English I - Week of November 17, 2014

Monday, November 17
Standards: W9.1, SL9.1, and SL9.4

Objective: Students will write about their understanding and perception of Hip Hop Culture from the perspective of their own personal experiences.

Agenda

• Warm-up
• "Hip Hop Culture"
• Quick Write (QW)
• Pair Share
• Class Share

Homework

• News Article Summary - due Friday
• Dialectical Journal - due Dec. 1st. 

Tuesday, November 18

Standards: W9.1, SL9.1, and SL9.4

Objective: Students will read the Source Notes and answer two questions based upon what they have read.

Agenda

• Warm-up
• "Hip Hop Culture"
• Recap
• Source Notes and Questions
• Whole Class Discussion

Homework

• News Article Summary - due Friday
• Dialectical Journal - due Dec. 1st.

Wednesday, November 18

Standards: RI9.2, RI9.4, and RI9.6

Objective: Students will complete a first reading of the text, circling unfamiliar words.

Agenda

• Warm-up
• "Hip Hop Culture"
• Discuss Source Notes Questions
• First reading of text

Homework

• News Article Summary - due Friday
• Dialectical Journal - due Dec. 1st.

English III - Week of November 17, 2014

November 17

Standards: RL11.2, RL11.3, and RL11.5

Objective:  Students will read the play with volunteers reading a chosen role. Focus will be on characterization and rising action.

Agenda

• Warm-up
• The Crucible, Act I (1100 - 1106)

Homework

• News Article (Summary or Newsela Quiz - Due Friday)
• Dialectical Journal - due Dec. 1st. 

November 18

Standards: RL11.2, RL11.3, and RL11.5

Objective:  Students will read the play with volunteers reading a chosen role. Focus will be on characterization and rising action.

Agenda

• Warm-up
• The Crucible, Act I (1106 - 1116/17)

Homework

• News Article (Summary or Newsela Quiz - Due Friday)
• Dialectical Journal - due Dec. 1st. 

November 19

Standards: RL11.2, RL11.3, and RL11.5

Objective:  Students will first listen to a presentation on Germany by our Foreign Exchange student learning about the history, culture, castles, and education system of Germany. Students will then read the play with volunteers reading a chosen role. Focus will be on characterization and rising action.

Agenda

• Warm-up
• Germany Presentation
• The Crucible, Act I (1116/17 - 11)

Homework

• News Article (Summary or Newsela Quiz - Due Friday)
• Dialectical Journal - due Dec. 1st.

English III - Week of 11-10-14

As Monday and Tuesdays were non-student days, the class schedule begins on 11-12-14.

November 12 - Wednesday

Standards: RI 11.4 and RI 11.6

Objective: Students will engage in pre Crucible reading activities to prepare them for The Crucible.

Agenda

• Warm-up
• Read "Why I Wrote The Crucible" (1095 - 1096)
• Answer questions in the packet
• Read "Circumstantial Evidence" (in the packet)
• Answer question at the end of the reading

Be prepared to discuss the question the last five minutes of class.

Homework

• News Article (Summary - or Newsela Quiz) - due Friday
• Dialectical Journal - due Dec. 1st.
• Did you complete your essay corrections?

November 13 - Thursday

Standards: R 11.1 and R 11.3

Objective: Students will work on their outside novel and Dialectical Journal (DJ).

Agenda

• Warm-up
• Silent Novel Reading and DJ

Homework

• News Article (Summary - or Newsela Quiz) - due Friday
• Dialectical Journal - due Dec. 1st.
• Did you complete your essay corrections?

November 14 - Friday

Objective: Students will demonstrate their acquisition of weekly vocabulary terms through their vocabulary test. 

Homework

• Dialectical Journal - due Dec. 1st.
• Did you complete your essay corrections?

Vocabulary 11-10-14

Here are the words for this week. Notice that there are only 15 words because we have a shortened week.

1.       Credibility – trustworthiness

2.       Permeate - infuse

3.       Linger - remain

4.       Embrace – hug, cling to

5.       Legacy - tradition

6.       Benefactor – helper

7.       Chronic – habitual

8.       Cynical – distrustful of human sincerity

9.       Delve – dig into

10.   Diligent – pursue with attention to detail

11.       Eradicate – totally destroy

12.       Relevant – connect, important

13.       Subsequent – coming after

14.       Application – putting to use

15.       Credible – worth of belief, trustworthy

English I - November 5 - 7, 2014

November 5

Objective: Students will compare their analytical summary of the text in which they use textual evidence to summarize and discuss the text. DOK 2: Summarize

Agenda

• Warm-up
• Complete Summarizing and Responding
• Share in small group
• 3 Whole class shares

Homework

• News Article Summary - due Friday

November 6

Standards: W9.1, W9.2, W9.4, W9.8, and W9.9

Objective: Students will use the text chart created in class and the text to gather concrete details which may be used for responding tot he prompt they have chosen.

Agenda

• Warm-up
• Choose a prompt

Homework

• News Article Summary - due Friday
• Dialectical Journal - due Dec. 1st. 

November 7

Objective: Students will demonstrate their acquisition of vocabulary terms through our weekly vocabulary test.

Agenda

• Vocabulary Test

Homework

• Dialectical Journal - due December 1st 

English III - November 5 - 7, 2014

November 5

Standards: W11.4, W11.10, SL11.1, and SL11.4

Objective: Students will respond to QW prompt to begin thinking and writing about as well as discussing accusation. DOK 1: thinking=recall

Agenda

• Warm-up
• Discuss Essay Correction Assignment
• The Crucible
• QW1
• Vocabulary

Homework

• News Article
• Summary or Newsela Quiz - due Friday
• Essay Corrections - due Nov 12th

November 6

Objective: Students will recall/learn literary terms (vocabulary) that will be discussed during The Crucible.

Agenda

• Warm-up
• Unit Vocabulary
• Student
• Give 1, Get 1

November 7

Objective: Students will demonstrate their acquisition of vocabulary terms through our weekly vocabulary test.

Agenda

• Vocabulary Test

Homework

• Essay Corrections - due November 12th
• Dialectical Journal - due December 1st
  

Extra Credit Opportunity - "Dead man's Cell Phone"

Hello All,

I am offering 20 pts. extra credit to any of my students who attend a viewing of "Dead Man's Cell Phone" which is being put on by the Desert Hot Springs Theater Department. To receive this extra credit, you must bring me a playbook from the play along with your ticket stub.

Essay Correction Assignment

To receive the full 40 pts for the Essay Correction Assignment which is due Wednesday, November 12, 2014, you will need to follow these steps:

1. Access your Google Classroom for this course
2. Click on the Native American Culture Essay Assignment
3. Click to view the comments that I have made
4. Reply to each comment with the changes errors being addressed in that comment
5. Send me an e-mail, vblevins@psusd.us, letting me know that you have made all the corrections

If you scored less than 70 pts. on your essay and you would like to raise your essay score and grade int he course, follow these steps:

1. Make all essay correction by completing the above five steps
2. Make a copy of the assignment by clicking on "Make a Copy"
3. Re-write the essay incorporating the changes from the comments and correction into the revised essay. 
4. Turn it in.

If you have any problems with re-writing your essay, please come and see me in my room at lunch or after school on Mondays or Wednesdays.

Outside Novel Dialectical Journal

Hello Students, Parents, and Guardians,

Included in this post are links to the direction for completing the Dialectical Journal you will write in response to the outside novel you have chosen . Please be advised that the assignment is slightly different depending on whether you are one of my ninth or eleventh grade students. Please click on the appropriate link for your grade level.

English I Link
English III Link

Monday, 13 October 2014

Standards: W 9.1, W 9.2, and W 9.4.

Objective: Students will demonstrate their understanding of texts and argument strategies and their writing abilities on the district Short Cycle Assessment.

Agenda

• Warm-up
• SCA

Homework

• News Article
• Summary or Newsela Quiz

This agenda also applies to Tuesday, 14 October. 

Monday, 13 October 2014

 Standards: RI 11.1, RI 11.2, RI, 11.7, and SL 11.1

Objective: Students will practice their reading and annotation skills in preparation for the formal assessment (debate).

Agenda

• Warm-up
• Read, Annotate, and Discuss

Homework

• News Article: Summary or Newsela Quiz

This post also contains the class agenda for Tuesday, 14 October, Wednesday, 15 October, and Thursday, 16 October.

Week 22 September 2014 Vocabulary

Week 9-15-14

1.       Intention – purpose, reason

2.       Sequence – order of occurrence

3.       Prose – ordinary form of spoken or written language

4.       Trait – characteristic

5.       Theme – main subject or idea of literary work

6.       Thesis – topic to be discussed or proved

7.       Summary –  brief or comprehensive description

8.       Quote – to repeat words exactly

9.       Skim – to look over briefly

10.   Speculate – to think about, consider

Week 9-22-14

1.       Investigate – examine

2.       Irrelevant – unimportant

3.       Method – procedure

4.       Monitor (verb) – observe

5.       Monitor (noun) – supervisor

6.       Presume – count on

7.       Primary – basic

8.       Procedure – process

9.       Reveal – tell

10. Tone – pitch, volume

12 September 2014 - English III

Social Contracts

As a part of setting up the culture of our classroom, the students played a primary role in establishing the criteria by which our classroom environment would be governed. Students were divided into four groups (each consisting of 7 - 9 students) and explored the answers to the following questions:

1. How do you want to be treated by me (leader)?
2. How do you want to be treated by me (leader)?
3. How do you think I (leader) want to be treated by you?
4. How do we want to treat each other when there is conflict?

Here are the results:
Period 1 - English III

Period 2 - English III

Period 4 - English I

Period 5 - English I

Period 6 - English I

11 September 2014 - English III

11 September 2014 - English I

9 September 2014 - English I

9 September 2014 - English III

8 September 2014 - English III

8 September 2014 - English I

5 September 2014 - English I

Whiteboard:

If you were absent today, you have until Friday, 12 September 2014 to make up your Vocabulary Test.

5 September 2014 English III

Whiteboard:

If you were absent today, you have until Friday, 12 September to make up your Vocabulary Test.

Denny Wenny

Today we will begin "Denny Wenny" and learning about what it means to be a rhetorical reader. Over the next 15 school days (or so), we will examine images and formulate responses to questions such as "What do I see? and What does this mean/Why is this important?" While we are only examining images at this point, the important key elements of the assignment are that we learn how to support our opinion with the facts we see before us. It is equally important that we learn to effectively communicate our higher level thinking. If  you are working from home, feel free to view the color images below as this might make the assignment more vivid.

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

Image 5

Image 6

Image 7

News Article Summary Presentation

Below you will find a link that will take you to the Prezi that explains the requirements for the weekly News Article Summaries which are due every Friday. As a reminder, we are doing the first article as a class, the second article will be done while working in small groups, and you will begin working on your own for the third article and beyond.
Click here to view the presentation.

April 24, 2014 9th Grade

Content

• Critical Analysis Response Question two to "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" - excerpt by Maya Angelou

April 23, 2014 9th Grade

Content

• 9th Grade Benchmark

April 23, 2014 10th Grade

Content

• 4th Quarter Benchmark

Found Poetry Extra Credit Opportunity

Worth 50 pts.

April 17, 2014 10th Grade

Content

• Body Paragraph two of analytical essay. What figurative language device will you focus on for this paragraph? Are there enough examples of its use within the poem?
• Extra Credit found poetry recap

April 16, 2014 10th Grade

Content

• Extra Credit Opportunities
• Vocabulary crossword and word search 
• Essay packet responding to the following prompt: Within today's fasts paced, technology driven society, one does not often take time to notice their surroundings. In Robert Frost's poem, "Birches," the narrator reflects upon, appreciates, and values nature. Re-read the poem and your annotations. In a one chunk (2:1+), multi-paragraph essay, analyze how Frost uses figurative language to show the speaker's enlightened experience with nature.
• Introduction Paragraph with strong thesis

April 15, 2014 10th Grade

• Essay packet responding to the following prompt: Within today's fasts paced, technology driven society, one does not often take time to notice their surroundings. In Robert Frost's poem, "Birches," the narrator reflects upon, appreciates, and values nature. Re-read the poem and your annotations. In a one chunk (2:1+), multi-paragraph essay, analyze how Frost uses figurative language to show the speaker's enlightened experience with nature.
• Choose a figurative language device as the focus for body paragraph one. Make sure that there is sufficient evidence from the text to support your choice. Ex. I would not choose onomatopoeia as there are no concrete details which I could use in my writing. 

April 11, 2014 10th Grade

Covers:

• Upcoming Progress Reports
• Recapping Extra Credit
• Critical Analysis Response Question 5 (Due Monday, 4-14-14).

April 10, 2014 10th Grade

Covers: "Birches" critical analysis questions 5 (Due 4-14-14).

• CDs
• CMs

 

April 9, 2014 10th Grade

Part A - Extra Credit Opportunities,  Monthly Goals, and beginning critical analysis question 5 (Due Monday 4-14-14)



 Part B Break down of critical analysis questions 5 (Due 4-14-14).

April 8, 2014 10th Grade

In this video, I again discuss Webbing Off the Word (pg. 3). I then go on to discussing the Shaping Sheet.

April 7, 2014 10th Grade

In this video, I outline the goals for today's class participation points and give you a quick refresher on completing the Web Off the Word (pg 3).

April Extra Credit

Extra Credit opportunities for the month of April are:

Palo Verde High School Color Run - 4-5-14 (100 pts.) Students must have a picture to prove their participation in the event.

"Forest of the Dead"

• attending a performance will earn you 20 pts. EC. Performance days are:
• Thursday, April 10th at 7 pm
• Saturday, April 12th at 8 pm
• Sunday, April 13th at 3 pm
• Students who are performing in the play may receive 20 pts. EC as well
• For doing a one page essay response (50 pts.)
• Write about your experience viewing this theatrical production. Some things to consider during your writing: Which scenes did you like best and why? Which scenes did you like least and why? Who was the star of the show and why? 

Read: Grab a book of your choice from the library and bring it to me for approval. You and I will make an agreement about how many extra credit points you will receive and how you are to keep your reading journal. Point will be awarded upon completion of the book and submission of the reading journal.