The server has been down for a MONTH!!! Hopefully it is now up and running.
Everyone now should have completed three essays, and has had the opportunity to rewrite one of the three. Our focus currently is the novel essay and it is due on Nov. 26th/27th. Please note that it is expected to be done in MLA format -- which is 11 font. Essay topics are copied below.
We also have a short story quiz coming up. The terms and definitions are also copied below.
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Oct. 20th and 21st:
Today after silent reading we did a mock quiz on the short story terms. Apart from some pathetic cheating (IT'S A MOCK QUIZ!!!) After two runs of the story terms competition:
Block 4(D)'s best time is 4:33. (Yup, some of that is cheating punishment, I won't lie.)2?47
Block G: 2:47
Block H: 2:35
We looked up George Bowering to see if we could uncover anything relevant about him before reading A Short Story. As the class ended, students read the story, underlining any ruptures they encountered. Be sure to have the story read for next class.
The Week of Oct. 13th
Sorry this posting is late. There was a publishing glitch.
This week we wrote our first in-class essays. If you haven't written it because you were away you will need to make it up as soon as possible. We also debriefed the writes, with a focus on creating a clear thesis and clear topic sentences. We also did our first edit sheet; see me if you are missing the sheet. You are responsible for knowing all of the rules contained within.
Oct. 8th and 10th
STORY WAR!!! While I enjoyed the competition, the best part was the level of thinking that I witnessed. I hope everyone took notes to capture some of the brilliant ideas being shared...
the in-class write happens next class! There was some excellent ammo in the room.
Block 4: Didn't quite finish, but looks like Fab Five and (ironically) The Illiterates were ahead.
Block 7: Team Three and the Treble Makers tied.
Block 8: Dough Nutty, Babooshka, and Pacifists tied.
Oct. 3rd, 6th, and 7th
We are now officially silent reading every class and it is expected that all of you have and bring your novels with you. Since I was away on the 3rd and it was basically a fire drill, I allowed the class on the 6th to be dedicated to the story war which will run on the 8th and 9th. We spent today's class gathering ammo in groups, thinking about applicable short story terms, thematic statements, repetitions, detailed descriptions, ruptures, symbolism, metaphors, etc... It took a while for some of you to warm up to this way of thinking, but many of you had caught on by the end. This is the beginning training for how we want to start thinking about what we read this year. Next class, prepare to battle!
Oct. 1st and 2nd:
Library Day! By the end of today, evereyone should have selected his/her silent reading book. Please be sure that you confirm with me if your book isn't on the recommended list. After that, we returned to our thinking on the story, focusing on finding evidence for our thematic statements and supporting them with quotations.
Sept. 29th and 30th
Today was the Mr Page Show with guest stars. It was a rundown of what you need to know in order to graduate. Next class, we begin silent reading. We will head up to the library. If you have your silent reading book, then bring it!
Sept. 25th and 26th
I'd like to call this class "messy thinking." We looked at the big ideas of the story and connected them. This wasn't easy, but I really heard a lot of interesting ideas explored. The next step was to come up with a thematic statement. Some people finished with one, some did not, but that is just fine. The notes for short stories are included below.
short_story_notes.docx | |
File Size: | 16 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Sept. 23rd and 24th
We looked over some introductory short story terms and then, after playing a six-question name game (half a car, anyone?) we read the short story "Just Lather, That's All." It's attached below (with some inexplicable b/h errors).
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Sept. 22nd
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outline_eng_12.docx | |
File Size: | 16 kb |
File Type: | docx |