We started today with a discussion of the first 13 pages of The Little Prince. Homework for tonight was to read the next 13 pages and complete the following page: Allegory and Parable in TLP

Next, we started to talk about verbs. Both the PowerPoint and Notes/Practice sheet are under the Grammar section of the website. We’ll finish up on that tomorrow.

Today in class, we will:

1. Turn in and highlight Hunger Games essays.
2. Take the Scholastic Reading Inventory to determine your reading level.
3. Talk about homework, which is to read the first 13 pages of The Little Prince.

Here is a pdf of The Little Prince: The Little Prince

And here is your homework for tonight: The Little Prince Rose Metaphors

If you were absent today or did not have your computer, you need to make up the Scholastic Reading Inventory on your own time. Here are instructions for how to do it:

How to Take the Scholastic Reading Inventory:

1. Open Chrome.
2. Go to https://houston.itslearning.com
3. Log in using your student ID (a long number with an S at the beginning – if you do not know this, see me). If you have a Gradespeed account, your password will be the same thing. If you do not have a Gradespeed account, your password will be your birthday – MMDDYYYY. (*Note – it will be all four digits of the year.)
4. Go to More.
5. Go to Digital Resources.
6. Go to ELA.
7. Click “Scholastic Reading Inventory.”
8. You will need to log in again. This time, your ID will be the same, but your password will be your birthday in the form of MMDDYY (only the last two digits of your birth year).
9. Begin taking the test. It is very important that you do your best job on this test. Students who score poorly may need extra tutorials and work.

Make sure that you complete it entirely on your own – no parent assistance allowed!

We spent most of today taking the vocab/nouns quiz, and then students had time to finish their Hunger Games projects. A few important announcements/reminders:

1. Students must bring their laptops to class tomorrow! We are taking an online test, and you will not be able to complete it without one.
2. Your Hunger Games project is due tomorrow. You need to make sure that you have a printed copy of the story when you arrive in class (please don’t ask to bring it to me at lunch or after school) so that you can participate in the highlighting, to make sure that I give you full credit for your work.
3. If you were absent today, you must come in on Friday during lunch to make up your quiz.
4. Please remind your parents that Thursday night is Parent Night! They can come to the school and meet me and hear all kinds of good things about how you are doing. 🙂

We had some nice class discussions about the procrastination article that we all read, which concluding in thinking about strategies for not letting procrastination get the best of you in high school.

Next, we talked about the Hunger Games characterization project. I told you that because we lost time due to Vocabulary.com delays, I was extending the deadline until Tuesday. The big thing to remember is that your story needs to include all five kinds of indirect characterization.

We have a quiz on Monday! It will be mostly your Odyssey 1 words, with a few questions over nouns thrown in.

We finished discussing the vocabulary terms from the Odyssey 1 list. We will have a quiz over those words (along with a few questions about nouns) on Monday.

Afterwards, I showed students how to set up Vocabulary.com accounts and begin practicing the words for Odyssey List 1. The instructions are under the Vocabulary section of this website, in case you were absent or need more help. I asked students who were having technical difficulties to see the laptop guys on the second floor, next to the library. From what I’ve heard, it’s almost always a quick fix.

Homework for tonight was to read the article about procrastination and complete the reading guide – due tomorrow!

We began today’s class with a discussion about learning, memorization, and knowledge based on the reading assignment from last night, with a specific focus on what the ideas in the article mean for learning and studying in high school. Next, we had lesson over nouns – homework was to finish the Nouns Notes and Practice page (both of those items are under the Grammar section of the website). We also began to discuss the first Odyssey vocabulary list – we’ll finish that tomorrow.

A big reminder for tomorrow – bring your laptop. You won’t be able to do tomorrow’s activity without it.

I hope that everyone had a fantastic, relaxing Labor Day!

We began today by turning in essays over I Am Malala. Students then took their vocabulary quiz over literary device terms.

After the quiz, students began working on reading and answering questions about an article on memorization and learning – When Memorization Gets in the Way of Learning. Whatever you did not finish in class today is due for homework tomorrow.

ALSO – PLEASE BRING YOUR COMPUTER TO CLASS ON THURSDAY!

We continued working on the Hunger Games Design-a-Tribute project (due September 14) in class, with a special focus on plot.

The two things that you need to remember for Tuesday are:

1. Your essay over I Am Malala is due.

2. We’re taking the quiz over the list of literary devices. Please make sure you are ready!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic Labor Day!

As a reminder, your autobiography of your reading life is due tomorrow.

Today in class, we began a characterization project in which students will design a Hunger Games tribute. This project is due on September 14 and is worth a major grade. We’ll continue to work on it piece-by-piece in class. Characterization Tribute Project- Academic

Today in class, students worked on their autobiographies of their reading lives (due Friday): Autobiography of a Reader – Writing Assignment

Homework for tonight was to read the original (1938!) comic book of Superman and analyze it for literary devices in the following assignment: Superman Literary Device Identification

And here is the link to that comic.