Tuesday January 13, 2015

Honors 9- Today we took a pop quiz covering chapters 1 and 2 from To Kill a Mockingbird. If you were absent, please see me right away to set up a time to schedule a make up. All make ups need to be done by Friday so I can hand them back.

English 10- Today we watched videos and started the article Suicide by Choice? Not So Fast, which both look at the negatives of assisted suicide. We will continue reading and annotating the article tomorrow.

Monday January 12, 2015

Honors 9- Today I introduced the vocab words for this week. They come from chapters 2-4 in TKaM. Here are the words if you need them:

Kudzu

Benevolence

Tacit

Scuppernongs

Disapprobation

Auspicious

Iniquities

Expounding

Dispensation

Vexation

English 10- We continued to look at assisted suicide and the pro/cons surrounding it. Here are the questions for the article if you need them:

 1. What does the author want to do?  What is her problem?

2. What are some potential problems with assisting in someone’s death? 

3. What does the author think the difference is between “killing someone” and assisted suicide?

4. How did the mother react to being given the option of “suicide?”

5. What is the author’s claim?

6. What are the author’s best examples of supporting evidence?

7. What could the author do to make a stronger claim?

NOTE: Please include textual evidence for questions 5 and 6! Make sure you answer in complete sentences! 

Friday January 9, 2015

Honors 9- Today we took vocab quiz #8. See me to take this quiz if you missed it. I handed out books and assigned students to finish the rest of chapter one for homework. Here are next weeks vocab words if you want to get a head start on definitions:

•Vexation

•Dispensation

•Expounding

•Iniquities

•Disapprobation

•Auspicious

•Scuppernongs

•Tacit

•Benevolence

•Kudzu

English 10- We continued our work with our look at claim and evidence in relation to assisted suicide. Please have annotations and questions completed by Monday. Here are the questions if you need them:

 1. What does the author want to do?  What is her problem?

2. What are some potential problems with assisting in someone’s death? 

3. What does the author think the difference is between “killing someone” and assisted suicide?

4. How did the mother react to being given the option of “suicide?”

5. What is the author’s claim?

6. What are the author’s best examples of supporting evidence?

7. What could the author do to make a stronger claim?

NOTE: Please include textual evidence for questions 5 and 6! Make sure you answer in complete sentences! 

Thursday January 8, 2015

Honors 9- Today we finished the group pre-reading questions and discussions that we have been working on the past couple of days. NOTE: Vocab quiz tomorrow!! Here are the words and definitions if you need them to study:

•Piety- respect or devotion to a higher power or religion

•Brethren- members of a group

•Dictum- A statement or ruling from an official source

•Chattels-a movable possession other than real estate

•Taciturn- reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little

•Tyrannical- cruel, unjust power or control

•Vapid- uninteresting, boring, lifeless--also tasteless

•Predilection- a tendency towards or preference for something

•Domiciled- residing in a specific place; a permanent residence

•Entailment- something required or necessary  

English 10- Today we read the article Assisted Suicide: Jack Kevorkian was just a sideshow. We annotated the article identifying types of evidence and tried to uncover the author's claim. We will be comparing this article to another based on the same topic, but highlighting an opposing claim. 

Wednesday January 7, 2015

Honors 9- Today we did a group activity discussing the pre-reading questions assigned yesterday. We looked  at the social and political context of TKaM as well.


English 10- We looked at and reviewed the "Identifying 5 Types of Evidence" worksheet as a class. If you have not turned this in yet, please do as it is a grade in the grade book.

Tuesday January 6, 2015

Honors 9- Today we took the pre-reading survey for TKaM. We also worked on the free write questions for the text as well. Please have these questions completed by tomorrow. Here are the questions if you did not get them written down:

1. The setting of TKaM is extraordinarily important to understanding the events contained within. Describe your neighborhood or a neighborhood you once lived in. Explain what it looks like, where it is located, and what the people in it are like. What are their attitudes and fears? What do you think about growing up there? Again, be descriptive and imaginative.

2. Define and explain innocence in your own words. Describe someone you know who is innocent.

3. What does it mean to be a grown-up? How do you know when you are an adult? Why would someone refer to growing up as a “journey”?

4.  Define and explain justice in your own words. What is the most unjust occurrence you’ve ever heard about?

5. Based on the title of the novel, make predictions about what the novel will be about? (Don’t say it is about killing birds)

English 10- Today we took notes on claim and types of evidence. If you did not get the notes, please get them from a classmate or see me as soon as possible. I also handed out the "Identifying 5 Types of Evidence" worksheet. We will continue to work on this in class.

Monday January 5, 2015

Honors 9- Today we discussed the available To Kill a Mockingbird texts. Students then worked on the vocab words for this week. Vocab for the next few weeks will be taken directly from TKaM. Here are the words for this week:

•Piety

•Brethren

•Dictum

•Chattels

•Taciturn

•Tyrannical

•Vapid

•Predilection

•Domiciled

•Entailment 

English 10- Today we reviewed class expectations and prepared for quarter 3. Please note that there is now a participation portion for all students grades. Here is the information: 

For this semester, I will be giving a participation grade that will amount to 25% of your grade. It will be based on the following factors:

-Willingness to participate

-Focus during individual work

-Focus and participation during group work

-Turning work in on time

-Being disruptive, socializing etc.

-Notebooks

-Issues with cellphones, tech etc.

I will be constantly and consistently monitoring and making notes on these things and evaluating your participation. Everyone has bad days, but if you are a constant nuisance in any of these areas, it will dramatically impact your grade.

 Please bring your notebooks tomorrow so I can check them off.