Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze Sylvia Plath's "Initiation" in order to explore how figurative language can reveal author's purpose.


Today's In-Class Reading Assignment:

"Initiation," by Sylvia Plath
Click here to read this text online


Today's Lesson Notes:


Tonight's Homework:
What is the significance of the heather birds metaphor at the conclusion of this story? Post your comments in a BCR at the foot of this blog entry in a five-sentence BCR by the start of next class.

(BCRs must contain five complete sentences. No partial credit is awarded)

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Waiting for Godot

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze short dramatic texts in order to review target HSA indicators dealing with appropriate research and documentation strategies while preparing for third quarter benchmark exam.


Today's In-Class Reading Assignment:

"Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett


Today's Lesson Notes:

Tonight's Homework:

Q3 Benchmark exam is Tuesday, March 27

Monday, March 19, 2012

Brian's Song

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze short dramatic texts in order to review target HSA indicators dealing with appropriate research and documentation strategies while preparing for third quarter benchmark exam.


Today's In-Class Reading Assignment:

"Brian's Song" by William Blinn


Today's Lesson Notes:

Tonight's Homework:

Q3 Benchmark exam is:
Thursday, March 22 and Monday, March 26 (A Days)
Friday, March 23 and Tuesday, March 27 (B Days)

Monday, March 12, 2012

The Holocaust: Day Eight

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze a series of print and film texts dealing with The Holocaust in order to review target HSA indicators dealing with appropriate research and documentation strategies while preparing for third quarter benchmark exam.


Today's In-Class Reading Assignment:

"Night" by Elie Wiesel
"I Have Lived a Thousand Years" by Livia Bitton- Jackson


Today's Lesson Notes:

Tonight's Homework:

RESEARCH PAPERS and WORKS CITED PAGES are due next class!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

The Holocaust: Day Seven

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze a series of print and film texts dealing with The Holocaust in order to review target HSA indicators dealing with appropriate research and documentation strategies while preparing for third quarter benchmark exam.


Today's In-Class Reading Assignment:

"Night" by Elie Wiesel
"I Have Lived a Thousand Years" by Livia Bitton- Jackson


Today's Lesson Notes:

RESEARCH PAPERS and WORKS CITED PAGES are due this week!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

The Holocaust: Day Six

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze a series of print and film texts dealing with The Holocaust in order to review target HSA indicators dealing with appropriate research and documentation strategies while preparing for third quarter benchmark exam.


Today's In-Class Reading Assignment:

"Night" by Elie Wiesel
"I Have Lived a Thousand Years" by Livia Bitton- Jackson


Today's Lesson Notes:


Tonight's Homework:

Oprah and Elie B.C.R. (on www.Edmodo.com)

Watch the video clips of Oprah's interview with Elie Wiesel at Auschwitz (the video is posted here in six parts -- we watched the first two segments in class, and you may watch as many parts of the video as you'd like. If the video does not load here, visit YouTube.com and search for "Oprah Auschwitz").

What information and feelings did you encounter when watching this interview?

TURN IN your answer as a five-sentence B.C.R. by the START of THURSDAY's CLASS.

Friday, March 2, 2012

The Holocaust: Day Five

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze a series of print and film texts dealing with The Holocaust in order to review target HSA indicators dealing with appropriate research and documentation strategies while preparing for third quarter benchmark exam.


Today's In-Class Reading Assignment:

"Night" by Elie Wiesel
"I Have Lived a Thousand Years" by Livia Bitton- Jackson


Today's Lesson Notes:


Tonight's Homework:

Which Print Text Is Best? (on www.Edmodo.com)

Which of the books we are reading in class do you find to be the most interesting and informative? You MUST choose from the list of the following titles:

"Night" by Elie Wiesel
"The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
"Maus" by Art Spiegelman
"Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry
"I Have Lived A Thousand Years" by Livia Bitton-Jackson

Explain your thinking in a five-sentence B.C.R., and TURN IN your assignment.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The Holocaust: Day Four

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze a series of print and film texts dealing with The Holocaust in order to review target HSA indicators dealing with appropriate research and documentation strategies while preparing for third quarter benchmark exam.


Today's In-Class Reading Assignment:

"Maus" by Art Spiegelman (chapter 4)
"The Diary of A Young Girl" by Anne Frank
"Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry (chapter 5)



Today's Lesson Notes:


Tonight's Homework:

Summarize a Holocaust Video (on www.Edmodo.com)
1) Visit the website of the Anne Frank museum: http://www.annefrank.org/en/Subsites/Home/Enter-the-3D-house/#/house/20/

2) Click through the site to take an online "virtual tour" of the rooms in the secret hiding place.

3) TURN IN a five-sentence summary of what you saw, learned and felt after exploring the family's hiding place.

Monday, February 27, 2012

The Holocaust: Day Three

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze a series of print and film texts dealing with The Holocaust in order to review target HSA indicators dealing with appropriate research and documentation strategies while preparing for third quarter benchmark exam.


Today's In-Class Reading Assignment:

"Night" by Elie Wiesel (pages 12-20)
"The Diary of A Young Girl" by Anne Frank (pages 38-40, 41-42)


Today's Lesson Notes:


Tonight's Homework:

Summarize a Holocaust Video (on www.Edmodo.com)

1) Find a video clip of Holocaust-related footage online. You can browse YouTube or any other video-sharing website, or you can check out the online video archives of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_list.php?MediaType=fi

2) Watch the video.

3) POST THE LINK to the video when you turn in your assignment here, and write a five-sentence summary of what you found. In order to receive credit, your summary should include some indication of how REPUTABLE the source is.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

The Holocaust: Day Two

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze a series of print and film texts dealing with The Holocaust in order to review target HSA indicators dealing with appropriate research and documentation strategies while preparing for third quarter benchmark exam.


Today's In-Class Reading Assignment:

"Night" by Elie Wiesel (pages 9-12)
"I Have Lived A Thousand Years" (chapter six) by Livia Bitton-Jackson


Today's Lesson Notes:




Tonight's Homework:

Summarize The Ghetto Story (on www.Edmodo.com)


2) Read this brief article about life in the ghetto.

3) Click "TURN IN" to post your five-sentence summary of this article.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

The Holocaust: Day One

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze a series of print and film texts dealing with The Holocaust in order to review target HSA indicators dealing with appropriate research and documentation strategies while preparing for third quarter benchmark exam.


Today's In-Class Reading Assignment:

"Night" by Elie Wiesel (pages 2-4)
"Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry (chapter one)


Today's Lesson Notes:



Tonight's Homework:

Summarize a Holocaust Story (on www.Edmodo.com)


2) Pick a Holocaust victim with a last name that starts with the same letter as your own.

3) Read their biography, and click TURN IN to post a five-sentence summary of their life.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Slam Poetry

Today's Objective:

Students will read, write, and analyze slam poetry in order to review target HSA indicators and prepare for third quarter benchmark exam.


Works Studied in Today's Class:

"Wordplay" by Jason Mraz
"Comeback Kid (That's My Dog)" by Brett Dennen
"Invincible" by Machine Gun Kelly
"All of the Lights" by Kanye West


Today's Lesson Notes:


Tonight's Homework:


Login to www.Edmodo.com.


Using the "TURN IN" button, please submit a link to video of a battle rap or slam freestyle poem.

Here's how to submit:

1) Find your videos on YouTube and copy the address to the video.
2) Click "TURN IN."
3) Click the "ATTACH LINK" icon to paste the link to the video.
4) Click "TURN IN ASSIGNMENT."

Friday, February 10, 2012

Poetry Portfolio

Today's Objective:

Students will write, edit, and revise original poems for inclusion in their poetry portfolios in order to review target HSA indicators and prepare for third quarter benchmark exam.


Works Studied in Today's Class:

"How To Save A Life" by The Fray


Today's Lesson Notes:


Tonight's Homework:

Finish working on the poems that will be included in your poetry portfolios. Completed portfolios MUST contain each of the poems discussed in your guidelines. Portfolios are due on Tuesday, Feb. 14 ("B" Day) and Wednesday, February 15 ("A" Day).

Click here to download a digital copy of the poetry portfolio guidelines



Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Figurative Language

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze author's use of tone and mood across a series of imagery poems in order to review target HSA indicators and prepare for third quarter benchmark exam.


Works Studied in Today's Class:

"Eye of The Hurricane" by David Wilcox
"The Flea" by John Donne
"The Railway Train" by Emily Dickinson
"Patrolling Barnegat" by Walt Whitman
"When I Dream of Michelangelo" by The Counting Crows
"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot


Today's Lesson Notes:


Tonight's Homework:

Continue working on the poems that will be included in your poetry portfolios. Completed portfolios MUST contain each of the poems discussed in your guidelines. Portfolios are due on Tuesday, Feb. 14 ("B" Day) and Wednesday, February 15 ("A" Day).

Click here to download a digital copy of the poetry portfolio guidelines




Friday, February 3, 2012

Love Poetry

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze author's use of tone and mood across a series of love poems in order to review target HSA indicators and prepare for third quarter benchmark exam.


Works Studied in Today's Class:

"Love Like" by Shihan
"Woman" by Nikki Giovanni
"Moon Rondeau" by Carl Sandburg
"Simile" by N. Scott Momaday
"Love Without Love" bLuis Lloréns Torres
"The Taxi" by Amy Lowell
"Tonight I Can Write"by Pablo Neruda


Today's Lesson Notes:



Tonight's Homework:

Continue working on the poems that will be included in your poetry portfolios. Completed portfolios MUST contain each of the poems discussed in your guidelines. Portfolios are due on Tuesday, Feb. 14 ("B" Day) and Wednesday, February 15 ("A" Day).

Click here to download a digital copy of the poetry portfolio guidelines




Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Black History Month Poems

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze author's use of tone and mood across a series of poems by black authors in order to commemorate the start of Black History Month while reviewing target HSA indicators and preparing for third quarter benchmark exam.


Works Studied in Today's Class:

"Changes" by Tupac Shakur
"Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou
"Enslaved" by Claude McKay
"We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks
"Harlem (A Dream Deferred)" by Langston Hughes



Today's Lesson Notes:



Tonight's Homework:

Continue working on the poems that will be included in your poetry portfolios. Completed portfolios MUST contain each of the poems discussed in your guidelines. Portfolios are due on Tuesday, Feb. 14 ("B" Day) and Wednesday, February 15 ("A" Day).

Click here to download a digital copy of the poetry portfolio guidelines





Monday, January 30, 2012

Structured Poems

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze author's use of tone and mood across a series of structured poems in order to review target HSA indicators and prepare for third quarter benchmark exam.


Works Studied in Today's Class:

Poetry Portfolio Guidelines


Today's Lesson Notes:



Tonight's Homework:


Thursday, January 26, 2012

Family Poems

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze author's use of tone and mood across a series of family poems in order to review target HSA indicators and prepare for third quarter benchmark exam.


Works Studied in Today's Class:

"Knock Knock" by Daniel Beaty
"Hey Mama" by Kanye West
"The Dreaded Spoon" by Bruce Hornsby
"Piano" by D.H. Lawrence
"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden
"Daddy" by Sylvia Plath




Today's Lesson Notes:




Tonight's Homework:


Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Free Verse Persona Poetry

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze author's use of tone and mood across a series of free verse poems in order to review target HSA indicators and prepare for third quarter benchmark exam.


Today's In-Class Reading Assignment:

"Stan" by Eminem
"Send Somebody" by Colin Hay
"Free Fallin" by Tom Petty (performed by John Mayer)
"O What Is That Sound" by W.H. Auden
"The Cap and Bells" by William Butler Yeats


Today's Lesson Notes:


Tonight's Homework:

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Benchmark Exam (ALL CLASSES)

Today's Objective:

Students will take the second quarter HSA benchmark exam in order to demonstrate mastery of second quarter target indicators.



Tonight's Homework:
None

Friday, January 6, 2012

Short Stories by O. Henry (ALL CLASSES)

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze O. Henry's "One Thousand Dollars" in order to review target HSA indicators and prepare for second quarter benchmark exam.


Today's In-Class Reading Assignment:

A Harlem Tragedy
The Cop and the Anthem
After 20 Years


Today's Lesson Notes:


Tonight's Homework:

Thursday, January 5, 2012

A Good Man is Hard to Find (ALL CLASSES)

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" in order to review target HSA indicators and prepare for second quarter benchmark exam.


Today's In-Class Reading Assignment:

A Good Man is Hard to Find


Today's Lesson Notes:



Tonight's Homework:

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

One Thousand Dollars (ALL CLASSES)

Today's Objective:

Students will read and analyze O. Henry's "One Thousand Dollars" in order to review target HSA indicators and prepare for second quarter benchmark exam.


Today's In-Class Reading Assignment:

"One Thousand Dollars," by O. Henry
Click here to read this text online


Today's Lesson Notes:

Tonight's Homework: