10/31

Warm-up:  Finish making your paragraph about the figurative language of Prose SEXI.  Make sure you have fully explained and interpreted the figurative language.  Underline or highlight any of your essay that connects HOW her figurative language to the purpose of her essay.  If you don’t have anything to underline, write more.

Classwork: discuss paragraphs about Prose's use of figurative language - complete and discuss rhetoric and style questions #4 and 7 about Prose - distribute vocabulary lists and talk about how to figure out vocabulary in context

Homework:  work on Prose/Emerson vocab for quiz on 7th

body paragraph example for #6

Prose compares Angelou’s writing to malpractice in order to convince readers that schools are promoting “trash and semi-trash” instead of quality literature.  Doctors convicted of malpractice would never be entrusted with the education of medical students because they would teach ineffective medical practices.  Prose argues that teaching Angelou’s book is the same type of inappropriate modeling because “many of the terrible mysteries” found in college students’ writing stem from the imprecise usage of language they read in Angelou’s text.  Though the comparison may seem far-fetched, Prose must over-exaggerate her claim to criticize a beloved American author.  Readers’ instincts are to protect and defend authors they are familiar with, but by using examples that reveal Angelou’s “opaque prose,” readers are convinced that Angelou is not the best model of clear writing.  Prose draws a connection between what students read and how they write to criticize the choices made by schools and blame educators for the current state of bad writing. 

10/30

Warm-up:  Answer discussion questions 2 and 4 on pg 99-100 of LOC.

Classwork:  quiz on Prose, discuss "Caged Bird", answer rhetoric and style questions in the form of analytical essay paragraphs

Homework:  finish paragraph about a piece of figurative language

10/29

Warm-up:  What are the biggest issues facing education?  To what extent is the system of education successful at meeting its goals?  What are the goals of education?

Classwork:  finish discussing Aria and transition to education unit by reading "I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read" on LOC pg 89-99

Homework:  Finish reading "Caged Bird" pg 89-99

10/25

Warm-up:  List at least 3 claims Rodriguez makes in his essay and what evidence he uses to back up each claim. 

Classwork:  book talks; Rodriguez quiz; answer rhetoric and style ?s 1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, &13 on pg 527

Homework:  finish Aria rhetoric and style ?s

10/24

Warm-up:  How is your language at home different from your language at school?  Do you think that schools have a responsibility to make sure that they are speaking the same “language” of a student’s home?

Classwork:  present songs and art about books; read "Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood" on LOC pg

Homework:  finish reading "Aria" on pg 509

10/23

Warm-up:  Write the sentence and choices and choose the best word to complete the sentence.
Paradoxically, this successful entrepreneur is sometimes ------- and at other times reclusive.

A. autonomous  B. dispassionate

C. solitary  D. unthinking

E. gregarious

Classwork:  book talks and work on art/music interpretations of books

Homework:  finish art/music interpretations to present tomorrow morning; bring LOC

10/22

Warm-up:  Which underlined part contains the error?  Copy the sentence and explain the error.

Most  of the world’s sharks, living  in temperate and tropical regions, though the Greenland shark lives in the cold Arctic waters, and the huge basking shark is at home in the seas around Antarctica.   

  

Classwork:  finish independent book essays,  alone or with a partner create visual or musical interpretation of independent book (rubric below)

Art/Visual or Musical Performance Analysis -

-Analysis of text – Project moves beyond mere summary, proves the student’s mastery of the topic, and shows that student thoroughly understood and effectively analyzed the content of the text(s) in a creative way.  (C-grade: Project shows an understanding of the text (you get it), but it doesn’t move beyond the obvious or superficial.)

-Written Explanation – The writing explains how the art/song analyzes the text(s) completely, thoughtfully, and clearly.  This goes beyond the literal to show insight into the content of the text(s). (C-grade: Explanation explains the connection to text, but it is on a more literal level)

-Creativity and Presentation – The idea is professional, creative and well executed.

-Connection to text – The artwork connects to the text as a whole, not just a small part.  It represents what is important about the work.

Homework:  bring in any other supplies you might need to finish art/song

10/21

Warm-up: What did you learn from reading this independent book?  Did it change your thinking about the topic or about reading non-fiction?  Why or why not?

Classwork:  Independent book essays and book talks

Homework:  finish edmodo responses to other posts

10/17

Warm-up:  Copy the sentence and explain which underlined part is incorrect and what is wrong with it.
Every day, millions of tiny stony bits falling quietly into the atmosphere, burning briefly as meteors, and leaving behind a vaporized residue that filters slowly to Earth.                              

Classwork:  I gave back visual rhetoric essays - write a reflection about what score you think that you earned based on the comments and switch with a friend and write another reflection about how you think that they compare.  Then we discussed revisions and I gave students time to work on Independent reading or revise essays.

Copy these revision directions:
Look carefully at each element of the checklist, rubric and the score you received.  Address any weakness of that element in your essay and rework it in your revision.  Address each and every mark and comment your teacher made on your essay.

Revisit the specific directions for the assignment to clarify your understanding of the prompt and task.

After revising your essay, ask a peer or parent to look it over and discuss the paper with you.  Consider what they said and make any additional corrections.

Once you have made the changes in your newly revised, typed essay, highlight each change and explain why you made that change.  Your explanations can be in the margins, or you can number your highlighted passages and attach a separate sheet of explanations.  Some of these highlighted passages might just need you to explain a grammar rule that you learned, but the majority of them will be serious revisions to your content or organization and will require you to elaborate on how making that correction fixed a problem of your essay.

At the end of your typed, revised draft, include a reflection on why this essay is now more effective and why it would earn a top score (7-9).  If you don’t honestly think and cannot defend why it now deserves a 7,8, or 9, please do not submit it. 

Attach original, graded essay to your final revision (paper clip, please).

Homework:  Optional - essay revisions due Monday; Finish independent reading books and complete Edmodo questions by midnight 10/20 - be ready for in class essay on Monday (BRING YOUR BOOK)

10/16

PSAT day - no class

Bring your independent reading books to class the next few days.  

10/15

Warm-up: Write the sentence and select the best way to revise the underlined part.
The reason the film’s stream-of-consciousness imagery is so successful is because of its capture of the sensorial experience of childhood.
A. because of its capture of       B. capturing of
C. because of capturing          D. because it captures
E. for its capturing

Classwork:  PSAT practice and review

Homework:  study for PSAT (bring calculators); work on independent reading

10/14

Warm-up:  Copy the sentence and choices & select the best one.

Although the conference speakers disliked one another and might have been expected to -------, it turned out that on several substantive issues they were in complete ------- and were able to avoid petty squabbling.

A. argue . . disagreement  B. bristle . . apathy

C.   debate . . dissonance  D. concur . . denial

E.  bicker . . accord

Classwork:  in notebooks, reflect on Orwell's text - "Is he an alarmist, or is political writing really misleading?" - discuss editorials - Study for PSAT - discuss and practice writing section

Homework:  study for PSAT; independent reading

10/11

Warm-up: Copy the sentence and choices & select the best.

The world, accustomed to ------- whenever governments change hands, expected rioting and bloodshed; but the transition of power was remarkably ------- .

A. turmoil . . chaotic         B. harmony . . orderly

C. ceremony . . solemn    D. violence . . uneventful

E. splendor . . unpopular

Classwork:  finish rhetoric and style questions from pg 540 (write in notebooks), went over SOAPSToneR handout, then wrote a SOAPSTone analysis of 2 editorials (1 for 2nd pd) in notebooks and highlighted language Orwell would disapprove of on the editorial

Homework:  work on Independent reading and PSAT studying

10/10

Warm-up:  Copy the sentence and select the best way to revise the underlined part.
Lady Day, as Billie Holiday was usually called, was the finest jazz singer of her generation, and it was the opinion of her fans, she was the greatest jazz singer of the twentieth century.

A. it was the opinion of her fans, she was

B. the opinion of her fans was of her as

C. her fans had this opinion, she was

D. for her fans, the opinion was of her as

E. in the opinion of her fans, she was

Classwork:  quiz on Orwell and Tan, Answer (in notebooks) Rhetoric and style questions 1-10 on pg 540, present answers to the class

Homework:  study for PSAT and work on independent reading

10/9

Warm-up:  Copy the sentence and select the best way to revise the underlined section of the sentence.

Listening to good storybooks sharpen children’s awareness and appreciation for the sounds of spoken language.

A. sharpen children’s awareness

B. sharpens children’s awareness of

C. are what sharpens the awareness of children

D.  sharpens the awareness of children

E.  is to sharpen children’s awareness

Classwork:  read "Politics and the English Language" on LOC pg 529 and create an outline of Orwell's main ideas and supporting points

Homework:  finish Orwell if you didn't in class, independent reading and studying for PSAT

10/8

Warm-up:  Copy the sentence and choices and select the best one.

Ms. Fergusson’s main criticism of the artist’s rendering of the ancient mammal’s physical appearance is that, unsupported by even a ------- of fossil evidence, the image is bound to be ------- .

A. modicum . . speculative    B. particle . . supplemented

C. perusal . . substantiated        D. fabrication . . obsolete

E. recapitulation . . exhausted

Classwork:  discuss "Mother Tongue"

Homework:  Independent reading, prep for PSAT

10/7

Fetterolf out

Read "Mother Tongue" and answer exploring the text questions on LOC pg 542-547.

Hw:  body paragraphs due tues, work on independent reading

10/4

Warm-up:  Look back at the drafts of the essays that you didn’t choose to make into final drafts.  Which body paragraph in each of those essays is or could be strongest? 

Classwork:  work on drafts of body paragraphs about unchosen essays; in notebook, write a refection about how the language we use reveals who we are

Homework:  2 paragraphs (about ads, photos, cartoons) due Tuesday, bring LOCs on Monday, keep working on independent reading

10/3

Warm-up:  Copy the following list of 1st and 2nd person pronouns.  Then reread your essay draft and circle any place you used any of these words.  You will have to edit to eliminate all these words.

I, me, my, mine, myself, ourselves, our, we, your, your, you’re, yourself

Classwork:  editing workshops - commonly confused words and style (syntax analysis) chart, add 3 TASS patterns

Homework:  FINAL DRAFT of essay due tomorrow - print it or upload it to edmodo

10/2

Warm-up:  What areas of your essay do you think need the most improvement?  Which are you most satisfied with?  What do you need to do today to make your essay better?


Classwork:  revision of intro, body paragraphs, and conclusion of essay, focus on content and organization, make your writing SEXI by really focusing on the Explanations and Interpretations

Homework:  revise your essay to be content perfect by Thursday - it doesn't help to spend time editing a draft that doesn't even express the ideas that you want it to

Station documents

All of the stations we have been doing in class can be accessed through the classroom documents tab to the right of the page.  Use your resources wisely!

10/1

Warm-up:  Reread the draft of your chosen essay and identify your 3 best interpretation sentences (the I of SEXI).  Copy those sentences here.  If you don’t have at least 3 I sentences, write some now.

Classwork:  Identify 3 specified claims in each of the 5 to 8 revisions (station); complete the sample essay station work - identifying interpretations and adding more I, work on conclusion station

Homework:  finish conclusion station and revise your essay