Tuesday for Periods 2, 5 & 6 and Wednesday for Periods 1 & 7
After completing ten minutes of vocabulary drills and taking a vocabulary test on Membean, students began viewing Ben Stiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Homework: Write a summary of the portion of the movie viewed in class. It should be at least one page if it is single-spaced and handwritten or a half-of-a-page long if it is double-spaced and typed.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Monday, October 30, 2017
Picking an Autobiography/Biography
Students met in the library for class. Mr. Stone reviewed the definitions for autobiography and biography and showed the students the online catalog and where to browse for a biography or autobiography in the library.
Most students checked out books. When students were done selecting a book, they were to spend ten minutes practicing vocabulary drills on Membean.
Students who did not select a book from the library need to find a book from home, another library, or a bookstore.
Parent approval forms are due at the beginning of the next class. (You can find the form on the top right-hand side of this blog. Students should print it out and get a parent's signature.
Homework: Complete parent approval form for the next book report.
Most students checked out books. When students were done selecting a book, they were to spend ten minutes practicing vocabulary drills on Membean.
Students who did not select a book from the library need to find a book from home, another library, or a bookstore.
Parent approval forms are due at the beginning of the next class. (You can find the form on the top right-hand side of this blog. Students should print it out and get a parent's signature.
Homework: Complete parent approval form for the next book report.
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Homework for the First Day of Quarter Two
For the first class period of the second quarter, students should reread James Thurber's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" in preparation for a quiz.
After Membean and the quiz, students will go to the library to select a biography/autobiography to read for second quarter.
Students may get a biography from another library or book store if they desire. The book should be age appropriate and be at least two hundred pages in length.
After Membean and the quiz, students will go to the library to select a biography/autobiography to read for second quarter.
Students may get a biography from another library or book store if they desire. The book should be age appropriate and be at least two hundred pages in length.
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Complete Sample Prewriting Table
Essay Topic: Jack London's The Call of the Wild
Your Claim of the General Topic: claim of quality--excellent; claim of action--recommend to read
Subtopic: action scenes
Your Claim about the Subtopic: heighten drama with unexpected obstacles
Topic Sentence (subtopic + claim): London's action scenes heighten the drama for readers with unexpected obstacles.
Concrete Detail 1: "Straight at the man he launched his one hundred and forty pounds of fury, surcharged with the pent passion of two days and nights. In mid air, just as his jaws were about to close on the man, he received a shock that checked his body and brought his teeth together with an agonizing clip." pp. 27-28, Ch. 1
Commentary 1:1: London sets up readers to believe Buck will win with his description of Buck's size, passion, and launching action.
Commentary 1:2: He heightens reader's sense of drama with the surprise "shock" of the man's club.
Concrete Detail 2: "He did not check himself, but drove in upon Spitz, shoulder to shoulder, so hard that he missed the throat. They rolled over and over in the powdery snow. Spitz gained his feet almost as though he had not been overthrown, slashing Buck down the shoulder and leaping clear."
Commentary 2:1: Words like "drove" and "so hard" lead readers to look for an easy win for Buck.
Commentary 2:2: London creates an elevated sense of excitement by suddenly placing Buck's opponent back on his feet.
Concrete Detail 3: "When he felt him grasp his tail, Buck headed for the bank, swimming with all his pleaded strength. But the progress shoreward was slow; the progress down-stream amazingly rapid."
Commentary 3:1: London creates surprising drama in action scenes that are not even fights.
Commentary 3:2: Buck's "splendid strength" is put in doubt against the "amazingly rapid" flow of the stream.
The words highlighted in pink (It may look purple on your screen.) are the words repeated from the concrete detail in the commentary that help to make a connection.
The words highlighted in green are repeated words/synonyms of words from the claim in the topic sentence.
Good commentary provides a clear explanation of how a concrete detail/example supports the claim of the supporting paragraph's topic sentence. It's your explanation of your example.
As much as possible, use key words from the claim and from the concrete detail/example in each sentence of commentary to help the reader of your essay to see the connection.
Using carefully selected synonyms of your claim can help to clarify what you are saying.
At this point, don't worry about highlighting. Focus on getting your four prewriting tables filled out.
At this point, don't worry about highlighting. Focus on getting your four prewriting tables filled out.
Sample Prewriting Chart with Commentary
Here's the first part to get you started. I'll add the other two examples after I eat supper.
Monday, October 23, 2017
Vocabulary Test & Finding More Concrete Details
Monday 23 October 2017 for Periods 1, 2, 5, & 6 and Tuesday 24 October 2017 for Period 7
After students drill vocabulary for ten minutes, they took a twenty-question vocabulary test on Membean.
Periods which had not seen both the presentation on claims and the presentation on paragraph construction saw the presentation they had missed.
Mr. Stone emphasized the relationship between the paragraph construction in the presentation and the language for the paragraph construction on the paragraph prewriting sheets.
Students received three more persuasive body paragraph prewriting charts. They were to write the title of the book they read for the essay topic on each sheet. They were instructed to highlight the word "Subtopic" blue on each sheet and highlight pink each of the concrete detail labels in the left-hand column of the chart.
Homework: Fill in the subtopic and the three concrete details on the second persuasive body paragraph prewriting chart.
After students drill vocabulary for ten minutes, they took a twenty-question vocabulary test on Membean.
Periods which had not seen both the presentation on claims and the presentation on paragraph construction saw the presentation they had missed.
Mr. Stone emphasized the relationship between the paragraph construction in the presentation and the language for the paragraph construction on the paragraph prewriting sheets.
Students received three more persuasive body paragraph prewriting charts. They were to write the title of the book they read for the essay topic on each sheet. They were instructed to highlight the word "Subtopic" blue on each sheet and highlight pink each of the concrete detail labels in the left-hand column of the chart.
Homework: Fill in the subtopic and the three concrete details on the second persuasive body paragraph prewriting chart.
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Turnitin.com & Selecting Concrete Details to Support Your Viewpoint on a Subtopic
Thursday 19 October 2017 for Periods 5 & 6 and Friday 20 October 2017 for Periods 1, 2, & 7
After ten minutes of practicing vocabulary on Membean, students set-up a Turnitin.com account and uploaded their typed summary of their two-paragraph summary of the novel they read for their first quarter book review. (If a student missed this period, upon returning to class, he/she should ask Mr. Stone for the correct ID code and key word for their section.)
Mr. Stone spent time discussing the use of Turnitin.com in his class.
In the last part of the period, students turned their attention to gathering concrete details to support their viewpoint of their chosen subtopics.
Mr. Stone asked students to review their t-chart. Which side had more items listed on it? Which side was easier to write? The answers to these two questions will likely lead a student to identify their viewpoint. Students who had an easier time filling out the "Strengths of the Book/What You Liked" column are likely to want to argue the book is a good book (claim of quality) and that others should read it (claim of policy). Students who had an easier time filling out the "Weaknesses of the Book/What you Disliked" column are likely to want to argue the book is poorly written (claim of quality) and that others should avoid reading it (claim of policy). If your columns filled up rather equitably, a student may choose either side to argue or argue that the book is mediocre (claim of quality) and determine whether they wish to recommend the book or not (claim of policy).
Students were to highlight in purple the "Strengths of the Book/What You Liked" column if they were recommending the book because of its quality or to highlight in purple the "Weaknesses of the Book/What You Disliked" column if they were arguing others should avoid the book.
Once an overall viewpoint has been established, students should review the list of points listed under the column title they highlighted in purple. (Mr. Stone requires that they have at least seven points listed under this column and at least three under the column they are not choosing to argue.) Pick out the four points/subtopics that will be used to support your argument about the quality of the book. Highlight these four points/subtopics on the t-chart in blue. Keep in mind that you will need to find at least three examples/concrete details from the text to support each subtopic you choose.
Students received a Persuasive Body Paragraph Prewriting Chart in class. Mr. Stone directed them to highlight the subtopic line blue and each of the three concreted detail lines in pink.
Homework: Complete the four highlighted portions of the prewriting chart.
Select one of the four points/subtopics highlighted in blue, and write it on the line next to the word "Subtopic" that you highlighted blue.
Find three different examples of the subtopic you chose (e.g. suspenseful passages, descriptive passages, admirable characters, action scenes, etc.). These are three different examples of the same subtopic. In other words, all the examples should be examples of one subtopic. If the paragraph will be about suspense, then all the examples should be of suspenseful passages from the book. If the paragraph will be about excellence in description, then all the examples should be examples of descriptions.
Write the page number (if you have a print version of the book) or the chapter number (if you have e-text) of your first concrete detail or example under the words "Concrete Detail 1" in the cell where you highlighted the words "Concrete Detail 1" pink.
Quote the passage you are using for your example/concrete detail in the cell directly to the write. Try to quote only one to three sentences. Use ellipsis points to indicate you are leaving out words in the middle if the passage is longer.
Do the same thing for your second and third examples/concrete details.
Will discuss writing commentary in the next class.
After ten minutes of practicing vocabulary on Membean, students set-up a Turnitin.com account and uploaded their typed summary of their two-paragraph summary of the novel they read for their first quarter book review. (If a student missed this period, upon returning to class, he/she should ask Mr. Stone for the correct ID code and key word for their section.)
Mr. Stone spent time discussing the use of Turnitin.com in his class.
In the last part of the period, students turned their attention to gathering concrete details to support their viewpoint of their chosen subtopics.
Mr. Stone asked students to review their t-chart. Which side had more items listed on it? Which side was easier to write? The answers to these two questions will likely lead a student to identify their viewpoint. Students who had an easier time filling out the "Strengths of the Book/What You Liked" column are likely to want to argue the book is a good book (claim of quality) and that others should read it (claim of policy). Students who had an easier time filling out the "Weaknesses of the Book/What you Disliked" column are likely to want to argue the book is poorly written (claim of quality) and that others should avoid reading it (claim of policy). If your columns filled up rather equitably, a student may choose either side to argue or argue that the book is mediocre (claim of quality) and determine whether they wish to recommend the book or not (claim of policy).
Students were to highlight in purple the "Strengths of the Book/What You Liked" column if they were recommending the book because of its quality or to highlight in purple the "Weaknesses of the Book/What You Disliked" column if they were arguing others should avoid the book.
Once an overall viewpoint has been established, students should review the list of points listed under the column title they highlighted in purple. (Mr. Stone requires that they have at least seven points listed under this column and at least three under the column they are not choosing to argue.) Pick out the four points/subtopics that will be used to support your argument about the quality of the book. Highlight these four points/subtopics on the t-chart in blue. Keep in mind that you will need to find at least three examples/concrete details from the text to support each subtopic you choose.
Students received a Persuasive Body Paragraph Prewriting Chart in class. Mr. Stone directed them to highlight the subtopic line blue and each of the three concreted detail lines in pink.
Homework: Complete the four highlighted portions of the prewriting chart.
Select one of the four points/subtopics highlighted in blue, and write it on the line next to the word "Subtopic" that you highlighted blue.
Find three different examples of the subtopic you chose (e.g. suspenseful passages, descriptive passages, admirable characters, action scenes, etc.). These are three different examples of the same subtopic. In other words, all the examples should be examples of one subtopic. If the paragraph will be about suspense, then all the examples should be of suspenseful passages from the book. If the paragraph will be about excellence in description, then all the examples should be examples of descriptions.
Write the page number (if you have a print version of the book) or the chapter number (if you have e-text) of your first concrete detail or example under the words "Concrete Detail 1" in the cell where you highlighted the words "Concrete Detail 1" pink.
Quote the passage you are using for your example/concrete detail in the cell directly to the write. Try to quote only one to three sentences. Use ellipsis points to indicate you are leaving out words in the middle if the passage is longer.
Do the same thing for your second and third examples/concrete details.
Will discuss writing commentary in the next class.
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Using a T-Chart to Determine a Viewpoint & Introduction to Persuasive Claims & Paragraph Construction
Wednesday 18 October 2017 for Periods 5 & 6 and Thursday 19 October 2017 for Periods 1, 2, & 7
After fifteen minutes of Membean vocabulary practice, students completed a T-chart about the strengths and weaknesses of the book each student read for their book review.
Students were to attempt of find seven strengths and seven weaknesses.
After students completed the T-chart, they highlighted the top of the column they were choosing.
Mr. Stone shared a Prezi on "The Five Types of Claims" by Jane Davis. He also shared a PowerPoint on paragraph construction.
Homework: Type the two-paragraph summary of the book that was completed for last night's homework. Use Google Docs to make it easy to upload the document to Turnit.com.
Each paragraph of the summary should be between eight and ten sentences.
After fifteen minutes of Membean vocabulary practice, students completed a T-chart about the strengths and weaknesses of the book each student read for their book review.
Students were to attempt of find seven strengths and seven weaknesses.
After students completed the T-chart, they highlighted the top of the column they were choosing.
Mr. Stone shared a Prezi on "The Five Types of Claims" by Jane Davis. He also shared a PowerPoint on paragraph construction.
Homework: Type the two-paragraph summary of the book that was completed for last night's homework. Use Google Docs to make it easy to upload the document to Turnit.com.
Each paragraph of the summary should be between eight and ten sentences.
Tuesday, October 17, 2017
The Writing Process & Summarizing the Book You Read
Tuesday 17 October 2017 for Periods 2, 5 & 6 and Wednesday for Periods 1 & 7
After fifteen minutes of Membean, Mr. Stone shared a list of four different writing process models. He discussed with students which model was most like the one(s) with which they were familiar and spent time talking through opening stages of Donald Murray's model, which is the least like the models the students have encountered.
Mr. Stone also shared about the process he was taking to produce his upcoming newspaper column.
Students need to write a summary of the novel they read for their first book report in two paragraphs. Each paragraph should contain eight to ten sentences. They should write out their summary by hand.
Mr. Stone warned students about trying to fake whether they had read the book they said they would read. He informed them that the final draft of their report would be submitted to Turnitin.com, a plagiarism checker that compares students' papers to content on the Internet as well as the company's vast databases. He encouraged the students to be honest about what they had read and not read and to work out arrangements if they were not done reading.
Homework: Students should finish writing the two-paragraph summary of the novel they read.
Note: Period 7 had a study hall on Tuesday, October 17th since they have four periods this week and all the other periods only have three.
After fifteen minutes of Membean, Mr. Stone shared a list of four different writing process models. He discussed with students which model was most like the one(s) with which they were familiar and spent time talking through opening stages of Donald Murray's model, which is the least like the models the students have encountered.
Mr. Stone also shared about the process he was taking to produce his upcoming newspaper column.
Students need to write a summary of the novel they read for their first book report in two paragraphs. Each paragraph should contain eight to ten sentences. They should write out their summary by hand.
Mr. Stone warned students about trying to fake whether they had read the book they said they would read. He informed them that the final draft of their report would be submitted to Turnitin.com, a plagiarism checker that compares students' papers to content on the Internet as well as the company's vast databases. He encouraged the students to be honest about what they had read and not read and to work out arrangements if they were not done reading.
Homework: Students should finish writing the two-paragraph summary of the novel they read.
Note: Period 7 had a study hall on Tuesday, October 17th since they have four periods this week and all the other periods only have three.
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
More on Short Story Test Three
Short Story Unit Test Three
Thursday 12 October 2017 for Periods 5 & 6 and Friday 13 October 2017 for Periods 1, 2, & 7
Part One: Literary Terms Applied
Use your story analysis sheet and the Quizlet set for literary terms to study for this portion of the test. Questions will be multiple choice in this section.
Part Two: Literary Terms Definitions
Use the Quizlet set "Short Story Literary Terms" to study for this portion. Thirteen of the terms will be tested in this section.
Part Three: More Literary Definitions
Use the Quizlet set "Short Story Literary Terms" to study for this portion. Another thirteen of the terms from the "Short Story Literary Terms" will be tested in this section.
Part Four: Dynamic Character
Describe a dynamic character from one of the eight short stories analyzed in this course. Include
the name of the short story,
the name of the character,
a clear statement identifying that character as dynamic,
the name of the character trait the character exhibited at the beginning of the story,
the name of the corresponding character trait the character exhibited at the end of the story,
and several sentences explaining the cause for the character's change in trait.
Use the story analysis sheets to help you prepare your response as well as referring back to the text of the specific story you have selected. Your looking for a character who we identified as having a dynamic change.
The example I used in class was a character who had gone from selfish to generous. These are not the specific dynamic traits of any of the characters in the stories we have analyzed, but rather an example of the type of pair of character traits you should find in the story analysis sheets.
Part Five: Theme
Students will be given moral and theme sentences. They will need to match each sentence with its corresponding story. They will also need to identify whether each sentence is a theme or a moral.
Use the "Short Story Themes and Morals" set on Quizlet to prepare for this section.
Friday, October 6, 2017
Reminder of Upcoming Short Story Tests
Short Story Unit Test One
Tuesday 10 October 2017 for Periods 2, 5 & 6 and Wednesday 11 October 2017 for Periods 1 & 7
Part One: Matching Authors & Titles
Part Two: Listing Basic Elements of a Story
Part Three: Identifying Points on a Plot Line
Part Four: Identifying Quotes
Part Five: Selected Vocabulary from the Stories
Part One: Listing Elements of Setting
Part Two: Connecting Elements of Setting and Stories
Part Three: More Connecting Elements of Setting and Stories
Part Four: The Function of Setting in a Story
Part Five: Identifying Point of View
Tuesday 10 October 2017 for Periods 2, 5 & 6 and Wednesday 11 October 2017 for Periods 1 & 7
Part Two: Listing Basic Elements of a Story
Part Three: Identifying Points on a Plot Line
Part Four: Identifying Quotes
Part Five: Selected Vocabulary from the Stories
Short Story Unit Test Two
Wednesday 11 October 2017 for Periods 5 & 6 and Thursday 12 October 2017 for Periods 1, 2, & 7
Part Two: Connecting Elements of Setting and Stories
Part Three: More Connecting Elements of Setting and Stories
Part Four: The Function of Setting in a Story
Part Five: Identifying Point of View
Short Story Unit Test Three
Thursday 12 October 2017 for Periods 5 & 6 and Friday 13 October 2017 for Periods 1, 2, & 7
Part One: Literary Terms Applied
Part Two: Literary Terms Definitions
Part Three: More Literary Definitions
Part Four: Characterization
Part Five: Theme
Test Review
During the last two periods of this week, students continued to review for next week's tests by taking notes on the story analysis sheets and spending time studying the sets on Quizlet for Mr. Stone's English I class.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Mock Point of View Test
After prayer, students spent ten minutes practicing their vocabulary on Membean, students took a practice (mock/imitation) point of view test. Mr. Stone went over the answers with the class and suggested strategies for identifying point of view in narration.
Mr. Stone discussed the concepts of theme and moral and how to determine the theme and/or moral of a story.
Students spent time practicing study sets on Quizlet.
Homework: Continue to study for next week's tests. Work on completing your story analysis sheets. (Spend at least twenty minutes study for this class.)
Mr. Stone discussed the concepts of theme and moral and how to determine the theme and/or moral of a story.
Students spent time practicing study sets on Quizlet.
Homework: Continue to study for next week's tests. Work on completing your story analysis sheets. (Spend at least twenty minutes study for this class.)
Monday, October 2, 2017
Vocabulary Test 2 & Short Story Unit Test Review
Students practiced their vocabulary for the first ten minutes of class and then took their second individualized vocabulary test. (Students will have a retake opportunity later this week if they are not satisfied with their score.)
Mr. Stone announced the content and format for the first short story test.
Students joined Mr. Stone's Quizlet Class: LLA English Fall 2017.
Homework: Begin studying using Quizlet sets and notes for the upcoming tests.
Mr. Stone announced the content and format for the first short story test.
Students joined Mr. Stone's Quizlet Class: LLA English Fall 2017.
Homework: Begin studying using Quizlet sets and notes for the upcoming tests.
Short Story Unit Tests
Students will be tested over the short story unit for three days next week.
Part One: Matching Authors & Titles
Part Two: Listing Basic Elements of a Story
Part Three: Identifying Points on a Plot Line
Part Four: Identifying Quotes
Part Five: Selected Vocabulary from the Stories
Part One: Listing Elements of Setting
Part Two: Connecting Elements of Setting and Stories
Part Three: More Connecting Elements of Setting and Stories
Part Four: The Function of Setting in a Story
Part Five: Identifying Point of View
Short Story Unit Test One
Tuesday 10 October 2017 for Periods 2, 5 & 6 and Wednesday 11 October 2017 for Periods 1 & 7Part Two: Listing Basic Elements of a Story
Part Three: Identifying Points on a Plot Line
Part Four: Identifying Quotes
Part Five: Selected Vocabulary from the Stories
Short Story Unit Test Two
Wednesday 11 October 2017 for Periods 5 & 6 and Thursday 12 October 2017 for Periods 1, 2, & 7
Part Two: Connecting Elements of Setting and Stories
Part Three: More Connecting Elements of Setting and Stories
Part Four: The Function of Setting in a Story
Part Five: Identifying Point of View
Short Story Unit Test Three
Thursday 12 October 2017 for Periods 5 & 6 and Friday 13 October 2017 for Periods 1, 2, & 7
Part One: Literary Terms Applied
Part Two: Litery Terms Definitions
Part Three: More Literary Definitions
Part Four: Characterization
Part Five: Theme
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