C.R. Riders of C 105

Quick-start Guide to This Page:

1. Entries are in order from most recent to oldest
2. Lesson events are in black
3. My (the teacher) commentary is in blue
4. Homework assignments are in red
5. Entry dates will be italicized when there is a test, quiz, or other MAJOR due date

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Tues., 30 September 2008

• Caught’Ya
• Vocab. Tests Returned
• Chapter 1+ Study Guide  Reading chapter one and completing its questions are homework if not completed in class from yesterday or today.  If they were completed yesterday, we will begin chapter two today.

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Mon., 29 September 2008

• Caught’Ya
• Vocabulary Assessment  Pictures on Friday took far longer than anticipated; as a result, the vocabulary assessment has been moved to today.  Click here to re-download the words, if needbe.  =)
• Fiction Assessments Returned   All fiction tests have been graded and entered.  In addition to your returned test, you will also receive a grade printout and a fiction test self analysis.  I will walk you through the analysis; if you failed or earned a “D,” you must return the test and analysis with a signature.  If you passed, tomorrow you should return the analysis for my review.
• Animal Farm novel guide distribution/QAR labeling  Click here to download our novel guide.  You might also be curious to download the actual test study guide now so you can begin to study early.
• Commence Animal Farm–chapter 1. 

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Fri., 26 September 2008

• Picture day!
• Caught’Ya Assessment

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Thurs., 25 September 2008

• Caught’Ya
• Review of allegory, symbolism, and propaganda techniques
• Teacher read-aloud: Dr. Seuss’ The Butter Battle Book This book is a phenomenal allegory of the Cold War. Download a handout of questions about The Butter Battle Book here.
• Questions/discussion of propaganda techniques and Cold War comparison When we start class on Monday, we will look for ways that the book, Animal Farm, relates to what we’ve learned about the Cold War.

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Wed., 24 September 2008

• Caught’Ya
• PowerPoint: Follow this link to view our PowerPoint about allegory, symbolism, and the Cold War.
• DVD clip Brendan Frazier stars in Blast from the Past. The first 8 minutes are a great clip that highlight Cold War/Age of Anxiety concerns for the American public. This clip will help you to understand how very afraid Americans were of the perceived Communist threat.
• Discussion We will discuss propaganda in Blast from the Past and how it relates to contemporary global fears.

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Tues., 23 September 2008

• Caught’Ya
• Test makeups (for students who were absent)
• Notes on Critical Lenses Download the Introduction to Critical Lenses PowerPoint. Considering Animal Farm from both the Marxist and Feminist perspectives will help us to better understand the psyche of the Age of Anxiety.
• Vocabulary study (Shostak # 1) We need a (short) break from fiction. To ensure that you understand the basic definitions of these words, we’ll play Bingo; this will enable you to peruse your terms for a bit.
• Vocabulary bingo

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Mon., 22 Sept. 2008

• Fiction Assessment

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Thurs., 18 Sept. 2008

• Caught’Ya
• Vocabulary Pre-Test
• Fiction test practice/discussion
• Vocabulary study game

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Wed., 17 Sept. 2008

• Caught’Ya
• Study guide distribution REMEMBER–your fiction ASSESSMENT (50 points that count!) is next Monday, 22 Sept. 2008. Download the study guide here.
• Complete group work/group presentations

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Tues., 16 Sept. 2008

• Caught’Ya
• Fiction study groups Now that we have learned key fiction terms and explored them in isolation in “The Monkey’s Paw,” “The Most Dangerous Game,” and “The Gift of the Magi,” students will work in small groups to examine these terms in all three stories at once. Working together, students will explore the concepts assigned to their group, compare and make notes, and then transfer definitions and notes about how these fiction terms work within each story onto poster paper. Poster paper will be presented to the class tomorrow. If you are absent and seeing this assignment, select the work of one group and work with it by yourself. Be prepared to join a group upon your return. The assignments are as follows: Group 1: theme and character; group 2: point of view and conflict/main conflict; group 3: setting and its affect on mood, as well as plot; group 4: irony and foreshadowing.
  

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Mon., 15 Sept. 2008

• Library Orientation Report directly to the library. We will learn about the library’s resources, meet our librarians, and check out books. =)
  

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Friday, 12 Sept. 2008

• Caught’Ya Assessment # 3
• Shostak # 1 Distribution Half of our vocabulary this year will come from a workbook called the Shostak Level D workbook. These words will be incorporated into our Caught’Yas and other class work. From now on, we will have vocabulary quizzes on Fridays, where applicable. Your first Shostak quiz on unit 1 will occur on Wed., 24 Sept. 2008. To view the vocabulary list for Unit 1, follow this link.
  
• Continued work on irony in “The Most Dangerous Game”
  

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Thursday, 11 Sept. 2008

• Caught’Ya
• Irony discussion
• Reading “The Most Dangerous Game” (pg. 178+) Taking notes on irony, where relevant

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Wednesday, 10 Sept. 2008

• Caught’Ya
• Review of basic grammar rules (to date) Click here to download the rules (PowerPoint).
• Fiction quiz After a short reading, students will answer two multiple choice questions, one short answer, and one extended response. (22 points) This is a QUIZ, so the grade will not “count” on your report card!

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Tues., 9 Sept. 2008

• Caught’Ya
• Continue coding setting and mood in “The Monkey’s Paw”
• View video clip of “The Monkey’s Paw” from The Simpsons This short clip (approximately 6.5 minutes) will help us to understand parody, compare authors’ use of setting to create mood, and reinforce theme.
• Individual short writings/fiction quiz Students should explain, in one to two paragraphs, how setting affects mood and how, combined, these elements help to create the theme. In another paragraph or two, students should explain how the elements of plot create irony in “The Monkey’s Paw.”
  

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Mon., 8 Sept. 2008–OPEN HOUSE TONIGHT!!! 7:00 to 9:00

• Grammar warm-up/Pd. 2 Assessment retakes
• Reading “The Monkey’s Paw” I realize that many of you have read this story before. This time, we are reading with the distinct goal of analyzing how setting and mood affect one another. Students should read the story, pausing at the end of each column to take a note on a Post-It note about whether the words (1) created the setting, (2) reinforced the setting, or (3) caused the setting to change. We will work on this throughout class, pausing throughout to compare notes with classmates as we self-monitor our reading comprehension.

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Fri., 5 Sept. 2008

• Grammar Assessment (10 points)
• Completing the notes on irony, foreshadowing, and theme (see Thurs., 6 Sept. 2008 for PowerPoint)

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Thurs., 4 Sept. 2008

• Grammar warm-up/homework questions checked
• Discuss the lyrics/listen to “The Five Elements of the Short Story” Rap
  
• Student overhead demonstrations Student volunteers will orally share their answers to their answers to post-reading questions for “The Gift of the Magi” on the overhead. As a class, we will determine the “best answer” for each question, and a student volunteer will transcribe the answers on an overhead transparency.
• Take notes on brief PowerPoint: irony, foreshadowing, & theme. Students should revisit and update their notes, if necessary. (Download the notes here.)
• Read “The Monkey’s Paw” aloud (EMC textbook 168-179) Students may either use the graphic organizer (displayed in miniature-form on page 168) or jot down questions on notebook paper in note form as we read.

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Wed., 3 Sept. 2008

• Grammar warm-up
• QAR & theme review
• Reading “The Gift of the Magi” (EMC textbook 274-281) Students should jot down questions about the characters’ actions and motivations as we read, paying particular attention to potential foreshadowing.
• Questions: Labeling QAR and answering in two-point format. We should finish these questions in class; they are homework if you do not finish.
• Homework: Complete the questions for “The Gift of the Magi” (page 281)

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Tues., 2 Sept. 2008

• Grammar warm-up/quizzes from Thursday, 28 August 2008 returned
• Notes: QAR/Reading Strategies PowerPoint. All students are capable of making meaning from the stories and texts we read. So that students gain a better understanding of how to help their minds to process text information, we will take notes on QARs (Question Answer Relationships) and key reading strategies. Click here to download the QAR/Reading Strategies PowerPoint.
• Quick oral review: discussion of QARs, theme, & foreshadowing
• Reading “Gwinlan’s Harp” in the textbook (pages 266-271)
• Labeling “in-text” questions To practice right there, think & search, author & you, or on my own, we will work together to verbally label the questions in the little shaded blue boxes within the story