Homework for the Weekend - B Day - 12 April 2019

Hi All - Remember that with the holiday next week and the teacher workday we will only have ONE B-Day next week.

AP Seminar

We're focused on finishing. And that's the phrase to take with you on into this weekend. As we are working this weekend it is important that we are finalizing our IWA and then completing our slides related to our IMP. Keep in mind the alignment between these two documents as you are working. I've really enjoyed seeing so many of you helping each other out and working to support each other! Keep doing this!

Next class I would like to see a lot of you with your slides on the board. Remember that it is a good idea to look at them on the board before you are presenting. Also remember the timing requirements.

Use your rubrics and documents to help you during this time. I'm of course also available to help!

Advanced Russian

Today in class we were focused on reviewing (Russian II) or learning our last new concept (Russian III). No matter what, we were preparing for our final examination on this unit. At the end of class we had a bit of time to work on our final assignment of the year - the Russian Song assignment. I'll have a formal rubric and guidelines for you next class on this assignment.

Over the weekend, we should all be focused on completing our translation assignments. These translations are great overviews of the grammar topics in our units. Be sure that you can navigate these. If you are having trouble, focus on that topic in the translation to study and review. Remember, learning Russian comes by doing Russian. Be active in your studying.

Russian I

Today we took our examination on Units 1 and 2 - focusing on the essential elements of Russian grammar. I'll have your exams graded and returned to you soon so that you can prepare for a reassessment if needed.

Over the weekend you should complete your Chapter Preview for Unit 3. This chapter focuses on plurals in the nominative case as well as forming adverbs in Russian. It's a pretty straightforward unit and it will take us to our final days for exam review. If you are on the culture and research plan, you should be sure that you have finished your research proposal this weekend on your quarterly project. If you've already finished, be sure that you are pulling together information to complete this work.

Homework for A-Day Students: 11 April 2019

AP English III

For those of you who were absent from first period because of the matinee, please be aware that you missed a good review of Chapter 20 as we worked through the major conversations in Chapter 20. Our big takeaways focused on the reality of California, the connection between Jim Casy and Jesus Christ, and the major elements of the Joads (Ma/Tom) which continue to shine through even in new environments. You can find all of your motifs in Chapter 20 - and we had some new characters and major ideas come through the text. Be sure that your notes and annotations are reflective of this.

As we move forward to the weekend be sure that you are reading to the next chapter set. We have Chapters 22, 23, and 24 ahead of us for Monday. We'll be going to the new camp in this section. Be sure that you keep using your motif charts to track information and keep finding the trends in the text.

Don't forget that we'll have our college workshop on Monday. Be ready to ask questions and start to look at what we can do as we continue to move forward to Senior year.

English IV

Today in class we finished our Lesson 17 Vocabulary and then moved on to our projects related to our literature circles and book research. I'm hoping that we have enjoyed digging into some research in order to see the point of including research in our approach to novels and understanding.

I would see a Vocabulary Test coming soon. We have completed all of Lesson 17. We'll be doing some review of Vocabulary on Monday and Wednesday next week, and we'll have our exam when we return from Easter.

Homework for B-Day Students: 10 April

AP Seminar

Today in class we spent time conferencing, editing, revising, writing, and designing. I love when we get stuff done. This is very much what class will look like on Friday and Tuesday as well. Remember that we are in our final classes for preparation. On Tuesday I want to see you all running through your slides, seeing them on the board, and interacting with an audience. Practice makes perfect!

Keep in mind our due date of the 21st for all materials. Presentations will run on Monday the 22nd and Wednesday the 24th. If you choose to present before school you must bring your own audience.

Advanced Russian

Today was a day for submitting and reviewing (Russian II) or for learning some new concepts (Russian III) at this point, all projects should be in. Projects not turned in will be subject to a small late penalty.

For tonight, be sure that you're preparing for your final examination on this unit. We spent a bit of time going over the topics today. I think the most difficult topics are imperatives (Russian III) and double negation (Russian II) spend your time here. Know your procedures for navigating these areas.

There are additional exercises if you would like the practice - take a look at your translations at the end of the lesson as well as the reading and dialogues at the beginning. Your examination will fall on the 22nd. We'll have Friday and Tuesday for practice and preparation.

Russian I

Today was our final guided study day related to grammar, cases, and Russian linguistics. We spent some great time in class discussing verb conjugation and case declensions. Important skills as we think about our examination that we have on Friday. If you were able to do today's work easily then I think you're in good shape - if not, you will need to focus and study in order to memorize the concepts that you are feeling weak on. There are translations at the end of the chapter and you can also focus on learning your charts and endings. The essential skills for this examination are:

• verb conjugation (also from unit one)
• case declensions (we did nouns in unit one, now we can do adjectives, possessive and subject pronouns)
• knowing the jobs of each case
• knowing vocabulary meanings - translating from Russian to English
• culture around Russian houses and family life

We also finished our Soviet Republics work today. All projects should be uploaded on Google Classroom to be scored. We'll have our culture day on Tuesday where we learn about and share information on the Soviet Union!

Homework for A-Day Students: 9 April 2019

English IV

Today almost everyone was out on a field trip - I hope that you enjoyed your time at Durham Tech today! It's really exciting when you're getting ready for college and what's to come! Today we spent our class time reading and working on reading journals. Remember that everyone's goal is to finish their book by the end of the month. If you need to be reading tonight to make up for class time, please do that.

On Thursday we'll have time in the library to complete our research projects related to our books. After we come back from Easter Break I'll go over the requirements for our final projects and the last classes of the year. Be ready to finish strong!

AP English III

Sorry for the confusion everyone - we'll have our college planning workshop next week on Monday. Not this week. Today in class we focused on Machiavelli and the different strategies he uses to communicate his idea on effective leadership. We made a lot of connections back to Steinbeck as well as we discussed various "princes" in The Grapes of Wrath. Our main motif was power - but I think that there was a bit related to corruption too.

Tonight you should continue reading in Grapes to the end of Chapter 21. Chapter 20 is very long and chronicles the Joads arrival to California. Notice what the reality of California is. Why is it different from the fantasy? Why does this matter? Be sure that you have also completed your motif charts up to Chapter 21 - they'll be necessary as we begin to prepare for our final project on Steinbeck.

Homework for B-Day Students - 8 April 2019

AP Seminar

Let's just remind ourselves of our goals. By the end of this week you should have a full working draft of your IWA that is approaching a finishing stage. I think that we're at the point with these documents that we can start to construct our IMP slides as well. Remember what we have seen from our high scoring samples. Remember how the slides should be used. You may find it helpful to take a small break from the paper to get to the slides.

All slides are due the same day. You'll submit your slides to Google Classroom. All IWAs are due to Digital Portfolio ASAP. Remember that once you submit the final copy, there are no more changes allowed.

Advanced Russian

Today in class we reviewed and/or learned a key topic - the use of the double negative in Russian. This can be a bit tricky - but if you remember the key rules, then you're in good shape. With this, Russian II students are finished with Unit 7 Grammar. You all should take tonight to review concepts using the handout (also available in Google Classroom). Describe the weather and use double negatives to talk about what doesn't happen in that weather.

Russian III students should use the idea of double negatives to practice more with imperatives. Write a brief story using five imperatives. Try to use different types. Make some positive, make others negative.

Also be aware that all project work is due. The last day to submit or work in class is Wednesday. Your exam will come quickly after Easter break. Be aware!

Russian I

Today in class we had time to practice with our vocabulary and a bit of grammar practice. The important thing to remember is that we have an exam coming on Friday which will cover topics from Chapter One and Two. As you're preparing - we should be memorizing. Make sure that you know your endings. Be sure that you know how to make your changes. Can we go through verbs, adjectives, nouns, and all the other words that require changing? My biggest way to prepare is to make cards - kill and drill! Memorize those endings and the process of changing.

Be sure that you've completed your exercises in Chapter Two - these are so helpful in doing this work. I can also help if you need it.

Our last day for research on our projects is Wednesday. All slideshows should be submitted by the end of class on Wednesday.

Homework for the Weekend - A Day Students - 5 April

AP English III

I'm going to reiterate things for the good of the group before we get too far into this final quarter of the year. If you were expecting me to be easier or more lenient as we approach the end, then you were mistaken. I will ease up after we finish the AP Exam. Not before. There are some of you missing research papers still. This is a bad place to be. Some of you did not do well on the break quiz - I hope you've saved some rubles. It's important to finish strong. Not to crawl over the line. If you need help, you need to ask for it. With all that said, let's go on to our work this weekend.

On Tuesday we'll be having a college planning workshop to go over some of the alphabet soup that is applying to college. We'll have about 20 minutes to work through Machiavelli's "The Morals of the Prince" - this is an excerpt of a longer work called The Prince. Machiavelli is a political theorist from the 1400's. You might find it helpful to consider who holds power in our novel and what that institution is doing to hold on to power. I think you may see some interesting parallels. Don't forget our conversation related to Marx today too.

We'll work through the next section of Grapes on Thursday. Be ready for that - it's time to get to California.

English IV

Today in class we had a productive day focused on some grammar skills - Where do we always put commas? - as well as time for reading and our projects on our novels. Remember that most of you will be on the college field trip on Tuesday - have fun and enjoy! - be sure that you have read this weekend to make up for the time in class that you'll miss.

Thursday will be our final day to work on our projects related to our books. Be sure that you're ready to present to your group about your topic.

Homework for the Weekend - B Day - 4 April

One week done, only six more to go!

AP Seminar

Over the weekend there are two things to accomplish. Some of you were able to accomplish one of them today, so I guess that just leaves one thing for you. Be sure that you have navigated to Google Classroom and found the form for Workshop 1.2. This form will guide you through the second workshop on the first submission. This focused on Rows 3 and 5 of the rubric, but it will also be good to think about citations as well.

You must go to Digital Portfolio and submit your draft this weekend. Run an originality report based on your work so far. I will check behind you on Monday. The class we'll have on Monday will focus on workshopping the full draft - be prepared for this work!

Advanced Russian

At this point we have projects due or soon to be due. Russian III students should have recipe cards submitted online and be ready to play or present a spoken part on Monday. Russian II students will have their final workshop on Monday related to the weather reports. Be sure that you have a slide for each of the days and that you discuss temperature, conditions, and suggested attire.

Additionally, we have exercises based on the new content - 9.9 for Russian III / 7.8 for Russian II. Be sure that you are learning your declensions, remembering your key rules, and getting prepared for our overall examination (either the final or the AP).

Russian I

Over the weekend you should all be focused on studying and preparing for your Unit 2 examination. The exam is going to fall on Friday of next week. We'll have full classes on Monday and especially Wednesday reviewing for the exam and getting ready in the way that we can.

This weekend you should all work through exercise 2.20 - translations. These are helpful to review vocabulary as well as grammar in the lesson. You should be able to identify where to use all six cases and then put the words in the proper form. Remember to use your vocabulary lists and notes from Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 as you complete this work.

I would also suggest reading through and understanding the чтение at the beginning of Chapter 2. What is this text about? Where does it use our grammar? You'll see a similar text on the exam next week.

Homework for A-Day Classes: 3 April 2019

AP English III

I have reviewed your papers and logged whose papers I have and whose are missing at this point. I'll begin scoring this weekend. If your paper is currently marked as missing, please be sure that you have submitted a paper to me (electronically via Google Classroom or a hard copy) before I leave this weekend. Once returned, everyone will have one resubmission of the paper. I plan on having these back to you in about two weeks.

In terms of The Grapes of Wrath we have Chapters 17, 18, and 19 for reading. You'll also need to complete just ONE vocabulary card from this section. As you read, be sure that you are updating your motif charts and logging what you find. We'll be focusing on this section of the novel on Friday and discussing a bit about Marxism. You may find it helpful to do a bit of preliminary research on the topic to enrich our conversation.

English IV

Remember that you should finish your novels by the end of the month. Big congratulations to the student who already has finished their book! Today we began to do some research of topics related to our novels. Next class we'll have time in class for reading, journaling, and then researching. The idea is that when we get together next week you will know about your topic and be able to share with the people who are reading your book.

Homework for B-Day Classes (and reminders for AP) - 2 April 2019

AP Seminar

As one of my favorite singers says, "Well I guess that push has come to this, so I guess this must be shove..." That's where we are in AP Seminar. We should regularly be checking things off and moving forward. I hope that today's workshop was helpful in that regard.

Revise and write and craft your IWA. Be sure that you are also designing your slides. Practice your Oral Defense questions with each other. Keep moving forward and ask for the help that you may need. If you were absent today, be sure that you find a partner to complete a First Submission workshop form - available on Google Classroom.

Advanced Russian

I'll be creating the space on Google Classroom for your projects on Thursday morning. Remember that Russian III is due this week and Russian II is due next week. Follow the guidelines for your project (recipe/weather) and ask for the help you may need. Remember that we are actively working on using our language to review the skills.

Today in class we began on new information - adverbs of quantity and count versus non-count nouns for Russian II - imperatives for first and third person for Russian III. There are exercises to review these concepts. Please complete exercises in Chapter 7 and 9 as needed focused on these concepts. The list of exercises is in the slides on Google Classroom.

Russian I

Today I gave you the study guide for your Unit 2 Exam which will fall next Friday. This exam will focus on the essential skills of cases (all six - nouns and adjectives) as well as verb conjugation. It will be very similar to the Unit 1 exam with more (seeing as you didn't know about adjectives before). Be sure to use your study guide and prioritize where you need to.

Additionally, we will begin on one of our last culture projects on Thursday - the former Soviet Union. Be sure that you have selected your top FIVE former republics (Russia is not an option). Do some preliminary research. We'll be choosing and starting on Thursday after we finish Office Romance.

AP English III

Be ready for your quiz on The Grapes of Wrath and be sure that if you have your chapter presentation tomorrow that you have shared your materials with me before class begins. We will have presentations and then the quiz.

Breakwork - B Day Students - 22 March 2019

And now we have all made it. I'll have all the grades updated and finalized before I go with the exception of any AP Seminar students who need to do elevator pitches after break since we didn't have time today in class.

AP Seminar

Over break you should all be actively working on your IWA and IMPOD presentations. It is important that you return to school with a good working rough draft. I would use the IWA checklist as you are going through this process to make sure that your work aligns with the task. Also be sure to use your rubric and all of the discussion we have had around the rubric to help you with this.

Remember that presentations will occur about two weeks after we return to school and all IMPOD presentations will be due on the first day of presentations.

Advanced Russian

Over the break we should all be focused on resting, recovering, and spending time with vocabulary and grammar skills. Break gives you a great chance to work on things at your own pace. I would recommend spending time with your projects - Russian III students should have the project on recipes and cooking over the break. Russian II students should put together a solid draft of the project so that we can focus on corrections.

The other work is to study and review the process of forming the Genitive Plural. Go to Google Classroom and find Exercise 7.7 and complete the declensions!

Russian I

Today in class we finished our culture work related to vocabulary, culture, and finishing our grades for Quarter 3. Once you left class, all of the work was turned in. The grading period is now over.

Over break I would suggest following up on your vocabulary as well as on your grammar skills. We'll have the Unit 2 Exam not too long after we return from break. Probably the second week. It'll cover cases with nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and the skills on verb conjugation too. I'll have a study guide for you when we return from break for what you'll need to study.

Homework for Spring Break - A Day - 21 March 2019

We made it everyone! Break is upon us! Here are your reminders for what to accomplish over the break. Enjoy yourselves! Get a lot of rest and come back ready for the final push!

AP English III

Over the Spring Break we have reading and writing to accomplish. The reading is in The Grapes of Wrath and will take you through to the end of Chapter Sixteen. As you read you'll be going through the journey to California. Watch the characters. Use your motif charts. Those of you with chapter presentations in this section, be prepared for these - they'll fall on Wednesday after we return. As I said in class - there will be a quiz on this section of the reading. Don't be fooled.

On Monday when we return there will be papers due. Remember that your final draft should be that. You'll have one chance to resubmit it after it is scored. It should be printed, and submitted with a cover sheet and rubric. Submit your final draft with your process pieces - the rubrics - in your envelope on Monday.

English IV

Today in class we took our vocabulary quiz, had some time to do some poetry test corrections and then it was time to head to Room 401 to work on our applications with Mr. Clark. I know that some of us got a bit of bad news today, but remember that there are still a ton of options for you. Life is all about what you make it - so keep striving even if you can't get exactly what you want.

Over break I would suggest spending time relaxing and reading. Remember that when we return we have several weeks left before we begin to prepare for our exams! Be ready for a strong finish!

Homework for B-Day Students: 20 March

We are drawing to the end of the quarter very quickly. Be sure that your final assignments are complete and that you are turning in everything!

AP Seminar

Today was great! I enjoyed having you take me through your outlines and arguments. I love what I'm seeing and the interesting investigations that you are pursuing. I hope that you all enjoyed the elevator pitches - it's so interesting to me the various topics and questions we're exploring.

Remember that all assignments will be completed on Friday. You'll do your conference/pitch then if you did not today in class. IWA drafts will be assessed when we return from break. Be sure that you're also working through your IMPOD too!

Advanced Russian

We focused on exercises today in order to understand some key grammatical points before taking time at the end of class to finish our interpretive listening activities and work on our vocabulary projects. Tonight I would recommend to Russian II students to finish collecting your research for your weather report (today, tomorrow, and yesterday in Russia and Durham) and to read the weather reports at the beginning of Chapter Seven as an example of how to structure this information.

Russian III students should complete the planning for the recipe project and begin speaking. Remember that you should be using modals and food vocabulary as you are completing this work!

Make sure that your grade is reflective of where you want it to be!

Russian I

Today in class we did a lot of work related to culture - especially how Russians live. We'll finish our cultural investigation on Friday and watch the Russian/Soviet apartment that I lived in my first summer in Moscow. Tonight and moving into Friday it's important to get all of your final work submitted including viewing guides for our most recent film and the projects (plans and writing). I like that I have a lot of work to get through from you all on my desk.

I'll continue to accept work through class on Friday. Be sure that if anything is missing or low, that you have completed it or reassessed. I'll also keep taking rubles.

Homework for A-Day: 19 March 2019 - Almost There!

AP English III

During today's class we spent the majority of our time working through Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue". This piece is very important as it helps us to consider and understand the ways in which stereotypes oversimplify and silence people. Language, and the way people talk, has a clear impact on how we understand them - Tan's piece helps us to recognize the real implications of this. From there, we moved on to Chapter 7 to see how language and identity are connected in that text as well.

For tonight, please read and annotate Chapter 8 - be on the lookout for all the Joads - as well as S. Truth's short speech called "Ain't I A Woman". This piece is in 50 Essays and available at this link. As you read it - consider how language and identity are interacting with elements of gender. How does Truth's language complicate ideas of what is a woman? Does Ma Joad further this complication in any way?

Remember that next class is our last class of the nine weeks. All writing conferences will be completed by the end of the day on Friday and you have been given your final documents for your research papers. Remember that papers are due at the end of class on 1 April. You must submit a full packet including your final draft and your preliminary document rubrics.

English IV

Today in class was focused on our novels and vocabulary skills. Next class we'll have a short vocabulary assessment based on the first nine roots that we have learned in Lesson 17. Be sure that you have prepared for this by looking over your notes and knowing the meaning of your various word parts so that you can navigate the vocabulary assessment with ease.

We spent a lot of time summarizing our books up to this point and developing our knowledge about our characters. We'll get back to our film after Spring Break as a a movie day is usually a good day to come back to after vacation.

Thursday is our last class of the quarter. Be sure that you have displayed your skills by working through any assignments that you may have left for this quarter.

Homework for B-Day - Monday - 18 March

AP Seminar

Today in class we had a really productive day of watching a mid-scoring IMPOD (good to give ourselves that to contrast from the other), some critical discussion, a review of outlines, and then independent working time. Remember that our final assessments of the quarter will fall on these last two days. Here's a review of what they are:

1. Elevator Pitches - Minor Grade - Have you stated your question? Stimulus document connection? Solution or argument for a solution? So What? How does this affect real people? You'll get ten points for your answer for each question.

2. Outline Conferences - Major Grade - Take me through your outline and show how you've addressed each row of the rubric. You'll receive ten points for each element of the rubric.

Be prepared for the end of the quarter. Remember that drafts of IWAs will be finished when we return from break!

Advanced Russian

Today in class we spent time reviewing our case functions and plural declensions (Russian II/III) before going on to a discussion around the importance of selecting the appropriate aspect when using modals to express needs, permission, and refusals. Remember the importance of aspect and knowing how to navigate your pairs as we are working through this Russian IIIs.

Tonight for homework you should practice with our new skills by completing exercises for practice. Russian II have exercise 7.1. Go through and apply your case declensions. Do not do any Genitive Plurals - this will be our focus when we return from Spring Break. Russian III should complete exercises 9.7 and 9.8 to play with aspect and modals requiring aspect.

If you have any missing work or low scoring work, be sure to see me this week to complete those assignments or reassessments. You can also see me this week with rubles or Falcon Feathers to raise your score.

Russian I

Today in class we focused on how pronouns and question words (who/what) change to represent the various cases in Russian. Remember that words will change in order to show their full function in the sentence. I think that chanting the case forms is a great way to memorize them (and to sound like you're possessed in Russian). Complete exercise 2.16 as a way to practice with this work. What pronoun do we need? What case do we need? Use your chart to make the appropriate changes.

Additionally, remember that this is the last week of the grading period. The final two assignments for this quarter are our viewing guide on Office Romance and our floor plan projects. Everything should be turned in ASAP so that it can be recorded for you.

As always, please get in contact with me if you need anything!

Homework for the Weekend - A-Day Students - 15 March

AP English III

Good work today in class with our presentations on The Grapes of Wrath as well as our discoveries about Steinbeck's various purposes in the novel as he creates antagonists. I was very happy with what we were doing in class; please continue this work at home as you keep reading. Over the weekend please complete Chapter 7. Don't forget to finish your motif chart for this chapter as well. Additionally, you'll want to read Amy Tan's "Mother Tongue". This piece really focuses on the idea of language/identity/stereotypes. Consider how this piece and Eighner's help us to add complexity to our understanding of others - especially the poor and people who speak with a non-standard English.

The other major work relates to our research papers. Everyone will be required to submit a rough draft (50%) on Tuesday. Remember that if you conference before Tuesday, you will just bring your draft to your conference. We've already had several successful conferences. Be sure that you are ready and prepared to finish the Quarter!

English IV

After a bit of a rocky go yesterday we had a really great and productive day today. Lots of good learning, and I am always so happy to see you all reading and enjoying your books. Remember this weekend to keep reading to get at least to page sixty in your books. This is especially important if you've fallen behind or missed class.

Additionally, remember that this is the last weekend of the grading period. We need to make sure that tests are complete and that everything we wanted to resubmit is in.

Homework for the Weekend - B Day Students

AP Seminar

Over the weekend it's really all about the IWA and the outline. It's time to put it together, to keep researching, and to keep writing. Remember that the more that you write, and the more content that you generate, the easier it is to move through the editing and refining process.

Be sure that you are using the rubric, the sample documents, and the activities we complete in class to help you with all of this. I'm available a lot during class and outside of class for anything that you need. Remember to use me as you need me.

Russian II/III

Today in class we had our vocabulary quiz on Unit 7 and Unit 9. I'll have these scored and back to you on Monday. If you would like to resubmit the quiz, please study and review this weekend and see me next week. Over the weekend it would be a good idea to review your PowerSchool and to complete any missing assignments or to budget your rubles that you may have for extra credit on low scoring assignments.

I'll be collecting your viewing guides on the film on Monday. They should be completed. The film is available on YouTube if you need to go back and watch anything.

Russian I

This class looked a lot like Advanced Russian today. We took a quiz and then we watched more of our film - Служебный Роман - to complete part one. Your viewing guides are due on Monday. They should be complete. Remember to add the final paragraph response and answer in at least an ACES paragraph:

Who is your most or least favorite character in the film? Why do you have that opinion of them?

It would also be a good idea to complete the drafts of your floor plan paragraphs this weekend. We'll have some time on Monday to write, but really the writing should be mostly revising.

Homework for A Day Classes - 13 March 2019

AP English III

Today in class we did a great job working through Eighner and the similarities and differences that he has with Steinbeck in crafting his narrative and discussing the poor. I think that all of these ideas are important as we keep reading through The Grapes of Wrath. I hope that you enjoyed the text.

Tonight we are continuing forward on our research papers and our reading. The reading is two chapters - Chapter Five (intercalary) and Chapter Six (content). Remember that we'll have our first round of presentations on Friday. Have any slides or documents shared so that I can prepare in advance. You should also be completing your motif charts as you read.

We are also signing up and completing our rough drafts for our research papers at this time. The draft conference sheet is on my door. Remember that you are bringing me a 50% draft (at the minimum you should have your introduction and one whole topic and bibliography). At our conference we'll review your work and other parts of this assignment. This is the final grade for Q3 and the final part of the paper before the final draft is due. Remember that no work will be collected for this assignment past Friday of next week.

Keep grinding hard - it's almost over!

English IV

Today we spent time talking about our characters and reading more of our novels before starting on a German film called The Wave about conformity and social control. This movie will connect to all of your books since we have similar themes throughout.

Remember at this time you want to check your PowerSchool for any missing or low scoring assignments. Be sure that you have completed everything or that you have redone any low scoring assignments in order to show your best score at the end of the quarter!

Homework for B-Day Classes: 12 March (ACT Day)

Dear Juniors - I hope that you felt prepared and that you served the ACT what it wanted. I hope that the work we have done related to writing and critical reading helped you. Now, on to the announcements.

AP Seminar

In class today we had a significant workday geared toward our IWA outlines. By the time we leave for Spring Break (next Friday) you and I should have sat down for an IWA OUTLINE CONFERENCE. This conference will be a major grade. We'll discuss your outline including the question and answer, as well as the way in which you are using your source material to argue for a solution or resolution.

Beyond this, the only other assignment we'll have in Q3 is an elevator pitch. These will occur next week. Everyone will be expected to deliver a 1-2 minute elevator pitch in which you detail for your classmates:

• What your question is. 
• Its connection to the stimulus pack.
• Your answer or solution.
• An element of SO WHAT - Who is impacted? Who is affected? Why does the question or answer matter?

Keep in mind that the first draft of your IWA is due when we return from Spring Break.

Advanced Russian

Today was an enrichment day in Russian. We focused on writing and discussing the weather (Russian II) as well as our recipes and foods (Russian III). As we worked today in Russian III, there was a lot of discussion around related grammar topics like time expression, genitive counting rules, and the other related grammar needed to work through recipes.

Tonight, you should study and prepare for your quizzes on Thursday. The quizzes will focus on vocabulary as well as on uses of the dative case. Be prepared! Be sure that if you weren't in class today that you are prepared to move forward with your recipe projects or grammar skills.

Russian I

Today in class we spent about 80 minutes studying for our quiz on Thursday. By studying we were active. We matched dominoes to practice with the idea of agreement between words with gender and case. We also did some writing and translating about our houses - to write one of our paragraphs. Tonight, you should keep that going.

First, use the example/model paragraph and complete the work on writing about your house. These paragraphs are due on Thursday. While you take your quiz I'll grade your paragraphs and return them with notes about corrections. Final floor plan projects are due on Monday. This is the last project grade for Q3. If you see that you have other missing or low scoring assignments, you may want to see me with rubles to add extra points. 

GRADES FOR ALL CLASSES WILL BE FINALIZED NEXT FRIDAY AFTERNOON 

NO EXCEPTIONS

Homework for A-Day Students: Monday, 11 March

AP English III

There is no point to studying for the ACT at this point. The best thing that you can do is review your notes and preparation for each section, pack your bag for tomorrow (snack, calculator, pencils, water), and get a good night's sleep. Mint is good for memory - maybe a cup of mint tea in the morning to help you out.

Here are our big reminders for class. They're grouped in terms of reading and then our research papers.

On Wednesday we'll be discussing a non-fiction text, "On Dumpster Diving" by Lars Eighner. It's attached here, and it's also available in 50 Essays. Read the text and consider the presentation and discussion of the poor in this text. How do you see necropolitics related to the poor and homeless? What textual connections can we make between this text and The Grapes of Wrath? Remember that Wednesday is a PLC Day - so we'll likely just have time for Eighner. You have reading in Grapes due on Friday (Chapters 5-6) and we'll have our first run of presentations (Chapters 1-6).

In terms of your research papers outlines should be completed and shared by the end of the day today to be considered on time. I'll start marking outlines and rubrics tonight. Our next deadline is our rough draft and conference. Remember that we'll begin conferences on Thursday. I'll post the signup sheet on my door tomorrow. You must bring a 50% draft to your conference in which you present your introduction/argument and at least one topic. This is your final grade on your research papers this quarter.

English IV

What a great day to do some reading outside! I really appreciated the work that we did to study and review our protagonists to understand key ideas about them like their beliefs, key ideas, and the people that they trust.

At this point we are wrapping up the quarter. Be sure that you've completed all your assignments, that you've put extra credit on anything that you want, and that you have reviewed and revised any assignments that are low scoring. The quarter ends on Friday the 22nd.

Homework for the Weekend - B Day - 9 March (Saturday)

Sorry for not posting yesterday everyone - it was a long day of training, and I just forgot. Here are your reminders for Tuesday.

AP Seminar

Thank you to those of you who emailed or got in touch about question development and conferencing. I will be available to finish conferences on questions Monday and Tuesday before class. Please come and see me to complete that portion of your grade. For those of you who have already had your conference, please unsubmit your Question Generator and continue to use it if needed.

By this point it's important for everyone to have a Research Question 2.0+ to get busy with EBSCO and online databases and researching. I've been asking a lot of questions about scope, focus, connection to the stimulus pack, and the argument or point that you're trying to make. Be sure to also consider the - SO WHAT? - Why does this investigation, question, resolution, or conclusion matter? As you research continue to refine your question and by extension your answer.

The next few days of class will be filled with researching and developing outlines. Our next assessment in class will be elevator pitches of questions, arguments, and sources. Be ready for that next week - details forthcoming!

Advanced Russian

I hope that you all enjoyed the film Девчата from the note that the sub left you have just about ten minutes left to watch. Be sure that you've completed the questions up to that point in the film. It's available on YouTube if you need to rewatch anything. We'll finish the movie on Thursday after our quiz. Russian II/III students will have a quiz on new vocabulary (weather terms, adjectives, foods) and the use of the Dative Case on Thursday. 

Additionally over the weekend you should work on your writing assignment (Russian II) on weather and feelings (accurate use of dative case, adjectives and adverbs). Or you should be working on your recipe steps (Russian III) and learning new vocabulary (verbs) related to cooking. These verbs are great when paired with your modals (use of the Dative/Nominative case.

Tuesday is ACT day and a good chunk of the class will be missing - plan on an Enrichment Day on Tuesday!

Russian I

I hope that our romcom - Служебный Роман - was fun and enjoyable. I hope that it also helped to give you some insights into Russian women of different types, especially thematic for International Women's Day. I expect to see viewing guides with questions answered to about the 1:10 mark of the film. If you left your viewing guide on the floor at the end of class, I would suggest coming to see me and get another. The film is available on YouTube if you need to rewatch anything.

Over the weekend you should work to complete the Chapter 2 reading as well as any remaining problems from our previous exercise set. You should be reviewing your color vocabulary and case endings nightly in order to memorize them and be able to apply them correctly. The reading assignment is a great tool to help you do this so that you can see cases in action. Try to translate as you read.

We will have a quiz soon on case functions, some endings, and color vocabulary words. We'll also have a writing workshop on Tuesday related to our projects. The final draft of the houses project will likely be on Monday of next week - be ready for that!

Homework for A-Day Students: 7 March 2019

AP English III

I certainly hope that you all enjoyed the beginning of The Grapes of Wrath today. I love this book and every time I read it I find a new way to appreciate and love it a bit more. You'll be meeting the Joads in the next few chapters. Be sure to create your front cover annotations and develop your back covers (motifs, topics, symbols, settings) as you read. The assignment is Chapters 2-4 this weekend. 

You should also complete your research outline this weekend. Use the work in your synthesis packs to show me your argument on your topic (DADS), the main points that you will make (topics/reasons), and the way in which you will organize and use evidence. The better the outline, the better and easier the essay. If you need to find more sources - be sure to do so. All of your sources should be documented in the outline if they are used both with parenthetical and end-text citations.

As always, please reach out if you need any assistance. I'm here to support and help you through this process!

English IV

Today was College Application Day. It was a wonderful day to get online, get our accounts, and get our applications started! We also had some time to work on some areas related to college applications such as resumes and personal statements. I hope that today felt like a good day and that you feel a bit more prepared for what's coming up next.

Next week we'll keep reading and working on our novels. Make sure that you're reading at home if you would like. They books just get better and better.

Homework for B-Day Students: 6 March 2019

Russian I

We are getting to the point in the year where I am starting to get very worried about the ability for some of you to move on to Russian II due to a lack of skills in the language. It appears as though many of you are waiting for the language to magically click, and unfortunately, this will never happen. You must work nightly with the grammar and vocabulary. You must be able to memorize the case endings and know how the words are changed. Today there was very little engagement or apparent ability to complete the exercises. This is concerning.

Tonight you should finish the exercises if you did not already do so. They will help you to learn the ways in which the cases function and how to alter the spelling of the words to show that they are in the cases. The reading at the beginning of Chapter 2 will also help you with this.

There are many of you missing work. Be aware we have three weeks left in the quarter. On Tuesday you'll have a quiz on cases and colors. I hope that you are all prepared.

Advanced Russian

Today in class we focused on reviewing exercises and vocabulary related to key concepts before we watched our first weather report. Tonight for homework you'll be continuing to work in the spirit of these exercises. Russian III students should prepare their recipe. Make your list of groceries, investigate new verbs, and prepare your vocabulary list. Remember to use your modals where appropriate. Russian II students should write five sentences describing different weather conditions and the feelings that these spark in you. Remember - use adjectives to describe situations/things/weather and use adverbs to describe feelings.

Also, there are a lot of you missing work (projects) be sure that you have presented your poem to me and that you have turned in your slides on Google Classroom.

AP Seminar

Today because of the Tornado Drill we did not have time to conference with everyone. If I did not get to you today, please try to see me tomorrow or Friday before class so that we can have our discussion. At this point, it's all about the question and the argument. Be sure that you're collecting your sources and use your resources to help you complete your tasks. I hope that you have all set up your folder on Google Drive and that you are beginning to fill the folder with items.

Remember that it would be good to start to consider your argument/solution/answer and then the way in which you'll set up your evidence to show your line of reasoning. You'll be submitting an outline next as that is a a more logical tool for this type of assignment than an Annotated Bib.

Happy researching!

Homework for A-Day - 5 March 2019

AP English III

Good work today with your unit examination on Transcendentalism and your synthesis timed writing. I'll be reading and commenting this week and will get that work back to you next week. I was also very happy with your Synthesis Sourcepack assignments. Most of you received near perfect scores. If you lost points, it was probably related to your citations - be sure that we've reviewed this before the outline is due.

The outline for your research paper will be collected on Monday. The outline should document your argument (DADS), key topics/reasons (at least 4-5), and the way in which you are using your sources (quotes/paraphrases) to support your argument. I'll be available all week in the morning for help on this. Remember all that we have learned related to argumentative writing.

Next class we'll begin our unit on The Grapes of Wrath. Please see the Unit Plan for details on this. Tonight you should do some preliminary research on John Steinbeck. Who is he? What did he write? What did he believe in? What were his politics like? Come in with some information so we can start reading!

English IV

Today in class we were really focused on getting some more reading done before we got into groups to discuss and work on our characters. I was happy to see that so many of you have a good understanding of your protagonist, antagonist, and some of the conflicts that are happening in your book so far. I think that everyone has a good understanding of the basic set-up of the novels so far.

Tonight - keep reading! Keep going! Get further into your books so that they get more interesting. Next class we'll be doing a workshop to prepare for Durham Tech and other college applications!

Homework for B-Day - Monday the 4th of March

AP Seminar

Make sure that once you are done with it that you have turned in your question generator form. This is a great way to make sure that your looking at a variety of ideas and perspectives as you start planning. As we move forward be sure that you are constantly working. It's a great chance to get ahead, keep setting goals and accomplishing them.

Next class we'll be conferencing and researching. It's time to start building the outline and annotated bibliography. Be ready to keep going forward!

Advanced Russian

There are many missing projects. Make sure that your project is presented to me (poem) and turned in to Google Classroom. I'll continue grading this week and return the tests to you on Friday.

Tonight you should all dig in to your new grammar and vocabulary. Russian III students should focus on exercises 9.5 and 9.6 to practice with new vocabulary and modal expressions. Russian II students should focus on exercise 7.1 - a general case review.

Be ready with your vocabulary. A lot of Russian II students need to go back and learn numbers. Don't forget to focus on your nouns and your adjectives!

Russian I

Today in class we reviewed the way in which possessive pronouns change (my, your, our) to relate and show genders and cases in Russian. Remember that there is a lot of alignment here between what we have seen happen with adjective endings. Hopefully a lot of things were clicking today between cases, declensions, and genders. After this we spent time working on our home floor plans. We should have finished the floor plan so that next class we are able to start writing about the rooms.

For tonight, you should have finished the four exercises assigned last week from Chapter 2. We also need to focus on vocabulary and memorizing endings. The reading - at the beginning of Chapter 2 - is a good way to do this. Take a look at how the adjectives are being used. Try to understand the main idea of the text.

Homework for the Weekend - A Day - 1 March

AP English III

The main task to perform over the weekend is to complete the Synthesis Sourcepack assignment via Google Classroom. Remember that you are finalizing your research topic/question by embracing the synthesis pack format. Use the template documents as well as the synthesis prompts we have looked at from College Board to complete this assignment. Turn it in when you are done. This work sets you up very well for the outline - it would be a good idea to begin out your outline as soon as possible.

On Tuesday we'll have our unit examination. There will be a synthesis timed writing as well as short answers related to each of the four authors we have read. Remember these will be SHORT answers (3-4 sentences per answer) and this will be a CLOSED BOOK/NOTE assessment.

On Thursday we'll begin with The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Have your copy of the novel as well as a bit of preliminary research on John Steinbeck. Who was he? When did he live? Why did he write this or other novels? What does he write about? This will help to enrich our opening study of the novel.

English IV

Today in class we had time for reading our novels and then a bit of time to have our first group conversation. Next class we'll have more time for our group meetings as you'll have a task to complete for your group.

Over the weekend, I would encourage you to keep reading! Remember that if you want to read a second book that you have a great chance to earn extra credit by doing that. This activity is a great means to build your knowledge and skill with English. I hope that you're also enjoying the chance to learn about a different person and part of the world.

Homework for the Weekend - B Day - 28 February

AP Seminar

Well, that's it when it comes to the documents! We've had a very rich few days working through our document pack to determine various themes and connections. I was very impressed with the work that you were doing in your silent discussion related to themes and connections. This weekend, it's time to put all that to work.

Your first task is to read the sample IWA and apply the rubric. What is this person's question? What's the theme? How is this person using a variety of perspectives. Read, annotate, and score.

After you've done that. It's time to plan and work. What's your question? What's your theme? What are your documents? Be sure to work through your summarizing sheet (shared earlier this week) as that will give you a good framework to move forward.

Advanced Russian

Tests are in. Projects are coming in. Scores will be seen in PowerSchool this weekend. And we are moving on. Over the weekend it is important that you finish any preparation for your poetry recitation so that we can get that settled up.

You should all work this weekend on completing your Chapter Preview and begin work on your new vocabulary in the new units. Unit 7 is for Russian II (weather and plurals) and Unit 9 is for Russian III (food and instructions).

If you felt shaky in your exam today, be sure to study and prepare for a reassessment this weekend. Once I hand back your work you will have just one week to complete a reassessment. The same will be true for your projects as well.

Russian I

Today in class we went back to square one as we went back to our idea of agreement, cases, and adjectives as well as nouns. Remember that as we do this work we will have endings for nouns and endings for adjectives. These endings work together. Keep this in mind as we continue to use these and learn them. I hope that after our guided practice today you were able to make corrections to your work related to your animals.

After that we learned the endings for the three other cases - Accusative, Dative, and Instrumental - before we practiced with them to write sentences using verbs.

Over the weekend, you should have four exercises completed in Chapter 2. These are Exercise 2, 4, 7 and 8. On Monday we'll be doing a help session with these exercises. Be ready in case you are called! You should also be focused on learning your colors for our first vocabulary quiz in this unit - Friday.

AP English Announcement

Students!

Please make sure that you have turned in your Transcendentalist for a Week project on Google Classroom! Use the space there. Once I've marked your rubric, I'll return it to you online. It'll say it's missing, but don't stress out. As I start grading I see 8 missing assignments still.

Homework for A-Day Students: 27 February

AP English III

Today was our final day to look at a new text as part of our unit on Transcendentalism. I hope that you enjoyed reading Hurston. I only wish that we had more time to complete our Socratic Seminar since I think that it gives everyone a greater chance to participate in class and share observations.

Tonight, you should be focused on your research work as well as pulling together ideas and texts to prepare for our unit assessment next week. Next week you'll have a timed writing (synthesis) paired with short answer questions on the various texts that we have read. Be ready! Study and review your annotations. In class on Friday, we'll take a look at some sample synthesis responses before you have time to complete your sourcepack work.

The next phase of your research paper is to formalize your argument (DADS) and to complete your outline for the paper. We'll discuss this next week in terms of what my expectations are; however, you should be attempting to synthesize various bits of information to support your own argument. Don't approach your outline by working through just one source in one paragraph.

If you have any issues with your progress report, missing assignments, or would like to exchange rubles for extra credit, be sure to see me about that this week.

English IV

Today in class we really changed things around since we're now working on studying novels on our own and with smaller groups of our peers. Remember that you can change your book one time if you don't like it. I would suggest that you stay with the same book the whole time - they're all pretty great stories.

If you are interested in earning extra credit this quarter, you have the chance to read a second book on your own. You can take a look at any of the other books that are in this unit. There will be an extra credit assignment given toward the end of the third quarter.

Next class we'll continue to read our books in class, and you'll have your first group meeting. Think about the different roles that we have in class and consider which one you would like to do for the first group meeting time.

Homework for B-Day Students - 26 February 2019

AP Seminar

I enjoyed seeing you all collaborate today to create your lesson plans. Be sure that before our next class (Thursday) you have turned in your lesson plan and that you have shared with me any materials. If you need me to make copies, please tell me.

Once we've finished going through the final three documents it'll be time to start consolidating your work and considering your question. Remember, just like the TMPOD, you'll want to revise and refine your question as you research and work. By the end of this week, you should complete the final summary document (given in class today). Also, if you've missed class, please be aware of what you have missed. See Google Classroom or a classmate to get caught up.

Next week we begin with our IWA work! Be ready!

Advanced Russian

Today was the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae called verbs of motion. We completed final exercises and translations, reviewed the importance of perspective when it comes to speakers, and we reviewed many of our conjugations. I also gave out and reviewed the study guide for the exam.

Your examination is Thursday. You should have all projects completed this week and submitted to be scored. Addtionally, if there is anything that you want to resubmit, it is time to do that now. Resubmissions will not be accepted past this week.

Russian I

Today we began on adjectives. Adjectives are just like nouns - they have gender and they have cases. Remember the key idea of agreement! Adjectives and nouns must agree in case and gender - remember, we can't separate red from t-shirt (it's just one thing). For tonight, to practice with adjectives and endings in nominative, genitive, and prepositional case we have exercises 2.2 and 2.4. Practice with your endings and try to get these memorized.

Like I said, we are basically reviewing all of Unit 1 as we go through Unit 2. This will be a faster unit, but for those of you who are a bit unsure of your skills from Unit 1 - know that you'll have a lot of opportunities to improve. That being said, be sure that you have reassessed your test from Unit 1 within the next two weeks!

Homework for Monday - A Day - 25 February

AP English III

Today we began to scratch the surface of Dr. King's article by focusing our discussion on his larger context and his use of allusions in the text. Next class we'll begin to formalize his argument as we compare and contrast his text with the others in this unit. Begin to draw connections now so that you're prepared for that conversation.

Tonight you should read what may be our last text of this unit - Zora Neale Hurston's "How It Feels To Be Colored Me". This text is available in 50 Essays as well as at this link. Next class we will be doing some more multiple choice practice. Be ready for that!

Outside of your reading, be sure that you are pulling together your research for your Synthesis Packs. These will be assessed next week and they are a major grade. Follow the instructions and use the template documents in Google Classroom. Additionally, all Transcendentalist Projects should be submitted to Google Classroom. I'll read and return rubrics to you later this week.

This unit will be ending next week and we'll be going on to The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. Be sure that you have secured your copy of the text.

English IV

Today in class we completed our Poetry Unit test in which I asked you several questions about the different poems that we've studied and then to write a paragraph to show your skills in writing and reading poetry. I'll have this work graded and returned to you by the end of the week.

Next class we'll begin with our literature circles. Each of us will be reading a different book (some in small groups) in order to work on setting goals, accomplishing them, and studying a novel for your own enjoyment. Be ready for things in class to be a bit different as we move forward.

Be sure that if you have anything missing from this unit that it is complete by the end of the week!

Homework for the Weekend - B Day Students - 22 February

AP Seminar

Wonderful work this morning delving deep into our documents as we discussed for a solid half of class. I appreciated hearing a variety of viewpoints and ideas as we were discussing and sharing. I decided that for our first foray, and since we had limited time, I'll be giving everyone a 100% for the first Socratic Seminar. For the next we will be attempting to earn all 20 points on the rubric.

At the end of class we formed our groups for our following documents. This weekend you should read all three and complete an analysis sheet for each. The one that is your groups to teach should be thoroughly read and analyzed. On Tuesday you will have time to work as a group to write your lesson plan and prepare to teach. We'll have lessons on Thursday and our final Socratic Seminar the following Monday.

Advanced Russian

Today in class we spent a solid hour speaking and using Russian to discuss various modes of transit for Russians on a daily basis. This was great work as we practiced with various verbs, prepositions, cases, and we learned a lot about culture. Then we took some time to review exercises before we wrapped our day.

Remember that all projects should be submitted by Tuesday. The exam will fall on Thursday. If you have yet to present your poem - be sure that this is ready on Tuesday. There is a space on Google Classroom to submit your projects.

We also have final exercises to complete. Russian II students should focus on the translation exercises (not the whole paragraph, just the sentences/dialogues) at the end of Chapter 6. Russian III students have a fill in the blanks exercise as well as the translations in set B.

I'm looking forward to seeing those of you competing at the Olympiada tomorrow! See you at Duke at 10:00 AM.

Russian I

Today in class we worked through our Unit 1 Test. I'll have these graded and returned to you next week. Over the weekend make sure that you have completed everything up to this point in PowerSchool. If something is missing, it needs to be turned in ASAP.

Over the weekend you should finish memorizing your poem and complete any project work (About Me). There is the Chapter Two Preview to work through as well. Skim the Chapter and review the grammar and vocabulary points. You should start to focus on the adjectives for your vocabulary.

See the note about the Olympiada for those of you competing!

Homework for the Weekend - A Day - 21 February

AP English III

Today in class we really focused in on our skills related to the AP Examination. First there was the Matchbox - the first of many - in which we collaborated in order to improve our ability to find the BEST answer when working through multiple choice.

From there, we went on to the Synthesis Question to determine some key skills and competencies involved in doing the assignment well. I've uploaded on Google Classroom the template documents that you will need to formalize your research question as it currently stands into a full Synthesis Prompt. Be sure to follow the instructions in the template documents as well as on the instruction sheet that I gave you today. This is the next step before you perform your outline as you are formalizing your question and your sources here.

Over the weekend you have the synthesis pack to begin on (if you finish it this weekend, get it turned in!) and then the reading for Monday - Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham City Jail". See the previous post for the link to the reading, or find it in 50 Essays.

English IV

This weekend the main task that you have is to prepare for the upcoming exam on all of the poems that we have read so far. I would recommend that you check out a copy of our Edge textbook so that you can reread and review the poems again this weekend before you are tested on them.

The study guide I gave today in class gives you some tasks to complete, a list of key literary devices, and some ideas of the types of questions you will see on Monday.

Homework for B-Day Students: 2 Hour Delay Day - 20 February

AP Seminar

Lots of changes to the Unit Plan and homework plan since I made a massive mistake in taking us through the unit. Here are the recaps for you.

Tonight - You should watch the TEDTalk and use the form I gave you in class to formalize and finish your annotations. Be sure to take notes as you watch as well. We will be having a Socratic Seminar on Friday in which we pull together major ideas between the four documents that we will have studied by Friday's class.

I'll also be forming you into your groups for the final three documents to teach the class. You'll be taking the class through your document on Tuesday!

We'll be finalizing our work with the documents and moving on to the work on the IWA very soon. Be ready to finish our first round of document study next week!

Advanced Russian and Russian I

Today most of class was devoted to a project workshop. If your project is complete it should be turned in to the space on Google Classroom. Additionally, the poems should also be presented this week. If you have not yet completed your poem; it is time to finish your memorization and get it settled up. We will have exams coming very soon to wrap up our units.

Advanced Russian

Be sure that you have finished your exercises related to verbs of motion (Russian II) as well as the work related to conditionals and hypotheticals (Russian III). Friday will be one of our wrap-up and review days as we engage in actual tasks which will help us to prepare for the exam next week. Your Unit 6/Unit 10 examination will fall on Thursday.

A good way to prepare is to correct your quiz. This work should be done by Friday.

Russian I

If you are in need of extra credit for Unit 1, then your questions at the end of Chapter 1 are the best place for you to earn that credit. There are over twenty questions at the end of the Chapter 1 Exercises which you can answer for one half point of extra credit per answer. These questions are found on page fifty-six. The questions must be answered in a complete sentence and they must be done by hand. Any evidence of translator help will invalidate the whole response.

Your examination on Unit 1 is on Friday. Extra Credit will be accepted before the examination begins or on Monday (at the latest).

Homework for A-Day Students: 19 February

AP English III

First, there are some big changes to your unit plan outline to be aware of. First, I completely messed up your project reflection timetable. By Monday the 25th you should have seven small daily reflections and the overall reflection completed. All of this work is submitted to me via Google Docs. I appreciate the fact that I have already received some work from you! The first journal should focus on how you've changed your life for this project and why. Beyond that, the other daily journals should just focus on your process. Additionally, the next part of the research project that will be collected is the synthesis pack - this is where you'll codify your question and pull together some of your research. We'll work on this in class on Thursday.

There is no reading for Thursday, I want you all rested and ready for your ACT. There are vocabulary cards due for Thursday. On Thursday, we'll be doing some test related skills and then working on our research papers and the synthesis prompt. Continue to revise your research question and argument as you continue to find important source material.

For Monday, we'll be working through Dr. Martin Luther King's "Letter from a Birmingham City Jail" - this text is located in 50 Essays as well as at this link. The text is very long. It would be a good idea to divide it over the weekend.

English IV

Today in class we read the final four poems that we will see on our poetry examination next week. At this point we have read several poems and we've continued to focus on many of the same skills of determining vocabulary, focusing on figurative language, and then looking at the details which lead up to the theme. All of this is the key work to do on the NCFE at the end of the year too!

Tonight everyone who hasn't finished the TP-CASTT for their individual poems really needs to. We're going to move on to writing our essays and this first step is necessary.

Homework for B-Day Students: Monday 18 February

AP Seminar

Today we began the work of moving through Performance Task 2 - The IWA and IMPOD. We spent time in class reviewing the components, the instructions, and the general outline of the task. From there, we went on to looking at two of our documents - both in verse. I've attached the slides from today's work in Google Classroom so that you have them as a record.

Tonight, you should go to Digital Portfolio and double check your final submission of your IRR. Additionally, you should find the Stimulus Pack - released to you via Digital Portfolio - and complete the reading and annotating of Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham City Jail". As you read, consider the connections that you can build between these three texts as well as the way in which King builds and supports his argument.

Advanced Russian

Today in class we had a split day. Russian II students focused on reviewing their knowledge on verbs of motion and related constructions (including cases). Russian III students learned new information connected to conditional and hypothetical situations. We worked through exercises which need to be completed tonight (Russian II - 6.11 / Russian III - 10.13) in order to practice with the concepts.

Additionally, you should all be finishing your project work (poems or Amazing Race) in advance of our due dates. All project work should be done by Tuesday of next week. The Unit Examination will follow shortly after that. You have all week to come in and make corrections to your quizzes in the spirit of resubmission.

Lastly, as I said in class - you should be at the point where you have most of your verbs memorized. It's time to start taking off the training wheels.

Russian I

Today in class I returned our most recent quiz on cases before we spent time going through our Russian Mad Libs to practice writing with a variety of cases. In our activity today we touched on and used all six cases. Hopefully this was a great practice for you all in making your case declensions and creating some goofy Russian sentences. If you would like to correct your most recent quiz, please see me during lunch or before school.

Tonight, you should all be focused on your project work. Many of you still have to perform your four lines of poetry to me and we all have our About Me projects due on Friday. There is space on Google Classroom to turn in your project slides. You can also come in outside of class to check your work with me.

Over this week we should be finishing our preparation on Unit 1 in advance of the examination on Tuesday. You have your study guide and your textbook and access to me as you need me. Be sure that you're preparing well!

Homework for the Weekend - A Day - 15 February

AP English III

I hope that all of you enjoyed our foray into philosophy today. Emerson's text is definitely one that makes a lot more sense the second time that you read it. I would highly suggest working through the text again, especially if you did not have any visible annotations on the article. Not good enough. Not anymore.

This weekend you should begin your Transcendentalist for a Week project. As we discussed in class, it doesn't have to be giving up something - but you should be aiming to simplify your existence in some way in order to discover a higher truth. Keep in mind that you have daily reflections as well as your overall reflection - everything will be collected via Google Drive. The due date for this work is 2/25 (seven days from the 18th).

Your reading for this weekend is Thoreau's "Where I Lived and What I Lived For" - this can be found in 50 Essays, or via this link. As you read, consider the similarities and differences between Thoreau and Emerson. Why is Thoreau so focused on simplicity? How does he continue to build on the trends of Transcendentalism and use paradoxes in his writing?

Both Thoreau and Emerson give you a wonderful opportunity for vocabulary cards - your next set for these two texts will be due on Thursday (on paper or electronic submission - if you're doing electronic, please continue to build on the same set as before).

Lastly, you should be actively researching and continuing to refine your research scope, focus, and question. I'll return the research question forms to you on Tuesday. Your next step is the outline. Be sure that you are working on this daily! Collect sources and consider how you will develop and prove your argument.

English IV

Today in class we focused on correcting our vocabulary unit tests as well as understanding how to use context clues when working on filling in the blank type of activities. From there it was a lot of independent work as we went through our poems and focused on determining the theme of the poem we are studying. This weekend, we don't really have any homework to complete. I would suggest though, that if your Poet Research Project is incomplete or has a low score that you work on that this weekend to make sure it has all of the needed parts.

Homework for the Weekend - Valentine's Day - B Day

AP Seminar

You did it! Achievement unlocked! You presented your TMPOD and we are moving on to our next task. I am very proud of the work that you all did today and the way that you all rose to the occasion. I have released the stimulus pack to you through Digital Portfolio. We will start working through this on Monday as we begin Performance Task 2. I would recommend reviewing the documents this weekend, considering any connections you may see between them, and then being ready for some focused study of these documents over the next few classes.

Don't forget to complete the Week 2 Reflection as well as submit your IRR to Digital Portfolio this weekend.

Advanced Russian

This weekend we should all be focused on project work and reviewing verbs of motion that may have been challenging to us on the quiz today. On Google Classroom you'll see slides for today which include the example slide for your project. Use this as an example of what to do as you are working.

The other project is our poetry memorization - this should be complete on Monday or Wednesday. Come in and present your poem to me aloud. If it's not good enough, I'll invite you to return.

Russian III Students need to complete reading in your textbook - pages 419 to 421 review the conditional and hypothetical in Russian. Review these pages and take notes so that we can review the concept on Monday. This is the last grammar concept before our Unit 10 examination.

Russian I

Today in class we did a lot of great writing and speaking to focus on the different cases, their sounds, and their jobs. We reviewed our film and discussed Nadya's actions through the film. From there, we spent time with our laptops working through our projects about ourselves.

This weekend you should finish the draft of your slides and writing. There should be an answer for each slide and there should be a photo. By the end of the project you should have used all six cases, a variety of verbs, and practiced with a lot of your Russian language skills. I'm available all week to review your work with you.

There are also our poem projects. Have your four lines memorized so that you can get your easy A on this assignment. You can come to me at any point next week to perform your poem.

Homework for 13 February - A Day - PLC Day

Happy Early Release Day! Here are your reminders for Friday.

AP English III

You have now received your information on registration for next year. Remember that you have due dates and expectations. Please see me outside of class for recommendations on what to take next year based on my opinion - and I'll remind you that it's just that, my opinion.

For tonight you should complete the reading of Emerson's "The Over Soul" as well as complete your research topic planning document in full. I'll be collecting your research topics on Friday. We'll be doing a lot of discussion and work with Emerson on Friday as we understand what exactly the "Over Soul" is and what Emerson wants us to know about it. We'll also be getting more into the weeds on the philosophy of Transcendentalism. Your notes from Monday would be key in working through Emerson's writing. Our brief discussion and notes on rhetorical modes are also helpful and important. I posted an electronic version of the text in Google Classroom if you need it.

If there is anything that has not been graded or submitted for the Beloved unit then your time is quickly escaping. Books should be turned in tomorrow before school if they were missed today. Please see PowerSchool for the most updated information including those of you who are still missing an element of your final projects.

English IV

Today in class we started to end our unit on studying and reading poetry by completing our final TP-CASTT study of a poem as a group. Then, we transitioned into working independently on our own poetry study. Remember that this poetry study is going to end in a formal writing assignment. An essay in which you explain what the poem that you have chosen means to you and how the poet has developed that meaning to you.

If you did not finish your individual TP-CASTT sheet in class, it is important that you finish that for homework. I'll return the ones that I have on Friday and then we'll get started with writing and planning our essay responses.

Homework for B-Day Classes: 12 February

AP Seminar

How appropriate that we'll be marking Valentine's Day with our TMPODs! Yay! I'm very excited to see the work that you all have done. We'll begin presentations on Thursday morning before school. You'll present privately to me in the classroom with our colleagues reflecting or preparing in the hallway.

Be ready! Remember that submissions are due to digitalportfolio.collegeboard.org by Sunday. I'll be putting your scores in this weekend as well.

Advanced Russian

For those of you who tested today in the Dell Lab, I hope that you felt confident and prepared. If you are not interested in taking the AP Examination in May, please let me know - but wait until you get your scores.

Today in class we focused on cases. Talking about coming and going to discuss our destinations and origins. The slides would be very helpful as we went over a lot of grammatical and vocabulary information. In the second part of class we used resources in class to develop our projects further so that we have all of our cities/stages written in Russian with appropriate prepositions and cases.

On Thursday we have our second quiz on Verbs of Motion. Be prepared for this. Additionally, many of you still need to present your poems. Be sure that this is done as soon as possible.

Russian I

Today in class we had two clear goals - to finish watching The Irony of Fate and to take our quiz on vocabulary skills and grammar skills focused on genitive, dative, and instrumental case jobs. I'll have the quizzes graded and returned to you by the end of the week.

There are many of you who still need to present poems for me. It would be best if you got this done on Thursday as we'll have another class day focused on writing our projects. Tonight is a good night to put your photos in your slide show. These projects will be graded next week and these are meant to prepare us for the Unit 1 Exam which is happening on Friday the 22nd of February. The Unit 1 test is going to focus on everything in Chapter 1. You'll get a study guide on Monday.

If you need to, please come in next week for extra review before the Unit Exam on Friday.

Homework for Monday - 11 February

AP English III

Today in class we got a lot done. There was an overview of Romanticism and Transcendentalism including the five tenets of the philosophy as well as a bit of historical information related to Emerson and Thoreau. From there we looked at art before delving into proper research questions and the synthesis assignment.

By the end of today's class you should have a basic understanding of Transcendentalism and Romanticism. This week you'll be reading R.W. Emerson's "The Over Soul" and annotating it in order to better understand the key ideas of this philosophy. As I said in class, Emerson is defining a concept. Pay attention to the way that he uses definitions, exemplification (examples of the concept), and compare/contrast in order to help his reader understand exactly what the "over soul" is. We'll work through this text on Friday.

On Wednesday your novels, as well as any remaining work on Beloved is due. While you are going through your registration information I'll be scoring novels. Make sure that you've turned in your 1Q1P either electronically or on paper. We also have a few missing projects/presentations.

The only other thing that we have this week are our revised research topics and arguments. You must do research in order to write a proper research question (the irony, I know). By the end of this week you should have a good understanding of your question, scope, focus, and argument. I'm available for any help you may need with this task.

English IV

Today we took our vocabulary test on Unit 16 of WordSkills and then did a bit of a review on figurative language, focused on similes and metaphors. From there, it was time for creativity as we wrote about different people, paintings, and sites around the world using similes and metaphors.

As we go through the rest of the week, we'll start to wrap up our poetry unit pretty quickly. I've gone through and graded your Poet Research Projects. If you are not happy with your grade please redo the project and include the work that you were missing before. It's important that you have a poem you have found for this project. The final part of this assignment is to write about the meaning of a poem - to present your own interpretation of it as we've been doing in class. We'll be working through that work all this week!

AP English III Announcement - Beloved Projects

Dear AP English III Students -

By the end of the weekend I will have finished scoring the projects that have been submitted with presentations complete. There are a few of you whose work I cannot find in my email or on my Google Drive. Additionally, there are one or two of you whose work I have, but there's no rubric with a presentation complete.

Please see me Monday or Tuesday to resolve this project work so that we can move to the next unit if you see no grade in your PowerSchool account for this project.

For those of you who would like to put rubles on this work, please let me know. There will be no resubmissions for this project.

Homework for the Weekend - B Day - 8 February

AP Seminar

Major News: Given the fact that ACT Pre-Administration will be happening during 1st Period on Tuesday we will be completing most of our TMPODs on Thursday. Due to this, I will need some groups to present before school. If you are willing/able to present before school, please let me know.

All work for this portion of the course should be submitted to Digital Portfolio by Sunday, February 17th. Remember that each person will have to submit their own IRR and the team will also have to submit their slides. I will submit your scores.

Let's use this weekend to keep preparing and practicing. Also, make sure that you've put your slides up on the projector. See how they look before you say that you're done!

Advanced Russian

Today in class we did one of our final reviews focused on simply verbs of motion. This was good work for us - working in all three tenses - before we went to the library to work on our Amazing Race projects. For this project we should have our six stages (point to point) and then focus city (or cities for Russian III). Remember to follow the guidelines - past, present, and future tense for each stage. For your focus city, be sure to identify two key sites in the city and how they need to get there. We'll have more time in class to work on this on Thursday.

The Practice AP Examination will be held for seniors on Tuesday in the Dell Lab. You'll be testing during second period so as to not miss any other classtime. Those students not testing will do some enrichment with me in class related to cases.

Those of you who need to present your poems, please see me outside of class or during class next week.

The only other thing to discuss is our quiz next week. The quiz will fall on Thursday and will cover verbs of motion (part two). The quiz will draw more on prefix work (Russian III) and with all of the verbs (Russian II). Be aware of all of our skills and exercises for practice.

Russian I

Today in class we watched a bit more of our film - The Irony of Fate - before engaging in some listening practice and then going to the library to work on our projects. Today we should have set up our slides for our project about ourselves and written some captions for about half of our slides. Hopefully this weekend you can focus on getting your photos taken that pair with this.

Remember to use your resources including your vocabulary lists for Chapter One to help you do this work. This is a great way to finish learning your vocabulary before our Unit 1 Examination.

Anyone who did not yet complete the poem recitation will have all week next week to finish this. Additionally, we have a quiz coming up on Tuesday. This quiz will focus on the three new cases - genitive, dative, and instrumental - as well as verb conjugation and vocabulary! Study and be prepared! Use your exercises and notes to help you move through everything!

Homework for A-Day: Weekend Edition - 7 February

Hey everyone! I hope that you all are having or have had a good day with Mr. Johnston as he fills in for me in Room 301. It's been a good day at the State Championship Swim Meet with relays and individuals making it to finals tonight! Here are your weekend reminders -

AP English III

Today in class you should have finished and turned in your viewing guide for What Happened, Miss Simone? If you were absent or unable to finish your viewing guide it is expected that you will watch the film on your own this weekend and turn in the viewing guide to me on Monday.

This weekend, you should focus on completing your research topic proposals as well as your 1Q1P assignment. Remember that your 1Q1P is your final assignment for Beloved. I'll be looking to see how well you were able to explain the meaning of your chosen quotation and how thoroughly you connected the interpretation to the content of the quotation.

For your research topic proposals, please follow the questions on the form and complete it to the best of your ability. Next week we'll be reviewing qualities of a good research topic and question as well as looking at the synthesis prompt (question one), so this will provide you a lot of great context. Remember that you can research any topic you would like with the three major exceptions.

English IV

The main thing that you all should prepare for this weekend is your vocabulary test on Monday. The test will focus on Unit 16 and will cover all of the roots that you have learned. I think that this will be a very good performance for many of you! I would also suggest that you make sure that your poet projects are submitted. I've entered grades for everything that I have seen in Google Drive and Google Classroom. Next week we'll move on to Part II of this assignment, so you need to make sure that this work is done!

Homework for B-Day: Wednesday 6 February

AP Seminar

From our work today in class and from the reflection data that you all sent to me, it's pretty clear where we need to be working as a group. It's time for us to talk. It's time for us to present. It's time for us to collaborate and to draft. Keep helping each other. Keep making each other better. Keep working!

Next week we'll be presenting on Tuesday and Thursday. Be sure that you have put your work in Digital Portfolio upon the conclusion of your presentation.

Advanced Russian

Today we had a wonderful class working through using and applying verbs of motion in preparation for our quiz on Tuesday. This quiz will cover verbs not yet assessed through the same process of filling in the blanks, conjugating, and applying for certain situations. Be prepared for this by completing our practice exercise as well as exercises 6.8 (II) and 10.9 (III).

On Friday we'll be having a workshop for our projects for part of class. During this time you'll be performing your poems for me. Remember that you'll be able to do your performance as many times as you need to in order to get a perfect score. Keep rehearsing and practicing your reading to prepare yourselves.

Russian I

Today in class we returned to Leningrad and began the second part of The Irony of Fate. As we watch, we are continuing to track the characters and their behaviors. Additionally, we're looking at what this film helps us to learn about relationships between men and women in the Soviet Union.

After we finished, we moved on to a writing practice where we worked together to develop sentences about the characters using our different cases. This is a good review for us since our quiz next week will have similar skills.

Next class we'll watch more of the film and work on our projects in class. We will also have our poem recitations next class. I'll call you over as you work for the poems. If it's not good enough, I'll ask you to do it again. Be prepared!

Homework for A Day Classes - 5 February

English IV

Today in class we finished our poetry competition and "Still I Rise" was named our top poem for class. We'll study this poem in depth next week as we begin to finish our poetry unit. Our other major task was to go through our vocabulary review. Next class you'll have your last review activity - a crossword puzzle. You'll have your vocabulary test on Monday. So it's important to study and review with your notes and activities now.

AP English III

Be sure that you go back and read the final chapter of Beloved. Consider how this book is a memory and a story that would have been forgotten. Think about how this allows Morrison to begin healing for the whole nation.

Since I won't be with you on Thursday, consider this as notes for what is due on Monday. In class on Thursday you'll finish the Nina Simone film and the viewing guide. Then, you'll have laptops in class for you to work on your 1Q1P assignment (due on Monday) or to begin on your research paper topics (also due on Monday for completion). There will be a form that you'll complete with the research paper topics.

Remember that Beloved annotations will be collected and checked on Wednesday to round out this unit.

Homework for B-Day Students: Monday, February 4th

AP Seminar

As we thought about during our warm-up activity today, now is the time to be editing and refining. Consider the fact that this is our last week of preparation. We'll be sharing and submitting our TMPODs next week to be scored. Are you ready? Have you done the necessary work to be prepared? Have you videotaped yourself or recorded your speaking? Are you reading or presenting? How are your slides and IRRs?

These are all questions that should be answered in a firm and affirmative way. If you are having issues or concerns, I hope that you addressed those in your reflection this week.

Advanced Russian

Today in class we began the process of wrapping up our work with verbs of motion. We learned our final verb - to run - reviewed many of our prefixes/prepositions, and then we took some time to work through our key exercises. For homework, your first goal should be to finish the remaining exercises.

Remember to find new vocabulary, to consider the destinations and contexts for the actions, and to use your verb cards or other resources. Next week on Tuesday we'll have a quiz on verbs of motion. This should help to prepare you for that quiz.

Also, you should be focused on your poems. Friday will be a class devoted to your projects - for researching and writing in the library. On Friday I'll be calling you over to complete your poem recitation for me.

Russian I

Today in class we had a massive review of our six cases in Russian. We went over the specific jobs of each of the cases as well as the ways that the different cases change the ending of words. The slides in Google Classroom are really helpful for this. Then, we worked through our dialogue in Chapter One as well as our exercise where we changed words for the different cases. Completing the exercise was a great review for us of the process of declensions in Russian.

Tonight for homework you should be focused on memorization. You have your poems on Friday, and you are expected to know four lines. As I said in class, you will continue to do this project until it is perfect. So keep working at it. I'm available to help as much as you may need. On Tuesday of next week we'll have our quiz on the last three cases in Russian (Genitive, Dative, Instrumental). It'll be very similar to your last quiz, so know your case jobs and how to change your words!

Homework for the Weekend - A Day - 1 February

AP English III

I hope that you all enjoyed the documentary about Nina Simone today in class. I think that the film raises some very important questions about our society, race, and gender. Nina Simone is also a very intriguing figure who has had some important impacts.

Make sure that you've considered your viewing guides. This weekend also provides you a wonderful chance to go through your work on Beloved and check in on annotations and areas for your 1Q1P assignment. We'll be quickly moving on to the next unit and our research papers - consider your interests or areas to research.

English IV

I hope that you all were able to complete your projects and do some work to prepare for Part Two of the project. This weekend, focus on vocabulary. We'll be having a vocabulary test very soon - next week. Begin to prepare now so that this is a help for your grade.