Yes, it is late. That's what a cross country meet at Northwood Middle School will do to your evening.
Let's see...as I said here yesterday and mentioned in class, we will be working on our paper at home starting tomorrow. Lots you need to include, so be sure to collect our hand-out tomorrow.
We are reading and analyzing The Giver. Be ready for a pop quiz tomorrow--short one--just to check on reading and comprehension.
You'll probably write something in class tomorrow too that I'll be taking for an assessment. Know the story!
See you soon.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Honors 9-30-2013
Ah...8:35 and I'm finally getting a chance to write the blog. Late cross country meet. Won't be anything huge tonight.
Be sure you come to class tomorrow with a couple options for your Fairy Tale-Allegory assignment (FTAA for short). We'll identify your story for you tomorrow, so you can start putting together your information. Remember: Be insightful. Should be 25 points for everyone if done correctly. And we could all use those 25 points. Just to clarify, these are not extra credit points. You will receive a score out of 25. If you were absent today, be sure to see me about this ASAP.
Lot of info on the Russian Revolution tomorrow. It's important stuff for you to know so that you can identify the allegorical elements of Animal Farm. As you read you'll be identifying and fleshing out the allegory. At the same time, I want you thinking about its relevance to modern day. Is the Animal Farm allegory still relevant today? The book will be in your hands tomorrow.
Remember euphemisms are basically nicer ways to say potentially offensive things. Get those notes if you were absent.
See you soon.
Be sure you come to class tomorrow with a couple options for your Fairy Tale-Allegory assignment (FTAA for short). We'll identify your story for you tomorrow, so you can start putting together your information. Remember: Be insightful. Should be 25 points for everyone if done correctly. And we could all use those 25 points. Just to clarify, these are not extra credit points. You will receive a score out of 25. If you were absent today, be sure to see me about this ASAP.
Lot of info on the Russian Revolution tomorrow. It's important stuff for you to know so that you can identify the allegorical elements of Animal Farm. As you read you'll be identifying and fleshing out the allegory. At the same time, I want you thinking about its relevance to modern day. Is the Animal Farm allegory still relevant today? The book will be in your hands tomorrow.
Remember euphemisms are basically nicer ways to say potentially offensive things. Get those notes if you were absent.
See you soon.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Standard 09-29-2013
We have two big things going on concurrently at this time. First we have the paper we are working on. We've discussed the intros and the importance of hooks, transitions, and claims. You will need topic sentences in each body paragraph. You'll need well ddeveloped ideas supported by quotes and clearly explained. You'll need transitions between the ideas. You'll need a conclusion. I really wanted to keep this paper in the class, but I'm afraid time will not allow it, so tomorrow we'll start attacking that at home as well.
The other big thing we have going on is our reading of The Giver. We should be actively reading (highlighting and text coding) as we move through the novel. For tomorrow's class discussion, you should have completed your work on the first three chapters. That's up to page 25. Only two people had not completed the work in period three last Friday. Let's get a 100% completion rate for tomorrow. Period four? I didn't check you on Friday, but you can bet your ticket in tomorrow will be the completion of the active reading. 100% in period four is expected as well.
As you read be thinking about the importance of word choice. We discussed that in class on Friday. It's Mother and Father not Mom and Dad. It's male and female not boy and girl. It's family unit not family. It's apprehensive not frightened. She's spending a lot of time on that and I want you to keep thinking about why she is doing that.
I also want you to think about the following questions:
Why does the community have so many rules?
What do you notice about the roles of Mother and Father?
Why do you think the animals were removed from the community?
The apple. Gabriel. The Bible.
See you soon.
The other big thing we have going on is our reading of The Giver. We should be actively reading (highlighting and text coding) as we move through the novel. For tomorrow's class discussion, you should have completed your work on the first three chapters. That's up to page 25. Only two people had not completed the work in period three last Friday. Let's get a 100% completion rate for tomorrow. Period four? I didn't check you on Friday, but you can bet your ticket in tomorrow will be the completion of the active reading. 100% in period four is expected as well.
As you read be thinking about the importance of word choice. We discussed that in class on Friday. It's Mother and Father not Mom and Dad. It's male and female not boy and girl. It's family unit not family. It's apprehensive not frightened. She's spending a lot of time on that and I want you to keep thinking about why she is doing that.
I also want you to think about the following questions:
Why does the community have so many rules?
What do you notice about the roles of Mother and Father?
Why do you think the animals were removed from the community?
The apple. Gabriel. The Bible.
See you soon.
Honors 09-29-2013
I know on the last blog I mentioned that we would be discussing euphemisms on Friday and then we spent the entire time on allegories. It was a good decision because I do think we left with a solid understanding of what an allegory is (as well as what allegorical figures are), and it is important to understand because Animal Farm--our next book--is an allegory about the Russian Revolution. I'm sure you don't know much about the Russian Revolution, and I will be sharing information about it with you tomorrow (and who knows, maybe some euphemisms), but the neat/amazing/super cool thing about allegories is their flexibility, or, shall I say, their adaptability. Yes, adaptability is the better choice here. Just like we discovered when we were looking at the movie Avatar and its allegorical connection to the way the early settlers treated the Native Americans, the allegory also has present day applications. So while we'll look at George Orwell's original intent with his allegorical story, we'll also be trying to see its application to our modern world. In addition, I'll be asking you to consider an overarching question for our Animal Farm study.
How can an author's use of allegory promote social change?
On a lesser note, I'll want you to consider:
How can an author's personal experiences influence his/her work?
To help us in our continued comprehension of allegories, I'm going to ask you to do a little writing--of course--on the topic. If you recall, we mentioned "Little Red Riding Hood", among other fairy tales, in class last Friday and briefly discussed its potential allegorical intent. I'll be asking you to revisit other fairy tales this week and dissect them for the same purpose. I'll explain more tomorrow, but be thinking about your favorite classic tales.
I read all your timed writings and you'll be receiving them tomorrow. A TREMENDOUS shout out goes to Katelyn Hestad for her splendidly written analysis of why Jonas was not a hero. Bravo! Yet it seems some of us still need to work on the depth of our development. Too often we settled for one example when two or three or more were clearly available. Too often we settled for topical explanations instead of insightful discussions. Too often we settled for long, monster quotes, instead of brief, effective ones. Good writing is not easy, but we'll get there.
See you soon.
How can an author's use of allegory promote social change?
On a lesser note, I'll want you to consider:
How can an author's personal experiences influence his/her work?
To help us in our continued comprehension of allegories, I'm going to ask you to do a little writing--of course--on the topic. If you recall, we mentioned "Little Red Riding Hood", among other fairy tales, in class last Friday and briefly discussed its potential allegorical intent. I'll be asking you to revisit other fairy tales this week and dissect them for the same purpose. I'll explain more tomorrow, but be thinking about your favorite classic tales.
I read all your timed writings and you'll be receiving them tomorrow. A TREMENDOUS shout out goes to Katelyn Hestad for her splendidly written analysis of why Jonas was not a hero. Bravo! Yet it seems some of us still need to work on the depth of our development. Too often we settled for one example when two or three or more were clearly available. Too often we settled for topical explanations instead of insightful discussions. Too often we settled for long, monster quotes, instead of brief, effective ones. Good writing is not easy, but we'll get there.
See you soon.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Standard 9-26-2013
Late night on the cross country course tonight, so I'm sorry this is so late. We'll make it a quick one.
You received The Giver today. You need to read chapter one and be sure to highlight and text code as you read. At the end of chapter one, I asked that you write one question that comes to you as you read. This will make up your ticket in tomorrow.
Personally I want you thinking about the family dynamics that you see in the first chapter. How is Jonas's family like your own family? How is it different? Also why do you think Lowry (the author) spent so much time in the first chapter having Jonas try and discover the correct word for how he was feeling? What does that tell you that they value in Jonas's community?
We took notes on good introductions today. Part of our time together will be spent writing an introduction tomorrow. Remember: Hook---Transition---Claim. You'll all have a strong intro before leaving class. Then...on to the body paragraphs.
Since those two things alone are pretty time-consuming, we might skip Tool Time tomorrow or at least have a really quick one.
See you soon.
You received The Giver today. You need to read chapter one and be sure to highlight and text code as you read. At the end of chapter one, I asked that you write one question that comes to you as you read. This will make up your ticket in tomorrow.
Personally I want you thinking about the family dynamics that you see in the first chapter. How is Jonas's family like your own family? How is it different? Also why do you think Lowry (the author) spent so much time in the first chapter having Jonas try and discover the correct word for how he was feeling? What does that tell you that they value in Jonas's community?
We took notes on good introductions today. Part of our time together will be spent writing an introduction tomorrow. Remember: Hook---Transition---Claim. You'll all have a strong intro before leaving class. Then...on to the body paragraphs.
Since those two things alone are pretty time-consuming, we might skip Tool Time tomorrow or at least have a really quick one.
See you soon.
Honors 09-26-2013
Sorry about yesterday's white-out. Makes it difficult to read. I'll try not to do that again; although, I'm not exactly sure what I did.
The timed writing went well today. I've started to assess the papers and already wish to commend Ricky Zhu and Garrett Pfrender from period one for their strong symbol examples for The Giver. Decent, quick explanations as well. I can't wait to see what else is out there. I'm sure there are plenty of others that are just as strong.
Our immediate work with The Giver is just about over, but there are a couple questions I'd still like you to discuss. Here they are:
How does the novel connect with the other pieces we have looked at already this year?
What is Lowry's purpose for writing this novel?
After that it will be time to start thinking about our next read. I've been dropping hints, and a few astute readers of the blog have already figured out where we are headed. The name of the book is Animal Farm. It was written by George Orwell. Its length is similar to The Giver, but it is a much different read. Yes, it is a bit more difficult. That's one reason why I won't be just handing you the book and saying, "Read away!" We'll go through this one together, doing activities, writing, and discussing along the way to make sure our comprehension is where it needs to be.
One of the first things we'll discuss is the euphemism. If you're not sure what it is, you'll want to look it up. But beyond merely acquiring a definition, I'll want you to understand how and why they are used and why George Orwell used them the way he did. What did his use of euphemisms add to the story? That's a question that we will be discussing as we progress through the novel.
We'll do a Tool Time tomorrow. It's Friday Read Day so bring a book to read to first hour. Now I have papers to assess, so I'll be bringing this to a close.
See you soon.
The timed writing went well today. I've started to assess the papers and already wish to commend Ricky Zhu and Garrett Pfrender from period one for their strong symbol examples for The Giver. Decent, quick explanations as well. I can't wait to see what else is out there. I'm sure there are plenty of others that are just as strong.
Our immediate work with The Giver is just about over, but there are a couple questions I'd still like you to discuss. Here they are:
How does the novel connect with the other pieces we have looked at already this year?
What is Lowry's purpose for writing this novel?
After that it will be time to start thinking about our next read. I've been dropping hints, and a few astute readers of the blog have already figured out where we are headed. The name of the book is Animal Farm. It was written by George Orwell. Its length is similar to The Giver, but it is a much different read. Yes, it is a bit more difficult. That's one reason why I won't be just handing you the book and saying, "Read away!" We'll go through this one together, doing activities, writing, and discussing along the way to make sure our comprehension is where it needs to be.
One of the first things we'll discuss is the euphemism. If you're not sure what it is, you'll want to look it up. But beyond merely acquiring a definition, I'll want you to understand how and why they are used and why George Orwell used them the way he did. What did his use of euphemisms add to the story? That's a question that we will be discussing as we progress through the novel.
We'll do a Tool Time tomorrow. It's Friday Read Day so bring a book to read to first hour. Now I have papers to assess, so I'll be bringing this to a close.
See you soon.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Standard 09-25-2013
The Acuity test revealed some serious shortcomings today. I'll be looking at the scores and the data, but we'll need to pay attention to these results and change things up a bit. Lots of time to learn before those ISTEP tests next spring.
I was looking at your papers last night and today and noticed that we need to work on a few things: hooks, titles and authors, and claims. No one had a hook. Few offered both the title of the stories and the authors' names. The claims were pretty good, but clarity wasn't always what it needed to be and some of the claims could only be supported by two of the stories. We'll work on some of those tomorrow.
You'll get The Giver tomorrow too. I know, I know, I promised it to you earlier this week, but you can take it to the bank that you'll have it in your hands tomorrow before leaving class. It's a good story. We'll have some solid conversation over it as we move through the text. I'm sure you'll find the book is the bees knees.
See you soon.
I was looking at your papers last night and today and noticed that we need to work on a few things: hooks, titles and authors, and claims. No one had a hook. Few offered both the title of the stories and the authors' names. The claims were pretty good, but clarity wasn't always what it needed to be and some of the claims could only be supported by two of the stories. We'll work on some of those tomorrow.
You'll get The Giver tomorrow too. I know, I know, I promised it to you earlier this week, but you can take it to the bank that you'll have it in your hands tomorrow before leaving class. It's a good story. We'll have some solid conversation over it as we move through the text. I'm sure you'll find the book is the bees knees.
See you soon.
Honors 09-25-2013
Three months until Christmas! No. I'm not excited; I just hope my wife buys me the Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot Range Model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing which tells time. I'll sign your Archer card tomorrow if you tell me what movie I just alluded to.
Acuity came and went today. We celebrated some perfect scores from several individuals and high scores pretty much across the board. That's great. It makes our goal of every honors student earning a pass plus on ISTEP next spring that much more realistic. Keep up the good work.
Ah...speaking of work, you'll be doing that in class tomorrow in the form of a timed writing. Good writing is hard work, but it will be easier if you prepared yourself by looking over the prompts and securing some quotes. We chopped the options down to 11 possibilities. I know, that's still a big number, but at least you have an idea what's coming your way. On ISTEP, PARCC, AP tests, SATs and ACTs, you'll be going in cold. At this moment, I'm feeling one short answer question and one essay. Since you'll have 50 minutes, I'd keep about 40 for the essay and ten for the short answer. It's your writing, so you decide what you want to do.
One question which I really like, but didn't make it on the prompt list and wasn't discussed in class on Monday or Tuesday is the following: What was Lowry's purpose for writing The Giver? What message did she intend on sending? We might hold out some time Friday for that one. And as much as I like the question, I'm not going to ask you to connect the novel to the other stories we read. (There you go--that drops the possibilities to ten!) I'm not convinced we are ready to attack that one. Perhaps another one for Friday?
Friday will also be that start of our next reading. It's an anthropomorphic revolution! It's a devastatingly savage attack on an idealistic way of life. It's a comedy that will make you cringe. It's a superb example of situational irony.
What's an Orwell, comrade?
See you soon.
Acuity came and went today. We celebrated some perfect scores from several individuals and high scores pretty much across the board. That's great. It makes our goal of every honors student earning a pass plus on ISTEP next spring that much more realistic. Keep up the good work.
Ah...speaking of work, you'll be doing that in class tomorrow in the form of a timed writing. Good writing is hard work, but it will be easier if you prepared yourself by looking over the prompts and securing some quotes. We chopped the options down to 11 possibilities. I know, that's still a big number, but at least you have an idea what's coming your way. On ISTEP, PARCC, AP tests, SATs and ACTs, you'll be going in cold. At this moment, I'm feeling one short answer question and one essay. Since you'll have 50 minutes, I'd keep about 40 for the essay and ten for the short answer. It's your writing, so you decide what you want to do.
One question which I really like, but didn't make it on the prompt list and wasn't discussed in class on Monday or Tuesday is the following: What was Lowry's purpose for writing The Giver? What message did she intend on sending? We might hold out some time Friday for that one. And as much as I like the question, I'm not going to ask you to connect the novel to the other stories we read. (There you go--that drops the possibilities to ten!) I'm not convinced we are ready to attack that one. Perhaps another one for Friday?
Friday will also be that start of our next reading. It's an anthropomorphic revolution! It's a devastatingly savage attack on an idealistic way of life. It's a comedy that will make you cringe. It's a superb example of situational irony.
What's an Orwell, comrade?
See you soon.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Standard 09-24-2013
I'll open with an apology. I'm sorry that The Giver was not passed out today. I really felt that we needed to do a bit of writing on "Old Glory, "The Pedestrian", and "Harrison Bergeron". Your goal is to find a connection between the three stories. The more insightful your connection the better. This is going to be an in-class essay. Completely, in class. You'll be assessed on your ability to clearly develop a unique, well-supported connection between the three stories. Remember, after you make a claim you need to say something about the story, support it, explain it. You'll do that for each story. I have your initial drafts. We'll take our next step as soon as tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the predictive Acuity test. You need to start it and finish it tomorrow. It's not for a grade, but it does indicate how well you'll do on ISTEP in the spring.
Great job overall on those figurative language quizzes. So many perfect scores! I felt great and you should too. We added to our figurative language bank today with the word metaphor. Can you define it? Can you come up with an example? Can you explain why your example is a metaphor? If you answered yes to all three, then you are well on your way to another perfect score on another figurative language quiz.
How important is it to know your grandparents?
See you soon.
Tomorrow is the predictive Acuity test. You need to start it and finish it tomorrow. It's not for a grade, but it does indicate how well you'll do on ISTEP in the spring.
Great job overall on those figurative language quizzes. So many perfect scores! I felt great and you should too. We added to our figurative language bank today with the word metaphor. Can you define it? Can you come up with an example? Can you explain why your example is a metaphor? If you answered yes to all three, then you are well on your way to another perfect score on another figurative language quiz.
How important is it to know your grandparents?
See you soon.
Honors 9-24-2013
Loved that discussion today in period one about whether or not Jonas was a hero. Great job by Renee Yaseen to bring in the Eric Snowden comparison. THAT'S insightful! She definitely scored a 10/10 on her discussion participation. (Congrats!) Several others did too. If you got involved a minimum of three times and were drawing information from the text, then you landed in that 10/10 category as well.
Thursday will be our timed writing experience. We'll travel up to the IMC and spread out and start writing. Look over the prompts on the back of your Giver instructions. Review the classroom discussions over the last couple of days. Know the book well. You'll need to draw quotes from the text to support your answers.
I'll start assessing the agreement quiz tonight. Hopefully, you all mastered that. After all, you did get to choose. I hope you chose well.
Let's see, six weeks in school and three standardized tests. Not liking the feel of that. Hopefully, our Acuity test tomorrow will be the last one this quarter.
What is anthropomorphism?
See you soon.
Thursday will be our timed writing experience. We'll travel up to the IMC and spread out and start writing. Look over the prompts on the back of your Giver instructions. Review the classroom discussions over the last couple of days. Know the book well. You'll need to draw quotes from the text to support your answers.
I'll start assessing the agreement quiz tonight. Hopefully, you all mastered that. After all, you did get to choose. I hope you chose well.
Let's see, six weeks in school and three standardized tests. Not liking the feel of that. Hopefully, our Acuity test tomorrow will be the last one this quarter.
What is anthropomorphism?
See you soon.
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