This week, we're in transition. On the one hand, you're finishing up your Midsummer essays. Complete rough drafts of these essays are due on Wednesday of this week, and final drafts due by Friday at 3:10 to earn full credit. As we discussed, if you visit the Writer's Block for a conference, you may turn your paper in on Monday with no penalty!! Bonus!!
On the other hand, we're beginning a new unit on In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. This time, we're going to view our film pairing before reading, which I think will be a nice break for everyone as they work on their essays. The film is called The Official Story, and it won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1985. We'll be starting that on Tuesday!
Monday, February 22, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Paper Storming
Today in class we discussed ways in which you could attack your Midsummer essay.
We started with brainstorming topics and using those to write themes. Here's a picture of the work that 6th hour did:
I suggested a transfer of your favorite theme to the top of a tree map (this was a wildly popular idea!!) and then brainstorming the ways you see the theme in each of the three worlds.
We tried to then write a thesis statement and imagine what the paragraphs would be like. It worked, but it wasn't totally smooth. I think you could use the same process to look at conflicts. For characters, I think it would be best to use a double- or triple-bubble map.
Remember, visiting the Writing Center would be an excellent idea - you get a no-penalty extension if you do!
We started with brainstorming topics and using those to write themes. Here's a picture of the work that 6th hour did:
I suggested a transfer of your favorite theme to the top of a tree map (this was a wildly popular idea!!) and then brainstorming the ways you see the theme in each of the three worlds.
We tried to then write a thesis statement and imagine what the paragraphs would be like. It worked, but it wasn't totally smooth. I think you could use the same process to look at conflicts. For characters, I think it would be best to use a double- or triple-bubble map.
Remember, visiting the Writing Center would be an excellent idea - you get a no-penalty extension if you do!
New Writing Prompts
Our podcasts are complete and posted on my Edublog here.
Our new publishing house project is based on chasing away the February gloom by focusing on what's important. We'll use Admission Possible's traits for idealistic leaders to inspire our pieces, and we'll have an in-class work period on these on Friday of this week.
Meanwhile, you should be working on your essays. We're doing some in-class brainstorming today. Consider making an appointment in the Writing Center to support your work.
Our new publishing house project is based on chasing away the February gloom by focusing on what's important. We'll use Admission Possible's traits for idealistic leaders to inspire our pieces, and we'll have an in-class work period on these on Friday of this week.
Meanwhile, you should be working on your essays. We're doing some in-class brainstorming today. Consider making an appointment in the Writing Center to support your work.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Other People Are Obsessed With Harry Potter, Too!
My 4th hour class loves to connect everything -- McCarthy to Homer to Hesse -- to the Harry Potter series.
Lately, I've been into a blog called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I thought the 4th hours would find this post on that blog particularly apt.
Lately, I've been into a blog called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I thought the 4th hours would find this post on that blog particularly apt.
Podcasting!
The Literacy Podcasts are ready! (Well, they're two-thirds ready - keep reading for details.) Two of the three podcasts underwent major revisions to better mix information about literacy with entertainment value. I think the edits are mostly successful! I like the podcasts, and I think the next one will be even better.
I am very grateful to these students who helped with the recording, engineering, and editing:
Allie
Annie
Matthew
Mary Beth
Michael
Justin
Thomas
Two of the three podcasts are currently posted on my Edublog, which you can access here. 5th hour's podcast will be up soon - it needs some editing to get the segments in order. I'm going to try my best to get that done without accidentally deleting anything.
I am very grateful to these students who helped with the recording, engineering, and editing:
Allie
Annie
Matthew
Mary Beth
Michael
Justin
Thomas
Two of the three podcasts are currently posted on my Edublog, which you can access here. 5th hour's podcast will be up soon - it needs some editing to get the segments in order. I'm going to try my best to get that done without accidentally deleting anything.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Quizlet Set for Second Semester!
Hey, so I made a Quizlet set for second semester words. You can get it here: Enr Eng 10 Sem 2
You'll see we've added a bunch of words from the "Shakespeare is Hip-Hop" Flocabulary song. We did it because you only had 17 new words, and we don't plan to test on these for several weeks. We'll have time to review them during in-class activities and you can practice on Quizlet!
You'll see we've added a bunch of words from the "Shakespeare is Hip-Hop" Flocabulary song. We did it because you only had 17 new words, and we don't plan to test on these for several weeks. We'll have time to review them during in-class activities and you can practice on Quizlet!
And We're Back!
I know I'm a week late, but welcome to the second semester of Enriched English 10!
So far, we've recorded our second podcast (yes, I'll have those up on the Edublog site and linked from here within the next day or two!) and begun A Midsummer Night's Dream, a hilarious comedy about love and mistaken identity. Hijinx in the magic forest!
Here's our homework schedule for the week:
Mon: Read 3.1
Tues: Finish reading 3.2
Wed: Finish RAFT writing, if necessary
Thurs: Quiz on Acts II and III
Fri: Read Act IV and do study guide
So far, we've recorded our second podcast (yes, I'll have those up on the Edublog site and linked from here within the next day or two!) and begun A Midsummer Night's Dream, a hilarious comedy about love and mistaken identity. Hijinx in the magic forest!
Here's our homework schedule for the week:
Mon: Read 3.1
Tues: Finish reading 3.2
Wed: Finish RAFT writing, if necessary
Thurs: Quiz on Acts II and III
Fri: Read Act IV and do study guide
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