11 October - Happy Friday

English 11

It felt nice to get a bit back to normal today with class after the strange day that we had on Wednesday. Thanks, as always, for a great session today. We did a bit of a transition today as we went from Unit 1 to Unit 2 - this included some feedback, time for our projects, and then time to work on some new content and ideas.

I loved seeing the dedication that you all brought to our project workshop after the feedback. I hope that you found everything useful in terms of our review. Remember to pay this forward into your projects. When your project is complete you've commented on three excerpts to find all of our unit literary/narrative devices. Turn in your work via Schoology. I am happy to meet with you next week during a Lion Time if you need more help. Remember, we won't have any more time in class to work on this project.

From our project work we began our transition into Unit 2 - The Harlem Renaissance. We talked a bit about the history and context for this moment in history. Over the next few weeks we'll explore by reading, writing, and listening. We'll study a mix of poetry, music, and non-fiction in this unit. We listened and analyzed "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday today as a first step. At the end of class, we finished our words for List Two. We'll review a bit next class and take our Vocabulary Quiz on 22 October. This will be one of the last grades of the quarter.

9 October

English 11

Today we had a super short class because of the extension of testing on the PSAT/SAT. We had about thirty minutes together today, so we spent that time on our projects for Unit 1. Remember that your project grade will replace your test grade, so it's a great built in revision for you all. 

Remember the big elements of the project: three excerpts, annotated for all of our devices, note the topic and theme for each excerpt. It's best if you do this work in a Google Doc or Slide show. Next class we'll do some writing to finish the project. If the project is ready, you'll be able to turn it in on Friday. The final due date for the project is October 21.

Next class we'll start Unit 2 - The Harlem Renaissance and Research. It'll be a great unit focused on studying poetry, music, non-fiction, and doing some research on American problems. I'm excited to take you all to an exciting moment of history for our nation. Have a great rest of your day!

1 October - New Month, End of the Week

English 11

Great day today in English 11 everyone! I hope that you enjoyed your first day with station rotations. For today's class we spent our time working through review tasks to get ready for Monday's test. We did some reading, some work on our projects, some arts and crafts, and everything was about reviewing and preparing for Monday.

Remember that for your test on Monday you'll have a story to read and then about twenty questions. There will be a question about each of the literary devices in this unit. Be sure that you can identify them and comment on how they help an author to create a theme or message. You'll have the whole class period to work on your test. Projects will be due at the end of next week. Remember that working on your project will help you to be ready for your test.

27 September - End of the Week

English 11

Great day to end the week today as we worked on our reading projects, set up our websites for our English 11 portfolios, and got started with our first few words from list two. We ended our day with Scattegories! It's always fun to build a bit of community through some games.

Remember that in this class, projects are how you can study best for tests. In your project, you're finding and explaining our unit devices. Your goal is to find all of the devices in your project. Follow the same guidelines that we did in our practice assignments. Annotate via comments. Next week we'll have more time to work on our projects and we'll finish preparing for our exams.

Have the best weekend! Keep working on your projects if you have the time. I'm excited to see you on Tuesday, which is your only day with me next week.

25 September - Wacky Wednesday!

English 11

Pretty solid day today in English 11 as we worked on reading and understanding one of my favorite authors, James Baldwin. We'll look at him again throughout the year in a few different moments. We read in order to discover our literary devices, elements of story telling, and to discuss Baldwin's rhetorical situation. We finished class with a brief analysis of Baldwin where you selected a quotation, annotated for devices, and then paraphrased and evaluated it. I'm looking forward to seeing your work. Remember that this is a miniaturized version of the project, which we'll work on more on Friday. 

Friday is all about our project and learning some new vocabulary words from list two. Be ready for a fun day of putting projects together. Remember that working on the project is a way to study for our test. The test is going to happen on October 7.

23 September - Kicking Off the Week

English 11

Today we had time for our first round of feedback and grades. I know that there was a lot of information provided to you today, so here's the basic recap. You get two types of grades - summative (70%) and formative (30%). We generally get grades in three types of skills - reading, writing, and oral communication. Today you got back grades and feedback on reading, writing, and oral communication. We looked at the feedback, understood what it meant about where we are right now, and understood how grades and feedback can help us get to where we want to be. Now what we'll do is start the journey for improvement.. 

The bulk of class after that was focused on our first poem - "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus. What we did in this part of class was do a close reading of the poem to identify key literary devices from this unit. We explored how they created tones and added to the character of the Statue of Liberty in the poem. Then, we put it all together to understand the theme for the audience. Keep in mind that this type of thinking and reading is what we'll need to do in our project as well as how to be successful in class. Continue to practice with this as you work with your project.

Next class we'll take time to do our last reading of this unit and also have time to work on our projects. It's time for us to start preparing for our unit assessment, as well. Be ready to move on to Unit 2 in the next few classes.

19 September - End of the Week

English 11

Great end to the week in English 11 as we took our first vocabulary quiz, participated in some review, and got started with our first project to demonstrate our skills and identities as readers. Next class, I'll be giving a lot of feedback based on the work we've done so far. If you have any missing assignments, be sure that they are complete BEFORE Monday's class so that I can get you scores and feedback. If you need to come to Lion Time, use Securly and make an Appointment Pass for Monday. I can also work with you on Wednesday or Friday.

Take time to review the project requirements. The main idea is that you're annotating three excerpts of your choosing for our narrative elements. We'll keep working on this throughout next week. It'll help us to prepare for our unit test. Soon Unit 1 will be over. Our next unit looks at The Harlem Renaissance. Over the weekend, focus on completing any missing work, making a plan for this week's Lion Times, or working on your project. As always, whatever you need, feel free to ask! Enjoy your weekends!

30 May - Closing out the Year!

English 10

Great day today in English 10 as we ended our unit on memoirs, the Middle East, and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. We took our test today, and I will have your results back to you as soon as I can. Check by the end of tomorrow to see your grades and feedback.

At the beginning of today's class, we went over the next few days - aka the end of the year. You have three things left to complete (and some of you have already completed one). First, finish your comic book. Make sure that you're telling your own story and conveying a lesson. Follow the steps in the rubric. If you didn't finish it today, be sure that it's in at the end of Thursday. Then, there are our portfolios. These are due by June 9. Follow the instructions and reach out if you have questions.

Your final exam is on June 15. This is also the day you'll return your laptops. Let's finish strong to end our year together!

25 May - Ending the Year in English 10

English 10

Pretty great day in English 10 today, a few bumps in the road, but we got to where we needed to go. Today we finished reading Persepolis and understood some of the main lessons that this book is conveying to us. Lessons about life, growing up, trust, and change are all contained in this book. I loved seeing how engaged so many of you were. I think the test next class should be a breeze for a lot of you.

Over the weekend, prepare for that test. Review your notes and your study guide. Check today's recording. If you have any missing assignments, you should submit them this weekend. I will update grades as soon as you submit your work. Prioritize the writing assignments, as they are worth a lot of grades.

Next class we'll take our test, and then have time to finish up with vocabulary and comic book projects. Remember that all work for Quarter 4 and this unit is due on June 1.

23 March - The End of the Week (Grey Day)

English 10

Today was our last reading from our unit on Latin American Literature. We read Luisa Valenzuela's "The Censors" - I really love this story and its approach to irony and character. It's a short but packed story. We made a lot of connections to our contemporary world in today's class as well. This may be a possible problem for you to focus on in your letter next week, but more about that later.

At the end of class we took time for ourselves as needed. Remember that next week you'll have your final vocabulary test for the quarter and we'll be working through your final assessment - the Latin American Letter. Be sure to meet your goals next week as we research, plan, and then write across our last three days.

21 March - Tuesday Takes On

English 10

A solid start to the week in English 10. We did a lot of review of conflicts and their power to create meaning in stories. Remember that the way that conflicts are resolved - asking who wins and who loses and why - is important to determine theme. We also did a lot of thinking around reviewing all possible answers to find the strongest possible interpretation. 

At the end of class we took some choice time for ourselves and then looked at our final project - the Latin American Letter. For this assignment you're doing another run of your letter assignment. Remember, you keep the higher grade in each category. We'll start working on this project in earnest next week. You should be able to finish it next week during our workshops.

Remember that the quarter ends the week after Spring Break. I will accept any missing work to be scored, please submit any missing assignments.

26 and 27 October

The blog was blocked yesterday, so here are updates for yesterday's English 10 class and today's AP Language and AP Research classes. Remember that tomorrow is the last day of the quarter and an early release day, there's no Lion Time. Any work (or revisions) submitted by 9:00 am on Monday will be scored for this quarter.

English 10

Great day today in English 10 as we got started on our first major writing assignment - our definition essay. For this assignment we're defining a concept - a hero or a villan - and using a text or several to provide examples. Remember that you'll get a full grade for this assignment - on each part of your essay. Today we worked through the assignment and the outline; we also planned our evidence. This will put us in a great place for our writing workshop next class. We also finished up with Membean. Remember that we'll take time each class for this, so have your laptops ready.

For tonight, be focused on the end of the quarter. If you have a project resubmission, be sure to give me the rubric. If you see any missing assignments, now is the time to complete them to raise your grade for the end of the quarter.

AP Language

Great day today in AP Language as we focused in on lies, Chapter Three, and the simmering conflict between fantasy and reality in the text. We discovered the ways in which many of the characters, including Nick, lie and began to understand some of the reasons for those lies. Continue to notice trends in the text related to this essential conflict.

Over the weekend, we're taking a break from Fitzgerald and spending time with Andrew Carnegie. The article is posted on Schoology for you. Read and annotate. Consider what Carnegie's burden is for other rich people. How do the people of The Great Gatsby measure up? 

If you have any work to submit - vocabulary or America projects - they are due. I'll be able to score work submitted by Monday morning and update grades.

AP Research

Easy day in AP Capstone today as we had our end of unit working day. The priorities in our room are as follows:

1. Complete any tasks for the end of the quarter. Some of you are missing your reflections for the quarter and your Annotated Bibliography. If you would like to do a reassessment of either task, be sure that the reassessment is in by Monday morning to be rescored.

2. Your next class is for your poster and pitch. You'll have two minutes to present your pitch. Fill in the blanks on the three sentence starters. Use the template provided. Submit a PDF of your poster to the assignment to the space. We'll be focused on giving and getting feedback next class - it's your first presentation day!

3. There's a new reflection question posted for your PREP. Be sure that you are avoiding vague language or concepts. Define everything. Don't just say method - which one? Why that? Evaluate, define, and specify at all times. 

14 October - The Real End of the Week

AP English Language

Whoo! Lots going on in AP Language as we begin Unit 3 - The Great Gatsby. Today was a day about framing the novel for you - we considered some of Fitzgerald's main settings, his topics and motifs, the conflicts in the text, key characters, and the symbols that we'll be focused on as we are reading. All of today's work is guided to help you read and interpret this novel. The recording is gold. Use it as you are reading and annotating.

This weekend is a weekend for finishing Unit 2 tasks and getting into Gatsby. If you have work outstanding, it needs to be completed. Focus on your final project - This is (my) America. Use the recordings, template, and rubric to help you navigate this work. We'll also work through Chapter Two next class - note the differences between Chapter 1 and 2. There are a lot!

AP Research

Great day in AP Research land! We completed our College Board lesson on definitions, hypothesis, and assumptions (as well as biases) in our research papers. The work that we were doing today was geared toward the writing of our introductions of our academic papers as well as understanding the use of our annotated bibliography entries. Consider what the sources are giving you. How can you show that in your reflections on the sources?

This is the work that you have this weekend. Write! Complete your entries! There's also your reflection questions for the quarter, I'll be asking for those in about a week or so to close out First Quarter.

The Seventh Friday - 7 October

We are seven weeks into the school year, that leaves twenty-nine to go! Also, I won't see Blue Day classes for a whole week. Be sure to keep up with what you have coming due.

AP Language

A great end to the week in AP Language. We were seriously focused on writing, especially timed exam writing, as we reviewed our teamwork, the scoring guidelines and anchor papers, and the work of others. I hope that this is helpful to you as you shift your approach to these types of assignments. Looking at the exemplars and the rubric again and again is the best way to do this work.

We are at the end of the unit and moving to Unit 3 - The Great Gatsby. I won't see you again for a week. So, there are a few things to complete.

1. Vocabulary cards are due. Submit your whole set. I'll be grading soon!

2. Resubmissions/Late What's the Situation projects are due by 10/17. Raise your grade. Avoid the NHI.

3. This is My America projects will be due in one week. Use the template that I created to help you. If you have questions, don't wait until the end. Work with me during Lion Time or outside of school. An email can also be helpful.

AP Research

Lovely lovely day in AP Research today. Our conversation was so rich as we discussed our keystone sources, our Annotated Bibliography, and our eventual Literature Review. The connections that we built were so important, the recording is golden.

I won't see you for a week. Use this time to write your AB entries. If you write three or four a day every day then you'll have the assignment complete by the 14th. You should also complete your seventh PREP reflection this weekend - it lines up well with today's work and conversation. Don't be afraid to tweak your research question. If you see something, say something. Right?

Enjoy the long weekend. Learn the history of the native people who were here before us. Know on whose land you tread.

Tuesday the 4th! G'mar tov!

AP Research

One of the best days in the world was our day today - it was a writing day. Today we took time to work through the creation of our Annotated Bibliography. As you write your entries, consider the source and what it gave you in your QUEST. Be sure to consider the feasibility and reflect on the usefulness of your source in writing your paper and conducting your eventual study. 

This assignment will serve as your reassessment for your source list, remember to find and correct any errors with citation style and formatting. Next class we're going to do a bit of a guided reading assignment with a source - bring your best source to class - we're going to be analyzing!

AP Language

Wild day in AP Language with a team timed write and our Unit 1 Seminar. I loved hearing your ideas and the connections that you were building across the unit and our authors. We talked about so many of our texts and so many ideas crucial to our final project. Use the recording, I think it's pretty golden.

If you are missing any work from the unit, that work is due. Vocabulary is now due for the unit. Be sure to turn in your complete set of vocabulary cards. Submit any missing What's the Situation projects. If you want to make revisions, please do so. I'm available for help - just let me know!

30 September - Happy Friday!

AP Language

Easy peasy, pumpkin squeezy as we round out September and kick off October! Today was our end of Unit 2 working day. There's a few goals that we have as we close out, so let's review:

1. Do you have a missing project? I'm working through grading and should have them finished by the middle of next week. Be sure to submit if missing. I'll give back rubrics with feedback to guide revisions if needed/wanted.

2. Vocabulary is open to be collected. Remember that words should come from class readings or resources (like the tone word sheet). If you don't know why you lost points on earlier vocabulary cards, be sure to reach out and ask. 

3. Our seminar is next class. Be sure that you have finished your choice reading and annotated it for the author's message and elements of the rhetorical situation. How does the author convey an argument? What stands out to you? What connections can you make?

4. Your final project for this unit has been assigned and reviewed. I'll be giving you some more time over the next classes to work on this further. For now, start by considering your examples and your thesis. What is America to you? How can you prove that? What's the counter argument?

Reach out if you need me!

AP Research

Lovely Friday! We took our time today to read a Level 4 paper and understand some of our key elements that are at play in the paper. From there, it was off to the mines as we are writing, finishing work from Unit 1, or completing reflections on our work so far.

Next week will be a lot of time for you to write your Annotated Bibliography. Don't be afraid of being repetitive. Use the templates and support that you have to complete this work. It may seem daunting to write twenty five entries, but the supports are there to help you do it.

Enjoy the weekend. Your Annotated Bibliography is due Week 8 - that would be October 14.

Wednesday the 28th of September

AP Language

Absolutely fantastic, y'all. We began our reading of our choice texts today as a means to understand the essentials of rhetoric and argumentation. These texts have a lot of connections between them especially around the ideas of language and identity and you can use them for your final projects, which makes them even better.

Next class is going to be our working day for the end of Unit 2. Be ready to read, work on your project, complete any missing work, or complete vocabulary. I would recommend using Lion Time this week or after school if you need it. I'm here to support you at the end of the unit. Your readings will be due next week as will your vocabulary cards. Be ready to finish this unit and move on to our first novel, The Great Gatsby.

AP Research

Today was our working day to begin Unit 2. You'll have a lot of time during this unit to write, so most of your work should happen in class with your cohort. Remember that this is a time that it is good to work with your peers and at times better to work with them than to work with me.

By the end of this week, you should be complete with all Unit 1 tasks. All reflections are complete. All assignments are submitted. Our goal at this time is the completion of your annotated bibliography to support the creation of your introduction of your academic paper.

Next class we'll take some time to read another high scoring paper and time to write entries. It'll be a bit of a rinse and repeat model for the next few classes, but it's a bit of what we need right now. 

27 September - Happy (Jewish) New Year

I'm back recharged and refreshed from my days on the Appalachian Trail this weekend. What a great way to celebrate the new year, in nature, with my thoughts and time to reflect. Here are your reminders for tonight.

English 10

Today we began our process to end Unit 1 - our investigation of culture. We reviewed the final project and I went over my exemplar for all of you. I hope that you enjoyed learning a bit more about me today and my family. Next class we'll be taking some time to go to the library and select our first reading books of the year for our reading raffle - we'll also complete our writing diagnostic (don't worry, it's scored based on completion).

Now is a good time to check SIS for any missing assignments. If you see something marked as NHI or M, focus on making that up. Some of you need to complete the reading diagnostic - it's currently marked as missing if you were absent the day we took it.

20 September - Grey Tuesday

English 10

Today was a lovely start to our week together as we wrapped up our work on South Africa. We did some grammar to review titles and punctuation, worked to complete our AECS South Africa reflection, and then reviewed our project requirements for the end of the unit as well as resources to help us do this work.

Next class we'll be reading our last text for the unit and having time to focus on our projects. I'll have your paragraphs graded and back to you next week and we'll do some revising work if needed. Remember to talk to your families tonight for your project work - they're kinda the experts in a few places. 

End of April and Beginning of May - Hooray!

AP Language

Great day today as we reviewed our most recent and last MCQ of the year and took a look at the synthesis prompt. We'll have a few other reviews related to the AP Examination, but at this point, we've seen it all. Keep in mind your wellness strategies as you work through the next few weeks - it's a slog and a half, but it will end!

The next few weeks are time to work through our projects related to our novel and other finishing tasks. You'll have ample time in class to work through projects. The MCQ Bonus will lock soon. If you want to complete that, be sure to do so quickly. You must complete the full thing for the bonus. See you in May!

English 10

Great day today in English 10 as we began our unit on Japan. We took time to understand the unit as a whole, our goals for the unit, and our essential questions. From there, we went into our beginning investigation of Japanese culture. I was happy to see your collaboration and sharing today as you learned from each other. Keep these notes! They may be helpful to you as you move through the unit and get to your final project.

Next class we're going to be looking at sacred texts key to Japanese religion. Your projects are due on Sunday. Be sure to get your work in and avoid the late penalty! Enjoy the weekend!