Writing Center today during lunch; sophomores NEED to come have their memoirs reviewed.
APees: Creative Writing for Jane Eyre. Friendly reminder #1--focus paper due Monday! Friendly reminder #2--Romanticism creative project due next Wednesday! Friendly reminder #3--Super-easy Jane Eyre check-reading test Friday!
Gifted English II: The Elements of Style, rules 1-11; review techniques for memoir writing; if time, "The Second Coming" by Yeats.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
I will be in the Writing Center today, even though it isn't my usual day. SOPHYS: Take advantage of the WC this week. Really.
APees: Jane and Shelley: "Ozymandias" and mutability.
Gifted English II: Chinua Achebe and his vision of the world.
APees: Jane and Shelley: "Ozymandias" and mutability.
Gifted English II: Chinua Achebe and his vision of the world.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!
Contrary to many beliefs, the English like to claim St. Paddy even more than the Irish. He was sent by the Pope to evangelize in Ireland, but he was actually English. Dun-dun-dun. I will be wearing green to avoid being pinched, since I'm half-Irish. (The other percentage is Lebanese, but we don't have any cool dress-up days for that ethnicity.) Happy Day! Also, for some of you, this is leading up to Holy Week, with Easter on Sunday. To that end, and rather than get into a big theological discussion about anything, I wanted to mention to you that PEEPS are a lot of fun for Easter. You can microwave them to turn them into "art" or you can merely play with them for hours of sugary fun. Check out this website: www.lordofthepeeps.com.
Oh, and I have a bad cold, so I don't know how much my lecturing will be understandable today. We'll try!
APees: You should have finished reading Jane Eyre by now; if you haven't, I am pretending that you have because we jave things to discuss and plot spoilers to fling. Hint: BERTHA BERTHA BERTHA. Focus paper is due Friday; creative writing in-class is Wednesday, and Romanticism creative project is due next Wednesday. In other words, hours of fun before the end of this quarter. HOURS. I spent about an hour this weekend preparing a wild diagram of this entire novel, in geographic/theme form, and I even did it in green ink for your delectation. So come early, stay awake, and enjoy the Art.
Gifted English II: After we share our MadLibs, we need to clarify the memoir assignment and then do some reading in class. We have a new outside reading pending and I want to get well underway before Spring Break.
Contrary to many beliefs, the English like to claim St. Paddy even more than the Irish. He was sent by the Pope to evangelize in Ireland, but he was actually English. Dun-dun-dun. I will be wearing green to avoid being pinched, since I'm half-Irish. (The other percentage is Lebanese, but we don't have any cool dress-up days for that ethnicity.) Happy Day! Also, for some of you, this is leading up to Holy Week, with Easter on Sunday. To that end, and rather than get into a big theological discussion about anything, I wanted to mention to you that PEEPS are a lot of fun for Easter. You can microwave them to turn them into "art" or you can merely play with them for hours of sugary fun. Check out this website: www.lordofthepeeps.com.
Oh, and I have a bad cold, so I don't know how much my lecturing will be understandable today. We'll try!
APees: You should have finished reading Jane Eyre by now; if you haven't, I am pretending that you have because we jave things to discuss and plot spoilers to fling. Hint: BERTHA BERTHA BERTHA. Focus paper is due Friday; creative writing in-class is Wednesday, and Romanticism creative project is due next Wednesday. In other words, hours of fun before the end of this quarter. HOURS. I spent about an hour this weekend preparing a wild diagram of this entire novel, in geographic/theme form, and I even did it in green ink for your delectation. So come early, stay awake, and enjoy the Art.
Gifted English II: After we share our MadLibs, we need to clarify the memoir assignment and then do some reading in class. We have a new outside reading pending and I want to get well underway before Spring Break.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Wheeeeee! FCAT is done (except for a few make-up tests, but those will be in the cafeteria.) I can return to my little slice of heaven in the 300 hall and play with my disco balls and my huge clock and all of my wonderful, wonderful BOOKS. A classroom just isn't the same without an endless number of books from which I can randomly select and say, "It's just like this! Look at this (poem, story, pop-up art, wheel-y toy, artist's rendering)" without having to leave my room. I love an overabundance of source material. One is never bored with lots of literature around. Really.
APees: Jane Eyre deliciousness coming to a close; yes, I'm sad, too. Focus paper pending.
Gifted English II: The Craft of Memoir, and some analogies, and a new outside reading assignment.
APees: Jane Eyre deliciousness coming to a close; yes, I'm sad, too. Focus paper pending.
Gifted English II: The Craft of Memoir, and some analogies, and a new outside reading assignment.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Last day of FCAT testing en masse--make-up tests will be administered tomorrow in the cafeteria.
Same locations and expectations as the previous two days, with one notable exception: I have sophomores third period, so I will be noodling around in 10-209 grading papers and doing make-up work with students. If you need a place to be, you are welcome to join me, but please bear in mind that once I see you I HAVE TO KEEP YOU. You cannot release yourself on your own recognizance; you cannot sojourn to Bakery Plus to soothe the savage beast of boredom; you cannot engage in interpretive dance throughout the Kemo Sabe Commons. (I still can't believe that we call that uninspiring swath of concrete the KSC. Yick. It is marginally better than years ago when a rusted metal overhang loomed over that area and it was called the Kemo Sabe Lobby. Say that out loud three or four times. . .)
Lesson plans essentially the same; poetry, reading, and joy, and lots of make-up work.
Same locations and expectations as the previous two days, with one notable exception: I have sophomores third period, so I will be noodling around in 10-209 grading papers and doing make-up work with students. If you need a place to be, you are welcome to join me, but please bear in mind that once I see you I HAVE TO KEEP YOU. You cannot release yourself on your own recognizance; you cannot sojourn to Bakery Plus to soothe the savage beast of boredom; you cannot engage in interpretive dance throughout the Kemo Sabe Commons. (I still can't believe that we call that uninspiring swath of concrete the KSC. Yick. It is marginally better than years ago when a rusted metal overhang loomed over that area and it was called the Kemo Sabe Lobby. Say that out loud three or four times. . .)
Lesson plans essentially the same; poetry, reading, and joy, and lots of make-up work.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
FCAT Continues!!!
See previous posts about locations and expectations.
If you are on my second period roll, then we will be bonding over literature in room 10-209 in the Foreign Language building. Lesson will be same as yesterday's: Keats, Bronte, and Big Ideas.
The rest of the day will be a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Sophys: You may rest your weary eyes in sixth period. The test is enough pressure for one day.
See previous posts about locations and expectations.
If you are on my second period roll, then we will be bonding over literature in room 10-209 in the Foreign Language building. Lesson will be same as yesterday's: Keats, Bronte, and Big Ideas.
The rest of the day will be a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Sophys: You may rest your weary eyes in sixth period. The test is enough pressure for one day.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008: Enter the FCAT
The FKitty is upon us and you need to remember where to go.
SOPHOMORES: Report directly to your assigned testing room. Do you have pencils? Did you leave your cell phones in your lockers/at home? Did you eat a nutritionally balanced breakfast? Have you had adequate sleep? No pressure, but since you are the most academically talented 10th graders at this school, some parties are expecting you to do extremely well for yourselves and for the greater good. BE WELL AND DO WELL. This is another critical rite of passage necessary for that whole Becoming an Adult thing.
APees: If you are on my first period roll, or if you truly have no place to go, find me in room 10-209. Bring a bottle of water and a snack--I will NOT be able to dismiss you until the all-call does. There will be a bathroom across the hall for emergencies/student comfort, and I will divide the period as reasonably as possible to facilitate learning/reduce homicidal urges on the part of students trapped with, well, me for that long. Tehee.
Scheduled lesson for the day: Keats and the Nightingale; questions about Jane Eyre; moments of English Romanticism for reflection, thought, and your delectation.
SOPHOMORES: Report directly to your assigned testing room. Do you have pencils? Did you leave your cell phones in your lockers/at home? Did you eat a nutritionally balanced breakfast? Have you had adequate sleep? No pressure, but since you are the most academically talented 10th graders at this school, some parties are expecting you to do extremely well for yourselves and for the greater good. BE WELL AND DO WELL. This is another critical rite of passage necessary for that whole Becoming an Adult thing.
APees: If you are on my first period roll, or if you truly have no place to go, find me in room 10-209. Bring a bottle of water and a snack--I will NOT be able to dismiss you until the all-call does. There will be a bathroom across the hall for emergencies/student comfort, and I will divide the period as reasonably as possible to facilitate learning/reduce homicidal urges on the part of students trapped with, well, me for that long. Tehee.
Scheduled lesson for the day: Keats and the Nightingale; questions about Jane Eyre; moments of English Romanticism for reflection, thought, and your delectation.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Very important note: This is FCAT week, which for many of you means that you will be engaging in standardized testing. We could argue about the validity of such tests, but that is no doubt a topic for a more suitable forum, and let's face facts--the FCAT is here to stay, and the American public as a group demands some form of accountability. What are you learning? How well can you disseminate the knowledge you have so carefully gained? These are questions that the FCAT ostensibly answers.
Juniors will be taking FCAT Science on Tuesday; 9th and 10th graders will be testing almost all week. The testing schedules will be posted on the Guidance windows and at the Media Center; also, I will be circulating a testing list today to all of my sophys so they know where to go.
I will be teaching as if it were a normal day on Monday and Friday in room 313.
On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the schedule is altered, as is my location. Please read the following carefully.
TUESDAY: All seniors who have previously passed FCAT will report to their first period class and plan to stay there. Bring something to drink and a snack; fortunately for us, we have a student bathroom right across the hall from our relocation room and no one is testing in our building. You will be locked down with me experiencing a modified AP Lit schedule until the testing is complete; expect to be in room 10-209 with me from three to four hours. If this sounds unpalatable to you and you'd prefer to attend my fifth period class, you may sign in to Attendance with a parent note. I plan to mark all students as present unless directed otherwise. Again--I will be in room 10-209, Mrs. Fisher's French I room. At this point, I plan to give you the first hour for reading Jane Eyre/focused study hall; then teach a lesson for about an hour; then give you a break; then review AP testing strategies; then give you a break; and so on. I will NOT be lecturing for three hours on the virtues of John Keats, although I could. I just think that's cruel.
WEDNESDAY: Repeat as above, but with second period only. If you do not have a scheduled second period, or have a VCC class, I'd sign in with a parental note around 10:45 and go to fourth, fifth, and sixth periods. Today's testing should not be as lengthy or onerous as yesterday's due to mitigated testing circumstances.
THURSDAY: Repeat as above, but with third period only. Same rules apply.
SUMMARY: I will be in room 10-209 for three consecutive days, three periods each day. I need to see my morning APees at some point in there so they don't fall behind. I do not have a scheduled third period class but I can harbor fugitives who have no other place to go, so long as you understand that we are LOCKED DOWN and I cannot let you leave (except for a bathroom break if things become dire.) Thus, the schedule for seniors will be Tuesday: 1,4,5,6; Wednesday: 2,4,5,6; and Thursday: 3,4,5,6. I wish it were easier but this is the best solution we could come up with considering the significance of testing.
TODAY'S LESSONS
APees: "When I Have Fears" by John Keats; review of "Urn" and review requirements for creative project. Assign due date for creative project (March 26).
Gifted English II: Final review push for FCAT and finish memoir discussion of "Lake." Go over memoir assignment for you.
Juniors will be taking FCAT Science on Tuesday; 9th and 10th graders will be testing almost all week. The testing schedules will be posted on the Guidance windows and at the Media Center; also, I will be circulating a testing list today to all of my sophys so they know where to go.
I will be teaching as if it were a normal day on Monday and Friday in room 313.
On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the schedule is altered, as is my location. Please read the following carefully.
TUESDAY: All seniors who have previously passed FCAT will report to their first period class and plan to stay there. Bring something to drink and a snack; fortunately for us, we have a student bathroom right across the hall from our relocation room and no one is testing in our building. You will be locked down with me experiencing a modified AP Lit schedule until the testing is complete; expect to be in room 10-209 with me from three to four hours. If this sounds unpalatable to you and you'd prefer to attend my fifth period class, you may sign in to Attendance with a parent note. I plan to mark all students as present unless directed otherwise. Again--I will be in room 10-209, Mrs. Fisher's French I room. At this point, I plan to give you the first hour for reading Jane Eyre/focused study hall; then teach a lesson for about an hour; then give you a break; then review AP testing strategies; then give you a break; and so on. I will NOT be lecturing for three hours on the virtues of John Keats, although I could. I just think that's cruel.
WEDNESDAY: Repeat as above, but with second period only. If you do not have a scheduled second period, or have a VCC class, I'd sign in with a parental note around 10:45 and go to fourth, fifth, and sixth periods. Today's testing should not be as lengthy or onerous as yesterday's due to mitigated testing circumstances.
THURSDAY: Repeat as above, but with third period only. Same rules apply.
SUMMARY: I will be in room 10-209 for three consecutive days, three periods each day. I need to see my morning APees at some point in there so they don't fall behind. I do not have a scheduled third period class but I can harbor fugitives who have no other place to go, so long as you understand that we are LOCKED DOWN and I cannot let you leave (except for a bathroom break if things become dire.) Thus, the schedule for seniors will be Tuesday: 1,4,5,6; Wednesday: 2,4,5,6; and Thursday: 3,4,5,6. I wish it were easier but this is the best solution we could come up with considering the significance of testing.
TODAY'S LESSONS
APees: "When I Have Fears" by John Keats; review of "Urn" and review requirements for creative project. Assign due date for creative project (March 26).
Gifted English II: Final review push for FCAT and finish memoir discussion of "Lake." Go over memoir assignment for you.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
APees: Jane Eyre character response/close reading of the text; set calendar for reading day.
Gifted English II: Othello Unit Test and distribute memoir assignment.
Gifted English II: Othello Unit Test and distribute memoir assignment.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Tonight is the travel meeting for the upcoming Italy trip--7 p.m. in my classroom.
APees: Continue with "Ode" and take a teeny quiz on the poem; go over Romanticism project expectations; discuss Jane Eyre and its cultural connections.
Gifted English II: "Once More to the Lake" by E.B. White and content vocabulary; additional review for Othello unit test.
APees: Continue with "Ode" and take a teeny quiz on the poem; go over Romanticism project expectations; discuss Jane Eyre and its cultural connections.
Gifted English II: "Once More to the Lake" by E.B. White and content vocabulary; additional review for Othello unit test.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Counting down to FCAT madness!
APees: "Ode on a Grecian Urn" on page 971 in the literary anthology today, which will lead into the Romanticism Creative Project. Good times. Keep reading Jane Eyre.
Gifted English II: Several things today--FCAT testing tips, introduction to Memoir Writing (with quotes from Virginia Woolf, et al) and a friendly reminder to please get a copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White ASAP.
Upcoming: Othello Unit Test on Friday.
APees: "Ode on a Grecian Urn" on page 971 in the literary anthology today, which will lead into the Romanticism Creative Project. Good times. Keep reading Jane Eyre.
Gifted English II: Several things today--FCAT testing tips, introduction to Memoir Writing (with quotes from Virginia Woolf, et al) and a friendly reminder to please get a copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White ASAP.
Upcoming: Othello Unit Test on Friday.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
APees: After various announcements, let's finish "Dejection: An Ode" by Coleridge and start Keats with "On First Looking Into Chapman's Homer," the Petrarchan sonnet about discovery and passion. Moral homework for tonight: What inspires you? Real homework for tonight: Read over the poem once more, and continue progressing in Jane Eyre.
Gifted English II: Finish final scene of Othello; FCAT Practice Session.
Gifted English II: Finish final scene of Othello; FCAT Practice Session.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
APees: Discussion of Jane Eyre (Chapter 19: Cross-Dressing as a Dating Technique; Chapter 20: Speaking Fondly of the Fiancee as a Dating Technique) and two more stanzas of "Dejection."
Gifted English II: FCAT Practice Fun Madness and review of how to structure the Othello focus paper--due tomorrow!!!
Gifted English II: FCAT Practice Fun Madness and review of how to structure the Othello focus paper--due tomorrow!!!
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