Lit Circles and Active/Passive

Lit Circles and Active/Passive

English I students worked on 3.4 from Romeo and Juliet, reaching two surprising conclusions: Things for Juliet are getting decidedly trickier. The amount of time that has passed in this play is shockingly short. We also went over active/passive voice. English 8...
Lit Circles and Project Work

Lit Circles and Project Work

English 8 students had their first round of lit circles today. We simply practiced in small groups what we worked on yesterday, so students had a chance to work through the mechanics of a lit circle without having to worry about what exactly to say and to prepare....
3.1 and Presentations

3.1 and Presentations

English 8 students had their figurative speech presentations today. We didn’t quite finish, but we’ll finish up tomorrow. English I students went through 3.1 from Romeo and Juliet and began talking about the big project for the unit, the Romeo and Juliet...
Figurative Language and 2.2

Figurative Language and 2.2

English 8 began a three-day overview/review of figurative language before we begin our next unit next week. We read “The New Colossus” to see examples of similes, metaphors, allusions, and alliteration — some of the basics of poetry. This corresponds...
Final Act 1 and Main Idea

Final Act 1 and Main Idea

English 8 students completed the final reading for the immigration unit. We’ll be using this to review the process of developing the main idea and creating an objective summary of a text. It’s something students have done since elementary school, but...
5.1 and Main Idea

5.1 and Main Idea

English I students worked on 5.1, which is the famous party scene in which Romeo finally meets Juliet. Our focus for the day was on the hidden stage instructions that guide actors and directors in their creative decisions regarding the play’s staging. We looked...
1.2 and Questions

1.2 and Questions

English 8 students went through some of the questions for “Tears of Autumn” before we begin using it as a model for redesigning/reconceptualizing our plan of attack for the TDA portion of the end-of-year state text. English I students continued with Romeo...
1.1 and Final Reading

1.1 and Final Reading

English 8 students finished up (in theory) their reading of “Tears of Autumn,” annotating for three things: The main character’s expectations for the arranged marriage (echoing our activating strategy yesterday); Other characters’ expectations for the...