ASSIGN YOURSELF: Work on grammar handout on Sentence Fragments and Run-ons. Click here for a sentence fragment quiz. Click here for a run-on sentence quiz.

*PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN THE COMPLETE HEADING ON YOUR PAPER IN ORDER TO AVOID 'NO CREDIT'.

DO NOW: DEAR (Drop Everything And Read). Students, for a list of online books that you can read at home, look at this website!

OBJECTIVE: *Read and analyze a short story. *Identify compound subjects and compound predicates.

Class Assignment:

*Write a short summary of "Birthday Box" (skip two lines in between sentences). *Peer review: students will check each other's summaries for sentence fragments or run-ons. *Write a narrative about a time you have said good-bye to a friend or relative.

ASSIGN YOURSELF: No Homework Wednesday!!

*PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN THE COMPLETE HEADING ON YOUR PAPER IN ORDER TO AVOID 'NO CREDIT'.

DO NOW: DEAR (Drop Everything And Read). Students, for a list of online books that you can read at home, look at this website!

OBJECTIVE: *Read and analyze a short story. *Identify compound subjects and compound predicates.

Class Assignment:

*Discuss homework assignment.

*Work on Sentence Fragment activity.

ASSIGN YOURSELF: Work on grammar handout: Compound Subjects and Compound Predicates. Students, please make sure you read the directions on the handout. Underline the Complete Subjects once and/or the Complete Predicates twice. Click here to get examples of compound subjects and compound predicates.

*PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN THE COMPLETE HEADING ON YOUR PAPER IN ORDER TO AVOID 'NO CREDIT'.

DO NOW: DEAR (Drop Everything And Read). Students, for a list of online books that you can read at home, look at this website!

OBJECTIVE: *Read and analyze a short story.

Class Assignment:

Read "Birthday Box" on page 175 of literature book. Answer questions on page 180. #s 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, & 9.

Questions:

1. How did Katie's mother manage to buy her the birthday box?
2. What happens to the family after Katie's mother dies?
3. What can you infer about the character of Katie's mother when you realize that, in spite of her serious illness, she had planned a party and presents for Katie?
4. Why do you think Jane Yolen tells the reader what happens to Katie's mother in the first sentence?
5. How does filling the box with her writing help Katie deal with her grief?
6. How would you react if someone you loved gave you an empty box? Explain your answer.
7. Think about a relationship you have with an older friend or relative. How would you feel if you had to say goodbye to each other?

ASSIGN YOURSELF: Write a narrative: Have you ever lied to your parent/guardian(s) about something you did in school? Explain.

*PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN THE COMPLETE HEADING ON YOUR PAPER IN ORDER TO AVOID 'NO CREDIT'.

DO NOW: DEAR (Drop Everything And Read). Students, for a list of online books that you can read at home, look at this website!

OBJECTIVE: *Read and analyze a short story. *Identify plot.

Class Assignment: 

• Look at the story, "Charles" on pg. 544 of Literature book, and write the plot of the story.
• PLOT: a sequence of events in a story including the exposition, rising action, climax, and falling action.

1.  Exposition

a. setting (time and place)

b. characters

c. conflict

2.  Rising Action (list 10 events)

3.  Climax

4.  Falling Action (Is there a falling action in this story?) ???

 

ASSIGN YOURSELF: IDEA Brochure; paycheck story; have parents read Parent Weekly.

*PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN THE COMPLETE HEADING ON YOUR PAPER IN ORDER TO AVOID 'NO CREDIT'.

DO NOW: DEAR (Drop Everything And Read).

OBJECTIVE: *Read and analyze a short story. *Identify plot twist.

Class Assignment: 

• Read "Charles" on pg. 544 of Literature book, and stop and pg. 546. Write an observation of Laurie. Continue reading until the end. Students will be given a short quiz afterward to check for comprehension.

ASSIGN YOURSELF: No homework.

DO NOW: School Culture Day!!

OBJECTIVE: *Learn school culture.

Class Assignment: 

• Students will learn school culture and work as a TEAM to win several banners for their homeroom.

ONE TEAM! ONE MISSION!!!

Links for the day:

• Texas A&M
• Stanford University
• Duke University
• Nebraska Wesleyan University

ASSIGN YOURSELF: No homework.

*PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN THE COMPLETE HEADING ON YOUR PAPER IN ORDER TO AVOID 'NO CREDIT'.

DO NOW: Work on punctuation and comma use on the Writer's Choice book.

OBJECTIVE: *Identify proper punctuation and comma use.

Class Assignment: 

• Writer's Choice exercises on punctuation and comma use.
• If you want to see the different comma rules, click here.

REMINDER: If you are wondering what a TAKS score 4 essay looks like, click here for some sample essays from previous years. Our goal is to for everyone to earn a 4 on their TAKS essays this year! I know you all can do it

ASSIGN YOURSELF: No homework today.

*PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN THE COMPLETE HEADING ON YOUR PAPER IN ORDER TO AVOID 'NO CREDIT'.

DO NOW: Work on IOWA exam.

OBJECTIVE: *Demonstrate mastery on reading comprehension.

REMINDER: If you are wondering what a TAKS score 4 essay looks like, click here for some sample essays from previous years. Our goal is to for everyone to earn a 4 on their TAKS essays this year! I know you all can do it

ASSIGN YOURSELF: No homework for today if you have completed both essay drafts.

*PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN THE COMPLETE HEADING ON YOUR PAPER IN ORDER TO AVOID 'NO CREDIT'.

DO NOW: Work on revising and editing exercise on page 202-203 of the Measuring Up workbook.

OBJECTIVE: * Proofread essay. *Identify comma splices.

Class Assignment: 

• Revising and editing assignment on the Measuring Up workbook on page 202.
• Introduction to proper comma use.

REMINDER: If you are wondering what a TAKS score 4 essay looks like, click here for some sample essays from previous years. Our goal is to for everyone to earn a 4 on their TAKS essays this year! I know you all can do it

ASSIGN YOURSELF: Continue working on essay. Bring paychecks signed.

*PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN THE COMPLETE HEADING ON YOUR PAPER IN ORDER TO AVOID 'NO CREDIT'.

DO NOW: How do you feel after you have done something wrong? How can one avoid making the same mistakes?

OBJECTIVE: *Work on interim assessment. *Write a narrative. * Proofread essay.

Class Assignment: Because students have been working diligently on several projects, they are to work on individual assignments based on the work they have pending.

• Interim Assessment - continue working on Interim Assessment, which includes reading two short passages, answering multiple choice, and writing a composition.
• 9/28/07 Essay - continue working on Friday's essay if you were not finished writing it last Friday.
• 10/1/07 Essay - continue working on Monday's essay if you were not finished writing it last Monday.
• Proofread - proofread both essays using the editing symbols in the back of the Writer's Choice book (if you were done with I.A. and writing both essays).

REMINDER: If you are wondering what a TAKS score 4 essay looks like, click here for some sample essays from previous years. Our goal is to for everyone to earn a 4 on their TAKS essays this year! I know you all can do it

ASSIGN YOURSELF: No homework today.

*PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN THE COMPLETE HEADING ON YOUR PAPER IN ORDER TO AVOID 'NO CREDIT'.

DO NOW: If you were a parent, would you allow your child to make their own mistakes, or would you try to stop them from making them?

OBJECTIVE: *Work on interim assessment.

Class Assignment: Work on Interim Assessment.

ASSIGN YOURSELF: No homework today.

*PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN THE COMPLETE HEADING ON YOUR PAPER IN ORDER TO AVOID 'NO CREDIT'.

DO NOW: How do you respond when your parents are trying to protect you from making mistakes?

OBJECTIVE: *Work on Interim Assessment.

Class Assignment: Work on Interim Assessment. Assessment is composed of reading comprehension questions and an essay composition.

Students, if you are wondering what a TAKS score 4 essay looks like, click here for some sample essays from previous years. Our goal is to for everyone to earn a 4 on their TAKS essays this year! I know you all can do it.

ASSIGN YOURSELF: No homework today.

*PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN THE COMPLETE HEADING ON YOUR PAPER IN ORDER TO AVOID 'NO CREDIT'.

DO NOW: How would you react towards a friend who was about to make a mistake? Would you allow your friend to learn his/her own lesson, or would you try to stop him/her?

OBJECTIVE: *Create a narrative

Class Assignment: Write about a time when you made a mistake that you learned from. How did it affect you and others (family, friends, team, strangers....)?

Students, if you are wondering what a TAKS score 4 essay looks like, click here for some sample essays from previous years. Our goal is to for everyone to earn a 4 on their TAKS essays this year! I know you all can do it.

ASSIGN YOURSELF: (1st, 2nd, 3rd period) Pronoun Assignment: on page 127 of your small Grammar Handbook, work on #s 1-10. Write the complete sentence and fill in the correct pronoun. (4th period) Create 10 sentences with 10 different pronouns. Underline the pronoun of each sentence.

*PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU WRITE DOWN THE COMPLETE HEADING ON YOUR PAPER IN ORDER TO AVOID 'NO CREDIT'.

DO NOW: Johnny said, "Sixteen years is not long enough" to live a life. Why does Johnny want to be knowledgeable now?

OBJECTIVE: *Identify pronouns. *Identify the plot of a story.

Class Assignment: Work on #s 1-20 of Exercise 2 on page. 430. Write the correct pronoun only.

Class also wrote down all of the pronouns on pages 429, 435, 437, & 439 of the Writer's Choice book.

Some classes got a chance to copy notes for "The Outsiders" plot.

ASSIGN YOURSELF: Create 5 sentences. Rewrite each sentence using a pronoun in the place of every noun.

DO NOW: Dally is not necessarily a "thinker." Explain why he is not by using the definition on the IB Learner Profile handout and examples from the novel.

OBJECTIVE: *Identify pronouns. *Identify character conflict (man vs. man, man vs. self, man vs. nature, man vs. society). *View The Outsiders

Class Assignment:

Finish viewing The Outsiders. Class discussion.

Helpful Links:

• definition of a pronoun.
• a list of pronouns.
• quiz yourself!

The Outsiders

ASSIGN YOURSELF: Enjoy your weekend!

DO NOW: How can a caring attitude change the relationship between the Soc's and the Greasers?

OBJECTIVE: *Identify conflict. *Identify character conflict (man vs. man, man vs. self, man vs. nature, man vs. society). *View The Outsiders

Class Assignment (1st, 2nd, 4th):

Continue documenting character details in your T chart.

September 20, 2007

ASSIGN YOURSELF: Study verb tenses.

DO NOW: Cherry tells Sodapop, “Things are tough all over.” What is she trying to convey to Sodapop? Explain.

OBJECTIVE: *Identify conflict. *Identify character conflict (man vs. man, man vs. self, man vs. nature, man vs. society.

Class Assignment (1st, 2nd, 4th):

Continue documenting character details in your T chart.

Class Assignment (3rd):

Analyze Robert Frost's Poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay."

ASSIGN YOURSELF: Summarize "The Outsiders" using important characters and details from your graphic organizer notes.

DO NOW: People who are constantly getting in fights and in trouble are not good communicators. Explain why and give some solutions to their problems. How can they use good communication skills to avoid getting in trouble?

OBJECTIVE: *Identify verb tenses. *Identify conflict. *Identify character conflict (man vs. man, man vs. self, man vs. nature, man vs. society.

Class Assignment:

Create a T chart noting the character names and details about those characters.

STUDENTS!!!

Please avoid getting in trouble. Have your homework ready as soon as you arrive to class. I want to give a shout-out to Coral for her awesome mature behavior in my class. She is always polite and remains quiet during lecture. Way to go!

REMINDER:

If you need to speak to me regarding your homework, please call me at 371-5695. If I do not answer, always leave me a message so that I may return your call. Otherwise, I will not return the phone call (it is impossible for me to return phone calls if I have 20 missed calls with no i.d. on them). 

ASSIGN YOURSELF: Write four sentences in the past tense, four sentences in the present tense, and four sentences in the future tense.

DO NOW: Would a "principled" person join a gang? Explain using the definition of principled.

OBJECTIVE: *Identify verb tenses. *Identify conflict.

Class Assignment:

Verb tense exercise review (on board).

Work on 6 verb tense exercises on the Writer's Choice book. Class checked the answers to those problems afterward.

Nothing Gold Can Stay...

Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold
Her early leaf's a flower
But only so an hour

Then leaf subsides to leaf
So Eden sank to grief
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay...

ASSIGN YOURSELF: Explain why it is important to be a balanced individual (from the IB Learner Profile)? How is being balanced relevant to the real world?

DO NOW: 

OBJECTIVE: Demonstrate mastery of character types and verb types.

Class Assignment:

Exam II

ASSIGN YOURSELF: Answer questions on pg. 121 of your Grammar & Composition book under "Pretest Pronouns." Work on #s 1-15. Write the sentence and underline all of the pronouns you can find in each sentence. (7th period: No homework given. Students will have homework tomorrow instead.)

DO NOW: Reflect upon your behavior and actions in the past three weeks. What areas do you need to improve? Explain.

OBJECTIVE: *Identify noun types & pronouns. *Understand summarization. *Identify the main idea. (7th period: Demonstrate mastery of literary elements and parts of speech).

Class Assignment (1st, 2nd, & 3rd period):

• Work on pronouns, page 432 of student's Writer's Choice Grammar book. Work on 1-5 of Exercise 3 by writing the second sentence with the appropriate pronoun.

• Periods 1, 2, & 3 were given Grammar Composition Handbook

• Copy notes for "Types of Characters"

1. Round Character - a character that is well developed; the character is described in detail.
2. Flat Character - a character that is not well developed; the reader does not know much information about this type of character.

          (click here to get further explanation of round and flat characters).

1. Dynamic Character - a character that undergoes a change throughout the story.
2. Static Character - a character that stays the same throughout the story and does not change.

• Work on Types of Characters Chart.

(click here to get further explanation of dynamic and static characters).

Class Assignment: 7th

• Work on "Broken Chain" Exam.
  

ASSIGN YOURSELF: Summarize "Broken Chain" using descriptive details.

DO NOW: Why is a person's interior more important than a person's exterior?

OBJECTIVE: *Identify verb types. *Understand summarization. *Identify the main idea.

Class Assignment (1st, 2nd, & 3rd period):

Work on verb quiz.

Read about "main idea" in the Literature Workbook.

7th period:

Took "Broken Chain" exam.

ASSIGN YOURSELF: Complete Verb Tense worksheet and Main Idea handout. Take online verb tense and main idea quiz (www.yayoungadultliterature.blogspot.com).

DO NOW: What is one question you would like to ask Gary Soto, author of "Broken Chain?"

OBJECTIVE: *Identify verb tense. *Understand summarization. *Identify the main idea.

Class Assignment(s):

Various Verb types:

• Action Verbs: verbs that demonstrates something that a person, animal, or force of nature can do.
• Physical Verbs - verbs that express a physical action that can be seen. ex: dance, run, play.
• Mental Verbs - actions that cannot be seen. ex: think, respect, wonder, dream...

          click here to take a quick quiz on action verbs.

• Linking Verbs: verbs that do not express an action; they connect the subject to a noun or adjective in the predicate of a sentence.

                     (noun)    lv   (adj.)         

           ex: Samantha  is   pretty.           

            

          click here for hints on linking verbs.

• Helping Verbs: 

Weekly Assessment:

Students, you will be expected to know how to identify verb tenses, summarization, main idea, flat and round characters, as well as static and dynamic characters by the end of the week.