September 29 - October 3, 2014

Since we are now 1/3 of the way through the semester and less than three weeks to the end of the 1st quarter, we will start the week with a quick progress check and reflection. We'll then move on to a review of what we've read from Shakespeare's The Tempest. Our primary goals for reading have been character traits and analysis, identifying points and citing evidence, and comparing/contrasting ideas. As we wrap up The Tempest, we'll put our reading to use with a character analysis essay. Students who use their time wisely throughout the week should not have any homework in the evenings or for the weekend.

• Mon: First 6 weeks progress check and reflection. The Tempest - review and media analysis.
• Tues: The Tempest - essay assignment. Begin gathering evidence and outlining the essay.
• Wed: The Tempest - essay assignment. Finish gathering evidence and outlining. Begin a rough draft.
• Thurs: The Tempest - finish creating a rough draft. Revise the essay. Students will need to complete a written rough draft prior to typing in the computer lab on Friday.
• Fri: Meet in Library Lab D. The Tempest - type and turn in the essay to turnitin.com.

September 22 - 26, 2014

We are officially into the sixth week of the semester. That means we are past the mid-term of the 1st quarter and 1/3 of the way through the 1st semester. This is an excellent time for students to check and reflect on their progress so far.

All students who handed in the paragraph over "Coming of Age in the Dawnland" should have received two e-mails by now. The first told them that the paragraph was graded and ready to have students view comments. The second told them how to turn it in online to turnitin.com after revising the paragraph. The revised paragraph is due online to turnitin.com by 3:00 on Friday. Students with remaining questions should see me before/after school or during Advisory.

This week we will continue in our short excerpt from William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Students should be curious about how the play connects to anything that we have read so far in the unit. We will start the week with the opportunity to ask questions and wrap up with the Act I reading guide. We will then read and discuss the other excerpt from the play. We'll wrap up the week with a brief discussion and reflection on our six-week progress reports, time to finish the Act II reading guide, and time in class to revise and turn in their "Dawnland" paragraph.

Students who need additional time to work on a computer at school are welcome to come in to our classroom before/after school and during Advisory to use one of the available computers.

• Mon:Finish and hand in The Tempest Act I reading guide by the end of the hour. Revise and turn in the "Dawnland" paragraph to turnitin.com by Friday at 3:00.
• Tues: The Tempest - read and discuss Act II. Complete the reading guide as we read.
• Wed: The Tempest - read and discuss Act II. Complete the reading guide as we read.
• Thurs: Pass back and discuss updated progress reports. Turn in The Tempest Act II reading guide by the end of the hour. Revise and turn in the "Dawnland" paragraph to turnitin.com by Friday at 3:00.
• Fri: No school - Professional Learning Day

September 15 - 19, 2014

This week we will seem to go off in a random direction from what we've been reading so far. Rather than continuing on with more Colonial American texts, this week we move on to excerpts from William Shakespeare's The Tempest. We'll start the week with some background and discussion of parts (this is a play, after all). We'll then read and complete a reading guide as we go. However, one lingering question should remain as we read: how does a Shakespeare play connect to anything what we have read so far?

• Mon: from The Tempest - Shakespeare background discussion. Determine parts for Act I. Begin reading and discussing Act I.
• Tues: from The Tempest - Pass out Act I reading guide. Review events from Monday. Continue reading and discussing Act I.
• Wed: from The Tempest - Continue reading and discussing Act I. Complete the Act I reading guide as we read.
• Thurs: from The Tempest - Continue reading and discussing Act I. Complete the Act I reading guide as we read.
• Fri: from The Tempest - Writing prompt due in class. Act I reading guide due by the end of the hour.

September 8 - 12, 2014

This week we'll move on to our next text in our unit, Charles C. Mann's "Coming of Age in the Dawnland." Students' primary tasks will be to determine the author's purpose for writing, followed by an argumentative critique of the author's work. We'll start the week with a review of the vocabulary and a first read of the text. We'll then read the text with our own purpose as we gather clues and analyze Mann's essay. Toward mid-week, we'll introduce and begin prewriting on the writing task. Since we had a few issues with the textbook site last week, this will be done entirely on Google drive. We'll wrap up the week with a vocabulary quiz and mini-Socratic seminars on the writing task results.

• Mon: Review on the Bradford writing tasks.  "Coming of Age in the Dawnland" -- introduce vocabulary and do a first read looking for the author's purpose.
• Tues: "Coming of Age in the Dawnland" -- read a second time to complete notes on the author's purpose.
• Wed: "Coming of Age in the Dawnland" -- finish in-class notes on the authors. Begin performance task pre-writing.
• Thurs: Meet in Lab A to type up the "Coming of Age in the Dawnland" performance task rough draft.
• Fri: Vocabulary quiz.  Mini-Socratic seminars to compare notes on the "Coming of Age in the Dawnland" argument. 

September 1 - 5, 2014

This week we will continue working with our textbook pages 5-18, featuring excerpts from William Bradford's Of Plymouth Plantation. Having read and taken notes last week, this week we'll move on to a pair of creative writing responses, followed by a short quiz over the reading. Students will be writing and submitting their responses online through the textbook site at my.hrw.com. Since this is a writing assignment requiring students to be on a computer, we will also have two days in a computer lab. Students will receive a review guide and assignment at the beginning of the week.

• Mon: Labor Day - no school
• Tues: Bradford - from Of Plymouth Plantation: writing assignment and quiz guide overview. Create a brainstorm and rough outline as pre-writing for the writing assignment.
• Wed: Meet in Library Lab D to log in to the textbook site online and write.
• Thurs: Meet in Library Lab D to log in to the textbook site online and write.
• Fri: Quiz over Bradford - from Of Plymouth Plantation. Pre-writing due.