15 May - End of the Week

English 11

Really good end to the week in English 11 today. I'm really happy with the way that so many of you lauched right into our final assignment. I love the enthusiasm. Be sure that if you didn't complete your Brainstorming today, to do so by the end of the weekend. I'd like to have feedback for you by the next time I see you. That will set you up well for Part 2 - Finding Evidence and Planning Your Text.

After lunch we moved into our choice independent working time. As I explained, some of you need to finish the Drama Project. You can use your choice play or A Raisin in the Sun for this. Prioritize the writing about the speech - this is two major grades. Use SIS and your progress report to help you figure out what to complete. Most of the work is located in Previous Lessons, Unit 4. 

I'm available next week during Lion Time for extra help. We'll also get our final exam materials next week. Be ready for the end! It's coming on apace!

13 May - Rain, Raisin, and Tuesdays

English 11

No recording for today because most of today was spent enjoying A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry. We watched the rest of Act 1, Scene 1 as a class in order to understand the motivations for each of the main characters, the foiling of Walter and Benethea, and the message around the American Dream that is being created by Hansberry in her text. I liked the fact that so many of you were engaged by hearing Hansberry talk about her own work. Please continue to visit that podcast if you'd like to keep listening.

During our independent time, there were several choices. It is important that any missing assignments are submitted as soon as possible. These are final demonstrations of skill. We have one task left which is our final writing task, and we'll start working on that during Thursday's class. If you have any questions or concerns about anything related to your grade or assignments, reach out immediately.

Have a great weekend! Once you have items complete, please submit them. I'll score immediately and update SIS - you can always revise and resubmit tasks as you finalize your grades for the year.

9 May - Victory Day and End of the Week

English 11

It was a good end to the week in English 11. We took time to finish our assignments from Unit 4 to include our formative assignments and our summative assignments. Be sure that you're focused on submitting any assignments this weekend so that I can update the gradebook and send out formal progress reports on Monday. Remember that you've got your summatives (Drama Project and Vocabulary) and then formatives (Game Plan and Reading Bank). Don't get zeroes here at the end of the year, get your work submitted and let me know what I can do to help!

At the end of class, we started A Raisin in the Sun as a means of understanding our final challenge of the year - the design challenge. With this play, Hansberry is designing a solution to a problem. This is a great way for us to prepare and see the way in which we are acting as authors to design solutions with reasoning. We'll keep reading, viewing, and studying across the next few days. 

1 May - May Already?!

English 11

Great times today in English 11, everyone. I'm glad that some of you were able to complete part of your Drama Project during our working time. Remember that the goal is to have all parts of the project completed by the 12th of May as we start to wrap up this unit. This project will allow you to demonstrate your writing, reading, and your oral communication skills. I've posted the Writing Workshop template and recording for those of you who need it to do your written work about your speech.

Over the weekend, make your priority this work. Try to complete the writing of your speech and the preparation. Remember that you can do a recording of your voice to complete the speech requirement. As you're doing this, process using your SOL Reading bank. You should be nearly done with this assignment.

We ended our day with a vocabulary quiz. If you weren't here to take it, please make an appointment for Monday Lion Time. In the fourth quarter it's important that we finish all assignments as quickly as we can! Next week we'll finish our preparation for the SOL. We've got a last article to read as a class, final work on the SOL Bank, and some sample test items we'll review. I'll be sad to be away on Wednesday for the class before the test, but I've got a good substitute teacher for you. Have a great weekend!

29 April - Meeting Tomas Rivera

English 11

I hope that all of you enjoyed reading Tomas Rivera today. One of the things that I try to do as an English teacher is make sure that we hear from all types of voices in our classroom. Also, I try to read new things each year. Tomas Rivera helps us to accomplish both aims. I appreciate that as a Mexican-American, he shares his very personal story about his relationship with his mother, his family, and his G-d. I appreciated the way in which you saw the parallel conflicts and some of the symbolism that he was weaving into this text.

I've done my best to codify our work on our answer document together. Remember I'll be looking closely at your themes, topics, and devices. You should have ALL of them covered when it's submitted. This will be a great formative assignment leading up to your Reading SOL because it helps with active studying and preparing. At the end of class, we took some time to prepare for the upcoming vocabulary quiz, check in on our Drama Projects, and complete any missing work (still need some vocabulary turned in...).

On Thursday we'll have a mostly workshop class. Be ready for a productive day. I hope to hear a lot of speeches and do some writing work for us to process our independent reading choices. As always, be in touch with any questions you might have. If you haven't finished the MAP test yet, be sure to schedule time for Thursday's Lion Time to get that settled!

21 April - Welcome Back!

English 11

Welcome back, everyone! I'm so excited to have seen so many of you today. For those who were away, know that you were missed. I look forward to seeing you, soon! Today was a bit of an everything day as we worked through some key reading tasks. I hope that everyone will note my intentionality in the next few classes. It's all about reading right now as we do our final preparations for the Reading SOL. Personally, I'm a bit anxious about this test because it's an unknown for a lot of us; however, I'm sure that if we work together to prepare with purpose, we'll do great things together! On to the recap...

We started out with some time for reading. We're in different places with our plays, which is okay, but the goal is the same. You should be done reading the majority, if not all of your play, by Friday. I've posted videos and audio books to help. In some cases, watching while reading will really help. Plays are meant to be seen, ya know. After reading, we processed by discussing and note taking. I loved the engagement and connections we drew between stories. Be sure that you're actively checking in with your Reading Review Bank assignment after every class. You should be getting more devices each day. Check in with a peer or with me if you need help.

After lunch we played a bit of a bonus round from our discussion before vocabulary. The end of the day was independent working time. If you're missing the Vocabulary Summative from Day 68, that's a major priority. You can do the test or the project, but it needs to be done. Zeroes will go in the gradebook on Friday. We also need to finish up the MAP test. If you already started it, you can probably finish it in a LT B or C. If you haven't started, you might want to reserve a whole LT for this. I appreciate that many of you made appointments.

As always, reach out with questions! I'm here to help as much as I can. We've got about three weeks until our Reading SOL and six weeks til finals...Let's finish strong!

11 December - The Last Week before Break!

AP Language

A bit of a whirlwind day to kick off our last week today in AP Language. Today's class was focused on feedback and preparing for what we have to come next class. Next class you'll be writing two essays in one class period - FRQ 2 (Rhetorical Analysis) and FRQ 3 (Argument). Today we reviewed the scoring guidelines and sample papers to understand the requirements of FRQ 3. We also reviewed scoring guidelines and feedback from your Gatsby essays because these are close to FRQ 2 - you're doing the same task, but not with a non-fiction text. I hope that, as always, you found the feedback and review helpful. 

If you have not yet submitted your Gatsby motif work, that is past due. NHI scores will be entered this week. I would also ask that you submit your reflection letters based on the work that you've done so far. The reflections that we did today on the MCQ and FRQ could be helpful content for you to use as you reflect on your skills.

On Wednesday we'll have our timed writing, and then on Friday it's our end of the year potluck! Hooray! We'll do some signups next class for items. Please sign out your copy of Invisible Man using the book signout form in the Unit 4 Folder. Use your resources to prepare for next class and our essays. I'm excited to see your work.

9 May - Victory Day

English 10

Great days continue in English 10. Next class I won't be here with you, so be sure to follow the substitute's instructions. It's an easy day you have to end the week. Today in class we read another two chapters of Persepolis, continued to track Marji's changes and developments, and then ended by looking at our final project for this book.

Be sure that if you have missing assignments that those are turned in here - there's not a lot of time left in this unit or in the fourth quarter, really. We'll be finishing up the book next week, getting into our project, and once we finish, we'll take a look at another corner of the Middle East before closing out the whole unit.

Check in on Thursday to Schoology to review your tasks and access your Reading Test.

AP Language

I certainly hope that all of you felt prepared for today's examination. I'm looking forward to seeing the results when you all do in July. We'll be reflecting on the exam in the next few classes. Focus on completing Choice Board items for our conferences. 

Remember that I'll be out on Thursday and Friday, of this week, so we will have time all next week to complete conferences and raise scores in SiS in light of new artifacts of skill.

3 May - Where's Spring?

English 10

Rainy and chilly Wednesday. Ugh. Where is spring? I want us to have more outside classes and reading time. Oh well. Today we opened our class by looking at two suras from The Qur'an to understand more about Islam and Muslim values and culture. This is a great thing for us to do to understand more about the characters and lives we see in Persepolis. 

From there, we went into our chapter study for today's class. We discussed "The Party" and "The Heroes" and the arrival of a new, important character. Be aware that we're hitting the mid-point of our book! We should be done with it by mid-May. We'll take our test on the book and then look at our final projects. After that, it's the final examination portfolios.

If you are missing your writing assignment or any other assignments, be sure to get those in ASAP. See last class's recording to review the steps to the writing assignment. You've got an outline, sample paragraph, and great earlier activities to help you.

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.

17 March - Happy Friday

English 10

Really good day in English 10 as we started our reading of "Tuesday Siesta". I liked our conversation around the setting, the characters, and the conflict. We'll finish the story on Monday and discuss some of the themes and outcomes. At the end of class we had some choice time. Remember that there is a vocabulary test and a grammar test coming up soon. Use Membean and NoRedInk to prepare. 

We're also getting close to the end of the quarter. If you are missing assignments, it is important to get them in now. Please see me next week for Lion Time, get them done this weekend, or see me after school. Check your progress report with any questions.

15 March - Hey Wednesday!

English 10

Great day in English 10 today as we completed our Poetry Scavenger Hunt. We looked through the poems we've read so far this year and reflected on our changes in our approach to poetry, our favorites, least favorites, and some extensions on poetry around the world. Keep in mind that this assignment serves as your quiz on poetry, so it's open to be resubmitted if you need to.

Be sure that you've checked in on your SiS. We have two stories left in this unit - Marquez and Valenzuela - and then we'll be moving on to our final projects. We should have everything done by the time we go out on Spring Break. 

13 March - Kicking off the Week

English 10

An easy way to start the week today in English 10 with our poetry tournament. We looked at eight poems by Pablo Neruda - a combination of sonnets and odes - in order to understand the essentials of a poem and what makes a good poem good. Remember to use these chances to collaborate in order to share and exchange ideas. I hope you enjoyed this low stakes approach to poetry appreciation. Next class we'll be doing a scavenger hunt related to poetry to finalize our study of poetry in this unit.

If you have missing assignments from last week or earlier in the unit, it's important to get those made up and submitted. I'm available for Lion Time on Wednesday and also after school. Be sure to get any missing assignments in now! 

2 March - Happy Long Weekend

English 10

Great day in English 10! I love "The Night Face Up". It's a perfect example of great imagery, mood, and the way that a great ending can really make a story complete. I hope you liked this first reading about the doppelganger, and our second text focused on the concept. We have one more story to look at which will happen on Tuesday; it's probably our strangest one, but it's also super short. 

If you are missing your letter, be sure that you make an appointment to get that done next week at at Lion Time or after school. We'll be doing a major assignment next week to cap off our first part of the unit. Be ready for some arts and crafts to display your knowledge!

29 November - Grey Day

English 10

Solid day today in English 10. We did our first silent conversation, took time for Membean, and explored a poem called "Babi Yar" by Yevgeniy Yevtushenko, a Ukrainian poet. In reading the poem, we started to focus on the ideas of memory, truth, and deception. The poem acts as a memory and a monument to a horrible event. We'll continue to focus on this theme in the next few days as we watch a film about a Holocaust concentration camp from which the Jewish prisoners escaped. It's a great story. We'll use this as well as our other texts from this part of the unit to complete our next definition essay. Be ready for that before the end of the month.

If you're missing any assignments, now is a good time to complete them. Check your SIS for an accurate accounting of your grades and assignments to this point.

Cheers to the Weekend - 18 November - Friday

English 10

Solid day today studying "In Praise of Feeling Bad About Yourself" by Szymborska. She's a wonderful Polish poet, awarded by several presidents in Poland and the Nobel Committee too for her work. I hope you enjoyed it. We finished our day with vocabulary and time to get caught up. Remember that if you are behind on the work from last class, that assignment is still open to you.

Next class is going to be our Unit Catchup Day. If you have a missing assignment, that class is designed for you to get caught up before we go out on Thanksgiving Break. Let me know how I can help you. SIS has been updated with everything turned in to this point.

13 October - End of the Week

English 10

Great day today everyone as we spent our class in Japan. We focused on poetry and art today - and this class was our final class before we start our film next week. Remember that the film is the major work for this unit and the last thing that we'll study. 

Over the weekend, focus on any missing assignments that you may have. Most of us are doing fine in the gradebook, but a few could do better. You'll have your final assignment for this unit coming up soon, and those will be your final grades for this quarter. Keep pushing to the end!

Remember that next week is the last full week of the quarter.

AP English Language 

Due to the PSAT and the loss of yesterday's classes - we had a bonus workday today. I hope that you found the time useful. I saw a lot of work on vocabulary and on projects. Use the video below, Mr. Friedman and I are trying to do what we can to provide you support. 

Submit your end of unit tasks as soon as you can. Have the first chapter of The Great Gatsby read for Monday. We have a lot to discuss on Monday related to this wonderful book.

Monday - 3 October 2022

Happy October my lovelies! One full month done with school. On to the next one, right?

English 10

Great day today in English 10 to start our unit on Eastern and Southern Asia. We'll be looking at literature and writing from Japan, China, and India in this unit. Today was our soft start, we did some research to learn more about heroes, art, and religion in these cultures. We learned mostly from each other as we completed a gallery walk to display our thoughts to each other.

If you're missing a project, be sure to get that completed as soon as you can. Missing scores will go in after the revision window closes. If you're not happy with your grade, we can do revisions or corrections. I'll have your rubrics back to you next class. As always, reach out with any questions you may have!

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.

11 and 12 May (Also the End of the Week)

I'll be out this week on Thursday and Friday for some medical appointments and personal recuperation. I'll be back on campus on Monday if you need anything.

AP Language

And here we are on the other side of the examination. We are officially OVER the hump. I hope that your letter gave you the opportunity to get your feelings about the examination out of you so that you can move on. You'll have your scores in July and then you can make next steps as you need to.

Time in class is now focused on finishing up our novel tasks. You have six classes remaining and most of them are working days for your novel tasks. Use the templates and the resources provided to help you complete your work. I'm looking forward to a strong finish with all of you!

English 10

Today was our day to finish Spirited Away and our viewing guides on the film. As I watch the movie, I'm struck by how many similarities there are between this and so many other stories throughout time and cultures. You may want to explore some of these similarities as you complete your Demonstration of Learning, but more on that next week.

Next class I will be away recovering from my medical appointments tomorrow. The class will be a catch-up day for you. Remember that you do have vocabulary due for this unit, so next class is a perfect day to pull that together and turn it in. If you have missing work from earlier in the quarter, this is your last catch-up day to get it in. I'll update the gradebook next week and let you know where you stand as we approach the final classes of the year and our last unit - our year end portfolio.