26 August

English 11

Really fantastic day today as we worked through three texts and understood the importance of reading closely, determining main ideas, and focusing on key language. We finished our work with Jefferson's "Declaration of Independence" before going on to the Preamble to the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. Our reading work focused on determining main idea, understanding key words, and seeing the tone implicit in the language. I'm really pleased with the work that we put up.

After that, we closed class with some writing and personal reflection where I asked you about the values we should use as we center our class community. I'll take a look at what you wrote in a bit and we'll start with these ideas on Wednesday as we write our classroom norms and guiding principles together.

Other than that work on Wednesday, we will also have a small reading test. This will not be for a grade. It's just a diagnostic to see where you are coming in the door. Come to class with a charged laptop next class. Your test is computer based. It'll be a pretty simple day to end our week together. See you on Wednesday!

Friday and Monday - Day 3 - First Weekend!

AP Language

Great First Friday, y'all! We looked at some art, reviewed the idea of deep looking to record our thinking with art or other non-print texts, and then we also learned about the structure called the rhetorical situation. This is a great structure that we're going to continue to use through the year to analyze and think about the moving parts that create meaning. 

For tonight/the weekend, I want you to practice deep looking with Ana Juan's New Yorker cover. Be sure to do your annotations and use the three questions from the end to check your understanding and prompt your thinking. Continue to review the table of contents regularly and consider the voices present and absent. Lastly, I'd like for you to continue to consider the Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence - how does the difference between parts of the rhetorical situation change the overall meaning or impact of the document? I've re-posted the rough draft to help you. Don't forget the forms if you haven't filled them out!

English 10

We became constitutional scholars today in English 10! We took time to talk about navigating difficult documents, determining main ideas and understanding how constitutions work like cultural artifacts. I was very happy to also collect your paragraphs about your single stories - I look forward to reading these and getting you feedback next week.

Over the weekend, be sure to complete any resubmissions you may need to. The syllabus is published and ready for you to review and sign. See you next week for the continuation!

15 September - Blue Day

Good Afternoon Students and Grown-Ups,

Be sure to continue to check Google Classroom for daily updates and reminders. Please ensure that any work from Week 1 is turned in today, including the Homework Assignment 1. Also, remember that in this class I will grade on standards, not assignments, and you have the opportunity to resubmit work after it is scored to improve your grade. Here are your class specific reminders.

English 10

If you didn't submit your Homework Assignment 1 - "My Single Story" please do so. I'd love to take this opportunity to better know you and your story more. Be sure to follow the instructions on Google Classroom.

AP Language

Today we focused on visual rhetoric and the rhetorical situation. We practiced with a painting, and tonight you'll continue that practice with a prescient image. Use your online textbook to find Ana Juan's New Yorker Cover. Apply your strategy from class. Answer the three "READ" questions with this text. You can answer them quickly (no more than a paragraph for each question). Submit your work as a quick practice with our skill.

Also, be sure that you've submitted HW Assignment 1 and your Summer Assignment. If there are questions or concerns, please let me know.

Homework for the Weekend - B Day - 12 May

AP English III

If you did not finish your teaching aide for Tuesday's class please make sure that it is complete and turned in on Tuesday for the presentations on the amendments. Remember that you should go over the:

• context for the amendment
• purpose of the amendment
• significant language from the amendment which informs the purpose
• changes the amendment brought to the Constitution (if any)

If you complete this work online then make sure that it is shared to me. Remember that your aide may not be bigger than a single piece of paper.

Tuesday we will go through the amendments and finish our unit on the Constitution. Thursday we will have our literature circle on one of my favorite short story authors. Monday the 22nd we will have Student Services come to speak about senior year preparations; I will give you some pointers for the college essay. On Wednesday the 24th we will have our end of year party. Don't forget to complete your Character Sheets for the party.

English II

At this point of the year you should continue to study and prepare for the EOC. Additionally, if there are any assignments that you are missing or would like to resubmit to me, then you can do that at your leisure. I'm available in the morning, at lunch, or quickly after-school.

Homework for A and B Day Classes - 5/10 and 5/11

Sorry for not getting this posted yesterday. With the AP Exam in English III and the field trip today for Advanced Russian, I got a bit behind.

AP English III

Boom! You did it! You took the test! Yay! Now we can move on to finishing up our unit on the Constitution of the United States. On Friday we'll begin to end our unit by looking at our amendments and preparing for our teaching and study of them as a group. Be ready to work in class on Friday to prepare your teaching element. It'll be a poster/visual that we'll use next week as we study the amendments as a class.

English II

We have read some early Chinese literature with the maxims and teachings of Confucius and next class we will go on to some more modern Chinese literature with one of my favorite authors, Ha Jin. This will be our last reading of the year. We will also continue to work on our essays by finalizing our introduction paragraphs and going to our first body paragraphs. Remember that every day of class we will be completing one of our essay paragraphs.

Russian I

I hope that you all enjoyed the beginning of the film today and were able to get a lot of work done with your family projects. You should have all five paragraphs in a slide show format so that I can check on your work and give you any needed feedback. My goal is that we will have maybe one more session in class to work on these before they are due next week. Remember that with one of your family members I will want you to speak aloud to me. Practice this now.

Advanced Russian

You should take the time this weekend to complete your profile on your character for the final speaking assignment. Given what you have seen about the person from the episode, what is the backstory that they'll be coming into on the talk show? If you're viewing or hosting or acting as the psychologist - then what is your motivation? What are you trying to find out? Use the questions on the viewing guide to structure this.

Also, remember that you should include ten words that your character would use on the show. Give me the words in nominative case forms or in their infinitive (if a verb) - I'll give you any notes on usage or tips with using them.

I think that's all for that. Enjoy the weekend (A Day) and see you tomorrow (B Day)!

Homework for the Weekend - B Day - 4 May 2017

AP English III

I will have your AP Multiple Choice forms ready for you tomorrow morning if you would like to pick them up in advance of the weekend to prepare for your exam on Wednesday.

Over the weekend you should continue working on your assignments in Google Classroom related to annotating the amendment(s) that you are studying as well as the historical context and development of the amendment(s). I would seriously consider the outline assignment as you are working on your close reading and research. Remember that for your timed writing you will be presenting your interpretation of the meaning of the amendment(s) through analysis of the actual language as well as inclusion of facts from research. As I said, it's a bit of an analysis and a bit of a synthesis. You'll have access to these documents for your timed writing.

Continue as well studying and preparing for Wednesday!

English II

You should spend time this weekend reviewing your vocabulary crossword puzzles in advance of the final vocabulary quiz of the year.

Homework for B-Day Students: Tuesday, 2nd of May

AP English III

Next class we will have our last AP Multiple Choice practice to prepare for the examination. It'll be another full-length test from a previous year. To prepare for this make sure that you have reviewed your previous multiple choice practices and begun to fully learn some of the vocabulary that may have caused you to stumble before.

Additionally, you may want to continue working on your research/close reading of your amendments to the US Constitution. We will be closing that assignment on Thursday and I'll be checking your work to prepare for your timed writing.

English II

Good work today finishing up Spirited Away.  Next class we will continue to read "Rama and Ravana in Battle" as well as get started on our final writing assignment - a character analysis!

Homework for the Weekend - B Day - 28 April 2017

It's the end of the month! Huzzah! We've only got a few classes left until we begin our final examinations and review sessions.

AP English III:

Over the weekend you have a few things to do and work on to prepare for next week. First, make sure that you read and annotate the article I gave you today in class called "Two Ways to Belong in America." If you lose this piece, then you can access a .pdf of it at this link.

Second, continue to work on your projects in Google Classroom. Remember that we will only have about thirty more minutes in class to complete research, so putting in time over the weekend is important to do. I would recommend trying to finish one of the slideshows/documents.

Third, remember that we will have our final AP Multiple Choice practice on Thursday. On Tuesday I plan to review some of the more commonly missed questions on this test. You may find it helpful to review these yourself and perhaps doa second attempt to prepare.

Fourth, take a quick read/annotation of Articles Four through Seven in the Constitution. Keep these questions in mind as you read:

1. What do these articles deal with or accomplish?
2. Why are they needed?
3. How do the outlying articles relate to the three main articles of the Constitution?

English II:

There is no required homework this weekend. If you would like to resubmit any assignments as we begin to prepare for the end of the year, please study and review and then schedule a reassessment time. I would recommend before school or during lunch. Keep an eye on your progress reports that I gave out last class to prioritize what you should do. We will soon begin our final major assignment which is an essay.

Homework for B-Day Students: 26 April 2017

AP English III:

Remember that reassessments of your research paper are due to me on Friday. You will need to turn in the original paper as well as the new paper for me to be able to track changes and see your improvements. I will update grades as I see fit. Make sure that you meet this deadline so that you are able to improve your grade and finish getting feedback before the AP Examination.

Next class we will continue our work through the Articles (up to Article V) - make sure that you are reading and annotating by keeping the key questions in mind as you continue to work through the Constitution.

Also next class we will begin to work on our Amendment as Argument project by completing research. Please read over your instructions form and read your selected Amendment carefully to prepare for our research.

English II:

Today you received progress reports which outline any missing assignments. If you have anything that needs to be turned in or made-up (like a quiz or a test) please make sure that you are working to complete that ASAP. Remember that we only have TEN classes remaining.

Rainy Monday Homework - 24 April - B Day Classes

English II

There's no official homework for tonight since we had our major vocabulary assessment today in class. Next class we will continue watching Spirited Away and transition to India.

AP English III

Today because of the multiple choice we did not really have the chance to begin the work on the analysis of the US Constitution the way that I wanted. That's okay though - there's always tomorrow.

For our next class, make sure that you have thoroughly read and annotated Article One and Article Two with the main questions in mind. These questions again are:

1. What are the powers outlined within each section?
2. Who gets to exercise those powers?
3. How does the organization of the section as well as of the article as a whole allow us to understand the priorities of the Founders?
4. How does the article as a whole present an argument and evidence? How does this relate to the argument presented by the Preamble?
5. What relationships are emphasized in this section?

You'll also want to take a look at the Amendment as an Argument project and the Amendments themselves. You'll either have one or a small group that go together. It may be worth your while to go through and familiarize yourself with these pieces so that you can make an informed choice next class.

Homework for the Weekend - B Day - 20 April 2017

English II:

Remember that on Monday you're going to have a quiz on your vocabulary words from the Zen Parables - it's going to test your knowledge of the definitions, parts of speech, and your word analysis skills. Make sure that you've not just studied the meaning of the words, but also the prefixes and the roots that we've been learning.

AP English III:

If you were absent from class today because of the matinee production of Legally Blonde then know that you missed a full lesson today on historical context of the US Constitution, a review of rhetorical analysis skills, and a practice analysis of the Declaration of Independence. I would speak to a classmate or to me about the notes you've missed.

Over the weekend you need to read and annotate Article One - the roles and responsibilities of the legislative branch. Also, you'll have your full-length multiple choice practice on Monday. It'll be timed. Review your skills and AP vocabulary in order to prepare for this.

Also, for any of you who missed the Invisible Man timed writing, there will be a chance to make-up the assessment on Monday morning, before school. Remember to bring your book to this make-up assessment since I'll also be checking annotations.

Homework for B-Day - 18 April 2017

AP English III

Good day in class today everyone. I'm going to cover a few things in this post regarding our wrap-up of Invisible Man and our beginning of our US Constitution unit.

1. If you were absent today you must schedule a retake of your exam. I would like for you to come ASAP before school or on Thursday after school. Bring your book for your annotation check. You will have a different prompt.
2. If you forgot your book today then it is due to me Thursday, the 19th, before school begins in order for you to get credit.
3. For tonight you are reading and annotating the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson. It's important to understand this document as a means to understand the framework and goals the Framers had when considering the Constitution.
4. You also need to read and annotate the Preamble to the US Constitution with these questions in mind:
1. Is this the argument of the Constitution? If so, what is its meaning?
2. What does the Preamble represent about our values as a people?

Don't forget that we will have a guest lecturer in class to start our day on Thursday.

English II:

Using your vocabulary resources you should begin to study and prepare for a quiz on vocabulary and word structure. The quiz will be on Monday of next week!