Thur. 8/28/08

Sorry I’m just getting to the daily post!

Here’s what we did today:

AP Lit.: Today you worked all day on your Thesis/Theme assignment from Heart of… Your group assigned hw to each other, so make sure that gets done tonight. The assignment is due at the end of the period tomorrow.  

American Lit. (2,4.6) Today you took your Tuesdays with Morrie Short answer test and second and fourth period turned in their notebooks with their table of contents and the Tuesdays…Study Guide. Sixth period’s notebooks will be collected tomorrow.

HW: Bring your signed parent permission slip for Independent reading and your novel to class.

American Lit. Honors (5) – Today you took your Into the Wild and Tuesdays with Morrie Short answer Test.  HW: Get your Independent Reading Permission Slip signed.

I’m watching the Democratic Convention/The Jags game while simultaneously cooking dinner. Did you know I was this talented?

See you tomorrow.  Mrs. B

Wed. 8/26/08

Good evening! Sorry this post is a little late. I had a 4:30-6 pm meeting at the school board in Green Cove tonight so I just got home, took out my dog and gave her a bone so she’d be occupied so I could sit down and write this post. She’s still in that puppy phase where she has to be doing something all the time and chews EVERYTHING!  Anyhow, here’s what we did today:

AP Lit. – We finished discussing your quotations from Heart of… then I gave you a handout to look over that we’ll be working on Thur. and Friday. Because the discussions with the quotations took a day longer than I had originally had anticipated, your test is now scheduled for Thursday, 9/4.  A copy of the handout is under the AP Lit. tab at the top of this page.

American Lit. (2,4,6) – Today you worked on your Tuesdays with… study guide that you received last week. If you need a copy of the study guide, click on the American Literature handouts section on the top of this page.  Additionally second period received the independent reading handouts today in class. There is a link to them on the American Lit. handouts link.  Sixth period since most of the period was taken up by the “Get Real” video, your test is tomorrow but your study guide is not due until Friday. HOWEVER, second and fourth period’s study guide is STILL DUE TOMORROW. HW: Review for your Tuesday’s….Test. Finish your study guide!

American Lit. honors (5) – Today was not a very hard day. I gave you the day to finish your Tuesdays….Discussion Questions with your group and I answered questions you had at the end of the period.  We talked a little more about Transcendentalism and Realism. I also gave you two handouts: the parent permission slip for independent reading and your Independent Reading Project Rationale. We are gong to the media center on Wed. 9/3 to start this project. HW: Study for your Summer Reading short answer Test on: Into the… and Tuesdays with…

Have a great night!!

Mrs. B

August 26, 2009

Hi all! Today was exciting because my intercom is working — so we get to hear the morning/afternoon announcements and the bell ring for class changes.

Here’s what we did today:

AP Lit.: We continued to review your analysis of your Heart of Darknessquotations. The class took notes on your analysis. This is a good way for you to see how to begin to do a close reading of literature. I am adding in material that you missed in your analysis. Good notes are essential for this class. Keep up the good work!  HW — None BUT know Heart of Darkness like the back of your hand.

American Lit. (2, 4, 6) – Today second period went to the junior meeting and you had about ten minutes left over to work on your study guide for your Tuesdays with Morrie test on Thursday.  Fourth and Sixth period received two handouts: a parent permission slip for Independent Reading (due Tues. 9/2) and an overview of criteria for your book selection.  If you lost your handouts, go to the American Lit. link on the top of this main page and find them under “Independent Reading.”  HW: Review Tuesdays… for your test Thursday.

American Lit. honors (5) – Today I started you on your folder for class. Remember, what we are doing them by unit. Your folder should not be a three-prong binder, but rather a thin, flexible one with pockets and prongs like I’ve shown you in class. See the American Lit. Honors link at the top of this page and click on it to access the current Table of Contents for Unit One.  I also gave you a handout for Tuesdays With Morriewhich is your study guide for the test. Speaking of the short-answer test on Tuesdays…and Into the… it has been changed (yes, I allowed you to talk me into this) to this Thursday, 8/28.  Today, you worked in class on your handout. All the instructions for the assignment are on the top. I am collecting this on Thursday, right before your test.  HW: Study for your short answer test.

See you tomorrow!

Mrs. B

August 25, 2008

Good evening!

Tonight is my first new post for RHS. Go Panthers! I’m excited to begin a new year as your teacher and I’ve enjoyed getting to know each of you bit by bit. Names will take me at least another week. Classes are still leveling out, so each day I gain or lose a student in each class. I promise I’ll get it soon. I hate not knowing all of your names.

Here is how this blog works. Each day I list each class on the main page (where you are right now) and then I write a brief summary of what we did in each class and what the homework is. I occasionally post handouts from the day. In addition, I also post major handouts under each class: American Literature, American Literature Honors, and AP Literature. So, look for the appropriate class if you’ve lost a handout to download and print. 

Okay, here’s what we did today:

AP Literature: We continued our discussion from your homework assignment last week which was to write a significant quotation on the back of an index card, then analyze it on the other side of the index card. Once you came to class the next day (8/19) with your card, we had a discussion of how to analyze a quotation or line from the text. We discussed: word choice (connotation vs. denotation), literary terms, sentence structure and author’s style. Then, last week, you added more information to the back of your index card. Today, we went around the room (didn’t get all the way yet) and you took notes in your AP Lit. spiral or composition notebook. I asked you to allow the first 4-5 pages for a Table of Contents. This class is very notes heavy and since your MAJOR final is your AP Exam, it’s essential that you keep all your notes together and organized all year.  I also checked your homework from last Wed. night (8/20) which was your discussion questions on Heart of Darkness.  HW: Tonight there is not any formal hw but you should KNOW your novel quite well at this point. If you need to do a closer reading on the novel, do so.

Major dates: Friday, 8/29 — Notes for Essay Test on Tuesday

                      Tuesday, 9/2 – Essay Test on Heart of Darkness

American Lit. honors: Today in class we finished our discussion of your Into the Wild quotations plus analysis. We then reviewed your homework from last Wed. 8/20 which was to go on-line and google (separately) the literary genres of Transcendentalism and Realism and either print out the definitions or hand copy them from the Internet. I checked your HW today. We discussed the definitions. Then, I assigned tonight’s hw. 

HW: Using your definitions of Transcendentalism/Realism. find five quotations that are either Transcendentalism or Realism (you can use a blend of both, for example: two Realism quotes/three Transcendentalism quotes) and cite them using MLA style. If you don’t know what that is, I explained it in class, go here and read up on how to do them: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/02/.

After you have selected your quotations, format your page by placing the quoations with MLA citations in the left-hand column and your explanation of why that quotation is Transcendentalism or Realism in the right-hand column next to the quotation you selected. This is due tomorrow.

Important dates (rescheduled due to Fay):

Wed. 8/27 Short answer Test on Summer Reading: Tuesdays with Morrie and Into the Wild

Fri. 8/29 Essay test on Into the Wild

American Literature: Today we continued working on your Tuesdays with Morrie Study Guide. We set up your Table of Contents for your unit folders (your pocket folders with prongs) and this assignment was entry number one. Make sure you have your notebook set up and with you everyday since you NEVER KNOW when I’m going to collect it and all the assignments in it for a grade. If I call your group up and you don’t have your notebook with you, it’s a ten point deduction each day until you hand it to me. Late passes are only usable on individual assignments that are periodically collected. I have read you about four chapters in your summer reading book. Your test has been reassigned due to Fay and is on: Thursday, 8/28.  I just found out after school that I was able to get the media center booked for tomorrow for our independent reading selection, so we will be meeting in class and then going to the media center together.

Hw: No formal HW but re-read or READ Tuesdays…. so you’re ready for your test on Thursday.

See you tomorrow!

Mrs. B