A week in review...

This week we
1) performed the last scene of Act 1 of Julius Caesar and took a quiz.
2) performed our book commericials
3) journaled some "rants" about things that drive us up the wall in preparation for a persuasive paper after break.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Beware the Ides of March!

Today we
1) turned in our independent book posters and journals.
2) worked on acting/reading 1.2 of Julius Caesar.
3) went over a handout explaining how we'd be graded for each act of Caesar.

Yesterday we had time to rehearse and then we watched/discussed the beginning of 1.2.

On Monday, we'll be reading/discussing 1.3.

On Tuesday, we'll begin our book commercials.

Rehearsal

Today we journaled and then saw Act 1, Scene 1 of Julius Caesar. We discussed the events of it and then everyone had time to rehearse their own scenes.

Up on your feet!

Monday and today we did learned acting terms in class, including negative space, levels and leading centers, in preparation for studying Shakespeare.

Today we also signed up for parts in Julius Caesar -- and the homework is to read the parts so we're prepared to rehearse them tomorrow.

Ind. Book Plans

Today we journaled and then went over (in detail) the requirements for the independant book projects (posters and commercials). With our remaining time, we did some open-mic.

Begining Prince of Egypt

Today we journaled and Mrs. Gilbert checked off who had at least 5 book-journals done.

Then we began watching Prince of Egypt. On Thursday we'll be writing a time c/c essay on this movie and Antigone.

Antigone test!

Yep, we took a test on Angione today.

Tomorrow we're doing a journal check, so make sure you're caught up on your independant novel journaling!

Ode to Antigone

Today we analyzed the songs/odes of Antigone to see
1) how each song/ode related to the scenes right before/after it.
2) how each song/ode used literary techniques.

The end of Creon!

Today we began class by doing a quick-write about scene 4, and then we discussed the events of scene 4.

We read scene 5 and were having so much fun that we kept reading through the end of the play. Tomorrow we'll update our charts and discuss some of the odes.

Homework: Keep reading and journaling your independant novel. We'll do a journal check-in on Friday. You should be at least 1/2 way through your book and have 4-5 journals written.

Haimon vs. Creon

Today we read Scene 3 in Antigone and added Haimon to our character charts. We also went over the literary terms worksheet that was homework over Thanksgiving. We didn't collect the charts to give everyone a chance to keep revising/fixing the terms which are less familiar.

Homework: Read Scene 4 in Antigone and identify 1) how is Antigone feeling in this scene, and 2) how does the crowd feel about Antigone in this scene?

Antigone heats up

Today we read Scene 2 of Antigone and saw tempers begin to flare. We added to our character charts and got a lit. terms review sheet to do over the long weekend.

We also journaled.

Don't forget to continue reading your independant novel and journaling on it!

Beginning Antigone

Yesterday we read the Prologue to Antigone and introduced the character worksheets we'll be completing on Antigone. We also had some journal time and did a family tree for Antigone.

Today we continued reading Antigone. We journaled on the Parados and read Scene 1 aloud. Tomorrow we'll be doing Scene 2 and lots of work with literary terms.

Don't forget to be reading your independant novel and journaling on it as your homework!

The Oedipus Dilemna

Today we did some background reading/discussion leading up to reading the play Antigone. Everyone had to sign up for parts to read for next week and the homework this weekend is to pre-read your part and practice it so that you'll be comfortable reading it.

Everyone should also begin reading their independant novel and journaling.

From poetry to prose

Yesterday we orally presented our poems.

Today we reviewed the independant novel project and the guidelines for the journals that are part of it. We also looked at samples of good and bad journals.

Students must choose a novel (200+ pages of science fiction, fantasy, or AP-list recommended) by tomorrow and have it approved by Mrs. Gilbert.

Finalizing poems

Today we met in C-13 to put the final touches on our poems.

We also reviewed how to properly (and dramatically) read poems.

Tomorrow, the final drafts are due and everyone must dramatically present their poems (for a grade!)

Poetry formatting

Today we wrapped up the poetry workshopping and then we took notes on a worksheet about how to format poetry and what special rules govern the mechanics of poetry.

Homework: Work on revising your poems based on the feedback you received.

Poetry Workshop

Today we took notes on how to participate in a poetry workshop and then we had a poetry workshop.

Any poems not workshoped today will be workshopped on Monday. Students should use the long weekend to revise and improve their poems.

Otherwise -- just kick back and enjoy the break before we buckle down to hard work next week!

Poetry plans

Today we looked as some sample poems and discussed some advice for writing good poetry. Then we had the rest of the period to try to draft a poem of our own -- whether it be a revision of the praise poem or a totally different poem trying to capture a moment or make a point.

Homework: Bring 5 copies of your rough draft poem to class tomorrow for workshopping.

We also showed our homework from yesterday to Mrs. Gilbert for credit.

Bible as poetry

Today we started by sharing our apple poems and turning them in.

Then we looked at how literary devices worked in some Bible poetry, such as the famous Psalm 23 and some excerpts of the love poetry in Song of Solomon. We also looked at how literary terms worked in proverbs.

Homework: Write a praise poem (of a person or diety) OR write 5 original proverbs. Whichever one you choose, make sure that it is RICH with literary devices.

An apple each day...

Today we reviewed literary terms by using an apple to inspire some poetic writing.

Homework: Write a poem (or description) of your apple using at least five of the terms we reviewed. Your poem and today's worksheet will be due when you come to class tomorrow.

Change of plans...

Hey folks,

I’m so very sorry, but my daughter is still sick enough to have to stay home from school. So today’s plans have been thrown to the wind. Here are the new plans:

1. Please write a reflection on your c/c paper. Describe at least three revisions you made (between your first and final drafts) that made your paper more interesting, more thoughtful, or more clear. Be sure to actually quote “before” and “after” examples – and explain why the “after” version is better! Staple the reflection to the grading rubric. Turn in the grading rubric/reflection, your final draft, and the stack’o’process work in to the crate.
2. Enjoy some open-mic time. (Explain to the sub how it works)
3. If there are allusions to share, elect a class recorder to write down the allusion (as it is shared aloud) and write down who shared the allusion. Turn the list/record into the crate.
4. Any time left? Journal and/or rejoice in a free weekend (Note: Next weekend, expect homework!)

Complex sentences

Today we continued studying sentence patterns by looking at complex and, briefly, compound-complex sentences.

Homework for tonight: Apply what we learned to your c/c papers. Turn in the final draft and all process work tomorrow.

Beginning sentence grammar...

Yesterday (Oct. 31) we had to show our R.D. #3 to Mrs. Gilbert. Then we learned how sentence-combining practice can help our writing and we tried it. Finally, we took some review notes on complete sentences and compound subjects and verbs.

Our homework for yesterday was to proofread R.D. #3 according to the same guidelines we did on the last project (e.g. read it aloud, read it backwards, have someone else read it)

Today we continued with notes on compound sentences. We reviewed how commas work in compound sentences and some easy ways to tell if a sentence is compound or not. We wrapped up by writing some practice compound sentences. All sophomores will need to memorize the 7 coordinating conjunctions and where the comma goes in relation to them.

The homework for tonight was to apply the compound sentence test to R.D. #3

Tomorrow we'll be doing complex sentences.

Incorporating feedback

Today we got back the c/c r.d. #2, and we had time to incorporate the feedback from Mrs. Gilbert. That was our only assignment, and the r.d. #3 is DUE when we walk in the room tomorrow.

In conclusion...

Today we reviewed how to write better conclusions for our c/c papers, and then we had writing time to work on our papers before we turned them in to Mrs. Gilbert for feedback.

We had a bit of open mic time (on the conclusions) and we shared some allusions.

NO HOMEWORK FOR THIS WEEKEND.

Wow... how wierd is that?

An extra credit (optional) assignment was passed out.

Mrs. Gilbert's absent...

In her absence, we shared the extra credit posters and worked on our papers -- the second rough draft is due tomorrow.

Revising C/C intros

Today we did some more Bible poster presentations.

Then Mrs. Gilbert shared ways to revise our c/c intros to be better and we had time to work on them.

Cleaning up our c/c

Today we started by sharing some of our Bible-lit. posters. Students who were unfamiliar with the stories were encouraged to take notes.

Then we took some notes about how to best revise our c/c drafts. Students then spent time actually making the revisions. Be sure to turn in your notes with your process work at the end of this paper!

Homework: Finish revising your paper to add details, figurative language, and connections. Tomorrow we'll work on introductions and conclusions.

Bible as literature

Today we divided up into pairs (or trios) to read and summarize certain key Bible stories. Each story needed to be summarized on a poster (with a visual element) and it had to be compared to a Greek or Norse myth. These posters are due tomorrow, and students will share them with their classmates.

NOTE: We are reading these stories for the same reason we read Greek mythology -- they form an important part of an "educated" person's background knowledge. We are reading these stories as literature, and while we respect that for some these stories are more than that... in school we can not and do not endorse one religion over another and so we will not be discussing the religious aspects of these stories.

Our next paper

Today we shared our c/c charts with Mrs. Gilbert in order to get feedback on how to do them better.

We also got the guidelines for our next paper (which is a compare/contrast paper) and reviewed expectations (available online at www.cjgilbert.net).

Remaining time was given over to working on this paper -- either starting a draft or creating a new c/c chart as pre-work for our paper.

Rough Draft #1 is due next Tuesday

Myths: Our own and our world

Yesterday we turned in our myths and and wrote a reflection on them (what did we like about our myth, what could still be improved or changed with more time, what were some parts that were especially well written -- be sure to quote and explain them!)

Then we had an opportunity to read and comment on one another's myths.

Today, we'll be in the library computer lab to complete this activity:
http://www.cjgilbert.net/ASE/Mythology/Mythology-C-C.htm

And we beginning our next paper tomorrow:
http://www.cjgilbert.net/ASE/Mythology/Mythology-C-C-Essay.htm

Norse vs. Greek

Today we had an oral quiz on Norse mythology and then group discussions comparing it to
Greek mythology.

Tomorrow the myth final drafts are due.

Proofreading and Comparing...

Today we worked on proofreading our Myth stories. The final draft (including visual) is due on Wednesday.

We also began discussing the Norse mythology readings. Tomorrow we'll be having a discussion comparing the two, so come prepared with questions that will lead to those comparisons.

Wrapping up Greek

Today we did the last part of the Greek mythology test -- a discusison quiz.

We also got back our myth drafts. They are to be revised and brought to class next week Monday.

Homework reading for this weekend (on to Norse! mythology): pp. 443-463

Note the following names/stories/items:
Aesir
Odin
Loki
Thor
Freya
Balder
Asgard
Valhalla
Valkyries
Creation
Signy & Sigurd
Brynhild & Siegfried
runes, mead, well of wisdom
*Note their beliefs about life, good and evil.

Testing

Yesterday and today we worked on the mythology allusions test.

Today the take-home essay was due.

Tonight we took home a poem and novel excerpt to read, analyze and annotate. Tomorrow we'll have a discussion quiz over them (the last part of the mythology test!!!)

Sliding down in the world

Today the groups on chapters 6 and 7 of Malcolm X presented. The class earned participation points for being a respectful audience. There may be a quiz coming and, since quizzes are open-note, students should be taking notes on these presentations.

How to compare and contrast

Today we went over the take-home essay prompt for the mythology test. We also reviewed how to use a graphic organizer to set up a compare/contrast essay (like the myth test) in a way that shows higher-level thinking. Students are strongly encouraged to use the graphic organizer to help their essays be more clear.

We wrapped up class by sharing allusions.

Homework: Work on the essay and come prepared to class tomorrow with all of your notes organized for the allusions portion of the test AND the Olympians part (with no notes)

Review

Today we did lots and lots of review for the test.

Tomorrow we'll begin the essay portion of the test (which will be take-home, due on Thursday). Wednesday we'll work on the allusions portion of the test.

The only homework? Study, study, study...

Homecoming!

Today we spent time in committees, reviewed some allusions on film, and listened to the P.A. interrupt class over and over again.

We also turned in our Rough Drafts #2 to Mrs. Gilbert

Your only homework for the weekend: Study for the test.

Reviewing myths

Today we wrote discussion questions and then discussed the myths of 6.1, 6.2 and themes across the entire book.

We also reviewed a little bit of what the test will be about (more at www.cjgilbert.net)

Revising myths

Today we worked on revising our myths to add detail, dialogue and more action/conflict.

Rough Draft #2 is due Friday to Mrs. Gilbert

Read 6.1 & 6.2 for tomorrow

Cannibalism, yum!

Today we began by doing some vivid writing about the Trojan War -- students were to describe either the experience of being in the horse and the battle that followed OR the experience of a Trojan mother when the Greeks overrun Troy.

We wrapped up reviewing the Trojan War and discussed what was significant about this story.

Then we participated in the House of Atreus presentation -- Que. 1, 3 &4 of their worksheet is due by tomorrow.

Homework: RD#1 of your Create-a-Myth is due tomorrow.

Readings for Thursday include the following sections of 6.1 and 6.2:

The Trojan War!

Today we acted out the trojan war with puppets.

Tomorrow we'll wrap up discussing the war and then participate in the House of Atreus presentation.

Make sure you read their chapter tonight.

More on our own Myths

Today we began class by giving feedback to the Hercules group.
We got the "official" scoring guide for the Create-a-Myth project and had time to work on writing and revising our myth (these will be posted on the website sometime this weekend).

Finally, we did a bit of open mic time.

Homework for Monday: Read both chapters on the Trojan War (inc. Fall of Troy) and keep working on your myth project.

The Theseus discussion was pushed to Monday or to a future review day.

Hercules!

Today we stared class with a little quiz over the heroes that we've read about so far.

Then the Hercules group presented and we greatly enjoyed the charades.

Mrs. G handed out a little study guide for Theseus and said we'd talk a little more about him tomorrow.

Finally, we discussed tomorrow's agenda: bring several paragraphs of your myth-in-progress and expect to work on it as well.

Writing our own myths

Today we began class by giving feedback to yesterday's group presentation on Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece.

Then we discussed an upcoming project where students will create their own myth. They can make up a hero or a god and then write a story (adventure, romance, comedy, etc.) about them. We spent classtime brainstorming and starting to draft.

Homework reading for tomorrow: Hercules & Theseus chapters.

The heroes begin...

Today we heard all of the presentation for Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece, and then we got to do a little bit of the Perseus presentation.

Tomorrow: Writing workshop & wrap-up on Perseus.

Thursday: Hercules & Theseus (Read ahead! These are loooong chapters!)

Cupid & Psyche

Today we started with the treat of some reading time.

Then we participated in Cupid & Psyche's presentation.

Tomorrow: Jason and Perseus.

Celebrations & Preparations

Students completed their lesson plans for their mythology teaching groups today and got them approved by Mrs. Gilbert.

We also celebrated Joey's and Larry's birthdays and had open-mic time.

Don't forget the homework reading this weekend of Psyche and Cupid!

Pictures day

Today we had school pictures during our class.

When we returned, we did some journaling and then had some committee time.

The study committee reminded everyone that we'd be having a quiz tomorrow; areas of particular focus are this week's reading plus the creation stories from last week.

The birthday committee shared plans to celebrate two birthdays on Friday. Everyone had to commit to $3 -- either to bring $3 worth of goods (there was a sign-up for cups, cookies, etc.) or to bring $3 for pizza (which is due tomorrow).

Myth Soap Operas

Today we did "myth soap operas" where we acted out the various love myths that we read the previous night. After a lot of laughter, we also briefly touched on some common themes we saw emerging.

Then we signed up for teaching groups - each group has a chapter to read for Thursday (and will be quizzed on it!). Eventually, that group will be responsible for teaching the chapter to the rest of the class.

Tomorrow is picture day and we'll be doing some journaling.

Discussions & Play-doh

Today we began class with a brief review of the weekend reading: students created play-doh symbols for the characters and stories from the reading and had to explain their symbol to the class.

Then we had group discussion time over the reading.

We also shared allusions to Greek mythology.

And finally, we have two piece of homework:

1) Read the chapters on "Eight brief tales of lovers" and "Atalanta"
2) Write for 10 minutes in your journal -- try to write your own "myth" with a lesson to be learned or a crazy story to explain how something came into being.

Tomorrow we'll be getting physical with the reading, and Wednesday will be picture day.

Friday Festivities

Today we did writing workshop, open mic time and committe time.

We also reviewed where to meet for fire drills and what counts as cleavage on the ladies' shirts.

See yesterday's entry for the weekend homework.

Discussions & Allusion

Today we did fishbowl discussions over the three chapters of Mythology that we have read so far.

Then we learned what "allusions" are. As homework, everyone should bring in a couple of allusions to Greek mythology either Friday or Monday. The allusions can be in books, songs, TV, film, news, etc. but they should be referencing Greek mythology.

The homework reading for Monday is 1.4 and 2.4 -- and, in addition to taking notes, everyone should write some more discussion questions about the reading.

Tomorrow we'll have journaling, open mic time, committee time, and some wrapping-up-class-details time.

Digging for Potatos

Today we learned about our journals and writer's workshop.

We began by doing a "potato" write where we wrote for 8 minutes about the potato given to us from Mrs. Gilbert. We then shared those writings with each other.

We then discussed how the potato was a metaphor for writing and how the journals would be used in this class. After this "warm-up," we proceded to have an additional 10 minutes for writing and some additional sharing time.

The homework for tomorrow is on yesterday's entry.

Timelines and Questioning

Today we compiled our homework into a large timeline for chapter 1.3 of Mythology. Students should have the entire timeline written down in their notes.

We also learned (briefly) about the difference between high and low level learning. Our homework for Thursday is to read 1.2 and to write 5 high-level discussion questions, at least 2 of which must be on 1.2 while the others may be over anything we have read so far.

Tomorrow we'll need our journals for a writing activity.

Of Quizzes & Olympians

Today in class we had a quiz over the weekend's reading. It was open-note, so students who brought their graphic organizer with them had an easier time of it (and the graphic organizer was due!).

We also finished reading the partner interviews.

Homework for tonight: Read ALL of 1.3 and make a bulleted list in big (2") print of the key events in your section (which you signed up for in class). You are encouraged to take notes on other key events as well, but they won't be graded -- but they will be allowed on quizzes!

Beginning Mythology

Today started by doing a few more partner interviews.

Then we got our Mythology books and did an "Instant Expert" activity to get into them.

Then we reviewed the reading schedule and study guide (both available online at www.cjgilbert.net).

Finally, we reviewed the homework for this weekend: to read 1.1 and create a graphic organizer on the Olympians (and the rubric for this assignment is also available online)

Getting to know you...More!

Today we read some of the partner introductions to get to know one another.

We also reviewed the syllabus and turned in our homework (syllabus signed and annotated, student survey).

We brainstormed rules for the classroom and created a final list of rules (Be respectful, Be responsible, Don't disrupt the learning if you're having a bad day, Help others be the best they can be) . We also decided to set up committees to organize special activities -- some for studying and some for celebrating (e.g. birthdays)

In a shocking development, we actually have no homework for tonight, but tomorrow we'll start mythology and will have homework for the weekend.

Day 2 - Getting to know you!

Today we began partner interviews in order to get to know each other-- everyone should write the final draft of their partner interview as homework and be prepared to read it aloud to class tomorrow. If you were absent today, you should write an introduction of yourself (rough and final drafts) to be read aloud to the class tomorrow.

Additionally, everyone should bring back the parent signature slip for their syllabus and be familiar with the contents of the syllabus.

Students who were absent yesterday received a folder of make-up work that should be returned tomorrow.

1/2 Day Welcome

Today we had approximately 18 minutes to kick off the start to a new class -- Advanced Sophomore English.

In that time, we completed a folder of work (absent students will need to pick it up and finish it) and were assigned our homework (to finish the student survey; read and annotate our syllabus; and have our parent(s) sign off on the syllabus).

All homework is due Thursday since over half the class was at the MSC, but be aware that tomorrow night we'll have some other homework as well.

Welcome to a New Year!

Welcome parents and students of Advanced Sophomore English!

I hope this year will be exciting, intellectually invigorating, and challenging for us all.

Each day we will record the class' activities here so that absent students (or curious parents) may read about what we did. Feel free to peruse past entries to get a better idea of what past classes have done.

Class blogs tend to be updated by 4:00 p.m. each day.

For more information, visit our class website at www.cjgilbert.net