Friday, April 29

In class today, we finished watching the 1997 version of "Romeo and Juliet."

In class on Monday, students will take an exam on the play. There are a number of good resources available to help them study:

*the worksheet packets on "Romeo and Juliet", which should be completed and can be turned in on Monday for bonus points on the test;
*the No Fear Shakespeare website;
*the SparkNotes website;
*the play itself, as found in our textbook;
*my presentations on "Why Study Shakespeare?" and "Types of Drama", both viewable online.

There are so many resources available to you; take advantage of them. Also, you could probably find movie versions online, on YouTube. With all this available, I'm sure that everyone will do great on the test.

Thursday, April 28

Our focus today was on the different types of drama. Just like there are different kinds of movies (horror, comedy, romance, science fiction, etc), there are different kinds of plays. The different kinds of drama we learned about are comedies, tragedies, and history plays.

I made a presentation for the class on this. Students took notes. After that, we had an open note quiz on this concept. If you were absent or would just like to look at the notes again, they are online:
http://prezi.com/1l5jqjag_uij/types-of-drama/

Following this, we began watching 1997's "Romeo and Juliet." We will finish watching this tomorrow.

If you were absent today, make sure you get the notes and take the quiz.

Wednesday, April 27

We've got our End of Course Test coming up! The End of Course Test will be May 9-10. So it's about two weeks away. Remember, this is worth 15% of your final grade.

In order to prepare for the EOCT, we went to the computer lab and used the website
http://www.usatestprep.com

This is a fantastic website to which the school subscribes. Students can create their own login and take practice tests for the EOCT. The practice tests are not just in English, but in other subjects, too. There are also educational games that students can play.

If you were absent today, I would like you to go to the website above, create your account, and take a practice test. Actually, here are the exact directions I gave the class:

1. Go to the website http://www.usatestprep.com
2. In the upper right corner, click on the link for “Member Login”
3. Create a new account. Make your name something recognizable, something that uses a unique combination of your first and last name. I cannot tell you what the school ID or Activation Code are, on this blog, but email me and I will tell you these codes.
4. Login to your new account. On your main page, under “Student Resources”, click on “Take a Benchmark Test.”
5. When it asks for a “Benchmark Test Code”, enter “SAHOLOCOFA”. Choose your block and begin the exam. It’s 40 questions long.
6. After you finish the exam, click on “Grade my Test Now” to see your results.
7. Use the rest of your time to explore the website. It has games to help you learn. It has study materials and exercises for English and for other courses.

Tuesday, April 27

We finished the "Romeo and Juliet" play today. Students followed along in the book as we listened to the audio production of Act Five. Students also completed the worksheet packet. We'll have a test on "Romeo and Juliet" next Monday. The worksheet packet will serve as a good review for the test. The "No Fear Shakespeare" website is also a good resource to use.

If you were absent today, finish reading the play. Complete the worksheet packet.

Thursday, April 21

We will start class out by giving students some time to work on activities. They will work on the worksheet packet for the play and a daily log activity that incorporates elements of writing, grammar, and vocabulary.

Today, we are reading Act Four of "Romeo and Juliet." Following the reading of Act Four, students will complete a worksheet about Act Four of the play. This worksheet packet will be helpful for you! After you complete it, you can use it to study for the test. Most of my questions come from the sheets.

Tuesday, we will finish the play by reading Act Five. For homework over the long break, students should read Act Five of the "No Fear Shakespeare" version of the play. It will make Tuesday's reading much easier.
http://nfs.sparknotes.com/romeojuliet/

If you missed class today, make sure you read Act Four of the play and you complete the appropriate worksheet in the packet. Also, complete the daily log activity.

Wednesday, April 20

Today, we are finishing Act Two of "Romeo and Juliet", which we couldn't finish yesterday, and starting Act Three. Following the reading, students will complete a worksheet about the play. This worksheet packet will be helpful for you! After you complete it, you can use it to study for the test. Most of my questions come from the sheets.

Tomorrow, we will read Act Four. For homework tonight, students should read Act Three of the "No Fear Shakespeare" version of the play. It will make tomorrow's reading much easier.
http://nfs.sparknotes.com/romeojuliet/

If you missed class today, make sure you read Act Three of the play and you complete the appropriate worksheet in the packet.

Tuesday, April 19

Today, we are reading Act Two of "Romeo and Juliet." Following the reading of Act Two, students will complete a worksheet about Act One of the play. This worksheet packet will be helpful for you! After you complete it, you can use it to study for the test. Most of my questions come from the sheets.

Tomorrow, we will read Act Three. For homework tonight, students should read Act Three of the "No Fear Shakespeare" version of the play. It will make tomorrow's reading much easier.
http://nfs.sparknotes.com/romeojuliet/

If you missed class today, make sure you read Act Two of the play and you complete the appropriate worksheet in the packet.

Monday, April 18

We are starting the reading of "Romeo and Juliet" today. I have a fantastic audio recording of the play, read by professional actors. Students will listen to the play as they follow along in their textbooks. They will receive a grade for class participation during the reading of "Romeo and Juliet."

Today, we are reading Act One. Following the reading of Act One, students will complete a worksheet about Act One of the play.

Tomorrow, we will read Act Two. For homework tonight, students should read Act Two of the "No Fear Shakespeare" version of the play. It will make tomorrow's reading much easier.
http://nfs.sparknotes.com/romeojuliet/

If you missed class today, make sure you read Act One of the play and you complete the appropriate worksheet.

Thursday, April 14 and Friday April, 15

On these two days, students will be watching Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 version of "Romeo and Juliet." This is considered the classic film version and closely follows the text of the play.

Students will also have a worksheet to complete. The front side of the worksheet is an anticipation guide, meant to be completed prior to watching the film. The back side is a series of comprehension questions based upon the events in the movie.

If you missed either of these days, you need to get the worksheet and complete it. You can probably find the video of this movie online, OR I am willing to provide you with a copy of it for viewing at home.

On Monday, we will start reading the actual play "Romeo and Juliet" from the textbook. On Monday, we will read Act One. In preparation for this, you should read Act One of the "No Fear Shakespeare" version (the modern text):
http://nfs.sparknotes.com/romeojuliet/
Remember to read ALL of Act One. There are five scenes to Act One. DO NOT just read Scene One. Read all five scenes of Act One.

Wednesday, April 13

We talked about the idea of "star-crossed lovers" today. "Star-crossed lovers" are two characters in a story who fall in love with each other but are fated to be apart from one another. Examples of star-crossed lovers are Romeo and Juliet, Jack and Rose (from Titanic), or Anakin Skywalker and Padme (Star Wars). The idea of "star-crossed lovers" is a popular archetype that we see in many stories.

I showed a PowerPoint presentation about archetypes and star-crossed lovers.

Students then formed into groups of 2-3. Each group was responsible for writing and presenting a short skit to class. The skits were designed to get the students involved in the major themes of "Romeo and Juliet." Students had three choices about what type of skit to present:

1. Imagine that you are members of a street gang. When you’re walking downtown, you find a member of a rival gang. How would you greet them? What would happen? Act out this situation. 3 people
2. Imagine that you are deeply in love with a member of the opposite sex, and that person doesn’t want anything to do with you. How would you try to talk to them? How would they resist you? Act out this situation. 2 people
3. Imagine that you are deeply in love with your boyfriend or girlfriend, and your parents don’t approve of the relationship. In fact, your parents forbid you from seeing that person. Act out this situation. 2-3 people

Tuesday, April 12

We focused on Shakespeare's language today. Because Shakespeare wrote over 400 years ago, his version of English was much different from the way we speak today. This makes his plays difficult to understand (but not impossible).

To help, I introduced the website "No Fear Shakespeare" to students. This website has modern versions of the play side by side with the original. I advise all my students to READ THE NO FEAR VERSION OF SHAKESPEARE the night before we read that part in class. It will make it easier for you to understand the play.

I also designed a packet of worksheets for students to complete that will help them in understanding Shakespeare's language.

If you were absent today, get the packet of worksheets and complete it.

Monday, April 11

We're starting our unit on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" today. All this week, I'll be providing background to the play and getting students ready to read it. We'll start the actual reading next week.

I’ll give a short presentation on Shakespeare. (You can view this presentation at http://prezi.com/4iqxureacf8l/why-study-shakespeare/)

We will then read an introduction about Shakespeare from our textbook, pages 478-481. We’ll watch a video called “Why Shakespeare?” It’s a documentary by the National Endowment for the Arts, all about how studying and performing Shakespeare has changed people’s lives, from Tom Hanks to a fifteen year old boy living in San Francisco.

Finally, we'll have a short quiz on what we learned today.

If you missed today's class, take a look at the presentation. Read the textbook pages. Learn all about Shakespeare. Then, see me so you can take the quiz.

Friday, April 8

We'll finish our unit on non-fiction today by looking at autobiographies.

First, though, students needed to get the benchmark diagnostic exam out of the way. The benchmark exam is a useful way for me to measure student progress throughout the semester. Hopefully, I will see that students are making steady progress towards our EOCT goals. We took the benchmark at the beginning of class.

After that, students read the autobiographical essay "A Whole Nation and a People", about a Greek man who learns to appreciate his culture. It's on page 273. Students answered the "Reading Check" and "Study and Discussion" questions at the end.

Then students wrote their own autobiographies for me. I'd like one page minimum.

If you were absent today, make up the work with "A Whole Nation and a People." Do the questions. Write the autobiography. You can't really make up the diagnostic test, you know.

Thursday, April 7

We focused on biography today, as a continuation of our unit on non-fiction.

We started by reading the short biography "My Mother, Rachel West", on page 249. Students answered the "Reading Check" questions and looked up the vocabulary words "swaggering" and "bereaved" from the story.

After that, we watched some short biographical videos about the famous aviator, Howard Hughes (from the website biography.com). Students took notes on the videos and wrote a short biography about Hughes.

Next, students voted on a video to watch from biography.com. Students took notes on the selected video and wrote a biography about the person.

If you were absent today, do the work related to "My Mother, Rachel West." Get access to a computer and go to biography.com. Write a biography about one of the people on the site after viewing some videos about them.

Wednesday, April 6

Today, we read a series of articles and students wrote a personal response to the articles.

The articles were about FaceBook, and how some people think that FaceBook is causing children (and all people, really) to be more narcissistic. "Narcissistic" means self-centered, vain, arrogant. The word comes from a Greek myth about the man Narcissus.

The Myth of Narcissus

We read several articles and opinion pieces about this topic.
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter: Good or Bad for Kids' Brain?
Tween Tribune: Is the Problem Facebook or You?
Video: Are social networking sites making us more narcissistic?

Students who missed school today should read and view the above videos and articles. Then they should write a response to the articles. The topic is: Are social networking sites good or bad for teens? Your response should include an introduction and conclusion, and a bunch of body paragraphs in the middle that each focus on a reason why they are good or bad.

Tuesday, April 5

We continued our look at non-fiction today. We talked about the four reasons for reading and writing non-fiction (and everything, really): to entertain, to explain, to inform, and to entertain.

Students completed a Daily Log activity in which they worked on vocabulary, grammar, and writing.

Following the Daily Log, we looked at a series of short excerpts from different types of videos and articles. Students had to identify what the purpose and tone of each excerpt on a worksheet.

Students who turned in Odyssey essays yesterday received them back today with my suggestions for improvements. Please start working on your revisions. If you haven't yet turned in an essay, make sure you do so.

Students who were absent for today's class should do the Daily Log and as much of the "Analyzing Literature" worksheet as possible.

Monday, April 4

Good morning! Welcome back after our Spring Break! I hope it was restful and everyone is ready to finish out the school year.

Today, we'll begin a short unit on non-fiction. It should take us about a week or so. We'll be looking at non-fiction, which is articles and stories about real life happenings. Today, our focus is on biography, autobiography, and memoir.

We started class off with a Daily Log, continued by taking some notes from a PowerPoint, and ended by reading "A Taste of Snow" by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston. It's on page 284 of your textbook.

Of course, essays on Homer's Odyssey are due today as well.

If you missed class today, do the Daily Log (it's in the big blue binder at the front of the room), get the notes, read the short story and do the "Reading Check" questions.