January 6-9

HAPPY NEW YEAR!  

       I'm very excited to begin 2015 with our next text, 1984.  George Orwell's most famous book is as relevant and interesting now as it was back in 1949.  It's not a "light" or "fluffy" read I admit, but it is the first real dystopian novel and some of its content is important enough to have been adopted into the English language ("Orwellian," "Big Brother.")  In this unit, students will gather evidence from fictional works (1984, the modern film "Minority Report," and more,) as well as nonfiction (a documentary describing the conditions inside North Korea, news articles and opinion pieces about Edward Snowden and Wikileaks/NSA surveillance, the existence of COINTELPRO, the information retained about consumers by corporations such as Google and Facebook, emerging laws governing internet use and technology, genetic biometrics, and examples of historical government surveillance such as a case study about wiretapping in East Germany.  All of these sources, as well as student-selected sources, will help inform a final essay supporting the student's view about how much freedom should be enjoyed by Americans while satisfying the need for security. 

      Learning objectives for this unit include:

• reading and annotating a variety of texts short and long, fiction and nonfiction, for understanding and evaluation
• gathering online and offline research from credible sources including the school database and citing them properly in MLA format
• speaking in small groups, whole class discussions, and a debate
• writing shorter compare/contrast pieces
• writing and revising a final essay

Here's what we'll tackle this week:

MONDAY:  Enjoy the last day of Winter Break!

TUESDAY:  Intro to unit.  Discuss vocabulary words specific to 1984, George Orwell, the main characters. Pick up 1984 from the textbook room.  HW: Fill out "Guide to 1984" worksheet. Bring 1984 to class everyday!

WEDNESDAY:  Begin reading 1984 aloud in class.  Students will take notes and work on "The World of 1984" assignment where they will choose a visual activity to complete for chapters 1-3.  DUE: Guide to 1984 worksheet check-off for completion.  HW: Continue work on visual assignment.

THURSDAY:  Share visual work in progress, discuss 1984 vocab.  Continue reading aloud in class.  HW: Continue work on visual assignment.

FRIDAY:  Current events/issues day.  Article about recent conflict between the U.S. and North Korea over the release of "The Interview" movie.  Research general information about North Korea and compare/contrast with the world of 1984 so far.  HW: Research one fact/article about North Korea for Monday.

December 8 - 17: Last post of 2014!

It's the last full week of fall semester!  This week we'll finish up the vignettes - drafting the last one and editing/revising all four, as well as finishing the independent reading, discussing The House on Mango Street and studying for the final. 

MONDAY:  Draft up final vignette about your neighborhood using cluster brainstorm technique.  HW: Finish drafting the last vignette about your neighborhood.  Read through page 87 in Mango for Thursday.

TUESDAY: Descriptive word/figurative language activity.  Time on laptops to revise/edit vignettes.  HW: Final drafts of vignettes (with formatting and picture) due Friday.  Work on vignettes and Mango reading.

WEDNESDAY:  Last independent reading day/work day - independent reading log with 500 pages conferenced due on Monday, December 15.  Be sure to conference and log any final reading on this day.  HW: Continue to work on your vignettes; make sure they are accessible by e-mail or Google Docs.

THURSDAY:  Review of requirements for vignette project.  Review Mango up through page 87.  Last day to revise/edit in class on laptops.  HW: Finish vignette project for Friday.

FRIDAY: Current event/issue day.  Read and annotate article, practice as a whole class writing an outline response, then individually.  Receive study guides.  DUE: Vignette project. HW: Finish The House on Mango Street.

December 15 - 19th - Finals Week

MONDAY, DECEMBER 15: Discuss The House on Mango Street.  Go through study guide, practice for final.  DUE: Independent reading logs with 500 pages logged and conferenced for the semester.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16: 1st period final is from 8:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. 

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17: 4th period final is from 10:35 a.m. - 12:35 p.m.

Enjoy a wonderful winter break! 

December 1-5

Welcome back!  It's December already, and our second-to-last week before finals.  Please review grades in Illuminate and submit any late work for partial credit before December 15.  You will be turning in 4 vignettes on December 12th, and 500 pages of independent reading on December 15.

MONDAY:  Review Mango through page 21.  Work on draft of 3rd vignette about an influential person.  Activity to add interesting, descriptive language to vignettes.  HW:  Continue working on draft and bring it in on Tuesday.

TUESDAY: Read Mango through page 48 for Thursday, beginning in class.  HW: Read Mango through page 48 for Thursday, begin 3rd vignette. 

WEDNESDAY: Independent reading/read Mango/work on vignette drafts/begin last vignette.

THURSDAY:  Discuss Mango to page 48. Cluster brainstorming exercise for 4th vignette. 

FRIDAY: Current events/current issue day.  Read and annotate article.  Plan and outline essay, write essay.

November 24-26

We have a short week for the Thanksgiving holiday.  This week we'll continue reading The House on Mango Street and writing our own collection of descriptive vignettes using figurative language and imagery.

MONDAY: Peer review of name vignettes.  Make revisions for Wednesday.  Continue reading The House on Mango Street through page 21 for Wednesday.  

TUESDAY:  Special Thanksgiving current event/issue day with reading, annotation, discussion webs. 

WEDNESDAY:  Introduce second vignette.  Independent reading/writing work time.  Work on either vignette or your independent reading. HW: Finish drafting second vignette for Monday, December 1st.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  See you in December!

November 17 - 21

Welcome!  This is our last full week before Thanksgiving (!)  This week, we'll pick up The House on Mango Street and learn about imagery and symbolism. 

MONDAY:  Imagery Notes and activity. 

TUESDAY:  Finish imagery activity.  Pick up The House on Mango Street from the textbook room.  Read the first three vignettes up through page 8 in class.  HW: Read up to page 26 for Thursday.  Write a paragraph describing how you got your name (similar to Cisneros' vignette "My Name") for Thursday. 


WEDNESDAY:  Work on independent reading and House on Mango Street.  NOTE: 500 pages should be read and logged by 12/15. 

THURSDAY:  Discuss first part of Mango Street, make imagery wheel.  Discuss name paragraphs. 


FRIDAY:  Current events day.  Read current events article and annotate.  Discuss/debate.  HW: Finish name vignette -- 3-5 paragraphs, 3-5 sentences each.  

November 10 - 14

Welcome!  Here is the agenda for the week.

MONDAY:  Socratic Seminar covering themes and issues in Of Mice and Men.  Please bring your discussion questions and answers to class on Monday.

TUESDAY:  Veteran's Day Holiday!  No school today.  HW: Continue with your independent reading.  You'll have a total of 500 pages at the end of the semester.

WEDNESDAY:  Enjoy the 1993 film version of Of Mice and Men.

THURSDAY: Continue watching the film.

FRIDAY: Finish the film.  HW: Continue independent reading and reading log.  We'll begin a new unit on Monday.

November 3 - 7

It's November already!  This week, we'll work in groups and learn about the seven important characters in Of Mice and Men, leading up to a Socratic Seminar about themes and issues addressed in the novel next Monday.

MONDAY: Character Group Work/Presentations.  Discuss Socratic Seminar that will be held on Friday.


TUESDAY: Independent reading time/study time for book test. HW: Study for book test. 


WEDNESDAY: Of Mice and Men book test.  DUE: 330 pages of independent reading logged and turned in.


THURSDAY: Work on Discussion Questions for Of Mice and Men Socratic Seminar.  Questions will ask what the book says on a given topic, and what you think based on your own experiences and current events.


FRIDAY: Discuss how to participate in a Socratic Seminar/fishbowl discussion, view rubric and example.  Continue working on Discussion Questions.  Turn in Of Mice and Men books. HW: Finish Discussion Questions for Monday.  Discuss with your parents/guardians over the weekend.