May 31 - June 3

It's the last week of school before finals already!  Be sure to turn in any missing/late work by June 3rd and bring textbooks back to the classroom or directly to the library.

Here's what we have for the week:

TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY: Journal warm-up.  Read sample college essays that have worked and discuss each sample.  Go through Common App and UC prompts and match them with your completed brainstorm sheet.  Which questions allow you to present anecdotes that are highly personal and reflect your best attributes?  More brainstorming/narrowing down.  Last half of class: type up very rough draft in the computer lab.

For this assignment, the minimum requirement is one of the following:
1.  One of the Common App prompts
2.  Two of the four required UC prompts
3. A community college, art school, or vocational tech school prompt (please include the link and prompt at the top of your essay).
4. For those that are not planning on going to school, but straight to work, a detailed and very personalized one-page cover letter emphasizing your strengths and why they are a match for the job in cover letter format. 

Due: Completed brainstorming sheet from last week.  Think about which prompt(s) you may want to answer.

Homework: Complete a very rough draft of your essay for the Common App or 2 short answers from the UC prompts.  Don't worry about word count at this point.  Make sure you can access your drafts electronically so you can work on them in class on Thursday/Friday.

Make sure your journal will be ready to turn in at the end of the next class period. 

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Journal warm-up.  Read more sample essays and discuss.  Go through the final checklist for drafts: push for details, remove cliches, fix any diction/syntax issues.  Work time on laptops.

Due:  Journals will be turned in at the end of the class period.

Full rough draft typed out and accessible online (Googledocs, latest version in e-mail, etc.)

Homework: Polish up your draft with the Final Checklist and make sure it is within the word count parameters.  Have others read it, set it aside, them come back and read and revise it again.

Your final version is due to Turnitin.com on Monday, June 6 at 10:00 p.m.

Please note, due to how far along we are in the semester and the fact that this is your final for the class, NO LATE WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED. Thanks for understanding.

May 23 - 27

We will finish CAASPP this week, and then begin our last tiny unit for the year!  I can't believe there are only 3 weeks left, and none of them are full weeks.  I am in the middle of grading all of the research papers and will have them completed by the end of Memorial Day Weekend.

Please take the opportunity this week to check your grade on Aeries and to turn in any late/missing work.  June 3 is the last possible day I can accept late work: this is posted on the whiteboard in class and I'll announce it each period as well.

The last 2 assignments for class will be turning in the journal on June 2 or 3 and then the narrative/college essay on June 6.  Be sure it's ready to turn in as I can't accept late journals this time.

MONDAY: (5th, 6th) CAASPP Computer Adaptive English Test.  Please bring homework or a book to read in case you finish the CAASPP early.

TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY:  CAASPP Computer Adaptive Math Test. Please bring homework or a book to read in case you finish the CAASPP early.

THURSDAY: (1st, 2nd) Journal warm-up.  Announcements.  Brainstorming activity for the final narrative/college essay writing assignment.   NOTE: Today's classes will be shorter due to the class competition assembly held during 2nd period.

FRIDAY: (5th, 6th) Journal warm-up. Announcements.  Brainstorming activity for the final narrative/college essay writing assignment.  NOTE: Today's classes will be shorter due to the minimum day block schedule.

Homework: Finish the brainstorming questionnaire you began in class.

Read the UC prompts and the Common Application prompts.  Begin to narrow down your topic for the college essay/narrative we'll write next week. 

Bring any English textbooks to the classroom or back to the library asap!

Have a wonderful three-day Memorial Day weekend!

May 16 - 20

This week, CAASPP testing will take place in English class.  Please follow the link for additional information:

http://pvhigh.com/california-assessment-of-student-performance-and-progress-caaspp/

MONDAY/TUESDAY: CAASPP testing.

WEDNESDAY: (no late start) CAASPP testing.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: CAASPP testing.

May 9-13

Welcome back!  This week we'll finish One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and take the book test.  I've really enjoyed experiencing the book with you so far.

MONDAY/TUESDAY: Journal warm-up.  Discuss Part IV, Chapters 1 and 2.  Begin reading Chapter 3 together as a class.  Reminder about the final draft of the research papers that's due to Turnitin.com.  Silent, sustained reading for last 20 minutes of class.

Due: Finish reading Cuckoo's Nest, Part IV, Chapters 1 and 2.

Final version of research paper due on Monday, May 9 by 11:00 p.m. to Turnitin.com.

Homework: Finish the novel (Part IV, Chapters 3 and 4) and be ready for the book test on  Thursday/Friday.

WEDNESDAY: Journal warm-up.  Revisit previous current events and discuss updates.  Introduce next current issue/event.  View "The Hunting Ground" about sexual assault on college campuses, followed by discussion/debate about California's controversial law that was signed last year to combat this problem.

Due: n/a

Homework: Finish the novel (Part IV, Chapters 3 and 4) and be ready for the book test on  Thursday/Friday.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY:  Journal warm up.  Discussion about the book's ending.  Cuckoo's Nest test.  First 30 minutes of CAASP - English performance task lesson given at end of class.

Due: Finish Cuckoo's Nest, Part IV, Chapters 3-4 (end of book).

Homework: n/a.  I would suggest making sure that journal entries are full and complete; they will be collected the week after CAASP testing.

May 2-6

Happy May!  We are already one month away from the end of the school year.  This month, we'll finish the research paper, take a One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest book test, and begin our final assignment for the semester, the narrative essay (which can be used as one of your college essays juniors typically write over the summer). 

MONDAY/TUESDAY: Journal warm-up.  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest group project presentations.  Research paper: peer edit/review rounds. 

Due: Hard (paper) copy of research paper! Your portion of the One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest chapter project.

Homework:Review the summaries written by students covering Parts II and III (to be posted Monday night) here.  Know what happens in the book for Thursday/Friday.

Using your notes from class, finalize the research paper and upload to Turnitin.com by Monday, May 9 at 11:00 p.m.


WEDNESDAY: (1st and 2nd only) Journal warm-up.  Any remaining presentations. Current event article, video, discussion/debate, and vote.

Due: n/a

Homework: Review the summaries written by students covering Parts II and III (to be posted Monday night) here.  Know what happens in the book for Thursday/Friday.

Using your notes from class, finalize the research paper and upload to Turnitin.com by Monday, May 9 at 11:00 p.m.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Journal warm-up.  Vocab/grammar/reading quiz (last one of the year)!  Read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Part IV. 

Due: Review the summaries written by students covering Parts II and III (to be posted Monday night) here.  Know what happens in the book for Thursday/Friday.

Homework: Finish reading Cuckoo's Nest, Part IV, Chapters 1 and 2.

Final version of research paper due on:Monday, May 9 at 11:00 p.m. to Turnitin.com