30 May - Almost LDOC - Final Friday!

English 11

Easy day today as we focused on finishing up our tasks for Quarter 4. For many of you, this is your design challenge. I'm really glad to see the way which you're crafting arguments about problems that impact you in some way. This is why we do English class, so that we can craft arguments that convince. That's the main skill.

If you need any additional time to close out Quarter 4, then we have Tuesday - LDOC. The last day of class. Sign up for something to bring for our end of the year gathering and celebration. I'm excited to celebrate a great year and send you off to your futures and senior year. If you haven't yet taken your final exam, then remember that the exam will be on June 6. We're the second exam block that day. You'll need your school computer to take the final, so be sure that you have it!

23 May - Friday Feels

English 11

Today was a great day because some of you finished up your grades for English 11. The only thing that we have left to do is our Final Exam which is going to fall on two days - Wednesday the 28th and then June. On Wednesday we'll do our essay. You'll have the whole class period to write. I've already given you the prompts, and I've chosen one. Remember to review your tools for success with writing. You'll be typing your essays to help with scoring.

Outside of that, focus on your design challenge and your final tasks. I'm here to help, but we are running out of time. There are only three class meetings left. If you have items to turn in, get them to me as soon as possible. You have Lion Time on Wednesday and Friday next week. Remember if you're coming in for the early final exam, you'll need to make a pass for Lion Time on Wednesday.

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!

11 March - Thankful for Tuesday

English 11

Wonderful version of a Tuesday today in English 11. We got so much done and really worked through items related to our upcoming presentations and our study of poetry. Let's do a quick review and recap of the day.

We started with presentations. Remember that these presentations are going to count as EIGHT grades for you. We've got THREE for Oral Communication and FIVE for writing. We reviewed the rubrics and scoring guidelines for each element. Remember that if you're working on a team, you'll share the Writing: Central Idea score as the thesis should be owned by all members of the group. Consider the most approachable type of presentation for you. Will you record yourself? Do a video? A slides with a recording? Or will you do it live? Think about what you'll write and what you'll say. We'll keep prepping and working through this into next class and next week.

From there we did our quick poetry study of Phillis Wheatley and then our quiz to check for understanding. Sorry for the error with Question 2 and 3 - that's what happens with Performance Matters, sometimes. I'll review your work and we'll review for our test. The main thing that I'm seeing is that I need to teach some more literary devices related to poetry.

We didn't get around to vocabulary today because of the time constraints, so we'll do that next time. Remember that we'll also start working on Book Projects next class. If you need special materials, I'd recommend bringing them. As always, reach out with any questions or concerns.

14 February - Happy Valentine's Day!

English 11

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! It was a space full of love today as we did so much fantastic work. We had a bit of a split class with half focused on writing and half focused on reading. Here's our overview.

We started, as we often do, with some grammar. The grammar corrections were based off of some of the errors that I saw in your last letter practice. The major things are comma usage, capitalization, and run-on or fragment sentences. I hope that the feedback and practice was helpful for you. From there, we moved into developing our Game Plan for WorkKeys on Wednesday. Turn in your plan. Take a picture and upload that or show it to me when we're in class on Wednesday. I want you to each have a plan for the night before, your packing list, and what you'll do with your time when you write.

After our writing preparation, we moved into reading. We looked at two texts today - "New York Day Women" by Edwidge Danticat and "Anchorage" by Joy Harjo. I loved sharing a piece about my hometown in Alaska. The readings are posted as are the read-alouds. We didn't have as much time as I would have liked with the texts, but we did come to some good understandings.

If you were absent, be sure to review the post and the recording. I do want your Game Plan for Wednesday, even if you were absent today. Over the weekend, focus on preparing for your writing test. If you need more help, I'm here during Lion Time on Wednesday for it. Enjoy the long weekend!

6 February - End of the Week

English 11

Phew! What a day! I'm sorry that I almost missed your lunch; we were just so wrapped up in the work that we were doing! Thanks, Casey for the reminder.

Today, like most of the days right now, we focused on writing. With the winter weather in the forecast, today may be one of our last practice opportunities before our state test. I'm really happy with what I'm seeing with your writing. We reviewed some feedback for the class and did some more practice. I hope that you enjoyed this moderately creative writing assignment. Remember, if your author is still alive, you might want to share what you wrote with them. Who knows, maybe they'll write you back!

We also took a bit of time for vocabulary at the end of class today. The words have been posted in the slides. Remember that we'll have two more quizzes before we have our major grade. If you need to take care of your List 4 Quiz from last week, please make an appointment for next week. I'd recommend that we do Monday the 10th because of the weather warning for next week.

31 January - Ending January and Beginning Quarter Three

English 11

Happy Friday, everyone! There were a lot of absences today. I hope that if you were away that you are doing well. Know that you're very much missed in A101. Today's class focused on preparing for our upcoming writing test and setting up some vocabulary work. 

We started the day with our List 4 Quiz. These grades have been put in the gradebook. If you were absent, or if you need a retake, please see me next week during Lion Time to get this done. After our quiz, we rolled into our review of the WorkKeys exam. Remember that this exam is your credit for writing, and you need to pass this test in order to graduate. Thankfully, we're in a good place when it comes to writing. You all did very well on your letters. The main issue is time and the fact that we don't know the question. Over the next few classes we'll focus on preparing for this by quick thinking and quick writing.

Over the weekend, keep reading your books. It looks like a few of you are stuck in the beginning. Meet your goals! Be true to yourself and what you set out to do. Next class will focus on writing and reading, like most of our classes, and we'll be diving forward a bit in our WorkKeys preparation.

Have a great weekend! As always, be in touch with anything that you may need. 

16 December - A Manic Monday!

English 11

Pretty good day today to start the week. We were focused on reading and reviewing for our test that we have next class. We focused on elements of reading non-fiction and key skills to demonstrate next class. It's most important that you remember the rhetorical situation: purpose, context, audience, writer, and message. Be sure that you read the text efficiently to identify these elements. Once you have the message, it's easy to see the evidence that is used to support that message. Also keep in mind the way in which these elements work together to support each other. One can help you find the other.

We also played Jeopardy today! You're all winners in my book, so we got some small prizes for participation. I've posted the Jeopardy slides if you want to review them again to help you study. Remember that the best way to study is to read, so it might be a good idea to read a bit more or review one of your research sources as you prepare for next class.

At the very end, we took some time to finish up our main work. The most important items are the letter, research write-up, and vocabulary project. Be sure that you're focused on these. Check your Gradebook in Schoology to keep up with what you have turned in and what's been scored. I'll be updating through the week. You'll have all class next time for the test, so you might have time to finish up tasks in class. Please make an LT pass for Wednesday if you need additional help. I'm also after school on Thursday.

4 December - Wacky Wednesday

English 11

What a fantastic day today, everyone! You all were so productive during your catch-up day. I've got plenty of assignments to grade, and I'll get through them tomorrow and Friday morning. Everything in SiS will be updated before progress reports are sent out on Friday afternoon. There's no recording today because the slides really do a good job of covering what we did in class.

If you are still completing your reading (the documentary study) or writing (the outline) formative grades, be sure to turn those in as soon as you can. Remember to use the resources posted to help you with your outlining and writing. My goal in giving you those sentence frames is to make the writing a bit faster and easier for you.

On Friday we'll be focused on finishing our Research Write-Ups and discussing our sources. We'll also do a bit of reading on Friday to start to wrap up this unit of study on The Harlem Renaissance. On Tuesday of next week, I'll be out. You'll have your vocabulary assignment to complete. I posted the video with the assignment to help with it. We have a lot of major grades coming up! Thursday we'll be writing our letters and the week after we'll take our unit reading examination. You'll have more than enough time when we come back from Winter Break for revising or retesting.

21 November

English 11

A good end to the week today as we worked in English 11 to review our writing skills. We took a look at grammar and then we dug into outlining an argument. It is so important to remember that all of your paragraphs need to focus on proving your main idea / the thesis is true. You'll use evidence and explain the evidence in order to do this.

One main takeaway from today's class was the idea that assertions should clearly link to your thesis and they should NOT be evidence. Consider this sentence starter for your assertions: A main reason why...is because... Then you can follow with evidence. After the evidence, we have commentary. Sentences that start like This is important because... or This evidence proves... can help to reconnect to your main idea. Remember that key words and phrases from your thesis will be crucial to use throughout your essay.

We completed a quick outlining activity before moving into vocabulary and independent work. Remember to submit your outline assignment by the end of the weekend. Use the example in today's slides to help you out. I look forward to seeing you after Thanksgiving! Enjoy your film study on Monday. 

28 October - Happy Monday and End of Quarter 1

English 11

Ugh! Unfortunately there's no recording of today's great class because of a technical issue. I'm sorry about that. At least we have records and learning artifacts, right? I'm really proud of the way that you all worked through two texts with a similar vibe - Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" and then Frederick Douglass's "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July." We explored the way in which both of these texts use tone to express arguments about topics. We also focused in on understanding how Douglass was crafting an effective argument.

We looked at the speech in three phases - his introduction, body, and conclusion. We remembered the elements of each phase of writing and then saw the way in which Douglass did just that. Remember that everything is an argument - so everything has a thesis, body with assertions, evidence, and commentary, clear connections between paragraphs, and a conclusion. We'll be focused a lot on writing in this unit, so we'll be doing a lot of this work to understand reading as writing.

We ended the day with vocabulary and began List 3. If you have any grades to raise here at the end of the quarter, now is the time. If you have anything missing (reading tasks, vocabulary quiz) please come in and make sure that those tasks are complete. As always, be in touch with any questions or concerns. Next class we'll be focused mostly on writing.

Welcome to the Year! It's time for 2024-2025 School Year

English 11

Happy First Day of English everyone! It was great to get to know you and to start working with you. I hope that you enjoyed your first class with me. Today in class we went over some key information like our names and pronouns, some procedures and policies in class, and information about what we'll be studying and learning together. 

One of the main things that we learned today was the idea of the rhetorical situation. That means that a text is responding to an event or moment, so it's important to consider some of the elements around a text to consider its full effect. We ended class with a brief reading and writing activity to do a bit of fun creative writing.

For tonight, please get your notebook for class. Next class we'll start to set up that notebook. We'll also be reading next class and start studying a text together, so I'm looking forward to that. All the best! The recording is posted on Schoology under Updates. Remember that the slides are posted under Materials - Current Lessons on Schoology.

23 February - Chapter 10 and Explosions!

AP Language and Composition

Such a fun Friday today in AP Language as we got to do some arts and crafts to display our understanding of key passages in Invisible Man. I loved the way that you were all engaged today in the ideas and uncovering the arguments in the text. Keep in mind that this is a fulcrum chapter - it divides the novel in two and serves to really pull together ideas well. Be sure that you're seeing connections and pulling ideas together as we keep going forward. Take some time to use our key passages and your understandings so far to complete your motif tracker for the book - remember that this is a tool to aid your comprehension and your interpretation, not an assignment, but still a great resource. Next week on Thursday, we'll be diving in to Chapter 11 and 12. It's a short bit and provides a bit of a strange look at TIM in the hospital. Read with your symbolism glasses on, it's a wild ride.

The most important thing to complete right now is your research question and argument (at this point). If you don't know your side right now, write two potential arguments. Part of doing the research process is figuring out where you stand. No matter your topic or position, you need a starting point from which to move forward. Lock in, complete the checkpoint, and get ready to move forward. Remember that you have the document AND the discussion board as part of the revision step, there's also the first document on research questions if you need that too.

I'm loving how busy I am at Lion Time with all of you. Remember that you can rewrite this essay or write a new one; if you're satisfied, then in the words of Romeo from Romeo and Juliet, "Be satisfied." As always, keep reading, thinking, writing, communicating, and collaborating. I'm headed to North Carolina this weekend to see some friends and celebrate some good things. I'll look forward to seeing you Tuesday for a research focused day!

21 February - Oratory and Argument

AP Language and Composition

A rollercoaster day in AP Language, but I think we ended on a high and came to some good understandings about finishing out the year. Remember, you need to put in the real work. No more coasting, no more cruise control, it's time to move with purpose and intention. So, let's make that happen. Take the slides, feedback, and thinking to begin to revise your essays from our practice. Don't delete anything. I have some sample papers and other tools that are helpful - let's keep working together to revise and change scores to get to a 1/4/0. The goal is for you to figure out a method to devise an argument so that you can always employ that tool.

We started the day with reading skills and dug into reasoning and organization as well as rhetorical situation. I hope you all saw our connection to the AP Examination and some of the key questions and skills we're asked to demonstrate in our work. Take some time to read Chapter 10 for Friday's class. It's a strange chapter with a lot of symbolism, but I have faith in you. Pay attention to white paint, power, vision, and the connections to the American government. Use the video on Chapter 10 to get a handle on what's happening.

Welcome Back! Three Weeks to Winter Break - 27 November

AP Language

What an incredible day to start our three weeks before Winter Break. We focused our work on Chapter 9 and examined two key passages in order to understand Fitzgerald's conclusion and main arguments about his society in the 1920's. All of this work is key as you are considering your final projects with this book. We started to summarize our main takeaways via a precis and considered how effective Fitzgerald was with the text he produced. All of this work will pay off well on Friday when we complete our in-class analysis. For Friday you'll be selecting your own passage from the novel and writing an analytical essay explaining how this passage conveys a significant argument through the use of motifs and other choices. 

Your visual will be due next week. For the visual be sure to answer the accompanying questions, you may find it easier to do that before building the visual to help guide your construction process. As always, come to Lion Time or after school if you need extra assistance.

Next class we'll be looking at one of our final pieces of this year - Andrew Sullivan's "What Are Homosexuals For?" As you read this text, consider connections to characters such as Jordan Baker, Nick Carraway, and Jay Gatsby/Jay Gatz. Consider how each of them live outside of the normal rules of society and what happens to them because of this. It's an interesting text with creative parallels for us to explore in our final seminar.

15 September - Fun Friday

AP Language

Happy Fun Friday! Today is the day that we really start our journey in earnest because today was the day that you got your first examination feedback. I know that this can be really difficult for a lot of you, and it's okay to feel upset, but we have to do something with those feelings to pay it forward and be better. Now we start the process of learning, growing, and improving as writers and readers. Today you got your feedback (Rules for Good Reading/Writing) and some information on how to read AP Classroom to understand your skills and needs moving forward.

Remember that all of these scores will be replaced as we keep doing new assignments to assess these skills. Your first project - What's the Situation - will replace your two reading grades. The rubric is posted to guide your work and decisions. It is important that you spend some time on this project this weekend; we'll have time to work on it next class, and it will be due soon. If you have questions, let me know and we can work together at Lion Time or after school next week.

15 May - Kicking off the Week

English 10

We had a strange day today with the Biology SOL and the long second period, so we watched a movie. I hope that you enjoyed watching Persepolis. I really love watching this film and seeing the way in which the comic book is turned into an animated film. You'll be writing a review of the film soon, so I hope that you were able to develop a strong opinion and find evidence to support that opinion.

Next class we'll return to the book. We've got a few chapters left to read and study, and then we'll finish up with our major project - our own comic book. Looking forward to next time!

AP Language

Today was the day for the Style Writing reassessment of skill. To complete this, we wrote two letters - one to me and one to Trevor Packer (mister bigshot at College Board). You reflected on your experience with the exam, with class, and gave me some words of wisdom. This is always one of my most favorite assignments to read. You should see the scores change in SIS throughout the week as I review your letters.

Remember that this week is the end of the Choice Board and Quarter 4. We'll be starting our Bridge Assignment on Friday, and that's technically a final examination task. Be sure that you have completed all items and have had your conferences. If you need additional time, please reach out. I'll be sending progress reports next week as a summation of the course.

12 May - The Weekend is Here

AP Language

Good Morning Everyone - Today is your day to take care of your Style Writing reassessment. Open up the assignment posted for you as well as the instructions in the Unit 6 Folder - Reflection Letters. Follow the instructions and the outline for the letter. Remember that when you write a letter you are directly addressing your audience and speaking in a way appropriate for that audience.

Write your letter to Mr. Packer and to me in the same document. When you're done, if you want to complete the Style Writing reassessment, then answer your compare/contrast questions. Use evidence from your letters. Be specific in your answers. This is a forced Choice Board item for everyone since most people do need to improve their SW skill.

I'll review your work and responses next week and update your gradebook accordingly. Remember that the final date for conferences is Tuesday and Wednesday of this week coming up! Your grades should be done for Q4 by May 17.

AP Research

Keep on keepin on, y'all. Make sure that all of your reflections are in and that you've finalized your Quarter 4 grades. I like that I've seen some very creative top ten lists and survival guides. Hooray for completing parts of your final exam! Remember that if you want to work with a small group on the video, that's acceptable to me. See you next week!

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.

1 May

Happy May Day!

English 10

Today in English 10 was our day for writing. We found an important panel from Persepolis and analyzed elements of language and art to show how Marjane Satrapi is creating meaning in the text about the situation in Iran, herself, and the citizens of the country. I'm looking forward to reading and reviewing your responses. If you were absent, please see me for a Lion Time pass so that we can complete this together OR complete it at home if you feel able.

Next class we'll take a bit of a side quest with our reading and look at the Qur'an. We'll also take a look at our next few chapters of Persepolis to understand the way in which the revolution is progressing in the country. Don't forget that we will have a vocabulary test on Friday. Get in some Membean training to prepare! After today, we just have 13 more classes until final exams. Stay ready! Stay woke!