It was quite a whirlwind day today!

Our warm-up was to read our free choice books for 10 minutes. Homework was to read for 45 minutes tonight, and tomorrow’s warm-up will also be reading, so please make sure you have your book.

I told you that you need to have your copy of Ella Minnow Pea by Friday, September 26.

I also told you that the Pre-AP teachers and I have asked you to compile all of your HUB responses for your self-selected summer reading (The Joy Luck Club, Life of Pi, and The Kite Runner) into a Word document, print it, and give it to me by Thursday. This will help us to make sure that we see all of your work when we give you a grade. Here’s a sample. Hunger Games Warm

Students then worked on annotating a characterization word sheet that will be a resource for us throughout the year. Character Trait Words

We looked at some of your graded writing, but then I took it back up to keep in your portfolios – I think it will be nice for you to look back at all that you have accomplished in May! 🙂

Most of today was spent on the vocabulary/reading quiz. If you missed it, please come by and make it up either tomorrow or Friday during lunch.

Homework for tonight was to read the short story, “Inside Out,” and answer questions.

Inisde Out Reading Questions

Inside Out – Francisco Jimenez

Please make sure to bring both your free choice book and your computer tomorrow!

Today was a very busy day! We finished talking about vocabulary. Students will have a quiz over those words on Monday, along with some questions about some of the reading objectives we have been learning over the last few weeks. Here is the study guide for that:

Sept 15 Quiz Study Guide

And here is the short story that will be on the quiz:

This is What it Means to Say Phoenix Arizona

I strongly recommend that you read this story over the weekend. If Monday is the first time that you look at it, I don’t think that you will be able to finish the quiz in the allotted time or answer the questions very well.

Studying for the quiz was your only homework (but remember, you also need to make sure that your HUB discussion is complete by Sunday night).

With the remaining time in class, we took a visit to the library. Students met Mr. Casteel, our librarian, and checked out a free-choice book. (The only restriction I placed was that it had to be non-realistic fiction – science fiction, fantasy, or horror.) You must have a free-choice book with you next week. Also, you will need your copy of Ella Minnow Pea by Friday, September 26 (two weeks from today).

Today in class, we began with a quick warm-up over alliteration, where you all made and presented tongue twisters! Alliteration Warm-Up

We also looked at a couple of quick clips from Guardians of the Galaxy related to figurative language:

(This next one begins at the 30-second mark.)

Our lesson for today was over tone in literature. Here are those materials:

Tone using The Joy of Reading and Writing and HG

Tone in the joy of reading and writing and HG (2)

Homework for tonight was to annotate the tone words handout with definitions of any words that you don’t know. Tone vocabulary list (2) This sheet will be an important resource for you as the year goes on, so please keep it in its plastic sleeve.

Our warm-up for today was to write a paragraph about yourself using a metaphor. Here is that sheet: Make Me a Metaphor

During class today, we talked about your self-selected summer reading project. I showed you how to use the HUB and gave you a sheet outlining the project requirements. Pre-AP English 1 Self-Selected Reading Assignment – Discussion Forums I know I emphasized this in class, but I think it bears repeating: I expect your answers for these online discussion forums to be:

• Analytical – don’t just summarize the book, interpret it
• Evidence-based – you must back up your claims with accurate, relevant information from the book (hopefully incorporating quotations, if you want a high grade)
• Professional – your writing should be of the same quality as you would use on a formal essay that you would turn in to me in class

With our remaining time in class, we went over some vocabulary words.

Homework for tonight was to write some awful metaphors! Here is that assignment: Terrible High School Student Metaphors and Similes

Important Announcement: Please bring your laptop to class tomorrow!

Our warm-up today was to write about your favorite character in a piece of literature. Next, we did a writing exercise where we brainstormed people that we know, alongside descriptive adjectives for each person (direct characterization) and evidence that those descriptions are true (indirect characterization). We’ll use those later on for developing a personal narrative.

Next, we talked about denotation and connotation. Here are those notes: connotative language (2)

Finally, we began talking about vocabulary for this week. Here is that PowerPoint: Hunger Games Vocabulary Activities

Homework for tonight was to finish your autobiography of a reader. I’m really looking forward to reading those!

Today I passed back millions of papers.

We had some really good discussions based on your reading guides over Sherman Alexie’s “Superman and Me: The Joy of Reading and Writing.” We used some of those ideas to transition into a reflective writing assignment – your own autobiographies of yourselves as readers. Here is that assignment: Autobiography of a Reader – Writing Assignment It will be due at the start of class on Wednesday. Let me know if you have any questions tomorrow so that I can answer them with enough time for you to still write your assignment!

Today we took Houston ISD’s Beginning-of-the-Year Assessment (the BOY). I know it wasn’t too exciting, but it’s an important step for getting ready to take the STAAR in the spring. I’m looking forward to having some actual teaching/learning time next week, though!

Some important announcements from today:

• Please remember that your Hunger Games Characterization Project is due on Monday!
• I have a lot of papers without names on them. If you think you turned something in, but you’re seeing a zero on Gradespeed, please come check that file to see if maybe you just forgot to put your name on it.
• In a few weeks, we will begin reading Ella Minnow Pea, by Mark Dunn. It’s a dystopian novel about an island culture that reveres language above all else. Students need to find a copy. I would highly recommend looking into getting the book sooner rather than later. Here’s the link via Amazon. I would also bet that there are a lot of copies at Half Price Books. If your family is not able to get you a book, please just bring me a note from a parent and I will find one for you.

Have a great weekend! 🙂

Today we got our laptops – yaaaaaay! As a reminder, please bring yours charged and ready to go every day in class.

Also, an important announcement (I’ll talk about this tomorrow in class too) – I made a mistake on the syllabus. When I talked with the other Pre-AP teachers today, I learned that their categories are 40% for major grades and 60% for daily grades, and I need to update my syllabus to be in line with that. I have adjusted the syllabus on the website to reflect that change, and I’m sorry for the confusion.

Please remember that you need to be working on your Hunger Games project. That’s your only homework for tonight and the weekend, so I expect it to be well-done when you turn it in on Monday. Please take a look at it tonight and see if you are going to have any questions so that you have a chance to ask me tomorrow, before school lets out for the weekend.

Our warm-up and homework for today was to read an article about the effects of reading Harry Potter on students’ levels of kindness. Here are those questions, which will be due at the start of class tomorrow. Harry Potter Casts a Spell for Tolerance

Next, we talked about our Hunger Games characterization project. I gave you the sheet that you need to make a final copy of your character. Please remember that that project is due on Monday.

We also took yearbook pictures. Tomorrow, we’ll get our laptops!