Assignments for September 24 - 28, 2012

Monday and Tuesday -

• Students will continue reading and analyzing "The Cask of Amontillado" in class
• Students will continue working on dialectical journals (due by Thursday)
• Homework (Monday):  Students will review vocabulary by writing the word twice and a synonym; students may be required to read and/or review several pages of our story
• Homework (Tuesday):  Students will prepare a short response comparing the point of view in "The Cask of Amontillado" to that of the narrator in "Gaston"; students may be required to read and/or review several pages of our story

Wednesday -

• Students will begin analyzing individual literary elements in "The Cask of Amontillado"
• Homework:  Students will prepare a plot line for "Cask of Amontillado"

Thursday -

• The class will review the plot breakdown of "Cask of Amontillado" to identify the non-linear elements
• Homework:  Students will determine a theme for "Cask of Amontillado" and provide textual evidence to support their claim

Friday -

• Students will complete a literary elements unit test

Assignments for September 17 - 21, 2012

Monday -

• Students will continue their review of the literary elements
• Students will review the assignments required in their notebooks (notebook check this week!)

Tuesday -

• If they have not already finished, students will complete their review of the literary elements
• Students will revise their "By the Waters of Babylon" point of view paragraphs
• The teacher will introduce the literary design poster assignment
• Students will have time in class to work on their literary mini-posters

Wednesday -

• Students will prepare their literary mini-posters
• Students will share their point of view paragraphs to get peer responses

Thursday -

• As a class, we will review dialectical journal format
• Student will acquire the vocabulary for "The Cask of Amontillado"
• Students will complete a quick write to introduce the concept of the story
• We will begin reading and discussing "The Cask of Amontillado"

Friday -

• Students will review the vocabulary definitions
• Students will continue reading and discussing "The Cask of Amontilado," focusing on point of view and mood (through setting and characterization)

Literary Elements Design Page Postponed

Because the overview of the literary elements is taking longer than anticipated, the literary elements design page assignment has been postponed.  We will do this next week, though--so much to look forward to.

Lessons for September 10 - 14, 2012

Monday -

• Introduced TAG line in paragraphs and basic literary analysis paragraph structure
• Review student paragraph drafts as a whole class to point out structural and content issues
• Returned paragraphs to be revised for homework

Tuesday -

• *Quick quiz postponed until Thursday due to excessive student absences for leadership conference
• Review and collect scavenger hunt responses
• Prepare table of contents for notebook

Wednesday -

• Review basic literary elements (with applications to "Gaston" and "By the Waters of Babylon"
• Primary focus on point of view and plot

Thursday -

• Complete quick quiz (postponed from Tuesday)
• Complete literary elements review
• Homework:  Prepare for the literary elements design pages

Friday -

• Prepare literary elements design pages

Lessons for September 3 - 7, 2012

There will be no tutoring after school on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week due to preparations for open house and faculty meetings. 

Monday -
NO SCHOOL--LABOR DAY HOLIDAY!!!

Tuesday -

• Students will complete oral mandala presentations. 
• The scavenger hunt assignment will be distributed and discussed, due Tuesday, Sept. 11th.
• The teacher will complete the review of course expectations for those classes who did not complete it last week.
• For homework, students will number the pages in their spiral or composition notebooks for use in class.

Wednesday -

• Students will review the vocabulary definitions for "By the Waters of Babylon."
• Students will review highlighting and discuss how to properly annotate a passage.
• "By the Waters of Babylon" will be distributed.  Students will complete a hightlighting and annotation activity with the story.
• For homework, students will study the vocabulary from "By the Waters of Babylon."

Thursday -

• Using "By the Waters of Babylon," students will complete the highlighting and annotation activity and then finish reading the story.
• Students will respond to questions related to the story.  These will be discussed in class after students have worked independently to determine the answers.
• For homework, students will study the vocabulary from "By the Waters of Babylon."

Friday -

• Students will learn about the literary analysis short response/paragraph structure. 
• Students will prepare and share a sample response related to "By the Waters of Babylon." 
• For homework, students will complete a short response independently.

Lessons for August 27 - 31, 2012

Monday -

• Students will receive copies of the course expectations/syllabus and Pre-AP English I contract.  They will be assigned to read these carefully and to write three questions or observations they have about any specific details in the readings.  These will be discussed in class on Wednesday.
• Students will be informed of the supplies needed for this class.  Supplies should be on hand by Tuesday, September 4th.
• Students will carefully read and annotate "Gaston."

Tuesday -

• Students will write a literary analysis for "Gaston." 

Wednesday -

• The class will discuss observations students noted from the course expectations/syllabus and Pre-AP English I contract.  Any questions students posed will be answered fully. 
• We will discuss mandalas, and students will be assigned to create a personal mandala they will share in class during an oral presentation on Friday.

Thursday -

• The class will complete its discussion of observations and questions regarding the course expectations/syllabus and Pre-AP English I contract. 
• Students will be reminded that signed course contracts and mandalas are due at the beginning of class on Friday.

Friday -

• Students will share their mandalas in an oral presentation to introduce themselves.
• Students will receive the scavenger hunt assignment to be completed by Friday, September 7th.

**Ellison High School will host its annual open house on Tuesday, September 4th from 6:00 until 8:00 PM.  I hope to see many students and parents there! 

August 27 - 31, 2012

Greetings from your Pre-AP/TAG teacher! I would like to welcome each of you to Ellison High School and our English I Pre-AP/TAG class for the 2012-2013 school year. We will hit the road running and maintain a steady pace throughout the year. So, get your running shoes on (metaphorically speaking); we are ready to start the race!

 

You will need some supplies . . .

 

Successful organization of class materials and notes can boost your academic success. Organization simplifies life for students by helping them keep materials in one, easy-to-find location and allowing them to quickly access needed papers. Thus, this skill will be emphazided through our use of class binders this year. The list of class materials needed can be found below:

 

• 3-ring binder, at least one inch
• White, loose-leaf notebook paper
• #2 pencils (maybe extra erasers)
• One or more highlighters
• One spiral or composition notebook

*A flashdrive will be very helpful throughout the year, but it is not required

 

**Other supplies--such as markers, a ruler, colored pencils, glue, poster boards, etc.--will be necessary for specific projects throughout the year. However, these will not be needed daily in class.

 

 Please note: students will not receive a grade for having these specific items in class. However, I will expect every student to maintain a class binder for English I Pre-AP/TAG class notes and materials. If you are trying to procure these materials but are experiencing difficulty in doing so, please let me know discreetly.

 

Once again, welcome!  I look forward to working with each and every one of you!   :)