.
It was in the days of smoke-filled teachers’ lounges, and he hurried to class reeking of cigarette smoke. Rick Watson was a short, wiry, balding, mustachioed English teacher who moved and talked quickly. He seemed to know a little something about everything, and he was so eager to [...]

This is my first draft for my memoir. It represents an attempt to write without self-editing, a habit that I try to discourage in students but indulge in myself. As such, it is not something I would normally publish. However,I felt it was more important to show how even experienced writers create inadequate first drafts.
He [...]

All classes are now working on composition in one form or another.
First, second, and seventh periods are working on peer revision for their first draft of their memoir. We will be finishing that up tomorrow and completing the second draft shortly. The memoir will be due the following Monday (October 5).
These periods also got the [...]

First, second, and seventh periods all began their outlines for their memoirs.
Fourth period continued preparing Antigone. We also had a quick review for tomorrow’s test on nouns, pronouns, and adjectives.
Homework

First, second, and seventh periods: complete outline.
Fourth period: study for parts of speech

First period worked on leads. We looked at six examples:

The Dramatic Lead: I wouldn’t make it through the night without it.
Starting In the Middle Of a Scene: I was sure we’d find the blanket ripped and dirty.
Leisurely Lead: When I looked into my Grandma’s linen closet, I was amazed by the patchwork of color. [...]

First period worked on revising their initial memoir drafts. We looked for content holes and/or loaded content–places where the writer didn’t give as much detail as he/she could.
Second period discussed the use of a socially offensive word in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Fourth and sixth periods began the first drafts of their memoirs, crafting thesis statements [...]

First period began working on their first drafts. We looked at the nature of a thesis statement and how it can guide writing. We also talked about how it can change. Then we began writing!
Second period worked on the beginnings of a graphic organizer that will show how much Scout has changed over the course [...]

First period worked on a simple question: how is writing an essay (especially a memoir) like a treasure hunt? We used a graphic organizer to work out our thoughts, working in pairs and then as a class. We then addressed three pre-writing strategies:

Free writing
Brainstorming
Clustering

Second period looked at the question of point of view and its [...]

Second period finished up the classwork for their memoirs. We discussed proofreading techniques and put some of them into practice.
First, fourth, and sixth periods began their memoir project. We looked at the importance and fragility of memory, reading a passage from The Giver and Judith Ortiz Cofer’s short essay, “The Last Word.
Homework

Second period: final draft [...]

Second period worked on improving their diction in their memoirs, specifically focusing on creating more specific nouns and verbs. I spoke individually with several students about their drafts and ways to improve it. The class is slowly coming to realize that writing is a long, time-consuming process.
First, fourth, and sixth periods had a selection test [...]

First period discussed the excerpt from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings after a quiz.
Second period discussed the memoir form, pre-writing techniques, and began writing pre-writing for their memoir.
Fourth and sixth periods began the excerpt from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, working in groups to discuss questions about the use of details [...]

First, fourth, and sixth periods finished up their work on the Raise Responsibility system we use in class for behavior management. Students perpared skits illustrating particular behavior levels, then shared them with the class.
Second period began reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. We discussed the notion of beauty and what it is, specifically [...]

First, fourth, and sixth periods worked on the levels of behavior that will be recognized in our classroom. Students are to explain to parents these levels and then summarize that conversation. Second period began the unit on memoirs, doing some pre-reading activities for I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. We looked at Dunbar’s poem [...]