May 10th Daily Plan

9th Grade - This class was overly focused on discussion, specifically over a few of the main topics that are found in Act 3 of "Romeo and Juliet."

First, students were provided a "would you rather" situation - would you rather break up with a boy/girlfriend if your parent's disapproved of him/her, or would you try to stay together, even if it meant getting kicked out of your home? This question is very similar to the scenario provided in the play, so having students think about their personal responses helps make the play more relatable.

We also discussed two major topics found in Act 3 - What defines a healthy relationship, and what makes someone attempt suicide? Students were asked to create a list of what makes a relationship "healthy," and then apply their standards to "Romeo and Juliet." As Romeo attempts suicide in Scene 3, students were asked to think about why people attempt suicide, and whether they think most attempts are legitimate, or cries for attention.

10th Grade - We began work on the Critical Thinking Unit Rough Draft. The grading for this unit was also explained -

Portfolio - 60 pts
Rough Draft - 30 pts
Final Draft - 30 pts

The reason it is laid out in this way is because the overall unit is more focused on process over product - I'd rather see that students were able to advance their thinking and writing skills over the course of the portfolio assignment into the rough draft, and then make significant changes and progress between the rough and final draft.

The class looked at the assignment sheet and rubric, worked on outlining ideas, and are working on typing their essays in class the rest of the week. Every student also had to schedule a 5 minute writing conference with me (either during class, during lunch, or after school) before Friday. I expect that every student knows what they are writing on and has talked to me to clarify strategies and understand what they should be working on; no student should be talking to me on Friday saying that they were unsure of what they were supposed to be writing.