After completing your bubble map, draft one paragraph that details one of your adjectives. Remember to concentrate on one adjective to give focus to the paragraph.
The typed paragraph is due on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008 along with your completed bubble map. Your bubble map should include specific details that support the adjectives in the frame of reference.
Be sure to keep an electronic copy of the paragraph for posting eventually on your blog for English class. Since classmates will be reading your blog, be sure to keep this public audience in mind when writing your paragraph.
Here is the paragraph inspired by the green adjective on my bubble map.
Roehl Seeing Green
Having grown up on a farm in Medina, I have an affinity for rich, black soil laced with a little cow manure. Such a garden that yields the juiciest tomato or the tenderest ear of corn is a thing of beauty. However, my small yard in St. Louis Park doesn't afford me the space for a large vegetable garden, so I supplement my longing for my farming ancestry by belonging to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. My CSA farmer Richard delivers one box of fresh, organic vegetables each week for my family to enjoy. I make an awesome chocolate zucchini cake and a beans and greens dish sure to please the most sophisticated Italian palette. Richard also provides my family with organic fruit that he gets from his farming friends on the West Coast and in Mexico. For nine months out of the year my produce needs are met by this buying-locally, earth-friendly CSA method which allows my family to know we are being as green as possible where groceries are concerned. I have taken this green philosophy to other areas of my life. Two years ago I began mowing my lawn with a reel mower; that's the type of push mower that's powered only by humans. Although the reel mower might not leave the most manicured lawn, I enjoy the quiet, peaceful mowing experience that saves gas and carbon emissions. Speaking of emissions, I have also reduced my clothes dryer emissions by hanging most of my family's laundry on the line. While my family was in Spain for three weeks in 2007, I noticed that most, if not all, Spanish families hang their clothes on the line from their apartment windows. I figured that if they can do it without a backyard, then I was being wasteful of the planet's resources my using a machine to dry my clothes, a machine that also pumps emissions into the atmosphere. Although being green takes a lot of work, I am glad that I have taken a few simple steps to reduce my carbon footprint.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Anticipation Guide Statements
If you would like to continue your discussion of the Surviving High School Anticipation Guide, click on the comments to this post.
Here are the agree or disagree statements:
1. High school is going to be difficult.
2. I feel a lot of pressure to get good grades.
3. Copying a friend’s homework once in awhile is no big deal.
4. The purpose of high school is just to prepare me for college.
5. If I complete all aspects of an assignment, I deserve an “A.”
6. If you’re popular, school is easy for you.
7. School has nothing to do with the real world.
8. Adults don’t understand what it’s like to be in high school today.
Here are the agree or disagree statements:
1. High school is going to be difficult.
2. I feel a lot of pressure to get good grades.
3. Copying a friend’s homework once in awhile is no big deal.
4. The purpose of high school is just to prepare me for college.
5. If I complete all aspects of an assignment, I deserve an “A.”
6. If you’re popular, school is easy for you.
7. School has nothing to do with the real world.
8. Adults don’t understand what it’s like to be in high school today.
Hall of Fame Assignment
“If you want sweet dreams, you’ve got to live a sweet life.”
Loyd Peregrina, Animal Dreams
Hall of Fame Plaque
Due Date:
The Hall of Fame Plaque is due on Friday, September 5, 2008.
Loyd Peregrina, Animal Dreams
Hall of Fame Plaque
Due Date:
The Hall of Fame Plaque is due on Friday, September 5, 2008.
Scenario:
It is the year 2061, 50 years since you graduated from Edina High School. Because you have accomplished so much since you graduated, Edina High School would like to honor you with an induction into the Edina High School Hall of Fame.
Objective:
Create a plaque that Edina High School may make for you in 50 years. Your plaque must adhere to the following requirements:
Must be written in third person point of view
Must be written in past tense
Must contain at least 6 COMPLETE SENTENCES.
Your paragraph should contain ZERO grammar, mechanics, usage, or spelling errors.
MUST BE TYPED (Honestly, do you think EHS would honor you with a handwritten paragraph?)
Include a picture of yourself.
Make it pretty to look at—your classmates, as well as many future students, may view your plaque!
FYI: your plaque paragraph will be read by the teacher and displayed in the classroom.
Supplies Needed
English 10 students use a single subject, composition notebook to showcase much of their work for class. Notebooks need to be in class every day! Use a Sharpie to write your name on the notebook and bring it to class every day starting Thursday, September 4, 2008. Fully prepared students also come to class with a pen, pencil, and highlighter.
In fact, you need to bring the following supplies to class on Thursday, September 4, 2008 as a required 3-point assignment:
1 composition notebook
1 pack of two glue sticks for use as a common classroom supply
You may also bring one of the following items for use as a common classroom supply to receive two points of extra credit:
a box of Kleenex
a ruler
a scissors
a pack of markers
a box of #2 pencils
English 10 Expectations
Three words summarize my philosophy of classroom management. They are work, respect, and belong. Read more about each below.
Work: Show up for class—physically and mentally. Your fellow students and I need you here. Your primary purpose here is to participate in your learning and to produce work that contributes to the good of our class community. As Michael Hartoonian, scholar of education and public policy, says, “Work that we do to improve our personal circumstances always affects others. If we do good work, that good radiates to others. Of course, poor or bad work also radiates to others, causing a general decline in the wealth of the community.” Knowledge, which you gain through work, is key to successful citizenship in a multicultural world. To this end, expect homework each night and prepare to speak in class each day. Turn in your assignments on time. If you are absent, find out what you missed, and turn in any missed assignments within two days of your absence.
Respect: At all times, be respectful of scholarship, of yourself, of each other, and of me. The mis-use of cell phones, calculators, or Ipods distract from your learning and the learning of other students and will not be tolerated. I reserve the right to confiscate these items if they are mis-used during class. In addition, we have a mouse problem in the school. Mice infiltrate any classroom where students bring in food or sugary drinks. Water ONLY is allowed in this room. Please, please, please respect my abhorrence of mice in my classroom. We don’t need them running over our feet, up our pant legs, or into our backpacks.
Belong: Foster community by welcoming others. You need to take care of each other, be ready for anything, and appreciate the differences that each person brings to class.
Work: Show up for class—physically and mentally. Your fellow students and I need you here. Your primary purpose here is to participate in your learning and to produce work that contributes to the good of our class community. As Michael Hartoonian, scholar of education and public policy, says, “Work that we do to improve our personal circumstances always affects others. If we do good work, that good radiates to others. Of course, poor or bad work also radiates to others, causing a general decline in the wealth of the community.” Knowledge, which you gain through work, is key to successful citizenship in a multicultural world. To this end, expect homework each night and prepare to speak in class each day. Turn in your assignments on time. If you are absent, find out what you missed, and turn in any missed assignments within two days of your absence.
Respect: At all times, be respectful of scholarship, of yourself, of each other, and of me. The mis-use of cell phones, calculators, or Ipods distract from your learning and the learning of other students and will not be tolerated. I reserve the right to confiscate these items if they are mis-used during class. In addition, we have a mouse problem in the school. Mice infiltrate any classroom where students bring in food or sugary drinks. Water ONLY is allowed in this room. Please, please, please respect my abhorrence of mice in my classroom. We don’t need them running over our feet, up our pant legs, or into our backpacks.
Belong: Foster community by welcoming others. You need to take care of each other, be ready for anything, and appreciate the differences that each person brings to class.
English 10 Major Units of Study
Finding Self: Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver and Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Hero Quest: The Odyssey by Homer and Oh, Brother Where Art Thou (film)
Ethical Dilemmas: Antigone by Sophocles and All My Sons by Arthur Miller
Comic Relief: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare and screwball romantic comedy films
Cultures Collide: Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Persecution: Night by Elie Wiesel and choice of In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut or The Weight of All Things by Sandra Benitez
Tying it all Together: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Rabbit Proof Fence (film)
Ongoing areas of study:
Visual literacy, including photography, film, and other images
Poetry
Vocabulary
Grammar, usage, and mechanics
Digital Literacies
Hero Quest: The Odyssey by Homer and Oh, Brother Where Art Thou (film)
Ethical Dilemmas: Antigone by Sophocles and All My Sons by Arthur Miller
Comic Relief: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare and screwball romantic comedy films
Cultures Collide: Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Persecution: Night by Elie Wiesel and choice of In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut or The Weight of All Things by Sandra Benitez
Tying it all Together: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi and Rabbit Proof Fence (film)
Ongoing areas of study:
Visual literacy, including photography, film, and other images
Poetry
Vocabulary
Grammar, usage, and mechanics
Digital Literacies
Some notes about literature selection in our school district:
- Literature that is studied and read as part of a course has been sited for excellence by an independent source. For example, it has won literary awards, received positive reviews by independent book reviewers and/or recommendations from professional organizations.
- Students should read and analyze a variety of literature in print, auditory and visual texts including: Fiction, poetry, drama, short stories and nonfiction.
- Students should study a diverse selection of topics and themes including race, gender, age, economics, and geography through a combination of contemporary and classic selections.
- In grades 9-12 literature is adult, not young adult.
English 10 Course Description
English 10: Classical and Contemporary World Cultures refines the language arts skills of reading, literary analysis, writing, vocabulary development, research, critical thinking, speaking, listening, visual literacy, and digital literacy. Each unit includes a classical work and a contemporary text so that students can explore the connections between the past and their world today, and some selections align with the World History sophomore course so that students can make interdisciplinary connections. Selections include both Western and non-Western texts that reflect diversity in race, gender, age, economics and geography.
Students maintain a blog to create an online learning community that not only extends classroom literary analysis discussions, but also provides an authentic audience to outside reading and writing assignments.
Regular instruction in vocabulary will use both explicit lessons and vocabulary specific to the literature being studied in class.
Intensive writing instruction will help students develop thinking skills and a personal voice. Students will write one formal, typed assessment each quarter for a total of four formal assessments per year. Essay assignments throughout the year will include multiple modes such as narrative, persuasion, and critical analysis. Grammar and usage review will include explicit lessons, but focus on using correct conventions in writing. Writing instruction and assessment will use the Six Traits of writing, rubrics and exemplars. Research skills will be taught throughout the course.
Students will also develop and practice effective speaking skills in individual presentations and group discussions.
Students maintain a blog to create an online learning community that not only extends classroom literary analysis discussions, but also provides an authentic audience to outside reading and writing assignments.
Regular instruction in vocabulary will use both explicit lessons and vocabulary specific to the literature being studied in class.
Intensive writing instruction will help students develop thinking skills and a personal voice. Students will write one formal, typed assessment each quarter for a total of four formal assessments per year. Essay assignments throughout the year will include multiple modes such as narrative, persuasion, and critical analysis. Grammar and usage review will include explicit lessons, but focus on using correct conventions in writing. Writing instruction and assessment will use the Six Traits of writing, rubrics and exemplars. Research skills will be taught throughout the course.
Students will also develop and practice effective speaking skills in individual presentations and group discussions.
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