And now we have all made it. I'll have all the grades updated and finalized before I go with the exception of any AP Seminar students who need to do elevator pitches after break since we didn't have time today in class.
AP Seminar
Over break you should all be actively working on your IWA and IMPOD presentations. It is important that you return to school with a good working rough draft. I would use the IWA checklist as you are going through this process to make sure that your work aligns with the task. Also be sure to use your rubric and all of the discussion we have had around the rubric to help you with this.
Remember that presentations will occur about two weeks after we return to school and all IMPOD presentations will be due on the first day of presentations.
Advanced Russian
Over the break we should all be focused on resting, recovering, and spending time with vocabulary and grammar skills. Break gives you a great chance to work on things at your own pace. I would recommend spending time with your projects - Russian III students should have the project on recipes and cooking over the break. Russian II students should put together a solid draft of the project so that we can focus on corrections.
The other work is to study and review the process of forming the Genitive Plural. Go to Google Classroom and find Exercise 7.7 and complete the declensions!
Russian I
Today in class we finished our culture work related to vocabulary, culture, and finishing our grades for Quarter 3. Once you left class, all of the work was turned in. The grading period is now over.
Over break I would suggest following up on your vocabulary as well as on your grammar skills. We'll have the Unit 2 Exam not too long after we return from break. Probably the second week. It'll cover cases with nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and the skills on verb conjugation too. I'll have a study guide for you when we return from break for what you'll need to study.
Friday, March 22, 2019
Thursday, March 21, 2019
Homework for Spring Break - A Day - 21 March 2019
We made it everyone! Break is upon us! Here are your reminders for what to accomplish over the break. Enjoy yourselves! Get a lot of rest and come back ready for the final push!
AP English III
Over the Spring Break we have reading and writing to accomplish. The reading is in The Grapes of Wrath and will take you through to the end of Chapter Sixteen. As you read you'll be going through the journey to California. Watch the characters. Use your motif charts. Those of you with chapter presentations in this section, be prepared for these - they'll fall on Wednesday after we return. As I said in class - there will be a quiz on this section of the reading. Don't be fooled.
On Monday when we return there will be papers due. Remember that your final draft should be that. You'll have one chance to resubmit it after it is scored. It should be printed, and submitted with a cover sheet and rubric. Submit your final draft with your process pieces - the rubrics - in your envelope on Monday.
English IV
Today in class we took our vocabulary quiz, had some time to do some poetry test corrections and then it was time to head to Room 401 to work on our applications with Mr. Clark. I know that some of us got a bit of bad news today, but remember that there are still a ton of options for you. Life is all about what you make it - so keep striving even if you can't get exactly what you want.
Over break I would suggest spending time relaxing and reading. Remember that when we return we have several weeks left before we begin to prepare for our exams! Be ready for a strong finish!
AP English III
Over the Spring Break we have reading and writing to accomplish. The reading is in The Grapes of Wrath and will take you through to the end of Chapter Sixteen. As you read you'll be going through the journey to California. Watch the characters. Use your motif charts. Those of you with chapter presentations in this section, be prepared for these - they'll fall on Wednesday after we return. As I said in class - there will be a quiz on this section of the reading. Don't be fooled.
On Monday when we return there will be papers due. Remember that your final draft should be that. You'll have one chance to resubmit it after it is scored. It should be printed, and submitted with a cover sheet and rubric. Submit your final draft with your process pieces - the rubrics - in your envelope on Monday.
English IV
Today in class we took our vocabulary quiz, had some time to do some poetry test corrections and then it was time to head to Room 401 to work on our applications with Mr. Clark. I know that some of us got a bit of bad news today, but remember that there are still a ton of options for you. Life is all about what you make it - so keep striving even if you can't get exactly what you want.
Over break I would suggest spending time relaxing and reading. Remember that when we return we have several weeks left before we begin to prepare for our exams! Be ready for a strong finish!
Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Homework for B-Day Students: 20 March
We are drawing to the end of the quarter very quickly. Be sure that your final assignments are complete and that you are turning in everything!
AP Seminar
Today was great! I enjoyed having you take me through your outlines and arguments. I love what I'm seeing and the interesting investigations that you are pursuing. I hope that you all enjoyed the elevator pitches - it's so interesting to me the various topics and questions we're exploring.
Remember that all assignments will be completed on Friday. You'll do your conference/pitch then if you did not today in class. IWA drafts will be assessed when we return from break. Be sure that you're also working through your IMPOD too!
Advanced Russian
We focused on exercises today in order to understand some key grammatical points before taking time at the end of class to finish our interpretive listening activities and work on our vocabulary projects. Tonight I would recommend to Russian II students to finish collecting your research for your weather report (today, tomorrow, and yesterday in Russia and Durham) and to read the weather reports at the beginning of Chapter Seven as an example of how to structure this information.
Russian III students should complete the planning for the recipe project and begin speaking. Remember that you should be using modals and food vocabulary as you are completing this work!
Make sure that your grade is reflective of where you want it to be!
Russian I
Today in class we did a lot of work related to culture - especially how Russians live. We'll finish our cultural investigation on Friday and watch the Russian/Soviet apartment that I lived in my first summer in Moscow. Tonight and moving into Friday it's important to get all of your final work submitted including viewing guides for our most recent film and the projects (plans and writing). I like that I have a lot of work to get through from you all on my desk.
I'll continue to accept work through class on Friday. Be sure that if anything is missing or low, that you have completed it or reassessed. I'll also keep taking rubles.
AP Seminar
Today was great! I enjoyed having you take me through your outlines and arguments. I love what I'm seeing and the interesting investigations that you are pursuing. I hope that you all enjoyed the elevator pitches - it's so interesting to me the various topics and questions we're exploring.
Remember that all assignments will be completed on Friday. You'll do your conference/pitch then if you did not today in class. IWA drafts will be assessed when we return from break. Be sure that you're also working through your IMPOD too!
Advanced Russian
We focused on exercises today in order to understand some key grammatical points before taking time at the end of class to finish our interpretive listening activities and work on our vocabulary projects. Tonight I would recommend to Russian II students to finish collecting your research for your weather report (today, tomorrow, and yesterday in Russia and Durham) and to read the weather reports at the beginning of Chapter Seven as an example of how to structure this information.
Russian III students should complete the planning for the recipe project and begin speaking. Remember that you should be using modals and food vocabulary as you are completing this work!
Make sure that your grade is reflective of where you want it to be!
Russian I
Today in class we did a lot of work related to culture - especially how Russians live. We'll finish our cultural investigation on Friday and watch the Russian/Soviet apartment that I lived in my first summer in Moscow. Tonight and moving into Friday it's important to get all of your final work submitted including viewing guides for our most recent film and the projects (plans and writing). I like that I have a lot of work to get through from you all on my desk.
I'll continue to accept work through class on Friday. Be sure that if anything is missing or low, that you have completed it or reassessed. I'll also keep taking rubles.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019
Homework for A-Day: 19 March 2019 - Almost There!
AP English III
During today's class we spent the majority of our time working through Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue". This piece is very important as it helps us to consider and understand the ways in which stereotypes oversimplify and silence people. Language, and the way people talk, has a clear impact on how we understand them - Tan's piece helps us to recognize the real implications of this. From there, we moved on to Chapter 7 to see how language and identity are connected in that text as well.
For tonight, please read and annotate Chapter 8 - be on the lookout for all the Joads - as well as S. Truth's short speech called "Ain't I A Woman". This piece is in 50 Essays and available at this link. As you read it - consider how language and identity are interacting with elements of gender. How does Truth's language complicate ideas of what is a woman? Does Ma Joad further this complication in any way?
Remember that next class is our last class of the nine weeks. All writing conferences will be completed by the end of the day on Friday and you have been given your final documents for your research papers. Remember that papers are due at the end of class on 1 April. You must submit a full packet including your final draft and your preliminary document rubrics.
English IV
Today in class was focused on our novels and vocabulary skills. Next class we'll have a short vocabulary assessment based on the first nine roots that we have learned in Lesson 17. Be sure that you have prepared for this by looking over your notes and knowing the meaning of your various word parts so that you can navigate the vocabulary assessment with ease.
We spent a lot of time summarizing our books up to this point and developing our knowledge about our characters. We'll get back to our film after Spring Break as a a movie day is usually a good day to come back to after vacation.
Thursday is our last class of the quarter. Be sure that you have displayed your skills by working through any assignments that you may have left for this quarter.
During today's class we spent the majority of our time working through Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue". This piece is very important as it helps us to consider and understand the ways in which stereotypes oversimplify and silence people. Language, and the way people talk, has a clear impact on how we understand them - Tan's piece helps us to recognize the real implications of this. From there, we moved on to Chapter 7 to see how language and identity are connected in that text as well.
For tonight, please read and annotate Chapter 8 - be on the lookout for all the Joads - as well as S. Truth's short speech called "Ain't I A Woman". This piece is in 50 Essays and available at this link. As you read it - consider how language and identity are interacting with elements of gender. How does Truth's language complicate ideas of what is a woman? Does Ma Joad further this complication in any way?
Remember that next class is our last class of the nine weeks. All writing conferences will be completed by the end of the day on Friday and you have been given your final documents for your research papers. Remember that papers are due at the end of class on 1 April. You must submit a full packet including your final draft and your preliminary document rubrics.
English IV
Today in class was focused on our novels and vocabulary skills. Next class we'll have a short vocabulary assessment based on the first nine roots that we have learned in Lesson 17. Be sure that you have prepared for this by looking over your notes and knowing the meaning of your various word parts so that you can navigate the vocabulary assessment with ease.
We spent a lot of time summarizing our books up to this point and developing our knowledge about our characters. We'll get back to our film after Spring Break as a a movie day is usually a good day to come back to after vacation.
Thursday is our last class of the quarter. Be sure that you have displayed your skills by working through any assignments that you may have left for this quarter.
Monday, March 18, 2019
Homework for B-Day - Monday - 18 March
AP Seminar
Today in class we had a really productive day of watching a mid-scoring IMPOD (good to give ourselves that to contrast from the other), some critical discussion, a review of outlines, and then independent working time. Remember that our final assessments of the quarter will fall on these last two days. Here's a review of what they are:
1. Elevator Pitches - Minor Grade - Have you stated your question? Stimulus document connection? Solution or argument for a solution? So What? How does this affect real people? You'll get ten points for your answer for each question.
2. Outline Conferences - Major Grade - Take me through your outline and show how you've addressed each row of the rubric. You'll receive ten points for each element of the rubric.
Be prepared for the end of the quarter. Remember that drafts of IWAs will be finished when we return from break!
Advanced Russian
Today in class we spent time reviewing our case functions and plural declensions (Russian II/III) before going on to a discussion around the importance of selecting the appropriate aspect when using modals to express needs, permission, and refusals. Remember the importance of aspect and knowing how to navigate your pairs as we are working through this Russian IIIs.
Tonight for homework you should practice with our new skills by completing exercises for practice. Russian II have exercise 7.1. Go through and apply your case declensions. Do not do any Genitive Plurals - this will be our focus when we return from Spring Break. Russian III should complete exercises 9.7 and 9.8 to play with aspect and modals requiring aspect.
If you have any missing work or low scoring work, be sure to see me this week to complete those assignments or reassessments. You can also see me this week with rubles or Falcon Feathers to raise your score.
Russian I
Today in class we focused on how pronouns and question words (who/what) change to represent the various cases in Russian. Remember that words will change in order to show their full function in the sentence. I think that chanting the case forms is a great way to memorize them (and to sound like you're possessed in Russian). Complete exercise 2.16 as a way to practice with this work. What pronoun do we need? What case do we need? Use your chart to make the appropriate changes.
Additionally, remember that this is the last week of the grading period. The final two assignments for this quarter are our viewing guide on Office Romance and our floor plan projects. Everything should be turned in ASAP so that it can be recorded for you.
As always, please get in contact with me if you need anything!
Today in class we had a really productive day of watching a mid-scoring IMPOD (good to give ourselves that to contrast from the other), some critical discussion, a review of outlines, and then independent working time. Remember that our final assessments of the quarter will fall on these last two days. Here's a review of what they are:
1. Elevator Pitches - Minor Grade - Have you stated your question? Stimulus document connection? Solution or argument for a solution? So What? How does this affect real people? You'll get ten points for your answer for each question.
2. Outline Conferences - Major Grade - Take me through your outline and show how you've addressed each row of the rubric. You'll receive ten points for each element of the rubric.
Be prepared for the end of the quarter. Remember that drafts of IWAs will be finished when we return from break!
Advanced Russian
Today in class we spent time reviewing our case functions and plural declensions (Russian II/III) before going on to a discussion around the importance of selecting the appropriate aspect when using modals to express needs, permission, and refusals. Remember the importance of aspect and knowing how to navigate your pairs as we are working through this Russian IIIs.
Tonight for homework you should practice with our new skills by completing exercises for practice. Russian II have exercise 7.1. Go through and apply your case declensions. Do not do any Genitive Plurals - this will be our focus when we return from Spring Break. Russian III should complete exercises 9.7 and 9.8 to play with aspect and modals requiring aspect.
If you have any missing work or low scoring work, be sure to see me this week to complete those assignments or reassessments. You can also see me this week with rubles or Falcon Feathers to raise your score.
Russian I
Today in class we focused on how pronouns and question words (who/what) change to represent the various cases in Russian. Remember that words will change in order to show their full function in the sentence. I think that chanting the case forms is a great way to memorize them (and to sound like you're possessed in Russian). Complete exercise 2.16 as a way to practice with this work. What pronoun do we need? What case do we need? Use your chart to make the appropriate changes.
Additionally, remember that this is the last week of the grading period. The final two assignments for this quarter are our viewing guide on Office Romance and our floor plan projects. Everything should be turned in ASAP so that it can be recorded for you.
As always, please get in contact with me if you need anything!
Friday, March 15, 2019
Homework for the Weekend - A-Day Students - 15 March
AP English III
Good work today in class with our presentations on The Grapes of Wrath as well as our discoveries about Steinbeck's various purposes in the novel as he creates antagonists. I was very happy with what we were doing in class; please continue this work at home as you keep reading. Over the weekend please complete Chapter 7. Don't forget to finish your motif chart for this chapter as well. Additionally, you'll want to read Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue". This piece really focuses on the idea of language/identity/stereotypes. Consider how this piece and Eighner's help us to add complexity to our understanding of others - especially the poor and people who speak with a non-standard English.
The other major work relates to our research papers. Everyone will be required to submit a rough draft (50%) on Tuesday. Remember that if you conference before Tuesday, you will just bring your draft to your conference. We've already had several successful conferences. Be sure that you are ready and prepared to finish the Quarter!
English IV
After a bit of a rocky go yesterday we had a really great and productive day today. Lots of good learning, and I am always so happy to see you all reading and enjoying your books. Remember this weekend to keep reading to get at least to page sixty in your books. This is especially important if you've fallen behind or missed class.
Additionally, remember that this is the last weekend of the grading period. We need to make sure that tests are complete and that everything we wanted to resubmit is in.
Good work today in class with our presentations on The Grapes of Wrath as well as our discoveries about Steinbeck's various purposes in the novel as he creates antagonists. I was very happy with what we were doing in class; please continue this work at home as you keep reading. Over the weekend please complete Chapter 7. Don't forget to finish your motif chart for this chapter as well. Additionally, you'll want to read Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue". This piece really focuses on the idea of language/identity/stereotypes. Consider how this piece and Eighner's help us to add complexity to our understanding of others - especially the poor and people who speak with a non-standard English.
The other major work relates to our research papers. Everyone will be required to submit a rough draft (50%) on Tuesday. Remember that if you conference before Tuesday, you will just bring your draft to your conference. We've already had several successful conferences. Be sure that you are ready and prepared to finish the Quarter!
English IV
After a bit of a rocky go yesterday we had a really great and productive day today. Lots of good learning, and I am always so happy to see you all reading and enjoying your books. Remember this weekend to keep reading to get at least to page sixty in your books. This is especially important if you've fallen behind or missed class.
Additionally, remember that this is the last weekend of the grading period. We need to make sure that tests are complete and that everything we wanted to resubmit is in.
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Homework for the Weekend - B Day Students
AP Seminar
Over the weekend it's really all about the IWA and the outline. It's time to put it together, to keep researching, and to keep writing. Remember that the more that you write, and the more content that you generate, the easier it is to move through the editing and refining process.
Be sure that you are using the rubric, the sample documents, and the activities we complete in class to help you with all of this. I'm available a lot during class and outside of class for anything that you need. Remember to use me as you need me.
Russian II/III
Today in class we had our vocabulary quiz on Unit 7 and Unit 9. I'll have these scored and back to you on Monday. If you would like to resubmit the quiz, please study and review this weekend and see me next week. Over the weekend it would be a good idea to review your PowerSchool and to complete any missing assignments or to budget your rubles that you may have for extra credit on low scoring assignments.
I'll be collecting your viewing guides on the film on Monday. They should be completed. The film is available on YouTube if you need to go back and watch anything.
Russian I
This class looked a lot like Advanced Russian today. We took a quiz and then we watched more of our film - Служебный Роман - to complete part one. Your viewing guides are due on Monday. They should be complete. Remember to add the final paragraph response and answer in at least an ACES paragraph:
Who is your most or least favorite character in the film? Why do you have that opinion of them?
It would also be a good idea to complete the drafts of your floor plan paragraphs this weekend. We'll have some time on Monday to write, but really the writing should be mostly revising.
Over the weekend it's really all about the IWA and the outline. It's time to put it together, to keep researching, and to keep writing. Remember that the more that you write, and the more content that you generate, the easier it is to move through the editing and refining process.
Be sure that you are using the rubric, the sample documents, and the activities we complete in class to help you with all of this. I'm available a lot during class and outside of class for anything that you need. Remember to use me as you need me.
Russian II/III
Today in class we had our vocabulary quiz on Unit 7 and Unit 9. I'll have these scored and back to you on Monday. If you would like to resubmit the quiz, please study and review this weekend and see me next week. Over the weekend it would be a good idea to review your PowerSchool and to complete any missing assignments or to budget your rubles that you may have for extra credit on low scoring assignments.
I'll be collecting your viewing guides on the film on Monday. They should be completed. The film is available on YouTube if you need to go back and watch anything.
Russian I
This class looked a lot like Advanced Russian today. We took a quiz and then we watched more of our film - Служебный Роман - to complete part one. Your viewing guides are due on Monday. They should be complete. Remember to add the final paragraph response and answer in at least an ACES paragraph:
Who is your most or least favorite character in the film? Why do you have that opinion of them?
It would also be a good idea to complete the drafts of your floor plan paragraphs this weekend. We'll have some time on Monday to write, but really the writing should be mostly revising.
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Homework for A Day Classes - 13 March 2019
AP English III
Today in class we did a great job working through Eighner and the similarities and differences that he has with Steinbeck in crafting his narrative and discussing the poor. I think that all of these ideas are important as we keep reading through The Grapes of Wrath. I hope that you enjoyed the text.
Tonight we are continuing forward on our research papers and our reading. The reading is two chapters - Chapter Five (intercalary) and Chapter Six (content). Remember that we'll have our first round of presentations on Friday. Have any slides or documents shared so that I can prepare in advance. You should also be completing your motif charts as you read.
We are also signing up and completing our rough drafts for our research papers at this time. The draft conference sheet is on my door. Remember that you are bringing me a 50% draft (at the minimum you should have your introduction and one whole topic and bibliography). At our conference we'll review your work and other parts of this assignment. This is the final grade for Q3 and the final part of the paper before the final draft is due. Remember that no work will be collected for this assignment past Friday of next week.
Keep grinding hard - it's almost over!
English IV
Today we spent time talking about our characters and reading more of our novels before starting on a German film called The Wave about conformity and social control. This movie will connect to all of your books since we have similar themes throughout.
Remember at this time you want to check your PowerSchool for any missing or low scoring assignments. Be sure that you have completed everything or that you have redone any low scoring assignments in order to show your best score at the end of the quarter!
Today in class we did a great job working through Eighner and the similarities and differences that he has with Steinbeck in crafting his narrative and discussing the poor. I think that all of these ideas are important as we keep reading through The Grapes of Wrath. I hope that you enjoyed the text.
Tonight we are continuing forward on our research papers and our reading. The reading is two chapters - Chapter Five (intercalary) and Chapter Six (content). Remember that we'll have our first round of presentations on Friday. Have any slides or documents shared so that I can prepare in advance. You should also be completing your motif charts as you read.
We are also signing up and completing our rough drafts for our research papers at this time. The draft conference sheet is on my door. Remember that you are bringing me a 50% draft (at the minimum you should have your introduction and one whole topic and bibliography). At our conference we'll review your work and other parts of this assignment. This is the final grade for Q3 and the final part of the paper before the final draft is due. Remember that no work will be collected for this assignment past Friday of next week.
Keep grinding hard - it's almost over!
English IV
Today we spent time talking about our characters and reading more of our novels before starting on a German film called The Wave about conformity and social control. This movie will connect to all of your books since we have similar themes throughout.
Remember at this time you want to check your PowerSchool for any missing or low scoring assignments. Be sure that you have completed everything or that you have redone any low scoring assignments in order to show your best score at the end of the quarter!
Tuesday, March 12, 2019
Homework for B-Day Classes: 12 March (ACT Day)
Dear Juniors - I hope that you felt prepared and that you served the ACT what it wanted. I hope that the work we have done related to writing and critical reading helped you. Now, on to the announcements.
AP Seminar
In class today we had a significant workday geared toward our IWA outlines. By the time we leave for Spring Break (next Friday) you and I should have sat down for an IWA OUTLINE CONFERENCE. This conference will be a major grade. We'll discuss your outline including the question and answer, as well as the way in which you are using your source material to argue for a solution or resolution.
Beyond this, the only other assignment we'll have in Q3 is an elevator pitch. These will occur next week. Everyone will be expected to deliver a 1-2 minute elevator pitch in which you detail for your classmates:
AP Seminar
In class today we had a significant workday geared toward our IWA outlines. By the time we leave for Spring Break (next Friday) you and I should have sat down for an IWA OUTLINE CONFERENCE. This conference will be a major grade. We'll discuss your outline including the question and answer, as well as the way in which you are using your source material to argue for a solution or resolution.
Beyond this, the only other assignment we'll have in Q3 is an elevator pitch. These will occur next week. Everyone will be expected to deliver a 1-2 minute elevator pitch in which you detail for your classmates:
- What your question is.
- Its connection to the stimulus pack.
- Your answer or solution.
- An element of SO WHAT - Who is impacted? Who is affected? Why does the question or answer matter?
Keep in mind that the first draft of your IWA is due when we return from Spring Break.
Advanced Russian
Today was an enrichment day in Russian. We focused on writing and discussing the weather (Russian II) as well as our recipes and foods (Russian III). As we worked today in Russian III, there was a lot of discussion around related grammar topics like time expression, genitive counting rules, and the other related grammar needed to work through recipes.
Tonight, you should study and prepare for your quizzes on Thursday. The quizzes will focus on vocabulary as well as on uses of the dative case. Be prepared! Be sure that if you weren't in class today that you are prepared to move forward with your recipe projects or grammar skills.
Russian I
Today in class we spent about 80 minutes studying for our quiz on Thursday. By studying we were active. We matched dominoes to practice with the idea of agreement between words with gender and case. We also did some writing and translating about our houses - to write one of our paragraphs. Tonight, you should keep that going.
First, use the example/model paragraph and complete the work on writing about your house. These paragraphs are due on Thursday. While you take your quiz I'll grade your paragraphs and return them with notes about corrections. Final floor plan projects are due on Monday. This is the last project grade for Q3. If you see that you have other missing or low scoring assignments, you may want to see me with rubles to add extra points.
GRADES FOR ALL CLASSES WILL BE FINALIZED NEXT FRIDAY AFTERNOON
NO EXCEPTIONS
Monday, March 11, 2019
Homework for A-Day Students: Monday, 11 March
AP English III
There is no point to studying for the ACT at this point. The best thing that you can do is review your notes and preparation for each section, pack your bag for tomorrow (snack, calculator, pencils, water), and get a good night's sleep. Mint is good for memory - maybe a cup of mint tea in the morning to help you out.
Here are our big reminders for class. They're grouped in terms of reading and then our research papers.
On Wednesday we'll be discussing a non-fiction text, "On Dumpster Diving" by Lars Eighner. It's attached here, and it's also available in 50 Essays. Read the text and consider the presentation and discussion of the poor in this text. How do you see necropolitics related to the poor and homeless? What textual connections can we make between this text and The Grapes of Wrath? Remember that Wednesday is a PLC Day - so we'll likely just have time for Eighner. You have reading in Grapes due on Friday (Chapters 5-6) and we'll have our first run of presentations (Chapters 1-6).
In terms of your research papers outlines should be completed and shared by the end of the day today to be considered on time. I'll start marking outlines and rubrics tonight. Our next deadline is our rough draft and conference. Remember that we'll begin conferences on Thursday. I'll post the signup sheet on my door tomorrow. You must bring a 50% draft to your conference in which you present your introduction/argument and at least one topic. This is your final grade on your research papers this quarter.
English IV
What a great day to do some reading outside! I really appreciated the work that we did to study and review our protagonists to understand key ideas about them like their beliefs, key ideas, and the people that they trust.
At this point we are wrapping up the quarter. Be sure that you've completed all your assignments, that you've put extra credit on anything that you want, and that you have reviewed and revised any assignments that are low scoring. The quarter ends on Friday the 22nd.
There is no point to studying for the ACT at this point. The best thing that you can do is review your notes and preparation for each section, pack your bag for tomorrow (snack, calculator, pencils, water), and get a good night's sleep. Mint is good for memory - maybe a cup of mint tea in the morning to help you out.
Here are our big reminders for class. They're grouped in terms of reading and then our research papers.
On Wednesday we'll be discussing a non-fiction text, "On Dumpster Diving" by Lars Eighner. It's attached here, and it's also available in 50 Essays. Read the text and consider the presentation and discussion of the poor in this text. How do you see necropolitics related to the poor and homeless? What textual connections can we make between this text and The Grapes of Wrath? Remember that Wednesday is a PLC Day - so we'll likely just have time for Eighner. You have reading in Grapes due on Friday (Chapters 5-6) and we'll have our first run of presentations (Chapters 1-6).
In terms of your research papers outlines should be completed and shared by the end of the day today to be considered on time. I'll start marking outlines and rubrics tonight. Our next deadline is our rough draft and conference. Remember that we'll begin conferences on Thursday. I'll post the signup sheet on my door tomorrow. You must bring a 50% draft to your conference in which you present your introduction/argument and at least one topic. This is your final grade on your research papers this quarter.
English IV
What a great day to do some reading outside! I really appreciated the work that we did to study and review our protagonists to understand key ideas about them like their beliefs, key ideas, and the people that they trust.
At this point we are wrapping up the quarter. Be sure that you've completed all your assignments, that you've put extra credit on anything that you want, and that you have reviewed and revised any assignments that are low scoring. The quarter ends on Friday the 22nd.
Saturday, March 9, 2019
Homework for the Weekend - B Day - 9 March (Saturday)
Sorry for not posting yesterday everyone - it was a long day of training, and I just forgot. Here are your reminders for Tuesday.
AP Seminar
Thank you to those of you who emailed or got in touch about question development and conferencing. I will be available to finish conferences on questions Monday and Tuesday before class. Please come and see me to complete that portion of your grade. For those of you who have already had your conference, please unsubmit your Question Generator and continue to use it if needed.
By this point it's important for everyone to have a Research Question 2.0+ to get busy with EBSCO and online databases and researching. I've been asking a lot of questions about scope, focus, connection to the stimulus pack, and the argument or point that you're trying to make. Be sure to also consider the - SO WHAT? - Why does this investigation, question, resolution, or conclusion matter? As you research continue to refine your question and by extension your answer.
The next few days of class will be filled with researching and developing outlines. Our next assessment in class will be elevator pitches of questions, arguments, and sources. Be ready for that next week - details forthcoming!
Advanced Russian
I hope that you all enjoyed the film Девчата from the note that the sub left you have just about ten minutes left to watch. Be sure that you've completed the questions up to that point in the film. It's available on YouTube if you need to rewatch anything. We'll finish the movie on Thursday after our quiz. Russian II/III students will have a quiz on new vocabulary (weather terms, adjectives, foods) and the use of the Dative Case on Thursday.
Additionally over the weekend you should work on your writing assignment (Russian II) on weather and feelings (accurate use of dative case, adjectives and adverbs). Or you should be working on your recipe steps (Russian III) and learning new vocabulary (verbs) related to cooking. These verbs are great when paired with your modals (use of the Dative/Nominative case.
Tuesday is ACT day and a good chunk of the class will be missing - plan on an Enrichment Day on Tuesday!
Russian I
I hope that our romcom - Служебный Роман - was fun and enjoyable. I hope that it also helped to give you some insights into Russian women of different types, especially thematic for International Women's Day. I expect to see viewing guides with questions answered to about the 1:10 mark of the film. If you left your viewing guide on the floor at the end of class, I would suggest coming to see me and get another. The film is available on YouTube if you need to rewatch anything.
Over the weekend you should work to complete the Chapter 2 reading as well as any remaining problems from our previous exercise set. You should be reviewing your color vocabulary and case endings nightly in order to memorize them and be able to apply them correctly. The reading assignment is a great tool to help you do this so that you can see cases in action. Try to translate as you read.
We will have a quiz soon on case functions, some endings, and color vocabulary words. We'll also have a writing workshop on Tuesday related to our projects. The final draft of the houses project will likely be on Monday of next week - be ready for that!
AP Seminar
Thank you to those of you who emailed or got in touch about question development and conferencing. I will be available to finish conferences on questions Monday and Tuesday before class. Please come and see me to complete that portion of your grade. For those of you who have already had your conference, please unsubmit your Question Generator and continue to use it if needed.
By this point it's important for everyone to have a Research Question 2.0+ to get busy with EBSCO and online databases and researching. I've been asking a lot of questions about scope, focus, connection to the stimulus pack, and the argument or point that you're trying to make. Be sure to also consider the - SO WHAT? - Why does this investigation, question, resolution, or conclusion matter? As you research continue to refine your question and by extension your answer.
The next few days of class will be filled with researching and developing outlines. Our next assessment in class will be elevator pitches of questions, arguments, and sources. Be ready for that next week - details forthcoming!
Advanced Russian
I hope that you all enjoyed the film Девчата from the note that the sub left you have just about ten minutes left to watch. Be sure that you've completed the questions up to that point in the film. It's available on YouTube if you need to rewatch anything. We'll finish the movie on Thursday after our quiz. Russian II/III students will have a quiz on new vocabulary (weather terms, adjectives, foods) and the use of the Dative Case on Thursday.
Additionally over the weekend you should work on your writing assignment (Russian II) on weather and feelings (accurate use of dative case, adjectives and adverbs). Or you should be working on your recipe steps (Russian III) and learning new vocabulary (verbs) related to cooking. These verbs are great when paired with your modals (use of the Dative/Nominative case.
Tuesday is ACT day and a good chunk of the class will be missing - plan on an Enrichment Day on Tuesday!
Russian I
I hope that our romcom - Служебный Роман - was fun and enjoyable. I hope that it also helped to give you some insights into Russian women of different types, especially thematic for International Women's Day. I expect to see viewing guides with questions answered to about the 1:10 mark of the film. If you left your viewing guide on the floor at the end of class, I would suggest coming to see me and get another. The film is available on YouTube if you need to rewatch anything.
Over the weekend you should work to complete the Chapter 2 reading as well as any remaining problems from our previous exercise set. You should be reviewing your color vocabulary and case endings nightly in order to memorize them and be able to apply them correctly. The reading assignment is a great tool to help you do this so that you can see cases in action. Try to translate as you read.
We will have a quiz soon on case functions, some endings, and color vocabulary words. We'll also have a writing workshop on Tuesday related to our projects. The final draft of the houses project will likely be on Monday of next week - be ready for that!
Thursday, March 7, 2019
Homework for A-Day Students: 7 March 2019
AP English III
I certainly hope that you all enjoyed the beginning of The Grapes of Wrath today. I love this book and every time I read it I find a new way to appreciate and love it a bit more. You'll be meeting the Joads in the next few chapters. Be sure to create your front cover annotations and develop your back covers (motifs, topics, symbols, settings) as you read. The assignment is Chapters 2-4 this weekend.
You should also complete your research outline this weekend. Use the work in your synthesis packs to show me your argument on your topic (DADS), the main points that you will make (topics/reasons), and the way in which you will organize and use evidence. The better the outline, the better and easier the essay. If you need to find more sources - be sure to do so. All of your sources should be documented in the outline if they are used both with parenthetical and end-text citations.
As always, please reach out if you need any assistance. I'm here to support and help you through this process!
English IV
Today was College Application Day. It was a wonderful day to get online, get our accounts, and get our applications started! We also had some time to work on some areas related to college applications such as resumes and personal statements. I hope that today felt like a good day and that you feel a bit more prepared for what's coming up next.
Next week we'll keep reading and working on our novels. Make sure that you're reading at home if you would like. They books just get better and better.
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Homework for B-Day Students: 6 March 2019
Russian I
We are getting to the point in the year where I am starting to get very worried about the ability for some of you to move on to Russian II due to a lack of skills in the language. It appears as though many of you are waiting for the language to magically click, and unfortunately, this will never happen. You must work nightly with the grammar and vocabulary. You must be able to memorize the case endings and know how the words are changed. Today there was very little engagement or apparent ability to complete the exercises. This is concerning.
Tonight you should finish the exercises if you did not already do so. They will help you to learn the ways in which the cases function and how to alter the spelling of the words to show that they are in the cases. The reading at the beginning of Chapter 2 will also help you with this.
There are many of you missing work. Be aware we have three weeks left in the quarter. On Tuesday you'll have a quiz on cases and colors. I hope that you are all prepared.
Advanced Russian
Today in class we focused on reviewing exercises and vocabulary related to key concepts before we watched our first weather report. Tonight for homework you'll be continuing to work in the spirit of these exercises. Russian III students should prepare their recipe. Make your list of groceries, investigate new verbs, and prepare your vocabulary list. Remember to use your modals where appropriate. Russian II students should write five sentences describing different weather conditions and the feelings that these spark in you. Remember - use adjectives to describe situations/things/weather and use adverbs to describe feelings.
Also, there are a lot of you missing work (projects) be sure that you have presented your poem to me and that you have turned in your slides on Google Classroom.
AP Seminar
Today because of the Tornado Drill we did not have time to conference with everyone. If I did not get to you today, please try to see me tomorrow or Friday before class so that we can have our discussion. At this point, it's all about the question and the argument. Be sure that you're collecting your sources and use your resources to help you complete your tasks. I hope that you have all set up your folder on Google Drive and that you are beginning to fill the folder with items.
Remember that it would be good to start to consider your argument/solution/answer and then the way in which you'll set up your evidence to show your line of reasoning. You'll be submitting an outline next as that is a a more logical tool for this type of assignment than an Annotated Bib.
Happy researching!
We are getting to the point in the year where I am starting to get very worried about the ability for some of you to move on to Russian II due to a lack of skills in the language. It appears as though many of you are waiting for the language to magically click, and unfortunately, this will never happen. You must work nightly with the grammar and vocabulary. You must be able to memorize the case endings and know how the words are changed. Today there was very little engagement or apparent ability to complete the exercises. This is concerning.
Tonight you should finish the exercises if you did not already do so. They will help you to learn the ways in which the cases function and how to alter the spelling of the words to show that they are in the cases. The reading at the beginning of Chapter 2 will also help you with this.
There are many of you missing work. Be aware we have three weeks left in the quarter. On Tuesday you'll have a quiz on cases and colors. I hope that you are all prepared.
Advanced Russian
Today in class we focused on reviewing exercises and vocabulary related to key concepts before we watched our first weather report. Tonight for homework you'll be continuing to work in the spirit of these exercises. Russian III students should prepare their recipe. Make your list of groceries, investigate new verbs, and prepare your vocabulary list. Remember to use your modals where appropriate. Russian II students should write five sentences describing different weather conditions and the feelings that these spark in you. Remember - use adjectives to describe situations/things/weather and use adverbs to describe feelings.
Also, there are a lot of you missing work (projects) be sure that you have presented your poem to me and that you have turned in your slides on Google Classroom.
AP Seminar
Today because of the Tornado Drill we did not have time to conference with everyone. If I did not get to you today, please try to see me tomorrow or Friday before class so that we can have our discussion. At this point, it's all about the question and the argument. Be sure that you're collecting your sources and use your resources to help you complete your tasks. I hope that you have all set up your folder on Google Drive and that you are beginning to fill the folder with items.
Remember that it would be good to start to consider your argument/solution/answer and then the way in which you'll set up your evidence to show your line of reasoning. You'll be submitting an outline next as that is a a more logical tool for this type of assignment than an Annotated Bib.
Happy researching!
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Homework for A-Day - 5 March 2019
AP English III
Good work today with your unit examination on Transcendentalism and your synthesis timed writing. I'll be reading and commenting this week and will get that work back to you next week. I was also very happy with your Synthesis Sourcepack assignments. Most of you received near perfect scores. If you lost points, it was probably related to your citations - be sure that we've reviewed this before the outline is due.
The outline for your research paper will be collected on Monday. The outline should document your argument (DADS), key topics/reasons (at least 4-5), and the way in which you are using your sources (quotes/paraphrases) to support your argument. I'll be available all week in the morning for help on this. Remember all that we have learned related to argumentative writing.
Next class we'll begin our unit on The Grapes of Wrath. Please see the Unit Plan for details on this. Tonight you should do some preliminary research on John Steinbeck. Who is he? What did he write? What did he believe in? What were his politics like? Come in with some information so we can start reading!
English IV
Today in class we were really focused on getting some more reading done before we got into groups to discuss and work on our characters. I was happy to see that so many of you have a good understanding of your protagonist, antagonist, and some of the conflicts that are happening in your book so far. I think that everyone has a good understanding of the basic set-up of the novels so far.
Tonight - keep reading! Keep going! Get further into your books so that they get more interesting. Next class we'll be doing a workshop to prepare for Durham Tech and other college applications!
Good work today with your unit examination on Transcendentalism and your synthesis timed writing. I'll be reading and commenting this week and will get that work back to you next week. I was also very happy with your Synthesis Sourcepack assignments. Most of you received near perfect scores. If you lost points, it was probably related to your citations - be sure that we've reviewed this before the outline is due.
The outline for your research paper will be collected on Monday. The outline should document your argument (DADS), key topics/reasons (at least 4-5), and the way in which you are using your sources (quotes/paraphrases) to support your argument. I'll be available all week in the morning for help on this. Remember all that we have learned related to argumentative writing.
Next class we'll begin our unit on The Grapes of Wrath. Please see the Unit Plan for details on this. Tonight you should do some preliminary research on John Steinbeck. Who is he? What did he write? What did he believe in? What were his politics like? Come in with some information so we can start reading!
English IV
Today in class we were really focused on getting some more reading done before we got into groups to discuss and work on our characters. I was happy to see that so many of you have a good understanding of your protagonist, antagonist, and some of the conflicts that are happening in your book so far. I think that everyone has a good understanding of the basic set-up of the novels so far.
Tonight - keep reading! Keep going! Get further into your books so that they get more interesting. Next class we'll be doing a workshop to prepare for Durham Tech and other college applications!
Monday, March 4, 2019
Homework for B-Day - Monday the 4th of March
AP Seminar
Make sure that once you are done with it that you have turned in your question generator form. This is a great way to make sure that your looking at a variety of ideas and perspectives as you start planning. As we move forward be sure that you are constantly working. It's a great chance to get ahead, keep setting goals and accomplishing them.
Next class we'll be conferencing and researching. It's time to start building the outline and annotated bibliography. Be ready to keep going forward!
Advanced Russian
There are many missing projects. Make sure that your project is presented to me (poem) and turned in to Google Classroom. I'll continue grading this week and return the tests to you on Friday.
Tonight you should all dig in to your new grammar and vocabulary. Russian III students should focus on exercises 9.5 and 9.6 to practice with new vocabulary and modal expressions. Russian II students should focus on exercise 7.1 - a general case review.
Be ready with your vocabulary. A lot of Russian II students need to go back and learn numbers. Don't forget to focus on your nouns and your adjectives!
Russian I
Today in class we reviewed the way in which possessive pronouns change (my, your, our) to relate and show genders and cases in Russian. Remember that there is a lot of alignment here between what we have seen happen with adjective endings. Hopefully a lot of things were clicking today between cases, declensions, and genders. After this we spent time working on our home floor plans. We should have finished the floor plan so that next class we are able to start writing about the rooms.
For tonight, you should have finished the four exercises assigned last week from Chapter 2. We also need to focus on vocabulary and memorizing endings. The reading - at the beginning of Chapter 2 - is a good way to do this. Take a look at how the adjectives are being used. Try to understand the main idea of the text.
Make sure that once you are done with it that you have turned in your question generator form. This is a great way to make sure that your looking at a variety of ideas and perspectives as you start planning. As we move forward be sure that you are constantly working. It's a great chance to get ahead, keep setting goals and accomplishing them.
Next class we'll be conferencing and researching. It's time to start building the outline and annotated bibliography. Be ready to keep going forward!
Advanced Russian
There are many missing projects. Make sure that your project is presented to me (poem) and turned in to Google Classroom. I'll continue grading this week and return the tests to you on Friday.
Tonight you should all dig in to your new grammar and vocabulary. Russian III students should focus on exercises 9.5 and 9.6 to practice with new vocabulary and modal expressions. Russian II students should focus on exercise 7.1 - a general case review.
Be ready with your vocabulary. A lot of Russian II students need to go back and learn numbers. Don't forget to focus on your nouns and your adjectives!
Russian I
Today in class we reviewed the way in which possessive pronouns change (my, your, our) to relate and show genders and cases in Russian. Remember that there is a lot of alignment here between what we have seen happen with adjective endings. Hopefully a lot of things were clicking today between cases, declensions, and genders. After this we spent time working on our home floor plans. We should have finished the floor plan so that next class we are able to start writing about the rooms.
For tonight, you should have finished the four exercises assigned last week from Chapter 2. We also need to focus on vocabulary and memorizing endings. The reading - at the beginning of Chapter 2 - is a good way to do this. Take a look at how the adjectives are being used. Try to understand the main idea of the text.
Friday, March 1, 2019
Homework for the Weekend - A Day - 1 March
AP English III
The main task to perform over the weekend is to complete the Synthesis Sourcepack assignment via Google Classroom. Remember that you are finalizing your research topic/question by embracing the synthesis pack format. Use the template documents as well as the synthesis prompts we have looked at from College Board to complete this assignment. Turn it in when you are done. This work sets you up very well for the outline - it would be a good idea to begin out your outline as soon as possible.
On Tuesday we'll have our unit examination. There will be a synthesis timed writing as well as short answers related to each of the four authors we have read. Remember these will be SHORT answers (3-4 sentences per answer) and this will be a CLOSED BOOK/NOTE assessment.
On Thursday we'll begin with The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Have your copy of the novel as well as a bit of preliminary research on John Steinbeck. Who was he? When did he live? Why did he write this or other novels? What does he write about? This will help to enrich our opening study of the novel.
English IV
Today in class we had time for reading our novels and then a bit of time to have our first group conversation. Next class we'll have more time for our group meetings as you'll have a task to complete for your group.
Over the weekend, I would encourage you to keep reading! Remember that if you want to read a second book that you have a great chance to earn extra credit by doing that. This activity is a great means to build your knowledge and skill with English. I hope that you're also enjoying the chance to learn about a different person and part of the world.
The main task to perform over the weekend is to complete the Synthesis Sourcepack assignment via Google Classroom. Remember that you are finalizing your research topic/question by embracing the synthesis pack format. Use the template documents as well as the synthesis prompts we have looked at from College Board to complete this assignment. Turn it in when you are done. This work sets you up very well for the outline - it would be a good idea to begin out your outline as soon as possible.
On Tuesday we'll have our unit examination. There will be a synthesis timed writing as well as short answers related to each of the four authors we have read. Remember these will be SHORT answers (3-4 sentences per answer) and this will be a CLOSED BOOK/NOTE assessment.
On Thursday we'll begin with The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Have your copy of the novel as well as a bit of preliminary research on John Steinbeck. Who was he? When did he live? Why did he write this or other novels? What does he write about? This will help to enrich our opening study of the novel.
English IV
Today in class we had time for reading our novels and then a bit of time to have our first group conversation. Next class we'll have more time for our group meetings as you'll have a task to complete for your group.
Over the weekend, I would encourage you to keep reading! Remember that if you want to read a second book that you have a great chance to earn extra credit by doing that. This activity is a great means to build your knowledge and skill with English. I hope that you're also enjoying the chance to learn about a different person and part of the world.
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