Friday, Sept. 30 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: Writer’s Workshop time for compare and contrast essay -paper

•Works Cited Page reminder

•Rubric –use it to make sure you have everything you need

•Flight ch. 12

Thursday, Sept. 29 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: Discuss the following question with your partner, then in WN, write about Flight –is it ‘bad’, should it be challenged or banned? Why do you think people could have had problems with it?

•Bring this paragraph and the one from yesterday to me when you are finished, then work on your paper

•Writer’s Workshop time for compare and contrast essay

•At this point you should be working on your second draft of all paragraphs

•If you want me to read through, talk to me and let me know if I should read for craft or editing

•If I’ve read through for one, you can ask me to read through for the other

•Works Cited Page

•Rubric

Wednesday, Sept. 28 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: Research/Independent Reading

•Final Background Presentation (9/11)

•**In writer’s notebook: What books have you read (or been exposed to) that you feel should not be accessible to children or teens? Why or why not?  What books have you read that you think ‘adults’ may have issues with? Why would they?

•Discuss

•Writer’s Workshop

•At this point you should be working on your second draft of all paragraphs

•If you want me to read through, talk to me and let me know if I should read for craft or editing

•If I’ve read through for one, you can ask me to read through for the other

Tuesday, Sept. 27 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: Writer’s Workshop

•Intro/Conclusion Notes –shared with you in drive

•Write Intro and Conclusion –on the same document with your body paragraphs, in the write order of paragraphs

•Body paragraphs second draft

•Make sure you have all colors represented in the total draft

•Each paragraph must have yellow and red and then either one, two, or all three other colors

•If you want me to read through, come tell me if you want me to read for craft or editing –I will only read through complete rough drafts (intro, body, and conclusion)

•Flight Ch. 10-11

Monday, Sept. 26 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: Research/Independent Reading Time

•American Indian Wars Presentation

•Writer’s Workshop

•Check Highlighted Body Paragraphs (at least one due, should have 3 min. for full credit)

•Intro/Conclusion Notes (shared on Google Drive)

•Write Intro and Conclusion

•Body paragraphs second draft

•Make sure you have all colors represented in the total draft

•Each paragraph must have yellow and red and then either one, two, or all three other colors

•If you want me to read through, come tell me if you want me to read for craft or editing

Individual Contribution Form

Go to this link and fill out the form attached: Individual Contribution Survey

Friday, Sept. 23 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: Flight Chapter 8 and 9

•Writer’s Workshop Time

•Your body paragraphs (or at the absolute minimum, one of them) should be done by: 9:15

•If you aren’t done with the rough draft of body paragraphs by the end of class, they are homework!!!  You should have all body paragraphs color coded by Monday!

•Color Coding your draft:

•Blue: Info from Flight

•Green: Info from other source similar to Flight/Zits

•Purple: Info from other source different from Flight/Zits

•Yellow: In-text citation (credit to author of information cited)

•Pink/Red: Analysis explaining how your evidence shows your point (your opinions, ideas, etc)

•Read own book (you need at least one book completion sheet done by end of Oct., but more than one equals EXTRA CREDIT)

Thursday, Sept. 22 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: Discuss posts from yesterday

•Coming of Age

         Document shared with you on Drive with directions

•What is it?

•How seen around the world?

•Share document with me when done and work on notes/body paragraphs for Compare/Contrast Paper

•Writer’s Workshop

•Notes finished by end of class today at the latest!

•Work on body paragraphs: due after 20 minutes tomorrow

•If you are done with your body paragraphs, you can read your independent book

Wednesday, Sept. 21 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: Research/Independent Reading Time

•Battle of Little-Big-Horn Presentation

•Flight

•Chapter 7

•Small Group Discussion

•When your group’s ideas are posted, get to work on your compare and contrast paper

•Writer’s Workshop Time

•All Notes done by: tomorrow after 20 minutes

•Body Paragraphs: Rough Drafts due by Friday (complete by middle of work time)

Flight Ch. 7 Discussion

Post your group's comments to the questions from the board as a comment to this post.

Questions:

What is this chapter telling us about loneliness?

Why would this camp be Zits' heaven? What would his time as Hank (with Art, Horse, and Elk) be hell?

Talk about voice:
What does the word voice mean more than just literally?
Did Zits have a voice (metaphorically) in his real life?
What could it mean to be without a voice in history?

Tuesday, Sept. 20 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: Research/Independent Reading –when we’re called for pics, go down, then come right back and continue working independently (or with your small group for the three groups who are still researching)

•Mikel, Stratton, Lindsey –you are presenting tomorrow

•Nick, Ricky, Taylor, Gabby –presenting on Thursday

•Trey, Kenzie, Hunter, Francisco –presenting Mon

•Flight

•Chapter 6

•Research on your comparison ‘topic’ –need a research document shared with/shown to me by:

•Writer’s Workshop

•Body Paragraph writing (beginning of paragraph added to document on drive as example)

Friday, Sept. 16 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: Finish Chapter 5 (start pg 47)

•Small Group Discussion

•Best Evidence of a theme and evidence from ch 4-5

•How are we (the readers) like Zits at this point in the book (how are we in a similar situation while reading)?

•How are Zits and Hank similar? Different?

•How are Zits and Junior similar? Different?

•Writer’s Workshop

•Body Paragraph Format

•Put this handout in your craft lesson section

•Finding support for your topic

•Organizing Paragraphs

•Begin Rough Draft (body paragraphs)

Wednesday, Sept. 14 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: Continue Graphic Organizer/Pic a topic (what you are comparing Zits to)

•Time for Research/Independent Reading/Graphic Organizer

•Read through the slides to be prepared

•Ghost Dance group ‘presentation’

•While they are talking, write (in class notes sections) a quick answer to each of these questions based on the info they give us

•Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? Connection to Zits?

If you were gone, I have shared their slides for their presentation with you, so take notes off of that!

•Read the rest of ch 3 (start at pg 31)

•Writer’s Workshop

•Finish Graphic Organizer (at least 5 categories)

•Begin research (start with quote tracing for Zits’ char., then go to online research for your topic)

Tuesday, Sept. 13 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: In your Writer’s Notebook: What do you think is the most important aspect (part) of Zits’ character? What defines him the most?  Do you feel he is an accurate depiction of a teen? Why? (That why applies to all questions…support your opinions with details!)

•Time for Research (Brandie’s and Kyle’s groups)/Independent Reading (the rest of the groups)

•First half of ch. 3

•Writer’s Workshop

•Compare and Contrast Essay

•You are comparing and contrasting Zits’ character with any of the following: another teen in a novel, a teen in ‘real life’, yourself

•Step One: Choose a topic

•Step Two: Graphic Organizer

Monday, Sept. 12 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: Take out your quote tracing sheet and your Flight book

•Chapter 2

•Quote Tracing: Themes, Impact/Offensive, Zits’ Character, Historical

•Assimilation Info (what people did well on Friday)

•Small Group work time

•You want to have a good start on looking at the links I’ve given you

•You are going to need to find sites other than what I have given you to fully understand and explain your event/time

•Last Five Minutes: TALK with your group members

•What have you found?

•What do you still need to find? Especially important for those with info in ch 3 and 4

•What do you understand?

•What do you need clarity on?

Friday, Sept. 9 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: Reading own book (20 minutes)

•Historical and Cultural Examinations Assignment

•Find your group from yesterday

•Assimilation Background as a large group

Thursday, Sept. 8 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: Answer at least one of these questions in your writer’s notebook.  Use proper grammar and conventions and have a paragraph or more per bullet point.  If you finish one and there is still time, answer the other one!  Be prepared to give an answer to both in discussion.

•Is it inevitable (unavoidable) that we conform to the world and society around us? In other words, do we have to change ourselves to fit into the world around us (communities, groups, school, etc.)? Why/how?

•What happens when a person does not accept and/or does not play by the rules of the main culture or what everyone else feels is appropriate or what people should be like?

•Discuss Bell Ringer

•Flight

•Intro to book, how the unit will work

•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS8DEjd2QBg

•First Theme to Trace: Loneliness and Identity

•Quote Tracing: keep track of textual evidence that stands out to you about themes, historical events, Zits’ experience, how people can connect with it or details that show it is a book ‘with an impact,’ or evidence that would make people dislike the book/find it offensive  (WRITE THIS IN YOUR READER’S NOTEBOOK SECTION)

•What are some lines from the first pages that would make it a book that ‘has an impact’? What are lines that would cause people to question its use in a classroom? What are lines that show us Zits’ character? What are lines that connect to the bio article?

Discussion of Identity and Zits

Wednesday, Sept. 7 Agenda

•Writer’s Notebook: What does it mean to be a teenager (literal and deeper meaning)?  How does loneliness feel and what can it make a person do or think? How is loneliness tied to the teenage ideas? –keep writing on the idea of teens and/or loneliness until we move on

•Continue Discussion from yesterday

•First Novel: Flight by Sherman Alexie

•Intro to Alexie –finish the last three paragraphs independently, close reading

•Response due: end of block

•While responding: what are you thinking about the book we will be reading? What are points from the article that you are interested in seeing in the novel? Are there things you feel you won’t like? Why? Any response to what we have talked about and read in the article!

•When you are done with the reflection, turn in to folder in the blue crate and then read your book

Book handout

Tuesday, Sept. 6 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: ACT Prep

•Collect 3 Paragraphs

•Binder Division

•Reading Time (make sure you like the book you have chosen, bring library books to Ms. Stewart to check out)

•Paragraph Organizing Pre-Test- hand in review when complete

•Writing Craft Lesson- notes in that section of writer’s notebook

•Paragraph structure

•“Fix” pre-test

•Discussion: With your group, talk about what you know or think you know about both the foster care system in the US and about Native Americans.  Type up these two lists as comments on the Contemp. Lit blog.

•Reaction to one point (own list or others) in Writer’s Notebook: one paragraph writing what you agree with about the point, disagree with, adding more based on experience, reflecting upon what the point is, etc.

Things We THINK We Know...

With your group, talk about what you 'know' (from first hand experience, from what you've heard from others, from what you've seen in the media, etc) about these two topics:

The Foster Care System in the US

Native Americans

Once you write a point, write with it where that point comes from (personal exp., media, stereotype, second-hand, etc.).

This should go without saying, but I'm not that naive..only write things that are respectful and appropriate when communicating on this blog (and others, but I at least demand it on this one).

Friday, Sept. 2 Agenda

•Bell Ringer: Seats: Pick one for now, I will most likely be moving people…

•What you need EVERY DAY-

•Writer’s Notebook- in your BINDER (if you turned one in to Mrs. Jensen, it will be in one of the boxes in the front)

•Paper

•Writing utensil

•BOOK

       •Expectations and Procedures

•In Writer’s Notebook section: Why do we write?  What are all of the reasons you can think of concerning why people write? Purposes? Goals? Etc.  We will share in 5-10 min

•Basic Grammar: What do we need to do while writing IN ALL CLASSES??

•Write in Editing Section (or paper that can be put into section)

•Create List: Order it (#1 = Most Important, etc)

•https://www.pinterest.com/pin/528258231266573659/

•Library for Book of Choice- NEED by Tuesday, have one for today (at least 1 book completed per quarter)

•Writing Sample: Write in your writer’s notebook, or on a sheet that can be put in that section when you have a binder

                       •Own Writing: Prompt- At least three separate paragraphs, follow the guidelines you   
                           created/brainstormed today (start with answers specific to English, then expand in 
                           each paragraph to other worries and confidences)

ØThis semester I feel the most confident about…

ØThis semester I am worried the most about…

ØThis semester I want to…


This writing sample is due on Tuesday (remember, a paragraph is more than just one long sentence :) )