December 12-16: The last week of 2016!

It's here - the week before Winter Break!  We will continue with Huckleberry Finn, learn a few logical fallacies in our argument unit, and take a final vocab quiz for 2016 on Thursday.  Please check Aeries and be sure to turn in any outstanding work for partial credit, and please be sure journals are ready to turn in on Thursday with full pages.

TUESDAY: Journal warm-up. Review Huck Finn and then read Chapters 9 and 10 in class.  Go through first 3 logical fallacies and take notes.  If time, begin reading Chapter 11.

Due: Read Chapters 6-8 of Huckleberry Finn

Homework:  Be sure that journals are ready to turn in on Thursday with full pages for the days you were in class. 

Finish Chapter 11 of Huckleberry Finn.

Study for quiz - vocab and reading.


THURSDAY: Journal warm-up.  Quiz covering vocab and Huckleberry Finn reading.  Go over Huckleberry Finn.  Introduce raft project and show samples.  Add 3 more logical fallacies to notes, group activity with logical fallacies.  Turn in journals.

Due: Chapter 11 of Huckleberry Finn

Homework:

Complete the Huckleberry Finn Raft Project. 

Read Huckleberry Finn, Chapters 12-15, page 63-87.

Have a wonderful and

well-deserved holiday break.

 

I look forward to seeing you

in 2017!

December 5-9

This week we will continue working on the Grapes of Wrath final essay, and begin another journey with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 

MONDAY: Journal warm-up. Show sample essays, type outlines into full rough drafts on laptop.  Pick up Huckleberry Finn book from library.

Due: Detailed outline due to Turnitin.com addressing one of the four Grapes of Wrath essay questions by Monday, December 5 before the beginning of class.

Homework:  Continue working on typing out the outline into a rough draft. The full rough draft will be due on Friday night, December 9 by 10:00 p.m. to Turnitin.com.

WEDNESDAY: Journal warm-up.  Check in re: Grapes essay drafts.  Notes: types of thesis statements and conclusions in argument essays.  Introduction and discussion about Huckleberry Finn and its themes.  Begin reading the book in class.

Due: bring Huckleberry Finn to class.

Homework: Study for quiz, finish Chapters 1-3 of Huckleberry Finn.

Continue working on typing out the outline into a rough draft. The full rough draft will be due on Friday night, December 9 by 10:00 p.m. to Turnitin.com.

FRIDAY: Journal warm-up.  Quiz covering vocabulary, grammar and Huckleberry Finn reading.  Discuss Huckleberry Finn so far, read Chapters 4 and 5 in class.

Due: Chapters 1-3 of Huckleberry Finn.

Homework:
Upload the full rough draft of the Grapes of Wrath essay before Friday night, December 9, 10:00 p.m. to Turnitin.com.

Read Chapters 6-8 of Huckleberry Finn for Tuesday, December 13.

November 28 - December 2

Welcome back!  I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving resting up and having some fun.  We have three weeks before the big one...Winter Break!  We will be going full steam ahead in our argument unit, learning logical fallacies, writing the Grapes essay, beginning The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and enjoying at least one more current events day. 

TUESDAY: Journal warm-up.  Socratic Seminar covering Grapes Socratic Seminar questions.  Receive final essay prompts and go over them. 

Due: Socratic Seminar questions.

Homework: Pick an essay prompt and come to class with 3-4 examples/evidence to support your position.


THURSDAY: (Class comp day - slightly shorter period). Journal warm-up.  Quiz.  Time on laptops to type detailed outlines.

Due: Pick an essay prompt and come to class with 3-4 examples/evidence to support your position.

Homework: Detailed outline of The Grapes of Wrath essay questions due to Turnitin.com by Monday, December 5 before the beginning of class.

November 21 - 23

Welcome to Thanksgiving week!  I am thankful to have so many creative, interesting and talented students this year.  I've really enjoyed reading your narratives and I'm excited for the rest of the semester.

Here's what's on the agenda for the week:

MONDAY: Journal warm-up.  Discuss the controversial ending of The Grapes of Wrath.  Watch the 1940 movie ending and compare and contrast it with the book's ending.  Watch a low budget, twenty-minute student version that is true to the book.  Work on the first of the Socratic Seminar Questions.

Due: Finish reading The Grapes of Wrath.  Be ready to discuss the controversial ending on Monday.  Did it match the rest of the book?  Was it uplifting, unsettling, or both?

Bring your book to class, please!

Homework:  Using your book, please continue to work on the Socratic Seminar questions, due Tuesday, November 29.

WEDNESDAY: (minimum B day) Journal warm-up. Receive vocabulary sheet for next week.  Current issue: migrant workers today. Preview essay questions.

Due: n/a

Homework: Please finish the Socratic Seminar questions, due Tuesday, November 29.

Have a wonderful and well-deserved Thanksgiving Break!

November 14 - November 18

Welcome to the week before Thanksgiving.  We will turn in our third of three outlines and finish The Grapes of Wrath this week.  It is also "Challenge Week" for juniors Monday through Wednesday, with a lighter class load, per the school.  Please be sure to study for the quiz on Thursday covering vocabulary, grammar and Grapes reading.

TUESDAY: Journal warm-up.  Read Chapter 27: what are the scams that Steinbeck describes that the owners and the pickers try to pull on each other?  Vocabulary activity.  Character nomination forms.  Begin reading Chapter 28 in class.

Due: Tiny Houses/Homelessness outline. 

Homework:  Finish reading Chapter 28.  Finish character nomination forms.

THURSDAY: Journal warm-up.  Vocab and reading quiz.  Discuss Chapter 28.  Character exercise.  Collect character nomination forms and vote.  Read Chapter 29 in class.

Due: Finish reading Chapter 28.

Homework: Finish reading The Grapes of Wrath.  Be ready to discuss the controversial ending on Monday.  Did it match the rest of the book?  Was it uplifting, unsettling, or both?

November 7 - 10

Welcome to the first short week in quite some time!  We will meet Tuesday and Thursday, and school will be out on Friday for Veteran's Day.   This week, we'll delve even further into The Grapes of Wrath and we'll explore our third current issue that goes with the novel: homelessness in Los Angeles and the Tiny Houses debate from San Pedro.

TUESDAY: Journal warm-up.  Go over Black Lives Matter outlines and turn them in.  Discuss Chapter 21 and the first 10 pages of Chapter 22.  Read short Chapter 23 out loud in class.  Music from The Grapes of Wrath.   Summarize Chapter 24.  Read selection from Chapter 25.  Read and act out key scene from Chapter 26.

Due: 
Read Chapter 21 and the first 10 pages of Chapter 22, The Grapes of Wrath.  The Joads are about to catch a break. 

Finish Black Lives Matter outlines for Tuesday.

Homework:  Finish reading Chapter 26. 

THURSDAY:  Journal warm-up.  "Tiny Houses for the Homeless" City Council-style discussion roundtable, argument essay outline.

Due: Chapter 26 of The Grapes of Wrath.

Homework:  Finish Tiny Houses outline. 

Read Chapter 28 for next Tuesday - there is a lot of action that takes place in this chapter.  Be ready to discuss.  How do you feel after reading the action scene?

October 31 - November 4

Happy Halloween!  On Monday, we will celebrate with chilling tales, old and new.  Later in the week, we'll work on outlining skills and go over the healthcare outlines you already turned in.  We'll then start work on our second of three outlines; you'll soon choose one and write it into a full essay.


MONDAY: Journal warm-up.  Candy/pretzels.  Candlelight reading of The Cask of Amantillado by Edgar Allan Poe.  View modern, technological sci-fi thriller.   Suggested reading: modern horror - short story The Pelican Bar by Karen Joy Fowler (2009), winner of the Shirley Jackson Award for outstanding literary achievement in psychological suspense and horror.

Due: Read Chapter 20 of The Grapes of Wrath up to page 357 (library version) where Jim Casy interacts with the police.

Homework:  Be sure to have read or listened to Grapes of Wrath Chapter 20 up to page 357 in the library version where Jim Casy interacts with the police.

WEDNESDAY: Journal warm-up. Go over healthcare outlines and allow for updates.  Act out scene from Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 20 and work on character nominations.  
 
Due: Read Chapter 20 of The Grapes of Wrath up to page 357 (library version) where Jim Casy interacts with the police.

Homework:  Finish reading the fight scene (page 357-362) in Grapes of Wrath, up until the point where the four armed men leave. 

Study for quiz.

FRIDAY: Journal warm-up.  Quiz.  Discuss the Joads' interactions with the police and the citizen vigilantes in Chapter 20.  Go through articles discussing the pros and cons of the more recent Black Lives Matter movement, watch video debate.  "Spiderweb" style discussion format.  Work on Black Lives Matter outline. 

Due: Finish reading the fight scene (page 357-362) in Grapes of Wrath, up until the point where the four armed men leave. 

Homework: Read Chapter 21 and the first 10 pages of Chapter 22, The Grapes of Wrath.  The Joads are about to catch a break. 

Finish Black Lives Matter outlines for Tuesday.