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Writing Right has moved to Pre-AP English 10 Cafe.

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Christmas Break Is Here!

Last updates:

1. I ordered $300+ of new books! According to an email that I received this morning, they have already been shipped!
2. Am grading papers this weekend...keep checking the online grades. As weird as this sounds, I am hoping to have a surgery over break to remove a cyst on my wrist, so I am working to get the paperwork completed before then.
3. I will be switching class blog URL's when we return to class next year so that we can go back to using the mrsg.homework@gmail.com email. With your using gmails, I also need to use one for class, that way all correspondence communicates better.

Please enjoy your break! Should you have time...remember to read a good book! I started a new one last night! My goal is to read some every day!

Take care...and Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, Dec. 15

Today's Menu:

1. Writer's Notebooks are due.
2. Julius Caesar content and vocab tests.
3. Review for semester test.

Other Deadlines:

• Wednesday - Julius Caesar essay...remember strong arguments acknowledge the other side. Also remember...I have read this drama = no need for summaries! Just present the data to support your argument. Line references = great!
• Thurs/Friday - Semester Test
• Friday, 8 AM - Blogs due!

REMINDER: Have you turned in all your books....The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, Seven Habits..., Julius Caesar (may turn in when you submit your essay)....other novels?

Three days left....Merry Christmas!

To write or to write?

Writer's Notebooks are due in class on Tuesday! Click here for a list of topics.

Your Writer's Notebook and your blog posts (list of topics here) will count as one test grade (see rubric here).

Reminder: blogs are not due until Friday, 8:00 AM.

Thanks!

Friday, December 11

Recite lines!

Listen/read Act 5.

Julius Caesar Test

• Shakespeare/JC Background PowerPoint
• Terms/notes...
• Content
• Vocabulary...30 words

Due next week:

1. JC Essay...due by Wednesday.
2. Blog posts...due Friday (Dec. 18), 8 AM.
3. Writer's Notebook...due in class on Tuesday.

Wed., Dec. 9

Quiz over Act 2!



Listen/read Acts 3-4.



Enjoy!

Mon., Dec. 7

Writer's Notebook: Remember these lines? Now listen to the story "Chrysanthemum." Reflect on why you think people make fun of people's names. Have you ever made fun of someone's name? Has someone ever made fun of your name? How did this make you feel?

Time for Caesar!

1. Submit your name paragraphs to mrsg.homework@yahoo.com. Please remember to put your class name and assignment in the subject line: 3B: Name paragraph.
2. Vocab quiz today!
3. Now let's continue on with Act 2-3.
4. Terms to know thus far....blank verse, puns, foreshadowing, soliloquy, imagery, dramatic irony, anachronism.
5. Predicting outcomes: Who will assume power after Caesar's death? How will the people react to Caesar's death? Support with evidence from Acts I and II.
6. Assignment: Choose your essay!

Thursday, Dec. 3

Only 22 days until Christmas! Better yet...only 11 days until Christmas Break!

Okay...back to the real world!

Anarchy? Tyranny? Both?

• Choose a sentence from your paragraph and paste it here into
  4B: Etherpad 1 and Etherpad 2

3B: the Etherpad or Etherpad 2.

• Now embellish this sentence by adding an appositive phrase to it!
• Now go back to your paragraph and "color-code"....remember green, yellow, red...

Diagramming 101 Continues...

• Take notes!

Julius Caesar...the drama continues.

Tuesday, December 1

It's beginning to feel and sound a lot like Christmas! (Note: Do you always spell a lot this way?)

Blog Posts: Open your blog. How many posts do you have for this nine weeks? Check here for a list of post topics...so far.

Submitted your novel? Did you send me an email verifying this?

Julius Caesar Time:

1. Vocab
2. Review of Shakespeare and Julius Caesar
3. Listen to Act 1.
4. Assign composition. What is the difference between tyranny and anarchy?

Grammar Time

1. Diagramming 101...continues.

Tuesday, Nov. 24 ~ Happy Thanksgiving!

Writer's Notebook: Time to be thankful! Draft a top ten list as you ponder on the reason for the season. Then add this reflection to your blog...may choose to draft this one in your blog.

Check-in Time:

1. Annotated your biography?
2. Tagged the Globe Theater in your Delicious account? Check this site and this site also!
3. Check your email for a message from me concerning your 250-word novel. Then submit them!

Grammar Time! More Diagramming 101.

May I have your help, please? We need to set up some tables for tonight's Silent Dessert Auction, hosted by the Beta Club.

Friday, Nov. 20

Writer's Notebook: Think of leaders you admire...create a list of them. Beside several of your favorite, explain why they are your favorites.


Due today: 250 words and a title for the start of your young adult novel.


JC Time!

1. Who was Shakespeare?


2. Globe Theater...find a replica of the Globe, one that has the areas defined. Save into your Delicious as Shakespeare_Globe.


3. Who was Julius Caesar? Read the assigned biography and annotate the text.

Grammar Time!

1. May I hear you sing?



2. Diagramming 101. Diagram these sentences.

Wed., Nov. 18

Work Time...due today!

1. Why Are You Who You Are?
2. You via Music

Vocab test today!

Homework: 250 words of your young adult novel and the title.

Monday, Nov. 16 ~ Catch-up Day!

First...a vocab quiz!

WRITER's WORKshop

1. Sci-Fi Projects: Oooppss....we sent those to my Yahoo email...cannot read them from there. Please resend to mrsg.homework@gmail.com
2. Seven Habits: Why Are You Who You Are? Let's create a cover page. May turn this in today...if you have proofed enough!
3. Seven Habits: You via Music...Let's create your cover page, your chart and your Reference Page.
4. Young Adult Novel: Draft due Friday...250 words and title.

Homework:

1. Finalize Seven Habits papers.
2. Vocab test on Wednesday.

FRIDAY...Shakespeare Alive in Cafe 16!

Thurs., Nov. 12

Writer's Notebook: Please read this post (Source: The Doc Is In) about ten people who plagiarized and the cost of this choice. Did any of these examples surprise you? What were the consequences of their actions? Reflect on this in your Writer's Notebook. Can you make any Text-to-World (T2W) Connections? Hopefully, you cannot make any T2Y...Text-2-You Connections!

Before I forget....!....please hand in your mission statement handout!

Vocab quiz today!

Top 20 Figurative Language: let's master these definitions by Christmas.

Grammar Time:

• Appostives: Deliberately using appostives, those phrases that add so much descriptive information about the nouns in a sentence, expands one's writing style and vividly enhances images for the reader.
• Absolutes: The students created wonderful absolute phrases in their essays, their minds intent upon mastering that "A." NOTE: absolutes often begin with a possessive pronoun and must contain a part of a predicate. Warning: must be a part of a verb and not a participial. Review these examples to clarify this.
• Basic Diagramming 101.

Writer's Workshop Today!

Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens:

1. Why Are You Who You Are...one-page draft due today! Due on Monday: final paper.
2. You via music...what song reflects who you are?

Young Adult Novel:

1. Where are you in this process? Who is your main character? Minor characters? Plot? Sub-plots determined? Setting?
2. Requirements: Title and 250 words

Blog Post:

1. Blog Post #2 is due today. See Nov. 2 post in this blog for more information.

Tuesday, Nov. 10

Please go here and complete a survey for the BHS newspaper The Spirit of the Pioneer.

Survey #2...this one at the request of Mr. Hall!

Writer's Notebook: Tomorrow is Veteran's Day. May we read this poem (See Veteran's Day, PowerPoint), ponder, reflect, and then spend a few moments writing about veterans you know.

Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens:

1. Assignment 2: Why Are You Who You Are?
2. Assignment 3: What song or poem do you think best reflects who you are?

Vocab quiz on Thursday!

TOP 20 Figurative Terms...get to know these!

1. Due December...your additional examples.

Reminder: Deadline for Blog Post #2 is Thursday, Nov. 12. Please refer to Nov. 2's blog post for more information.

Meet My Voki!

Wed., Nov. 4

Writer's Notebook: When was the last time you did a Random Act of Kindness? How did that make you feel? Pledge to be proactive today!

Writer's Workshop:

1. Draft your young adult novel idea...plot? Setting? Characters?
2. Review absolutes: A phrase consisting of a noun, this group of words can add so much detail to what was once a very boring sentence!
3. Click here to further review absolutes.
   

Seven Habits...

1. Drafts 1-3 due!
2. Review chiasmus. Now search for one on the Internet...your group needs to share one with the class.
3. Visit Sean Covey's website.
4. Complete the Check-ups.
5. Now type...type...type!

Sci-Fi Vocabulary Presentations

Listed below are the links to the vocabulary:

The Time Machine: 3B and 4B

The Invisible Man: 3B and 4B

Take some time to look over the words and become familiar with their meanings.

Monday, Nov. 2

Happy November!

A New Contest for Us! Enter the Young Adult Novel Contest!

1. Need a title and the first 250 words.
2. Deadline: Tuesday, Nov. 24.

Writer's Notebook: Read this post at Brian's Blog and think about finding the "light" for your novel. Reflect in your Writer's Notebook on any ideas you might have for your young adult novel.

Blog Spotlight: Read this blog post and check out who commented! Impressive!

• Blog Post #1 is due! Did you use journalistic style (short, mini-paragraphs)? Did you include a list?
• Blog Post #2 = Introduce the book (author/title). Then choose a habit to discuss on your blog...your favorite? Your least favorite? The one on which you need to work the most? The one on which you have mastered? Discuss any favorite insights from the other habits/chapters. Then conclude with your recommendation concerning the reading of this book. Deadline: Wednesday, Nov. 11. This post is in lieu of your book review for this assigned read.
  

November is National Family Literacy Month: Here's the deal!

1. Your parent/guardian may read one of your required books for you!
2. Discuss the book with your parent/guardian.
3. Blog about your experience.
4. Deadline December 1.

Complete and share your Sci-Fi Vocab with me via my Google email: tammy.gillmore@gmail.com

Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens:

1. Review the project and terms.
2. Ideas for five with three of them drafted: due Wednesday.
3. Two drafts due Friday.
4. Final project due Tuesday.

Writer's Workshop ~ Phrases:

1. Review appositives.
2. Review/learn absolutes.

Is Catching Fire catching fire?

Here's a link to my review of Catching Fire, in which I post a link to Crist's review of the same novel.

What do you think? Want to read this novel?