Period 6 8/31/11

Howdy fellow bloggers!

I hope you did not forget something in your lockers,

And your homework is coming well,

For I have much to tell.

Class today was the norm,

So there won’t be room to misinform.

It started with the usual greeting,

That is heard so often, it doesn’t need repeating.

A paper is soon due,

So it should be on your high “To-Do”.

The prompt is not strange:

How can literature be a motivator for social change?

Some ideas for this prompt were promptly discussed,

So many there are that this poem might just bust!

So here they are attached (at bottom of post),

To led to your thoughts yet to be hatched.

It is due 9/26 to be sure,

That my friends, is no lure.

Mrs. Smith states that in class she will teach,

Without a screech (maybe),

The proper way to write:

A thesis and outline for an intro and a paper.

Today LOF annotation re-do’s were turned in.

We also watched some scenes from Macbeth wherein,

Many questions were pondered,

And tomorrow they will be answered by the hundred.

Tomorrow is also the SAT vocab question day,

Where we will have endless Q&A.

Here is the homework –

Individual Conferences, Thesis & Outline (9/6)

SAT Exercises (9/2), Paper (9/26), and Scribe

One last tip before I go,

Get Smith a gift – a Slap Watch! :) (Link)

How can literature be a motivator for social change?

·         be used to manipulate fear or stress

·         brings people together

·         compare a life to another

·         distort situations

·         emotional connection

·         escape plan/writing on a problem

·         explore new ideas

·         exposure

·         gives a set goal that society can reach

·         hypothetical situations unfold

·         inspiring in a good way

·         moral system

·         motivating

·         movements

·         new ideas

·         new vision

·         perspectives

·         problems

·         providing interest

·         question of authority

·         question/challenge your beliefs

·         reexamine life

·         sets new ways you can learn

·         teach

·         trust

·         warning

(Wow that was a long post!)

Period 3 8/31/11

               

               

Hey Readers!! Today was pretty much laid back. We started off class as usual with computers, morning announcements, and writing down our home work in our planners. One important event that was mentioned on the announcements this morning was the Freshman Tailgate Football game this Saturday at 9:00 AM, so be there to support your fellow freshman take on the Rangeview Raiders! Moving on to the HOMEWORK: Smith asked us to start thinking/start our thesis and outline of our Macbeth essay, due next Tuesday September 6th(I will explain more about this further down in the green text). Also, finish your SAT Vocab Exercises, scribe, and individual conferences. 
When we finished settling in, Smith gave us the topic for our Macbeth Essay which is: How can literature be a motivator for social change? In your essay compare and analyse how Lord of the Flies and Macbeth connect and relate to this topic. These are some of the topics we came up with that went along on answering the topic question:   
                *Trust?

                *Truth

                *Emotional Connection

                *Belief

                *Escape plan if it ever happened

                *What could happen in the future

                *Exposing light on a certain subject

                *Compare with life and your own 

                 government

After this, the class shared there feedback on the "trust blog". Most of the class was in agreement that they trust their family and teachers, but when it came to friends we had a disagreement. Some people said they trust their friends because they chose wisely when they picked to be friends with them, but others said that teenage years are tricky because gossip and peer pressure may sometimes over ride the friendship. Then after this heated discussion, we watched short clips from the three different versions of Macbeth.

For more information on the Freshman football Rally and more daily announcements visit, http://ahsdailyannouncements.blogspot.com/

Period 4 8/30/11

Hey everyone! Class today started with the usual formalities, "Hello class." "Hello Smith." After we got past that, Mrs Smith began to explain the homework which is the following~

• Finish your Lord of the Flies redo annotations by tomorrow!
• Try to finish your SAT exercises by tomorrow so that we can discuss them in class! (You DO NOT have to write the essay!)
• Comment to the trust question on Mrs. Smith's blog before class tomorrow!

Next, we took the Elizabethan Period test. We got into groups of three or four and took the test together. (Yes, it was allowed:) When we finished, Mrs. Smith handed out the Macbeth book, a note card, and a piece of paper with a scenario on it. Mrs. Smith shortly thereafter explained what we were going to do with these items~ perform a skit. Sounds pretty normal right? Well here's the catch. Each group had to randomly open up to Macbeth and select whichever quote they saw first. Then, they had to somehow incorporate that quote into their skit. (Which we had five minutes to prepare for by the way!) Then we started to present the skits. Some groups had to act out someone losing their money, others had to perform someone scheduling two dates at the same time, and several groups had to perform someone encouraging someone else to get a promotion in a sly way. Needless to say, they all sound pretty normal until you imagine a Shakespeare line in the middle of it! However, the moral of every skit was trust. So, Mrs. Smith let us take out our phones (I know!) and text another lesson learned from the skits (besides trust) to 37607. It was really cool because all of our responses showed up on the screen in her room. When we finished texting our answers, we packed up, put our computers away, and before we knew it, class was out!

8/30/11 Period 3

Good afternoon fellow students!

    Today was a good day in Smith’s 3^rd Hour Language Arts Class! Class began as is the norm, with laptops on desks and planners all ready, but then we got do something extra fun! QUIZ!!! We took the 25 question quiz (take the Elizabethan Presentations Quiz link) from the Macbeth research presentations (performed yesterday) in groups of two to three people on the laptops. 

    Upon the completion of the quiz, we performed skits according to the slips of paper that Ms Smith gave to us, showing us what our topic should be. We also opened Macbeth and the first line that we saw and incorporated it into our little skits. 

    Alex, Alex, and Shawn went first and acted about someone that had a sleepover and consumed lots of sugar, and then the next morning they creamed Shawn and stole his cash. Then Alex said a random line from Macbeth and gave him back his money. 

    Then Alison, Sophia and Ruth went, and had the time of their life at a party. Sophia partied so hard that she collapsed into the bowl of punch. Alison and Sophia stole her credit card, but then gave it back when she said a line from Shakespeare.

    James and Grant went next and performed that Grant came home James said a line from Shakespeare when James' wife said that he should do something illegal. Then they got into a conversation about trust and Grant left the house.

    When the next group got up, they performed that both of their weddings got planned on the same day, so they got mad at the wedding planner, and then got in an argument about weddings and what they were going to do.

    The next group had to go to a dealership where they won a new car, but there were two of them so they argued about the car and how they were going to share it.

    Nick and I both had a date with "Curly Shirley" and got in a fight about it, then I said a really random line from Macbeth and we both got hit in the face and walked off.

   Bekah and Kate were up next and performed that they both had the same ticket for a performance. Kate got her ticket when "the owl screamed and the cricket cried" which was a line from Macbeth.

   When the next group performed, they said that the husband should do something illegal to get a promotion, but he did not want to, so they got into a big fight about what they should do.

    We then took out our cell phones and texted 465122 and one word that describes the conflict in each scenario of the plays above to 37607, and the results popped up on the screen.

    Ms Smith said that the words that we sent were many scenarios that literature could do to us. She brought us back to the questions: “What does it take to challenge the system?” and “How can literature be used as a motivator for social change?”

    We started watching a version of Macbeth that had a minimal set so as to maximize the acting. If you caught on to what has happening, congratulations!!

    Homework: LOF Redo Annotations, SAT Vocab Exercises, Trust Blog, Scribe, Individual Conferences

Are you a trusting person?

On a scale of 1-10, to what extent do you trust the people around you? Briefly explain your answer by responding to the questions below:·

• Do you completely trust your friends? Your family? Your teachers?·
• Do you think they would ever betray you? If so, why and how?·
• Could you ever betray them?·
• What types of situations make people betray others?

8-26-11

We walked in to the room, and got settled in,

Laptops out, we were ready to begin.

The teacher walked in, saying, "Good morning class!"

"Hello Smith" was called back without any sass.

The bell rang quick and we listened to the boss,

"Go work on Macbeth," and then the chaos.

We ran to our groups and got on our way,

for this was the end, the last workday.

Macbeth is due monday, we rushed to the end,

and time was gone before we could amend,

the spelling, the errors,

the grammar, what terrors!

But we managed to do it, and Monday we present,

and hopefully there is nothing that we will resent.

So good luck to us all, I bid you good night,

Lets hope that our projects are done well and done right.

8-25-11

Hey guys! Copy and paste this link to access a WORDLE of what todays English 9 Honors class looked like. (I am almost positive it works but if not thats really unfortunate)

file:///Users/jeffnikkel/Desktop/Workday.jpeg

Have an excellent day, and make sure you're working on that Macbeth project!

8-25-11

Today, we worked on our Macbeth projects during class. Remember, KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF QUALITY!!!!!! Also, remember to be creative and to cite your sources. If you don't know how to cite your sources go to easybib.com.

Other notes:

•  Presentation due tomorrow
•  Map testing on Monday- meet in media computer lab (hopefully it will work this time!)
• Sign up for conference
• Smith's off hours
• M/W/F 4,6
• T/H 1,6
• Or before or after school 
• Redo annotations due Wednesday the 31st

• Remember: QUALITY NOT QUANTITY 

8-24-11

Dear fellow readers,

You may not think we could pack much more into the same class period, but it happened. Class began as usual with each student having a laptop, and agenda on their desk at the beginning of class. The following announcements were given:

1. Code of conduct will be distributed to you in class.
2. Sign the sheet of paper saying you received it.
3. See Mr. Ahern if you missed drama club yesterday.
4. Reminder to carry school ID with you at all times on campus.
5. "And remember, Warriors always take care of each other."

We were told about individual meetings that can be set up with Ms. Smith. She passed around her personal planner, so each student could set up a date and time to meet with her. Her off hours include 4th and 6th MWF, as well as 1st and 6th on TR. She is also available before school starting at 7:00AM, and after school she can meet with 2-3 people in the L.A. office. Make sure you have set up a date that works for you if you have not already.

Our first collaborative group project was assigned today, (which was supposed to be researched last night). This is due on Monday the 29th. We will be working in groups of 3-4 on a project to teach the class about one aspect of the Elizabethan Era. Here is the link to the Ms. Smiths English 9 Honors web page. Under Macbeth, and "Research Macbeth," you can find the topics we had to choose from. Here are the requirements:

1. some sort of digital presentation(excluding powerpoint)
2. 5 minutes long.
3. Engaging, creative, informational
4. Curiosity of listeners is peaked
5. KNOCKS MS. SMITHS SOCKS OFF! Yes, this is a requirement.
6. The sky is the limit, you can do anything for your presentation. Here are some ideas...(some of these are connected to links.)

• Play/Skit
• Song
• Dance
• www.prezi.com
• WORDLE
• Glogster
• Animoto
• www.xtranormal.com
• Use your imagination!

One more requirement. Everything needs to be cited. but fear not, we have been saved from the old times of manually doing this. We were introduced to Easybib.com. Here we can easily enter our websites into the auto cite box and click cite this. Make sure your google docs account is up in another tab though. For more info. see Ms. Smith.

Hint: Do your best teaching through this project because a quiz will be given on it the day after we present.

HOMEWORK!!

Make an individual conference with Ms. Smith

Macbeth research project

1 wk. to redo annotations on LOF!

Have an amazing evening warriors!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Today in class, our main assignment was our common assessment. This took up most of our class period, so there really isn't much to tell. Our MacBeth group assignment will be due on monday, and you can get links to the Research on the Elizibethian Period and MacBeth Research Project Rubric to view the full expectations and requirements. (If none of these mhtml links work, you can always access it through the English 9H page here. I can't say what our common assessment was about.

By Brian Heissenbuttel

Let the Scribing Begin! 8/19/2011 English 9 Honors

Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to get this up, I was training hard at cross country. Anyways, here is a description of our exciting day in English. Right after class started, we headed to the library for a little orientation about the tools and resources available to us there. The majority of what Mr. Murphy, the librarian, talked to us about today is written in pages 6a-12a (along with information on citing your sources) in your planner, but here is an abbreviated list of his talk.

Hours:

6:45 to 3:30 Monday through Thursday

6:45 to 3:00 on Friday

Important People:

Mr. Murphy, head librarian

Mr. Fisch, tech director

Mrs. B, librarian

Lauren, a student assistant

Checkout and Fines:

Most books may be checked out for up to three weeks. 25 cents per day overdue

Reference books, such as encyclopedias, may be checked out overnight. $1 per day overdue

Important:

Many nonfiction reference books are available online. You can find the websites for these books on a bright yellow bookmark in the library.

Technology Checkout:

Headsets with microphones are available for overnight checkout. $1 per day overdue

Video cameras are also available for checkout.

Triple E Netbooks (that have access to printers) are available to be checked out for the period but must remain in the library.

The maximum amount of fines is set at $5

It is okay to return a book and pay your fine later when you have the funds ready.

Returns:

Books can be returned inside the library at the checkout desk or next to the statue of Chief Arapahoe.

Expectations:

Keep voice level low

No food or drink

No hats, sunglasses, or hoodies

Use electronic devices for productivity, NOT as a distraction

Cell phone must be set to vibrate or silent

No talking on your cell phone

No checking your voice mail

Printing and Copying:

Two double-sided black and white pages (essentially four pages) per assignment may be printed for free, however each additional page is ten cents

The color printer may be used for 50 cents per page, see a librarian for assistance

The photocopier costs ten cents per page

After our introduction to the library, we went back to class and filled posters with our ideas and thoughts concerning our two semester-long themes. Drum roll please! Our two themes for this semester are "How can literature be a motivator for social change?" and "What does it take to challenge the system?" An idea for the former might be, "Why do you think other countries held book burnings for powerful political ideas?" and for the latter, "Never accept anything as truth, investigate and ask questions to find out what the real truth is."

Important Notices:

• We will NOT be meeting in our classroom next week on Monday, instead we will be in the Library Computer Lab, the second door to the left of the entrance into the library, for MAP testing.

• If you were not here today, stop by the library as soon as you can to exchange your ID. Your ID acts as your library card but the barcodes on the ones you received at Freshmen Orientation are not working, so your card will need to be replaced.

See you next week in class!

8/19/11

Today we went to the library for a basic orientation. If you weren't here the basics are:

• Inside voices
• No food or drink
• No hats and or sunglasses
• Technology for education only...yes you can text (:
• No talking on phone
• You can check out books for three weeks
• Headsets one day
• Headphones one day
• Triple Es one period
• Printer is free first two page of project after $0.10
• Photo copier $0.10
• Fine $0.25

People to know:

• Mr. Murphy
• Mrs. B
• Mr. Fisch

Along with this we also got new IDs so we can check out books

*Additional info on the library go to :http://arapahoe.littletonpublicschools.net/Default.aspx?tabid=960
or visit pages 6-A/7-A in your planner

In class we discussed the quotes
"How can literature be a motivator for social change?"
"What does it take to challenge the system?"

HW: MAPS testing Monday in computer lab by library

Your classmate Emily Hecomovich(:

8-18-11

Today, we took our common assessment in class. The point of the common assessment was so that Mrs. Smith could see where everyone is. The Common Assessment was on Topic Sentences. Tomorrow, we will discuss “The Lord of the Flies.” Particularly, the topic of "Can literature be a motivator for social change?" Be prepared for the discussion tomorrow or you might get the rusty spoon!

•   Common  Assessment 

• Read The Lady or the Tiger

• Answer Questions on the back

• Topic Sentence

§  A value is defined as “worth, importance or usefulness of something to somebody.”

§  On a note card, please answer the following sentence in a topic sentence.

§  In Frank Stockton’s “The Lady or the Tiger”, what does the princess most value and why?

§  Make sure to write your name on your note card.

• ·         Notes:

o   Meet in library tomorrow

o   Bring your Student ID and Planner

o   Interested in student council?

§  8/23 at 6:45am in Forum

§  8/23 at 2:30pm in Forum

1)

Expectations

What are the qualities of good teachers? of good students? of a good class?

Think about your answers before you post them. Make sure to proofread your response. Also, make sure to come back and comment upon one another's comments. Do you agree or disagree with what they are saying?

Summer Reading

Over the summer, you were asked to read at least two novels of your choice.

1) Briefly tell me what you read, including the titles and authors.

2) I want to know what you liked about the books, what you learned and, more importantly, what matters to you about the book's content.

*Make sure to adhere to proper conventions and proofread your response. If, for some reason, you did not read two novels, tell me about two novels you have read and answer the above.