Thirty-Ninth Class Period: Classifying Nonfiction & the Importance of Personal Narrative

Mr. Stone distributed two tables showing common nonfiction genres organized by primary intention/form of discourse. One of the tables had definitions for each of the genres; the other did not.

The class reviewed the definition for each genre. Students should study these definitions for the nonfiction unit test. Their knowledge of these terms will be assessed through matching and/or multiple-choice questions.

The table without the definitions should be studied by students to prepare for a separate portion of the nonfiction unit test that will assess their knowledge of the classification of nonfiction genres. On the test, about a quarter to a third of the genres listed in the table will be removed and placed in a word bank below the table. Students will need to place the names of the missing genres back in their proper location on the table.

In light of the students recent reading of biographical and autobiographical texts, Mr. Stone described the rise in popularity of memoirs in the 1990s. He compared the dominant traditional patterns of different genders in autobiographies.

Mr. Stone emphasized the culture influences on an individual's understanding of his/her life's story. He described how a teenager's personal stories, the stories of his/her religious community, and his/her wider surrounding community provide the patterns and archetypes from which a teenager projects a vision of the type of person he/she wants to be, a vision of pattern of his/her personal narrative. (See James Fowler's Becoming Adult, Becoming Christian for more on this concept.)

Homework: Read Rudolfo Anaya's "A Celebration of Grandfathers" (662-668).

Remember that students from all periods should bring the autobiography/biography that they have selected for the second quarter book report to class on Thursday, November 1st.

Thursday is Reading Day

On Thursday, November 1st, students will need to bring their selected autobiography/biography for their second quarter book report to class.

We will be using our shortened class period for silent sustained reading. (The schedule on Thursday is shortened due parent-teacher conferences.)

Thirty-Eighth Class Period: Comma Test & Nonfiction

After a prayer, students took a test over commas.

When they were finished with their test, they read an excerpt in their textbook from Lady Bird Johnson's A White House Diary (674-679).

Homework: Read John McPhee's "Arthur Ashe Remembered" and Joan Didion's "Georgia O'Keeffe" (683-690)

Tomorrow in class, students will have a quiz over the reading, discuss the classification of nonfiction, and discuss their sentence combining assignment from the weekend.

Thirty-Seventh Class Period: First Quarter Grade Reports & Library

Grade Reports
Mr. Stone distributed grade reports (except to period one when the classroom printer was not functioning) and returned recent papers. Students were encouraged to review their papers and check them against their grade reports.

Mr. Stone recollected the students' first quarter book reports, Short Story Test Part A, and Short Story Test Part B.

Mr. Stone will be reviewing the Short Story Test Part B to consider alternate answers for five questions.

Library
Students went to the school library to browse for an autobiography or biography to read for their second quarter book reports. Their selections must be at least 150 pages and should not be more than 300 pages without approval from the instructor.

Students may obtain an autobiography/biography from another source if they desire; ultimately, they need to have an autobiography/biography in hand to read for class on Thursday, November 1, 2012.

Homework: Study for the comma test to be taken at the beginning of the next period. Students should review the comma rules handout, and the two comma practice sheets. Students may also find links to online practice quizzes on the upper right-hand corner of this blog.

First Quarter Grades

I have submitted my first quarter grades. Assignments from this quarter will be added in a couple of days once the office is done collecting the data.

Mr. Stone

Thirty-Sixth Class Period: Sentence Combining and Common Sentence Errors

Devotional Text: Luke 11:33

Mr. Stone checked that students had completed the second comma practice worksheet and went over the correct answers.

Students should review the handout with the comma rules and their corrected practice sheets for their test next week.

Mr. Stone distributed a handout titled "Options for Combining Clauses" (L12) and discussed it with the class. Students then copied notes on "Common Sentences Errors" (L13).

Students examined an example of poor writing from an answer to a short essay question on the last test. (Some periods worked on rewriting the sentences from the test answer.)

Homework: Combine the following two sets of clauses using the "Options for Combining Clauses Sheet." Combine each set of clauses in the six patterns listed on the sheet. You will have written-out by hand twelve answers when you have completed this assignment.

Set One

In autumn the days grow shorter.

Children have less time to play outside safely.

Set Two

Forecasters have warned the East Coast of "Frankenstorm."

This monstrous combination of a hurricane, a winter storm, and northern frigid air will likely cause historic damage.


Example Set

Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants became the fourth player ever to hit three home runs in a World Series game.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tweeted his congratulations.


Leave them as two independent clauses.
1. Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants became the fourth player ever to hit three home runs in a World Series game on Wednesday. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tweeted his congratulations.

Use a coordinating conjunction.
2. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tweeted his congratulations, for Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants became the fourth player ever to hit three home runs in a World Series game on Wednesday.

Use a semicolon and a conjunctive adverb.
3. Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants became the fourth player ever to hit three home runs in a World Series game on Wednesday; thus, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tweeted his congratulations.


Use just a semicolon.
4. Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants became the fourth player ever to hit three home runs in a World Series game on Wednesday; Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tweeted his congratulations.

Subordinate one of the clauses.
5. Since Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants became the fourth player ever to hit three home runs in a World Series game on Wednesday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tweeted his congratulations.

6. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez tweeted his congratulations because Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants became the fourth player ever to hit three home runs in a World Series game on Wednesday.


Note: This assignment must be handwritten.

Thirty-Fifth Class Period: Comma Practice

Mr. Stone went over the correct answers for the first comma practice worksheet.

Students began working on the second comma practice worksheet near the end of the period.

Homework: Complete Comma Practice #2.

Thirty-Fourth Class Period: More Comma Principles and Practice

Students continued to learn to sing "Lord of My Life" for a devotional.

Mr. Stone discussed the comma principles of introductory, interrupting and conventional elements.

Students began working on Comma Practice Sheet #1.

Homework: Complete Comma Practice Sheet #1.

Note: One week from this period, students will take their comma test.

Interactive Notebooks: First Quarter

Be sure to make sure your interactive notebook contains the following materials:

Short story unit cover sheet

Yellow genre focus sheet: the short story

L1 Conflict Notes
R1 Conflict Journal Entry

L2 Plot Diagram
R2 The Most Dangerous Game Plot Diagram

L3 Events from "The Interlopers"
R3 Interlopers Plots

L4 "The Most Dangerous Game" Vocabulary
R4

L5 "The Interlopers" Vocabulary
R5

L6 "One Ordinary Day, With Peanuts" Vocabulary"
R6

L7 Character Notes
R7 Character Journal Entry

L8 Sample Character Traits
R8 Second Character Journal Entry

L9 Setting Notes
R9 "The Man to Send the Rain Clouds" & "The Invalid's Story" Setting Notes

L10 Theme Notes
R10 "The Invalid's Story" Theme

L11 Description Techniques Notes
R11 Political Cartoon with Bibliographic Information

There should be one drawing for R4, R5, or R6.

Thirty-Third Class Period: Linguistic Registers, Personal Identity, & Formal English

Mr. Stone told a series of stories to illustrate how we speak differently to different people. He advocated maintaining the language of one's heritage as well as adding formal English skills to open economic additional social and economic opportunities.

Students examine two principles of comma use: series and coordinate.

Homework: Make sure your interactive notebook from first quarter is complete. Bring it to the next class for submission.

Thirty-Second Class Period: Peer Critique of Film Analysis Essay

Mr. Stone sang "Lord of My Life" for a devotional.

Students peer critiqued the rough draft of a partner's film analysis essay. Mr. Stone checked for the completion of the student's rough draft of the film analysis essay.

Homework: Complete a revised draft of the film analysis essay.

Thirty-First Class: Description

Mr. Stone lectured on description. Students wrote notes (L11) and cut out a political cartoon from a recent newspaper. They attached the cartoon to a sheet of notebook paper (R11) and recorded the name of the newspaper, its date, the section and page number.

Mr. Stone checked for the completion of the students' prewriting for the film analysis essay.

Homework: Write a rough draft of the film analysis essay.

Thirtieth Class Period: More Prewriting for Film Review

Mr. Stone explained how to construct a classic funnel-shaped introduction and introduced the "They Say/I Say" pattern. Students worked with Mr.Stone's help to complete the first two-thirds of the introduction prewriting table.


Students had class time to work on completing their remaining two body-paragraph prewriting tables, the remainder of the introduction prewriting table, and the conclusion prewriting table.

Homework: Finish the four remaining prewriting sheets for the film review essay.

Twenty-Ninth Class Period: Film Review Prewriting

Devotional Text: Matthew 9:27-31

Mr. Stone went over the packet of information students received before they began watching The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. He distributed an additional two-four prewriting sheets.

Students had class time to begin completing two of the expository body paragraph prewriting sheets.

Homework: Complete two of the expository body paragraph prewriting sheets.

Twenty-Eighth Class Period: Finish Viewing Walter Mitty Video

Students finished viewing a video version of James Thurber's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."

A volunteer student modeled how to upload a document to turnitin.com.

Homework: Submit an electronic copy of your first quarter book report to turnitin.com.

Twenty-Seventh Class Period: Final Draft of First Quarter & Walter Mitty

Students submitted the final draft of their first quarter book reports at the beginning of class.

They continued viewing a movie adaptation of James Thurber's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."

Homework: Create the assigned online account.

Period 2

5666001

essay

Period 1

5665976

movie

Period 6

5665760

life

Period 5

5664392

secret

Period 7

5661089

walter

Twenty-Sixth Class: Peer Editing First Quarter Book Report

Devotional Text: 1 Corinthians 13:4

Mr. Stone reviewed MLA format and went over his expectations for the students' editing of their first book report.

Students are responsible for italicizing the titles of book, capitalization, end marks, and MLA format (1" margins, header, heading, title, double-spacing, 12 pt font, work cited page).

Be sure and review the sample book report on the right side of this blog.

Homework: Complete final draft of book report.


The final draft of the book report is due 10 October 2012 for periods 5, 6, & 7 and 11 October 2012 for periods 1 & 2.

Preparing a Revised Draft of Your Book Report

Review the comments from your classmate who completed the peer critique of your rough draft.

BE SURE TO BRING YOUR HIGHLIGHTED ROUGH DRAFT AND THE COMPLETED PEER CRITIQUE SHEET TO CLASS WITH YOUR ROUGH DRAFT. You will receive credit for these items being completed.

Review your rough draft with the peer critique sheet yourself. Make sure you have all the required components.

Create a revised draft of your paper:

Delete any unnecessary material.

--Do you have any unnecessary paragraphs?
--Are your summary paragraphs each ten sentences in length?

Add any missing required material.

Consider the quality of the material you have included.

--Do your concrete details adequately show your reader what you are describing as the positive/negative attributes of the book?

--Do your two or more sentences of commentary for each concrete detail show the reader how your concrete detail/example reflects the viewpoint of the paragraphs viewpoint and the paper's overall viewpoint (more positive if you are recommending the book/more negative if you are suggesting your classmates avoid the book)?

Make sure your paragraphs are well organized.

Format your paper in the Modern Language Association Style:

--Make sure there is double-spacing throughout the whole paper. Double-check to make sure you do not have triple spacing between your paragraphs.

--Make all margins one inch wide.

--Insert automated page numbering in the upper righthand corner of the header with your last name immediately to the left of the page number. Leave one space between your last name and the page number.

--Make sure you have a proper heading. Place your first and last name on the first line, the instructor's name on the second line (Mr. Stone), the course name on the third line (English I-1, English I-2, English I-5, English I-6, or English I-7), and the paper's due date on the fourth line in the international date format--day, month, year (10 October 2012).

--Include a specific title for your paper.

--Make sure you have a work cited page.

The student's rough draft with revision marks counts towards the points for getting a peer critique. A student receives credit for a revised draft if they have made significant content, organizational, and or format changes to their paper and bring a clean printed copy to class.

Wise students will make an electronic copy of their revised paper available to themselves by e-mailing a copy to themselves or saving a copy to an online location such as Google Documents (aka Google Drive).

Twenty-Fifth Class Period: Peer Critiquing 1st Qtr Book Report

Mr. Stone checked for the completion of the prewriting for the first quarter book report:

*introduction prewriting
*plot Summary paragraphs prewriting(worksheet completed/two paragraphs)
*four analysis sheets
*closing paragraph prewriting

Mr. Stone also checked for the completion of a rough draft of the book report. The draft needed to contain a minimum of seven paragraphs.

Homework: Complete a revised draft of the book report.

Rough Draft of Book Report Delayed One Day

Since many students had a test and a major project due at the same time as the rough draft of the book report, the deadline for the rough draft of the book report has been delayed a day.

The rest of the due dates for this assignment will come one day later than previously scheduled.

Twenty-Third Class Period: Prewriting Day Two

Devotional Text: Proverbs 2:2

Mr. Stone distributed and discussed two prewriting sheets: introduction and conclusion.

Students had class time to complete prewriting.

Homework: Complete a double-spaced, typed rough-draft of your book report. Be sure it contains an introduction, two paragraphs of plot summary, three paragraphs of supporting analysis, a conclusion, and a work(s) cited page.

Twenty-Second Class Period: Prewriting Day One

Mr. Stone described the requirements for prewriting the two plot summary/synopsis paragraphs and the four potential analytical paragraphs.

See the summary prewriting handout and the expository prewriting sheet on the left side of this blog under book report.

Homework: Complete the prewriting for the summary/synopsis paragraphs and the for analytical paragraphs