19 February - WorkKeys, Done!

English 11

Great work today, everyone! We did the WorkKeys test. I'm so happy from looking at the data that so many of you felt prepared from our practice and focus on writing over the last few weeks and the year so far. If you were absent, don't worry, there's a retest opportunity. I should know your results soon, and I'll communicate them with you as soon as possible. 

After our WorkKeys test today, we took time for ourselves. There was our reflection form (you can't do it if you were absent because it relies on the test), and then we cleaned out notebooks or just relaxed a bit. Next class we'll be focusing solely on our books and research based presentations related to the books. Be ready to do some work related to your book on Friday, so read in order to prepare. We'll have our presentations in mid-March, which isn't too far away. Looking forward to seeing you on Friday, unless of course this snow that's falling has other plans for us.

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.