Mrs. Cameron’s English Classes

3/30

Today we discussed your Research Paper Project. Find the project description and due date calendar here:

researchassignment

january-2009

We also brainstormed possible topics for the paper. See the ideas here:

expanding-randall-road

The “Developing a Research Question Based on Personal Questions” mindmap is due this Wednesday. Your research question is due at the end of class on Friday.

**Remember, your Lord of the Flies papers are due TOMORROW!!!

3/31

Today was a hardcore grammar day. We started with phrases and clauses.

Phrase stuff:five-types-of-phrases

Clause stuff and practice examples: clauses

Then we began the sentence structure power point. See it here: sentence_variety_modified-new

Homework: Finish the clause worksheet AND the research Mindmap from yesterday.

3/30

Today I conferenced with a few more people. The rest of you edited and worked on an AP sample multiple choice.

3/31

Same as yesterday. I also returned your quarter exams and explained the scoring.

3/30

Today we worked on our group Romeo and Juliet projects. The due date of the rough draft is now Friday. Also, we will not start performing our group projects until next Monday. We will work in class on the projects for the rest of the week, then edit our papers on Friday.

3/31

Today we continued work on our projects. You all worked on your promptbooks.

3/16 and 3/17

I conferenced with a few of you about your papers, and in groups you looked at some sample research papers and evaluated them using the rubric for the paper. See the rubric here: big-paper-rubric

3/18

We took the rhetorical analysis portion of the quarter exam. Scores will be graded on an AP curve. Research papers due tomorrow for Extra Credit.

3/19

Today we took the multiple choice portion of the quarter exam. Scores will be graded on an AP curve. If you want to e-mail me with questions about your paper over break, please feel free to. I will conference with the last of you the week after break. The papers are due Friday, April 3rd.

Have a great break!

3/16

We peer edited and conferenced on your rough drafts.

3/17

We discussed the ACT Prep website. There is a link to it on the left sidebar of my website. If you don’t know your password, I am willing to get the password for you. Let me know. In groups you read sample responses to the prompt and guessed what scores they received.

3/18

I told you the actual scores of the sample papers we read yesterday and you labeled TEA and edited your own paper. See the self-edit checklist here: lotf-paper-selfedit

3/19

We worked in the computer lab on taking practice ACT reading tests at this website: http://www.d155.org/cls/library/collegecareers.htm There are other tests and sample essays on this website that you can look at.

See the worksheet you used to record answers here: 210-act-practice

Have a great break, and don’t forget your final draft of the LOTF paper is due Tuesday the 31st of March!

3/16

Today we worked on reading Act 5. Finish the play for homework. You may write a poem on the play for Extra Credit.

3/17

Today we discussed the end of the play and watched one movie version of the final scene.

3/18

Today we finished the last movie version of the final scene. Then we worked on Romeo’s final speech and found language tricks used. Your homework was to choose one section of the chart we filled out and answer the following questions about that section:

1. How does that language trick reflect Romeo’s mental state?
2. How does it relate to the larger themes of the play?
3. How does it contribute to the effect of Romeo’s final words?

3/19

Today we discussed your paper and the Presentations. Your groups received their scene assignments, and we took a small test on Romeo and Juliet.

Have a great break! Remember, the rough draft of your Romeo and Juliet paper is due Thursday the 2nd of April.

Paper explanation here: romeoandjulietfinalpaper

Monday -

Today we began conferencing in class and you read “Television: The Plug in Drug” in your 50 Essays book.

Tuesday -

We discussed the 5 Part Argument Organization Structure:

Introduction -2-3 pgs.

Background Info -2-3 pgs. The history, past, and possibly present info. about your topic.

Statement of Argument - 3/4 pgs.

Refutation 1-2 pgs.

Conclusion 1-2 pgs. Answer the question “So what” and tell us the future of your topic.

We then continued conferencing.

Wednesday - We conferenced and watched Into the Wild.

Thursday - We watched Into the Wild. Your 3 page rough drafts are due tomorrow.

Friday - We worked on editing and peer editing your rough drafts.

Be prepared for your conferences next week if you are meeting with me. And remember, if you want to turn your paper in early for EC the due date is next Thursday.

Monday

Today we reviewed for the test by looking at important passages from the book.

Tuesday

We took the test on Lord of the Flies.

Wednesday

We discussed the paper assignment for Lord of the Flies. See here: lord-of-the-flies-writing-assignment The rough draft is due next Monday. Make SURE you have it for class.

We worked on sentence purpose grammar. If you were not here, you need to get the worksheet from me. We will have a mini-quiz on this topic Friday.

Thursday

We watched the first episode of LOST today.

Friday

We took a quiz on Sentence Purpose and watched a little more of LOST. We discussed the similarities and differences between LOST and LOTF.

3/9

Today we worked on cutting lines from Act 3 Scenes 3-5. We discussed that we could really cut Act 3 Scene 4 altogether. Then, in groups you decided what lines to cut while still keeping the major details of the scene intact.

3/10

Groups reported their findings from yesterday, then we watched the scenes in a movie version, comparing what the lines the director of the movie cut out.

3/11

Today we discussed the topic of subtext. See this worksheet for details: notes-on-subtext

In partners you created a scene and we had to guess the subtext of your scene.

Homework: Read Act 4 Scenes 1 and 2 and write a paragraph journal entry as one character in each scene. Describe how you, the character, felt and thought during that scene.

3/12

We finished the scenes from yesterday. Then we did some work with subtext and Acts 4 Scenes 1 and 2. You got in groups and recorded what you had discovered in your homework. We discussed the results as a class. Then you all had time to closely read 8 lines of one of the scenes and record your ideas for subtext in those lines. We then worked together to coach student volunteers in how to say the lines using subtext tools.

Monday we completed our second character map, went over the symbolism work from Friday and discussed parts of Chapter 8. Your homework is to read Chapter 9 and fill out your numbers for the fishbowl.

Tuesday we had our fishbowl discussion. Homework is Chapter 10.

Wednesday we finished the symbolism chart, did our third character map, and discussed Chapter 10. Homework: Chapt. 11

Thursday we did a review activity. Homework: Finish the book!

Friday we are reviewing and we are discussing what will be on the test Tuesday.

Test: 40 points
Part 1: 4 points
2 or 3 passages. You have to identify the theme that connects all of them and explain how the theme appears in each one.
Part 2: 6 points (2 questions worth 3 pts. Each)
Given a few passages that show the development of a character, symbol or theme t/o book. You need to put passages in correct order.
Part 3: Imagery 10 pts.
Given a passage. Find examples of imagery in the passage. Write a paragraph explaining how this imagery demonstrates the theme in the novel of the boys turning savage and evil.
Part 4: Passage Recognition. 20 pts. (4 passages, 5 pts. Each)
Given a choice of a few passages, pick four. Tell me
1. Who is speaking?
2. What is the context? (Where and when in the novel, but you don’t need specific chapter).
3.Why is this passage important?
4. How does the passage relate to central ideas, themes, or symbolism in the work?
5. How does it relate to your life?