Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Today, class started with the usual, “Hello class!” Followed by “Hello Smith!!!” Then we went over the homework listed below:

Homework:
    -Grammar Worksheet due Tomorrow
    -Grammar Quiz Tomorrow
    -DON’T FORGET your Wikified Research Paper Conference

After we went over homework, we all turned in the borrowed copies of Little Brother and 1984. Then we completed the grammar practice in class:

Grammar:
-Sentence 1
    We wanted to play soccer; however, our friends wanted to listen to music.
PINK- capitalization/puntuation  aaa--first independent clause  aa-a- second independent clause
Whole sentence= compound sentence
-Sentence 2
    Both Anne and I remembered the school’s address.
PINK- capitalization/punctuation  aaa-- independent clause
Whole sentence= simple sentence

Then, we wrote our parents a conference letter. The guidelines are listed below:

    -Assess your learning in class (participation, growth, comprehension, etc.)
    -Where do you want to be at the end of the semester?
    -How will you attain that goal?
    -How can Mrs. Smith help you with that?
    -Anything else you want to talk about during the conference?
    -Anything else you want to tell your parents about class?
    -Write a message to your parents (thanks, etc.)
    -Print out one copy for your parents and one copy for Smith with your name on it

After that, we watched the opening fight scene in two different versions of Romeo and Juliet.
    -The classic version
    -The modern version

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

February 29 Period 3

We began our leap day with the standard "Hello, class" and "Hello, Smith" ritual. Then we did grammar for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
_____________________   ___________________________________
|              ind cl                   | |                     ind cl                                         |    compound sentence
We wanted to play soccer; however, our friends wanted to listen to music.

______________________________________

|                             ind cl                                     |               simple sentence

Both Anne and I remembered the school's address.

Next, the class wrote letters to our parents and Smith for conferences tomorrow. We were asked to assess the growth and learning we've completed this year, as well as talk about hopes and goals for the rest of second semester. But in regards to conferences, everyone remember the Smith's line will be very long, so there is no need for your parents to wait to see her unless they have any concerns. 

Finally, we watched clips from two different versions of Romeo and Juliet, one a more traditional style and the other more modern.

HW: Remember your grading conferences with Smith, grammar quiz tomorrow

February 28, 2012

Homework: None, other than letter supplies for tomorrow.

After a slightly monotone "Hello Smith," class began with grammar (Tuesday is sentence parts).

we wanted (to play soccer) however our friends wanted (to listen to music)

 S1    v1         DO/inf  prase                            S2          V2         DO/inf phrase

both anne and I remembered the schools address

          S1           S2       V                                 DO

We then took a "very personal, very open" love quiz. Smith showed questions on the board and we went to either the "agree" or "disagree" side of the room (no middle ground allowed!). Then we discussed why we agreed or disagreed with the statement. We were supposed to check in our Little Brother and 1984 books, but Smith forgot, so bring them tomorrow! Also, letter writing and Romeo and Juliet tomorrow!

Feb, 28, 2012

February 28, 2012
Period 3
 H.W. Bring letter writing materials today! 
Here are the sentences for the week!

Prn       av             l   inf      l   n        adv           poss prn    n             av            l   inf    l  prep   n/op

we wanted (to play soccer) however our    friends wanted (to listen to music)

S1        v1                 do   inf  prase                                      S2                 V2        do inf phrase

Corr conj     N        corr con j   n              av         art        poss n         n  

both     anne    and       I  remembered the school address

              S1               S2          V                      do

All we did was out wonderful DOL and the whole class took the LOVE QUIZ. We went to a side of the room depending if we agreed or disagreed. Then each side discussed why they choose that side. 

 

NOTE: Every one in Smith's period 3 English class will be testing with her for TCAP (CSAP) in room C1. 

We will begin Romeo and Juliet tomorrow!

Period 5 Scribe for Monday, February 27, 2012

What a way to start another short week!

As class began, everyone was in their seats, itching to get class on its way. After all, there was food in the back, drawing everyone's attention towards it. But, before we could get to the tasty snacks, we had to get through the daily grammar piece.

As on every Monday, the DOL was parts of speech. Here are the two sentences:

The new element we learned today was the infinitive, and there is an informational slide on the right.

After the daily grammar, we proceeded to what we had all been waiting for, the "share and eat" session! First, we all got up to get some of the delicious goodies that everyone had brought to indulge on. Once back at our desks, we went up one by one and shared the poem of our choice, which we had posted on the blog.

When the bell rang at 1:12, we were all in a good mood. Nothing like food and a poem to raise your spirits!

Homework:

• NONE!!!

Practice your theatrics, we will begin acting out Romeo and Juliet tomorrow!

Scribe for Friday, February 24, 2012

We started off the day with the usual exchange of “Hello class!” and “Hello Smith!” (Occasionally a “What’s poppin’ Smith?”). First, Smith collected the photos we brought in, then the DOL and CSAP for this week, and afterward we took our grammar quiz. During the quiz, Smith distributed the photos out to different people for us to write about. Next we read the poem “To An Athlete Dying Young” and compared it to the poem we read yesterday. Smith gave us the rest of the time to write our photograph poem.

Photograph poem- It is a poem using the picture we brought in as homework. We are to write about the two perspectives that can be seen in the photo, the perspective of someone looking at the object in the photograph and the person in the photo. The poem is supposed to use a lot of figurative language such as sight, scent, etc… For exact instructions look at the post that Ms. Smith made on the blog.

Homework: Write your photograph poem

Post your poem on the blog (Smith made a post that you can comment on)

Post the poem you are going to read on Monday on the coordinating post

Be ready to share one of the poems you made to the class on Monday (Bring snack you signed up for)

February 24, 2012 Period 3

Happy Friday everybody! 

We started our class with the familiar 'Hello everyone" and "Hello Smith" response. We listened to the announcements and turned in the CSAP packet named "Limes May Not Be Green" and our DOL 15 paper. After that we took our grammar quiz and turned in the picture we were all supposed to bring in. Mrs. Smith distributed those pictures to different people.

On Monday we will have a poetry sharing day that will be casual and laid back. Bring in one of the poems we've written to share with the class on Monday. Also we signed up for food/drinks to bring in, remember to bring those in on Monday.

 

We then analyzed two poems, A. E. Housman's (pictured) "To An Athlete Dying Young" and Dylan Thomas' "Do Not Go Gently Into That Good Night". Both poems dealt with death, the key difference being that Housman's poem was about a young man dying and Thomas' poem was about an old man dying. Using a worksheet, we answered several questions about the poems and then shared those answers with the class, creating a discussion. 

This weekend you will be writing a Photograph Poem, that you will post on a blog post that Mrs. Smith has already made. It will be about the photograph that you got (not the one that you picked) and will be written from two different perspectives. One perspective is the human/thing that is in the picture and the other perspective is an outside perspective, perhaps someone looking at the person in the picture. 

Homework for tonight: Be prepared to share 1 poem on Monday, write your Photograph Poem, and post the poem to the class blog.  

Have a great weekend everyone!

Sharing our Poetry

Lets make a party.  Bring something to share, besides a poem, on Monday to celebrate our hard work this semester.  You could bring drinks, utensils, paper goods, goodies, etc...

Additionally, comment below with the poem you want to share on our poetry read aloud day. 

Photograph Poem

Looking at your photograph, write a poem from two different perspectives. Write a poem as the person in the picture. Tap into your methods of figurative language exploring what this character might think, say, touch, feel, smell, and sound like.

Then, change direction. Be the outside observer viewing this person. Once again, tap into your methods of figurative language exploring what this character might think, say, touch, feel, smell, and sound like.

Don't be afraid to try and use some of the poetic devices we have studied. Maybe the two characters meet- what happens in the exchange.

Good luck!

Scribe February 23, Period 3

 Hello Period 3 Class

The agenda for today was the following:

-Adams County observation of our class
-Reminder of LPS dinner on April 14

-Writing conferences (Bring Essay Rubric)

-Grammar quiz tomorrow

-Write Homonym poem

 Overview of class today:

     After we arrived in class, Mrs. Smith surprised us all by telling us that some people from Adams County were coming in during our period to observe our class, and see what we're doing with the technology that is available to us. The class split into 6 different groups to showcase what we've been working on throughout the year. The groups consisted on our most recent Wiki-papers, Loggel, Scribing, Ned Kelly, Poetry, Live Blog/Fishbowl and around 4 to 5 people joined each group to present to the Adams County observers.

   (Example of Photo above, choose something

that would be fun, creative, and easy to write

about.)

Homework help:

    While there was a lot of excitement in class today, make sure you do not forget to do your homework! Mrs. Smith kept it simple tonight, make sure you bring in a photo of anything (school appropriate) that could be used for inspiration, and lights a poetic flame. Also, make sure you complete the CSAP packet Limes May Not Be Green by tomorrow, and study and prepare yourself for our grammar quiz tomorrow.

Homework: Bring in a photograph (for poetic inspiration), CSAP packet, Study and prepare for grammar quiz.

Homonym poem

Brenda Hillman wrote a brilliant poem called"Cleave and Cleave" which examines these words that sound and can be spelled the same but have opposite meanings. I'd like you to think of two words that are homonyms but mean different things. , e.g. lie and lie, stone and stone, bear and bear, write and right. Here is a complete list.

Think of an emotional situation in memory that these homonyms might speak to, then imagine yourself "encountering" each of these words separately, in concrete examples- e.g. you are writing your name on a blackboard as a child, over and over; the sun is spilling in the window, fading the slate as you write. you start to think about your "right" to be yourself, and you look at your self, the clothes you are wearing, your hands, etc...Then bring both words together at the poem's conclusion, like Hillman, who dramaticized the words' opposite meanings by ending with two strong sentences: You might say, e.g." I will write my name over and over on the glass." Then, "I will disappear: my right."

This poem is taken from The Practice of Poetry by Behn and Twichell.

Scribe Period 3 Wednesday Feb. 22

Our typical Wednesday started off with the usual "Hello, class" with the standard reply of "Hello, Smith". 

We began the day with grammar sentence parts and clauses. 


the frightened cat ran up a tree but was rescued by the fireman
since when did we support that ridiculous charity


Since neither sentence contained a relative pronoun or subordinating conjunction, both were independent clauses, meaning simple sentences.


Next, we got a poem to explicate (a form of annotation), "Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes. We read through it and wrote our thoughts three times, the first time focusing on initial observations, the second on more details and meanings, and the third time on tone, word choice, and the author's purpose.

Langston Hughes

Mother to Son by Langston Hughes           


Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up
And places with no carpet on the floor--
Bare. 
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes join' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now--
For I'se still join', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.


Finally, we got time to work on our seduction/persuasion poem, to be turned in in the form of a comment on the blog post below. Remember, you are making an argument and attempting to persuade someone of something. You can use techniques like ethos (playing on ethics), pathos (playing on feelings), and logos (playing on logic, especially using statistics and facts).


Homework: 
CSAP Limes Packet
Persuasion poem
Don't miss your grading conference with Smith, and remember to bring your rubric when you go. 

February 22

Hey everyone! Today was a typical Wednesday as we continued with our poetry. However,when we walked in today, Mrs. Smith told us about the LPS Foundation Spirit Dinner on April 14. It is a dinner that raises money for the school and we have the opportunity to take part in it! If your are outgoing and social, then talk to Smith before the end of the week and see if you can help with the dinner!  After the announcement, we did our grammar work and found that both sentences were independent which therefore makes them both simple sentences.

the frightened cat ran up a tree but was rescued by the fireman   


since when did we support that ridiculous charity


We then went on to read and explicate the poem, "Mother to Son." For those of you who do not know what explicate is, it means to basically annotate it.

Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor --
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall now --
For I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.


After we read the poem, we went on to writing our seductive/persuasive poem. In the poem, we have to try to convince someone about something they are not willing to do. It can be a couplet, rhyme, have alliteration, and so on; just as long as it is seductive/persuasive. Some things that help support your poem are strategies such as Lego, Ethos, and Pathos. Good luck!

Homework

• CSAP packet (Limes)
• Seductive/persuasive poem (post on the class blog when you finish)

Persuasive poem

This is a poem where you are trying to convince somebody of something they don’t want to be convinced of. The poem is an argument, an attempt to persuade. Think about all the situations where you are trying to convince somebody of something: getting out of a ticket, getting mom or dad to not ground you for breaking curfew, getting a date with your dream girl/boy, getting mom or dad to give you more money, getting a teacher to let you turn in late work.

As far as form, try to use couplets throughout your poem.  Also think about rhetorical strategies such as Ethos, Pathos and Logos. Appeal to the ethics, emotions, and logic of the person you are trying to seduce or persuade.

If you need some inspiration, try Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress".

Good luck!

Scribe 5th hour February 21, 2012

Hope everyone had a great four-day weekend!

Today, class was a bit more relaxed. We hit it off with some grammar, thank you Sanjay. After that Mrs. R redistributed our secrets, and we wrote a poem about that secret.

Grammar

Homework

CSAP packet (Limes) due Friday

Post the secret poem to the class blog

Grammar quiz on Friday

February 21, 2012

Today started with the morning announcements.

There was no 'Hello Class, Hello Smith' today, Mrs. Radistke introduced her self, she was our sub.

We did not do much today.

We passed in our secrets and then they were re-distributed. 

We wrote a poem about the secret that we recieved.

Then we had the rest of the class period to work on CSAP or any other homework that we had.

Homework:

CSAP

Secret poem

I am going to collect all of your secrets and redistribute them. With another person's secret, write a poem telling the story of that secret as if it were your own and addressing what you think about it. Play with form and structure. Remember, think about word choice and descriptions. Paint a picture in your reader's head.

If you are stuck, you could even look back at the secret as if you were older and wiser.

Good luck and be creative!

February 16

Hey everyone!
Today started out with our homework which is

• Wikified Research Paper (due Tuesday)
• *A note card that has on it a secret no one knows about you 
• CSAP packet

Next we took the grammar test which is something I know we all look forward to!We also turned in our CSAP packets and grammar worksheets from this week. Finally, today was our first day starting poetry! Smith had us familiarize ourselves with some poetry words by playing pictionary- I have to admit it was pretty competitive! Here are some of the words we had to get our teams to guess-

• Alliteration
• Allusion
• Assonance
• Ballad
• Consonance 
• Couplet
• and so on...

Overall, it was a pretty good way to end the week:) I hope you all have a great four day weekend! 

*Try to type up your secret or have someone else write it for you. When we get back on Tuesday, the substitute will gather everyone's note cards, mix them up, and then redistribute them. The goal is to take the note card the substitute gives you and write a poem about whatever secret is on that note card.

Scribe 2/16/12 Period 3

                As usual, the class filed in to their seats as Smith gave the usual cry of “Hello Class!” And as usual, the class replied with the standard, “Hello Smith!” However, after the normality of the greeting, the day was far from ordinary. The class started off with the end of the week Grammar quiz, something that everyone was APPOSITIVE that they got all correct (Grammar Joke!). Afterwards, the 3^rd hour class began the poetry unit with a friendly game of Poetry Pictionary! The game consisted of Ms. Smith gathering one person from each team to see the poetry term, and then they went back to their respective groups and attempted to get their team to guess the poetry term. Blood and tears were shed over this intense game. After a long hard struggle of the teams, Alex B., Bekah, Macy, and Savannah came out victorious. Congratulations! Smith then introduced the class to the expectations for the four poems that we will write: creativity and experimentation with the poetic elements that we learned today with the heavy competition of Poetry Pictionary. This weekend, remember to tweak and fine-tune that Wikified Paper, because it is DUE ON TUESDAY! Also, remember to ENJOY THE FOUR DAY WEEKEND!!!

Poetry Terms:

• Alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant sounds in words
• Allusion: a literary reference to a familiar person, place, thing , or event
• Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds without repeating consonants
• Ballad: a poem in a verse form that tells a story
• Consonance: the repetition of consonant sounds
• Couplet: a pair of lines of verse of the same length that usually rhyme
• End Rhyme: the rhyming of words that appear at the ends of two or more lines of poetry
• Figurative Language: language used to create a special effect or feeling
• Free verse: poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme
• Hyperbole: an exaggeration or overstatement
• Imagery: the use of words to create a certain picture in the reader’s mind
• Internal Rhyme: when the rhyming words appear in the same line of poetry
• Metaphor: a comparison of two  unlike things in which no words appear in the same line of poetry
• Meter: the patterned repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry
• Onomatopoeia: the use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning
• Perfect Rhyme: same vowel and ending consonant
• Personification: a literary device in which the author speaks of or describes an animal, object, or idea as if it were a person
• Quatrain: poem consisting of four lines
• Repetition: the repeating of a word, phrase, or an idea for emphasis of for rhythmic effect
• Rhyme: the similarity or likeness of a sound existing between two words
• Rhythm: the regular or random occurrence of sound in poetry
• Simile: a comparison of two unlike things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’
• Symbol: a person, place, thing, or event used to represent something else
• Theme: the statement about life that a writer is trying to get across in a piece of writing
• Tone: the overall feeling or effect created by a writer’s use of words

To see a full agenda, click here 

 

Homework: Wikified Paper Due on Tuesday, secret on a note card, Bring letter writing materials

Image: Weekend. Digital image. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://blackhuff.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/weekend20vis.gif>.

Scribe for Wednesday, 15 of February

“Hello class!”

“Hello Smith!”

Today started with the usual grammar, but today we did both Wednesday's and Thursday's work, seeing that we have Friday off. Smith then helped us with how to answer long questions, which can be seen here and here. We then got the rest of the class time to Wikify our paper, which is due on Tuesday. She also explained some of the things that worried her as he was reading through our papers yesterday. Which includes persona pronouns, incorrect citations, and passive instead of active voice. The complete list can be seen here. We also began signing up for 1 on 1 grading conferences for our paper. WE also have our grammar test tomorrow, along with CSAP and grammar worksheet being due, so make sure to study!

HOMEWORK: outline and compose conclusion, make edits to intro, bodys 1, 2, 3, wikify paper, CSAP and grammar quiz and worksheet

Some  I  bought  I ticket

                           \               \          \
                            \of            \          \for        
                             \ friends    \me     \concert
                                 \                         \
                                  \my                    \
                                                             \the
                             independent clause, simple sentence





Ben               (student)  I   earned        I   scholarship       
                     \    \              \at                                                   \       \                   \
                                      \ a  \ former    \school                                           \a     \prestigious    \teaching
                                                              \       \                                          \        \                   \(gerund)
                                                               \my    \middle