Week 2/27-3/3

I am so glad to be starting a new week that is going to be AWESOME! Last week, well, it was rough. I was very disappointed in the students' level of procrastination and cheating that I encountered on the Fahrenheit 451 handout. Due to that, I have devised a remedy that should resolve both the procrastination and the cheating. Instead of students completing a handout throughout the reading, students will be quizzed daily either at the beginning or at the end of the period. The questions will be similar to the handout (still covering the same standards); however, they will be different every period (content will vary). 

On a positive note, I am in the middle of reading some outstanding literary analysis essays for Fahrenheit 451 and Dover Beach. Please click here to view their analysis of the two literary works in response to the prompt. I was blown away by some of these, yay! 

This week, we will start reading "Burning Bright" that last part of Fahrenheit 451. Since students will not have a handout to work on, I would suggest students take notes as we read (either in their books or on a separate sheet of binder paper). These notes will not be collected; however, they can use these notes and the book on all timed quizzes. The timed quizzes will include answering questions using evidence, responding to literature, thematic summaries, explaining literary elements, etc. These are all of the same skills that were on the initial handout just presented in a different way to discourage procrastination and cheating.

Monday
GATE Science Field Trip
Tuesday
Fahrenheit 451 PDF
Fahrenheit 451 Plot Diagram / Character Sketch 
Daily Quiz #1
Wednesday
Fahrenheit 451 PDF
Fahrenheit 451 Plot Diagram / Character Sketch 
Daily Quiz #2
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points at every quarter checkpoint (3/10 and 6/2). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!
Thursday
Fahrenheit 451 PDF
Fahrenheit 451 Plot Diagram / Character Sketch 
Daily Quiz #3
Friday
Fahrenheit 451 PDF
Fahrenheit 451 Plot Diagram / Character Sketch 
Daily Quiz #4

School Newspaper Volume 1, Edition 14

Week 2/20-2/24

Last week, students powered through almost all of "The Sieve and the Sand," Part 2 of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. Within this section, and excerpt of Matthew Arnold's poem Dover Beach is included and students analyzed all four stanzas of the poem. This will definitely help them on their essay test this week. Here is the prompt, if you are curious:

Guy Montag believes that books are what people are missing in their lives; however, Faber corrects him and states that three things are missing from people’s lives: 1) quality information, 2) leisure time to think about the information, and 3) freedom to act based on what they learn. In a well thought out essay, give examples of how Matthew Arnold’s poem Dover Beach proves Faber’s point in relation to Montag and the Fahrenheit 451 society (use evidence from Fahrenheit 451 and Dover Beach to support your claim).

They definitely have some deep critical thinking ahead of them (my favorite). Their skills have grown tremendously and I thoroughly enjoy the in-class discussions that I am getting from them regarding the themes of Fahrenheit 451. They are finally breaking free from having to always have the "right answer" and they are actually looking at things from different perspectives and offering several insights. I love it!

Monday
Holiday
Tuesday
Fahrenheit 451 PDF
Fahrenheit 451 Plot Diagram / Character Sketch / Study Guide Part 2 (Due Wednesday)
Wednesday
Fahrenheit 451 PDF
Fahrenheit 451 Part 2 Essay Test
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points at every quarter checkpoint (3/10 and 6/2). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!
Thursday
Fahrenheit 451 PDF
Fahrenheit 451 Part 2 Essay Test
Friday
Fahrenheit 451 PDF
Fahrenheit 451 Part 2 Essay Test

School Newspaper Volume 1, Edition 13

Week 2/13-2/17

Last week, students worked on their District Writing Test. This essay will be scored using a 4-point rubric. Scores will be higher than usual due to this rubric assessing the structural level versus the analytical level that I normally use to assess essays. 

This week, students will be back to Fahrenheit 451. I was definitely impressed by their literary analysis essays and at the growth that I have seen in their writing over the course of this year. They continue to tell me that essay writing is becoming a lot easier (music to my ears), but still not fun (sad tear). 

Students will need to bring in an unused/sealed box of tissues (any size and any brand) by Thursday. They will decorate them with the poem "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold and with their analysis of the poem. We will use glue, but if you have extra tape, they would probably prefer that (I used both when I made the example box).

Monday
Holiday
Tuesday
Fahrenheit 451 PDF
Fahrenheit 451 Plot Diagram / Character Sketch / Study Guide Part 2
Wednesday
Fahrenheit 451 PDF
Fahrenheit 451 Plot Diagram / Character Sketch / Study Guide Part 2
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points at every quarter checkpoint (3/10 and 6/2). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!
Thursday
"Dover Beach" Tissue Box Assignment
Fahrenheit 451 PDF
Fahrenheit 451 Plot Diagram / Character Sketch / Study Guide Part 2
Friday
"Dover Beach" Tissue Box Assignment
Fahrenheit 451 PDF
Fahrenheit 451 Plot Diagram / Character Sketch / Study Guide Part 2

School Newspaper Volume 1, Edition 12

Week 2/6-2/10

Last week, students watched "Fahrenheit 451" to compare the movie to the novel. There were many differences and most students agree that the novel is much better than the movie. Students also wrote their first literary analysis essay for this novel. Please click here to see some of the "A" essays. This essay was a test to measure students understanding of the novel, ability to understand and dissect a prompt, and ability to write a grade level literary analysis essay. Students had three class periods, the option to work with a partner of their choice, and their notes/novel at their disposal for this 5-paragraph literary analysis essay. Some students did not use their class time wisely and went home having to work on the essay, which was not the intent at all (this was a CHOICE made by them). Even with that said, a 5-paragraph essay where the topic has already been discussed, even when done alone, should take less than three class periods (the amount of class time given). If the trend of students not using their class time wisely (thus creating homework for themselves) continues, I will make all essays in-class only and students will not have the option to work on it at home.

This week, students will be taking an SBAC style district-wide writing assessment using the Illuminate program. The task will include reading three grade-level articles on a district determined topic, taking notes, determining and outlining an argument, writing a 6-paragraph argumentative essay, and editing/revising their essay upon completion. Students will have 5-class periods to complete this assessment (the district suggests two to three class periods, which means this will almost be double the time the district suggests for this assessment). This assessment serves two purposes: to track student writing and to determine what students still need to learn prior to the actual SBAC in order to be successful. It will be graded using the 4-point SBAC rubric by English teachers across the district. Scores will be in Parent Portal as soon as they have been assessed. 

Monday
District Writing Test
Tuesday
District Writing Test
Wednesday
District Writing Test
AR Log Check (Log-5 entries/Signature)
*Students need to be reading an AR book that has a reading level of 3.5+ for 30 minutes 5 nights per week. Students need to earn 35 points at every quarter checkpoint (3/10 and 6/2). Please see the AR Log for more information. GOOD NEWS: Students only need to complete the front side to take an AR quiz!
Thursday
District Writing Test
Friday
District Writing Test

School Newspaper Volume 1, Edition 11