Week of December 16-20

Monday, December 16:

• Socratic Seminar preparation:  Explain the rubric and discussion questions.  The discussion questions should be completed by Thursday, and Socratic Seminar will be held on Thursday.
• Class time to begin completing the discussion questions
• HW: Read Ch. 25-27 by tomorrow
• To Kill a Mockingbird final test on Friday!

Tuesday, December 17:

• Continue to read and work on Socratic Seminar questions
• HW: Finish the book and Socratic Seminar questions by Thursday

Wednesday, December 18:

• Counselor Meetings (meet in your home school location):
• A-G - 1st hour
• H-O - 2nd hour
• P-Z - 3rd hour
• Work day for the remaining students in class

Thursday, December 19:

• To Kill a Mockingbird Socratic Seminar
• Get questions stamped for completion
• Sit in either the inner or outer circle.  Inner circle holds discussion for 20 minutes while the outer circle listens.  Both circles will switch places during the 2nd half of the hour; all students will have participated in discussion by the end of the hour.
• Write a reflection of your participation on the rubric.  Turn in your rubric and questions by the end of the hour.

Friday, December 20:

• To Kill a Mockingbird final test
• Have a great break! :)

Week of December 9-13

Monday, December 9:

• Warm-Up
• Discuss Ch. 16-17:  Each group will receive the name of a new character that has been recently introduced or a character with new information.  Gather as much information as possible about the character and report out to the rest of the class.  We will use the findings to discuss the trials.
• HW: Read Ch. 18-19 by tomorrow

Tuesday, December 10:

• Last reading day of the unit!  Please read Ch. 20 by tomorrow so we can discuss the end of the trial and closing argument.  Expect a quiz this week. :)

Wednesday, December 11:

• Quiz: Ch. 12-19
• In your small groups, complete the Processing the Trial worksheet. Summarize the testimonies of Heck Tate, Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell, and Tom Robinson.  We will discuss our findings as a whole class.  The second part of the worksheet will be completed tomorrow.
• HW: Read Ch. 20-22 by tomorrow

Thursday, December 12:

• Processing the Trial, pt. 2: Read Atticus's closing argument and place summary boxes on the right side of the page after each paragraph.  Summarize each paragraph with your group and write your responses in the summary boxes.  Focus on summarize the most important details of his closing remarks.  We will discuss these as a class during the second half of the hour.

Friday, December 13:

• Quickwrite:  What is a simile?  What is a metaphor?  We will share and discuss answers as a class.
• Complete the simile and metaphor worksheet in your groups.  Don't over-think your responses; write whatever comes to mind.  Be creative!  Discuss answers as a whole class.
• In your small groups, create similes and metaphors for the following characters from To Kill a Mockingbird:  Scout, Jem, Atticus, Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell, and Mrs. Dubose.  Each group should write their answers on the whiteboard.  Groups will share responses and explain how they came up with their similes and metaphors.

Week of December 2-6

Monday, December 2:

• Quiz: Ch. 8-11
• Continue reading Ch. 12-13 and working on your Ch. 8-11 questions.  Both are due tomorrow.

Tuesday, December 3:

• Check Ch. 8-11 Discussion Questions
• Notes: Theme and Thematic Statements
• HW: After using the notes to write a thematic statement with your partner, find 4 cited quotes from the book that support your thematic statement.  This is due tomorrow.  Use the rest of your class time to get started.
• HW: Read Ch. 14-15 by Thursday

Wednesday, December 4:

• Warm-Up
• Check thematic statements and quotes
• Discuss Ch. 8-11
• Activity: one student will volunteer to write his or her thematic statement on the board.  With your group members, choose a quote from TKAM that best represents this thematic statement.  You may choose to use a quote from your homework assignment if it fits.  Write your group's quote on the board.  As a whole class, we will choose the quote on the board that best fits the thematic statement and discuss why.
• Pass back and go over Ch. 1-7 quizzes

Thursday, December 5:

• TKAM Group Body Paragraph:  In your groups, complete a body paragraph based on one of the topic sentences (TS) given below.  Use the two-chunk format you have learned in class (CD, CM, CM, CD, CM, CM, CS).  You only need this one sheet per group with all of your names on it.  Make sure all of your CDs have the proper background, the quote itself, and the citation.  This is due by the end of the hour.
• (TS) In TKAM, Atticus epitomizes fairness and equality.
• OR
• (TS) The subject of compassion is supported throughout TKAM.

Friday, December 6:

• Reading day
• HW: Read Ch. 16-17 by Monday

Week of November 25-29

Monday, November 25:

• Check and go over discussion questions for Ch. 1-7
• Activity: Characters as Symbols. Complete and discuss the activity.
• HW: Read Ch. 8-9 by tomorrow
• Ch. 1-7 quiz tomorrow

Tuesday, November 26:

• Quiz: Ch. 1-7
• Reading/work day. Complete the discussion questions for Ch. 8-11 and read Ch. 10-11 before returning to school on Monday. Have a great Thanksgiving break!

Week of November 18-22

Monday, November 18:

• Warm-Up
• Receive reading schedule for To Kill a Mockingbird
• Notes: TKAM background

Tuesday, November 19:

• Begin reading Chapter 1 of To Kill a Mockingbird aloud in class
• HW: Read Ch. 2-4 by Thursday!

Wednesday, November 20:

• Symbolism Activity: In your small groups, brainstorm deeper meanings of the 50 general symbols given on your handout. Try not to over-think each item; just go with what your intuition tells you. We will go over potential meanings as a whole class and define the term "general symbol."

Thursday, November 21:

• Warm-Up
• Discuss major themes and specific symbols in Ch. 1-4
• HW: Read Ch. 5-7 by Monday

Friday, November 22:

• Reading and work day - complete Chapter 7 and work on the discussion questions. Both the reading and questions are due on Monday.

Week of November 11-15

Monday, November 11:

• New Essay Due Date: Wednesday, November 13
• (Last one, I promise; we needed time to go over punctuation and sentence structure)
• Notes: Fragments and Run-On Sentences
• Practice: Avoiding Fragments and Run-Ons
• Correct your own essays for fragment and run-on errors

Tuesday, November 12:

• Warm-Up
• Watch "The Sneetches" in class
• Link to the full video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3yJomUhs0g&feature=share&list=FLYUhm1KwbU_nBk-pkM4fFRg
• Discuss the video in small groups, with a whole-class discussion to follow. We will be sharing personal reactions and analyzing the video with how it relates to real-world issues.
• HW: "The Sneetches" Journal Response due Thursday
• The Crucible Essay due tomorrow!

Wednesday, November 13:

• Turn in essay. Have the following components ready to go, printed AND stapled, in order:
• Rubric
• Final Draft + Works Cited
• Writing Center sheet (if applicable)
• Peer-editing sheet
• First quality (rough) draft
• *Highlight ALL of your sentence starters!
• Writing reflection: Quarter 1
• Notes: Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia (with video)
• Link to the video: http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/news/jimcrow/index.htm

Thursday, November 14:

• Turn in "The Sneetches" Journal Response
• John Steinbeck - The Grapes of Wrath Excerpt and Photo Essay
• Complete the activity in class. You must access the online textbook and finish the activity at home if you do not finish by the end of the hour. Due tomorrow.

Friday, November 15:

• Warm-Up
• Turn in John Steinbeck activity
• To Kill a Mockingbird opinionnaire and debate on the major themes/issues in the novel. Bring your To Kill a Mockingbird book to class by Monday!

Week of November 4-8

Monday, November 4:

• First Quality Draft due
• Draft will be stamped - please save this to turn in with your final draft.
• Self and peer-edit sessions
• Final Draft now due on Monday, November 11
• Check Warm-Ups

Tuesday, November 5:

• No school - enjoy your day off! :)

Wednesday, November 6:

• Discuss essay "No-nos"
• Edit drafts for "No-nos" and other grammar mistakes

Thursday, November 7:

• Computer lab time to edit essays

Friday, November 8:

• Notes: Comma Rules
• Comma practice: Add commas to the 20 different sentences with your partner or group members. Some sentences may not require any commas.
• Go over comma practice
• Edit essay drafts for comma mistakes
• New essay due date TBA on Monday. We need time to edit for punctuation.

Week of October 28-November 1

Monday, October 28:

• MLA heading instructions
• Thesis statement example
• Computer lab time to type essays
• Binder check this week!

Tuesday, October 29:

• Works Cited/EasyBib instructions
• Computer lab time to type essays

Wednesday, October 30:

• Introduction and Conclusion tips
• In-class time to work on introduction and conclusion in class and organize binders

Thursday, October 31:

• Happy Halloween! There is no need to come to this class today - go to your 4th, 5th, and 6th hours this morning.

Friday, November 1:

• Binder Check
• In-class time to work on revising essays
• First Quality Draft due on Monday! This is worth 10 points of your final essay grade.

Week of October 21-25

Monday, October 21:

• Warm-Up
• Watch Act IV
• Act IV quiz on Wednesday!

Tuesday, October 22:

• Warm-Up
• The Crucible round-table discussion:
• Each group will receive a large sheet of paper with a discussion question. Groups will only have 5 minutes to write down an answer to the question. Once time is up, the large sheet and discussion question will be passed to the group on the right. Groups will now have another 5 minutes to answer the new question. This will continue until each group has answered every questions. Groups will then share which answers they liked best with the whole class.

Wednesday, October 23:

• Warm-Up
• Finish round-table activity
• Quiz: Act IV

Thursday, October 24:

• Discuss The Crucible argumentative essay assignment
• First Quality Draft: Due Monday, November 4
• Final Draft: Due Friday, November 8
• Class time to begin choosing quotes from the literature book for the essay

Friday, October 25:

• In-class time to work on shaping sheets for the essay. You will have time to type your essay in the computer lab on Monday (10/28) and Tuesday (10/29).

Week of October 14-18

Monday, October 14:

• Warm-Up
• Finish reading Act III
• Go over Act II quiz
• Work on Act III review. Finish the review before class tomorrow!
• Act III quiz on Thursday

Tuesday, October 15:

• Warm-Up
• Go over Act III review
• Quality Quiz Responses (Act II): In your groups, score sample student responses for the last question of the Act II quiz. We will discuss what it takes for a written response to receive full credit and how to make inferences from the text.
• Begin watching Act III

Wednesday, October 16:

• Warm-Up
• Finish watching Act III
• Assign parts and begin reading Act IV - quiz postponed to Thursday

Thursday, October 17:

• Quiz: Act III
• Continue reading Act IV

Friday, October 18:

• Finish reading Act IV
• Work on and go over Act IV review

Week of October 7-11

Monday, October 7:

• Warm-Up
• Go over Act II review
• Pass back and go over Act I quiz
• Watch Act II
• Act II quiz tomorrow!

Tuesday, October 8:

• Warm-Up
• Read extra scene (Act II, scene 2) of The Crucible. Arthur Miller cut out this extra scene for the final version of the play (to be shown on stage). Why do you believe that this scene didn't make the final cut? In your answer, consider how it would change the story and/or your perception of the characters.We will discuss this as a whole class.
• Quiz: Act II

Wednesday, October 9:

• The Crucible Group Body Paragraph
• Directions: In your groups, complete a body paragraph based on one of the topic sentences (TS) given below.  Use the two-chunk format you have learned in class (CD, CM, CM, CD, CM, CM, CS).  You only need this one sheet per group with all of your names on it.  Make sure all of your CDs have the proper background, the quote itself, and the citation.  This is due by the end of the hour.

(TS) John Proctor feels that Elizabeth does not trust him.

OR

(TS) Elizabeth Proctor feels that John is not honest about his feelings.

Thursday, October 10:

• Warm-Up
• Pass back and go over group body paragraphs
• Assign parts and begin reading Act III

Friday, October 11:

• Warm-Up
• Continue reading Act III

Week of September 30-October 4

Monday, September 30:

• Warm-Up
• Go over Act I review
• Watch Act I of The Crucible movie

Tuesday, October 1:

• Warm-Up
• Check last month's warm-ups (one week's worth)
• Quiz: Act I
• Sentence Structure Notes

Wednesday, October 2:

• Warm-Up
• Finish Sentence Structure Notes
• Assign parts and begin reading Act II

Thursday, October 3:

• Warm-Up
• Finish reading Act II

Friday, October 4:

• Warm-Up
• Begin working on the Act II review in class. You may work with a group or partner and use your literature books.

Week of September 23-27

Monday, September 23:

• There is a substitute teacher today: get started reading Act I of The Crucible aloud in groups.

Tuesday, September 24:

• Warm-Up
• Finish "Virtual Field Trip: Salem, MA" notes
• Assign parts and begin reading Act I of The Crucible. We will change parts after every act of the play.

Wednesday, September 25:

• Warm-Up
• Continue reading Act I 

Thursday, September 26:

• Warm-Up
• Finish reading Act I 
• Begin working on the Act I review in class. You may work with a group or partner and use your literature books.

Friday, September 27:

• Warm-Up
• Finish and go over the Act I review
• Begin watching Act I

Week of September 16-20

Monday, September 16:

• Warm-Up
• Notes: Body paragraphs and Jane Schaffer writing
• Whole-class body paragraph practice. The class will choose an opinionated topic to write about. Students will contribute their ideas to form a strong argumentative paragraph.

Tuesday, September 17:

• Warm-Up
• Summer body paragraphs activity: pair up with another students and use colors to underline or highlight the correct usage of topic sentences, concrete details, commentary, and concluding sentences in two different paragraphs. We will discuss this afterward.
• HW: Argumentative body paragraph - due Friday, September 20. Take a stance on an opinion of your choice and construct a properly formatted body paragraph. This must be typed, double-spaced, and use 12 point font. We will get started on this in class.

Wednesday, September 18:

• Warm-Up
• Notes: Puritans and Jonathan Edwards
• Begin reading "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" aloud in class (p. 120). Look for how Edwards appeals to his listeners by using fear, pity, and vanity. In addition, you should be able to judge how effective he was at getting his message across to the Puritan community. 

Thursday, September 19:

• Warm-Up
• "Sinners" Visual Representations Activity: get into a group of no more than four and find one example of each emotional appeal (fear, pity, and vanity). Write the quotes for each and cite the line numbers. Next, draw an image for each emotional appeal that corresponds to each quote. Finally, explain how both the image AND language in the quote effectively appeals to the audience's emotions and gets Edwards's message across. Use color and creativity! More time will be given at the beginning of tomorrow's class if needed.

Friday, September 20:

• Warm-Up
• Finish "Sinners" Activity: each group will present one of their drawings and read the corresponding caption to the class.
• Notes: Virtual Field Trip: Salem, MA

Week of September 9-13

Monday, September 9:

• Reading common assessment
• Book room field trip! Pick up To Kill a Mockingbird and The Catcher in the Rye.

Tuesday, September 10:

• Pass back and discuss writing common assessments
• Active the online textbook and log into the class website through ePark. Answer the questions about the website as you browse. The questions are due at the end of the hour.

Wednesday, September 11:

• Warm-Up
• Activity: reading with a purpose. Read "The House" and underline or circle anything you believe to be important. Next, using a different color highlighter, underline anything you believe a robber would find important. Finally, use another different color to underline anything a home buyer would find important. As you can see, reading is much more difficult if you do not have a purpose in mind or an idea of what to look for. Always try and figure out why you are reading something before you read it!

Thursday, September 12:

• Warm-Up
• Notes: Talking to the Text (putting your thoughts on paper while actively reading text). Model and practice as a class with an excerpt from Tina Fey's Bossypants.
• Practice talking to the text with a fast food and clothing labels article. Discuss on reading strategies and the article itself will follow.