We completed our video on the introduction to Shakespeare’s tragedy. We have also completed Act I of Macbeth with our Visual Imagery Notes and comprehension questions to guide our understanding. We have also been using the Classical Comics version of the play to aid in our visual understanding of the material. We will begin watching the film next week so we can gather comparisons and contrasts for our upcoming essay.
April 16-27
We have completed our initial instruction of the Visual Imagery Strategy. We conducted some research on the real Duncan and Macbeth, kings of Scotland in the 1060’s. We also discussed the four themes of Macbeth: Ambition, Power, Fantasy or Reality, and Fate vs. Free Will. We also researched the life of Shakespeare and began a video introducing us to his form of tragedy. Also, in tribute to Edgar Allan Poe, we read The Raven and analyzed the narrator’s experience.
March 25-April 5
We have taken some time from class to work on a college fair reflection paper that will be shared with Mrs. DiSimone. All of the students completed their paper before Spring Break. We have also continued to work with the Visual Imagery Strategy. We have read a selection from Gary Paulsen's Woodsong while employing the SCENE steps and completing the note taking organizer. In addition, we started to examine four themes from Macbeth, as we will begin reading this upon our return.
March 12-23
We have continued our work with the Visual Imagery Strategy. We have reviewed the SCENE steps and watched a model for how to complete these steps. We reviewed an organizer for note taking while using the Visual Imagery Strategy and practiced using this while reading a selection from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Click here to access and print the note taking organizer.
February 27-March 9
We spent some time in class reviewing for our upcoming trimester exams. We also began work on the Visual Imagery Strategy. We learned the strategy steps, which form the mnemonic SCENE, and the class watched me model how to practice these steps while reading. We will reinforce this instruction after exams, as some classmates were in district for the HSPA. For some information, visit this web-site and scroll down to the bottom of the page to view a Visual Imagery Strategy PowerPoint presentation created by another teacher.
February 13-24
We completed our examination of the Discovery Channel film about the Salem witch trials. We also discussed our upcoming exam essays and began reviewing information from The Crucible that will be on our exam. The remainder of the review sheets for the exam will be coming home the week of Feb. 27. We have also taken a pretest on our visual imaging ability, as we will be reviewing the Visual Imagery Strategy in class over the next few weeks. In addition, we began to work on our letters to the school in Morocco for our culture exchange.
January 30-February 10
We have completed our reading of Acts III and IV of The Crucible. We have examined personality differences, proper casting of characters, and reviewed the order of events in the play. We have also examined possible causes of the girls' hysteria though the Discovery Channel film Unsolved History: The Salem Witch Trials.
January 16-27
We have finished reading and watching Acts I and II of The Crucible. We have examined conflict in the play, notable quotes from the characters, similarities and differences in the two leading ladies, as well as vocabulary development. The class is also working on their rough drafts for their History X-Men paper. The rough draft of this paper is due Monday, January 30.
In addition, though the iEARN network, I have contacted the Imam Malik School in Berrechid, Morocco. We will be completing a cultural exchange with this school right before exams. We will gather and draft items of interest that express our American Culture. We will then ship these items to Morocco, and they will send us a package detailing their culture.
January 3-13
We have been reading The Crucible and are about to finish Act I. We have been focusing on our quotes and entered several into Noodletools. The class is also preparing their minds to complete their X-Men paper for history. We are discussing how Noodletools can help them complete their bibliography, outline, quote organization and paper writing.
December 12-23
We prepped our minds to read The Crucible by considering and discussing the four themes of the novel: fear, innocence, influence and truth. We then discussed the cultural history of Salem in 1692 with the witch trials and what was happening in America in 1953 with McCarthyism and the HUAC, especially with the Hollywood Ten and the entertainment industry. We have begun to read The Crucible and are focusing on quotes from the novel that apply in 1692, 1953 and 2011.
November 28-December 9
We read two iconic pieces of literature, select aphorism from Poor Richard's Almanack by Benjamin Franklin and "The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving. The class wrote their own aphorisms, which are on display in the hallway of the high school outside room 11. The class also drafted an essay about the three themes of "Tom Walker" and how they are shown through a character relationship. We have used Noodletools to assist in this process. The final copy of this essay is due on Tuesday, December 20th.
November 14-25
We spent a great deal of time preparing for our end of term one exams. As a group, we studied hard and did well on the test.
October 31-November 11
We completed our reading of a selection from Plymouth Plantation. We returned to Noodletools to complete an outline for a paper on the perception of Native Americans by the early settlers. The final copy of this paper is due November 17. We also read a selection from the sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. We discussed symbolism, imagery and visualization and will complete a "comic book" based on quotes from this sermon. The "comic book" is due on Monday, November 21. Exam review sheets were also handed out. These will be reviewed in class Wednesday and Thursday, November 17 and 18.
October 17-28
We were introduced to Noodletools, an online resource that will make writing MLA style papers easier. We also read two Native American myths, (The Sky Tree and How the World was Made), and a Spanish historical account of arriving in America. We created our own myths and explored the idea of being a Native American or a Spanish settler 450 years ago.
October 3-14
As a class, we completed a four step process on drafting effective thesis statements. Personal thesis statements we written for the character analysis paper on Flannery Connor's story. Rough drafts and final copies of this paper were written according to the MLA style of writing English papers. Time was spent in class reviewing this style, specifically in reference to proper citations and use of quotes.
September 19-30
Over the past two weeks, we completed our reading of "The Life You Save Might By Your Own" by Flannery O'Connor. We also completed a character analysis for the three main characters of the story by supporting our direct and indirect characterization examples with quotes from the story. We completed Cornell notes as part of this process. The class also learned QAR, (a question and answer strategy) and focused on how to answer and write Right There questions.
September 6-16
During the first two weeks of school we focused on problem solving. We analyzed problems in human behavior, based on the NJ Commission of Holocaust Education 9/11 Initiative, and saw how people are motivated to action because of a need they are trying to fulfill. We also learned about direct and indirect characterization, which we applied to our reading of "The Life You Save Might Be Your Own" by Flannery O'Connor.
