Friday, January 16, 2009

TEACHER WORK DAY

Stay home and enjoy your four-day weekend!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

4^TH PD EXAM

9:30 – 12:14

1^ST PD

LUNCH ROTATION WILL REVOLVE AROUND 1^ST PD

SAME TIME FRAME

SAME BUILDINGS FOR 1^ST AND 2^ND LUNCH

NOTE: All of my students for first period will report to A LUNCH and then come to 313. We will use the period for make-up work and to start watching Julius Caesar on video.

7^TH PD EXAM

1:45 – 4:24

Grades are due by 5 p.m., so please understand if your teachers aren't particularly friendly immediately after school.

Friday, January 16 is a work day for teachers--most of us won't be in, since grades will already be submitted. I do plan to come in and work on lesson plans in the morning for a few hours.

Semester Exams: Wednesday, January 14

2^ND PD EXAM:

9:30 – 11:45

4^TH PD:

NORMAL 4^TH PD AND LUNCH ROTATION

Lesson: Frankenstein and possible film tie-in (depending on time)

6^TH PD EXAM

1:08 – 3:24

Semester Exams: Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Here is the schedule for Tuesday, January 13, 2009:

1^ST PD EXAM:

9:30 – 11:30 AM

5^TH PD: (review)

11:36 – 12:14 Lesson Plan: Frankenstein and The Gothic Novel; final review for semester test

4^th PD:

NORMAL 4^TH PD AND LUNCH ROTATION

5^TH PD EXAM:

1:45 – 3:45

2^ND PD: (review)

3:51 – 4:2

Semester Exam Schedule: Monday, January 12, 2009

Thanks you in advance to my AP Literature students who agreed to take their semester test early, or in another period. The new grade deadline has complicated matters a bit, but together we shall annihilate any obstacle in our path!

Here is the exam schedule for today, with our planned activities written in for your information:

0 PD EXAM:

8:30 AM

(Note: I don't have a zero period, but anyone who needs to make up the JC memorization or needs to make up a quiz, come by. I'll be here.)

3RD PD EXAM:

9:30 AM – 11:30 AM AP Literature and Composition; early test-takers only

Anyone else in need of a place to study needs to go to the Media Center. This room is testing.

2^ND PD:

11:36 – 12:14 Julius Caesar memorizations, part II, and JC review for exam

AP Lit Classes; semi-normal (forty minutes each)

LESSON: "Frankenstein: Birthing the New Female Gothic" and collect Frankenstein reading journals.

4^TH PD:

NORMAL 4^TH PD AND LUNCH ROTATION

5^TH PD:

1:45 – 2:34

6^TH PD:

2:40 – 3:29

7^TH PD:

3:35 – 4:24

Upcoming Schedule

As you know, our final exam schedule is challenging this year for two reasons: A) for the second year in a row, with the laster start time in August, we have had to push exams to after Winter Break, which can pose difficulties for students who need continuous instruction prior to tests of this magnitude, and B) we were not given early release days to test due to the flipped bell schedule. Thus, exams will encompass all of the four-day week beginning on the 12th, and will be sandwiched between "normal" class periods.

I have adjusted the academic schedule as much as possible to incorporate review for the exams into new material. Please see the adjusted schedule for both classes below:

AP Literature and Composition:

Monday, January 5: Frankenstein Reading Journal reminder and suggestions; Introduction to Romanticism and Victorian/Gothic Literature (lecture/discussion, with notes). Bring your lit book tomorrow to class.

Tuesday, January 6: Continue with Romantic ideology and Wordsworth; "The World is Too Much With Us" from literary anthology. BRING YOUR LIT BOOK.

Wednesday, January 7: Final MC Practice Session (ten points, for free!) of the semester. Bring a pencil.

Thursday, January 8: Final Exam Review Session #1--sample questions, review of characters and themes, review of literary terms.

Friday, January 9: Final Exam Review Session #2--review of Shakespearean characters, plot elements, and themes; close review of R and G Are Dead preparatory to test. (Note: There are some questions on the exam about Frankenstein, but they are very general and mostly connected to the context of the notes I gave you before Winter Break.)

During the exam week, we will have class sessions in altered time frames. Be sure to double-check the schedule each day so you know where to land. Your reading journals are due by January 14, regardless of if I see you that day or not. Please note the preposition: by January 14. Earlier submissions will be given kinder consideration, so plan accordingly.

Gifted English II:

Monday, January 5: Review key concepts from Julius Caesar; friendly reminder of JC memorizations due by Friday, the 9th (as above for the APees, earlier completions will be graded a smidge more nicely, so consider coming in early to knock that assignment out), Venn diagram of the two major speeches in Act III, scene ii.

Tuesday, January 6: Distribute exam reviews; make-up work schedules for those of you who have been absent; finish Act III, predictive reading preparatory to a possible quiz Thursday.

Wednesday, January 7: Timed Writing on Julius Caesar. You'll love it. Really.

Thursday, January 8: Little quiz on Julius Caesar, followed by Part I of our exam review. Today: terms and people to know.

Friday, January 9: part II of the exam review; plot points, grammar concepts, possible reading passages to consider.

Welcome to 2009!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

It's 2009 and we're feeling fine! Getting ready for the home stretch, people--for the seniors, we're about to launch headfirst into your FINAL SEMESTER IN HIGH SCHOOL. For the sophys, it's going to go so fast--registration for next year's courses, FKitty Fun, preparation for AP Language next year, and prepping for this spring's AP Exams.

Can we do it?

Yup!

Check this space tomorrow and throughout the week for updates and notes.

2009 is going to be fantastic--a lot of work, but great opportunities for each of you. I really hope that you enjoyed your Winter Break and are ready to hit the ground running on Monday, January 5.

FRIENDLY REMINDER #1: Seniors--Frankenstein! Read it, journal it, love it. Reading Journal is due on the 14th; I'll copy and paste the assignment here on the blog first thing Monday.

FRIENDLY REMINDER #2: Sophys--JC Memorization Assignment due on the 9th. You've had almost a month, but for those of you who Know Who You Are, I anticipate that you will suffer a mild panic attack on the evening of the 8th. Or, God forbid, the morning of the 9th. . .