So you didn't do so great on the vocab quiz . . . well here is a shot to earn back a couple of points.
You have until 11:59, 2/9/11 to comment on this post.
Your comment needs your FIRST NAME and CLASS PERIOD.
Your comment must have 3 SENTENCES that demonstrate understanding of 3 VOCABULARY WORDS. Do not just give me the definitions, but USE THE WORDS IN SENTENCES that clearly display the meaning of the words.
You can pick any words you want from the last set.
You CANNOT copy the previous poster's sentence - your's must be ORIGINAL.
(This is an all-or-nothing deal; if you comment correctly, you get three points back.)
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Feb. 8th Daily Plan
9th Grade - Freshmen had their first vocab quiz for the mythology unit, and we also started working on the Greek Gods Poster Project in the library.
For the vocab quiz - this has demonstrated that students definitely need to be STUDYING their vocab more than they have been. The students that actually reviewed the words the day before did really well. Those that left their notes in class . . . did not. Something to think about for the next round.
With the library project - the first day was spent getting some of the background information on student's specific gods. In class tomorrow, we will discuss exactly what information is expected in a summary, so the primary goal will be to have TWO MYTHS found that you plan on using.
10th Grade - Sophomores also had their first vocab quiz for the TKAM unit, which had similar scores to the freshmen class - those that mentioned studying the day before did very well, and those that left their notes in class did not.
As a result, I believe I'm going to start grading notebooks at the end of the week . . .
We also discussed the last several chapters of TKAM, to make sure that everyone is understanding the plot and catching some of the subtleties in the writing. The way I presented this to students - if we are going to have a class conversation over the content of the story, I expect EVERYONE to be able to contribute to the discussion. If it is clear that everyone has read (either by demonstrating knowledge of what has occurred, or asking specific questions if students do not understand), then it is less likely that we will have regular quizzes over the reading.
On the other hand, if class discussions are clearly carried by a small group of students, then we will have to have reading quizzes to provide accountability.
HOMEWORK - Read CH 7 and 8, turn in Presentation Summaries (late, zero credit if not in by Friday).
For the vocab quiz - this has demonstrated that students definitely need to be STUDYING their vocab more than they have been. The students that actually reviewed the words the day before did really well. Those that left their notes in class . . . did not. Something to think about for the next round.
With the library project - the first day was spent getting some of the background information on student's specific gods. In class tomorrow, we will discuss exactly what information is expected in a summary, so the primary goal will be to have TWO MYTHS found that you plan on using.
10th Grade - Sophomores also had their first vocab quiz for the TKAM unit, which had similar scores to the freshmen class - those that mentioned studying the day before did very well, and those that left their notes in class did not.
As a result, I believe I'm going to start grading notebooks at the end of the week . . .
We also discussed the last several chapters of TKAM, to make sure that everyone is understanding the plot and catching some of the subtleties in the writing. The way I presented this to students - if we are going to have a class conversation over the content of the story, I expect EVERYONE to be able to contribute to the discussion. If it is clear that everyone has read (either by demonstrating knowledge of what has occurred, or asking specific questions if students do not understand), then it is less likely that we will have regular quizzes over the reading.
On the other hand, if class discussions are clearly carried by a small group of students, then we will have to have reading quizzes to provide accountability.
HOMEWORK - Read CH 7 and 8, turn in Presentation Summaries (late, zero credit if not in by Friday).
Monday, February 7, 2011
Feb. 7th Daily Plan
9th Grade - We are beginning to shift away from overall mythic archetypes and ideas, and into specific information regarding Greek mythology. This is because the main text for this unit, Antigone, is firmly rooted in Greek culture.
New Vocab - anthropology, epitome, pantheon
To gain more background knowledge as to how the Greek gods are connecting to ideals of Greek civilization, students will be doing a short research project individually. Each student will be assigned a Greek god tomorrow, and will have the following couple of days in the library to find information regarding -
1) The Origin Myth - Where does your choice come from?
2) A myth of your choice - What does the story about your choice say about Greek civilization and values?
The final project will be poster, which requires a drawn image, two summarized myths+analysis, and a properly done works cited page.
Students have had a hard time accurately finishing a works cited thus far, so for this project, it is all-or-nothing. Either the works cited is PERFECT, or it receives NO CREDIT.
10th Grade - The overall focus on this lesson was the on the power of words, particularly words that are derogatory to specific groups of people. We discussed the connection to TKAM, as many of the characters use language that would be considered offensive in contemporary social circles.
Students were provided the guidelines for the Reader Response Journals, an on-going assignment to be completed as we read TKAM. Some of the writing prompts will be given in class, but students are also expected to come up with a few prompt ideas of their own to write about.
New Vocab - vapid, entailment, domicile
The class read two articles reviewing the use of the n-word in modern society. We discussed the idea of context changing meaning, as well as audience. The last part of class allowed students some time to write a reflection on the conversation as part of the Reader Response Journals.
New Vocab - anthropology, epitome, pantheon
To gain more background knowledge as to how the Greek gods are connecting to ideals of Greek civilization, students will be doing a short research project individually. Each student will be assigned a Greek god tomorrow, and will have the following couple of days in the library to find information regarding -
1) The Origin Myth - Where does your choice come from?
2) A myth of your choice - What does the story about your choice say about Greek civilization and values?
The final project will be poster, which requires a drawn image, two summarized myths+analysis, and a properly done works cited page.
Students have had a hard time accurately finishing a works cited thus far, so for this project, it is all-or-nothing. Either the works cited is PERFECT, or it receives NO CREDIT.
10th Grade - The overall focus on this lesson was the on the power of words, particularly words that are derogatory to specific groups of people. We discussed the connection to TKAM, as many of the characters use language that would be considered offensive in contemporary social circles.
Students were provided the guidelines for the Reader Response Journals, an on-going assignment to be completed as we read TKAM. Some of the writing prompts will be given in class, but students are also expected to come up with a few prompt ideas of their own to write about.
New Vocab - vapid, entailment, domicile
The class read two articles reviewing the use of the n-word in modern society. We discussed the idea of context changing meaning, as well as audience. The last part of class allowed students some time to write a reflection on the conversation as part of the Reader Response Journals.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Feb. 4th Daily Plan
9th Grade - As we continue our mythology unit, we took time today to particularly focus on archetypes. There are certain types of characters that appear throughout all mythologies, and can be found in many different cultures. I provided several examples to the class (for example, the wise old man), and students were asked to develop lists of contemporary examples that fit.
The characters we discussed -
The Trickster, The Sage (The Wise Old Man), The Hero, The Mentor, The Devil/Demon
We also discussed the psychological usage of the term "archetype," which divides personality into three categories -
The Self, The Shadow, The Persona. Of these three, we focused primarily on the Persona; which is the "mask" that each person wears when interacting with others. I explained to the students how everyone acts different based on the people around them, and these differences define the Persona.
JOURNAL ENTRY - Describe how your persona changes in three different environments. One-page minimum.
New Vocab - ritual, allegory
10th Grade - First, all SUMMARIES for the Research Mini-Project are due by hard copy or by e-mail by end of day today.
From this point on, most of the reading for TKAM is expected to be done outside of class. In-class today, we discussed the idea of symbolism, and how author's will pick particular names for characters that help define them as people.
The contemporary examples I used were from the films "The Truman Show" and "The Matrix."
The Truman Show, for those that have not seen it, is a film starring Jim Carey, where his character is unknowingly the star of a reality-TV show from birth. Therefore, it makes sense that his character would be named Truman (True Man), since he is the only genuine person.
The class looked at four names from TKAM - Finch, Atticus, Scout, and Calpurnia. They completed a worksheet in class that compared the literal meaning, the symbolism in TKAM, and provided examples from the text.
New Vocab - diminuitive, indigenous, auspicious.
HOMEWORK - Read CH 4 for Monday, as we are discussing. If EVERYONE is able to contribute and has read, no quiz for the next following chapters. If not . . . let's just call this foreshadowing.
The characters we discussed -
The Trickster, The Sage (The Wise Old Man), The Hero, The Mentor, The Devil/Demon
We also discussed the psychological usage of the term "archetype," which divides personality into three categories -
The Self, The Shadow, The Persona. Of these three, we focused primarily on the Persona; which is the "mask" that each person wears when interacting with others. I explained to the students how everyone acts different based on the people around them, and these differences define the Persona.
JOURNAL ENTRY - Describe how your persona changes in three different environments. One-page minimum.
New Vocab - ritual, allegory
10th Grade - First, all SUMMARIES for the Research Mini-Project are due by hard copy or by e-mail by end of day today.
From this point on, most of the reading for TKAM is expected to be done outside of class. In-class today, we discussed the idea of symbolism, and how author's will pick particular names for characters that help define them as people.
The contemporary examples I used were from the films "The Truman Show" and "The Matrix."
The Truman Show, for those that have not seen it, is a film starring Jim Carey, where his character is unknowingly the star of a reality-TV show from birth. Therefore, it makes sense that his character would be named Truman (True Man), since he is the only genuine person.
The class looked at four names from TKAM - Finch, Atticus, Scout, and Calpurnia. They completed a worksheet in class that compared the literal meaning, the symbolism in TKAM, and provided examples from the text.
New Vocab - diminuitive, indigenous, auspicious.
HOMEWORK - Read CH 4 for Monday, as we are discussing. If EVERYONE is able to contribute and has read, no quiz for the next following chapters. If not . . . let's just call this foreshadowing.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Feb. 3rd Daily Plan
9th Grade - We continued our discussion about creation myths, and common human experiences that influence them. While many of the myths that we reviewed shared many similar qualities (an all-powerful creator, the development of the world from darkness or chaos, the development of humans and animals), each myth has some unique qualities as well.
These unique qualities are often a result of geography. For example, Greece and Japan have creation myths which heavily emphasize the ocean. This is expected because Greece is coastal and has many islands, and Japan is entirely islands.
Freshmen also added three new vocabulary words - archetype, collective unconscious, personal unconscious.
We also discussed means of transmitting myths and stories. Traditionally, we have two options - oral or written. To look at the pros and cons of both methods, students played a game. In teams, we essentially played "telephone" with Aesop's fables. The first student would hear the actual story, and then transmit it to the next team member, and so on. The final student would write the story down, and we would compare it to the original to see what modifications occur with oral transmission.
10th Grade - Sophomores continued through the beginning of TKAM, and we read through CH 2 in-class. We discussed the reliability of the narrator - as this story is told from a 1st-person point of view, and it is clear that the narrator is talking about a point in their childhood, I asked students how trustworthy they feel the narration is.
We have also added three vocabulary words for the day - placidly, amiable, and nebulous.
As an experiment, the first in-class writing entry for TKAM involves recall. I asked students to take 10 minutes to write down their earliest memory, in as much detail as possible.
Homework - Read CH 3; Research Mini-Project summaries due through e-mail.
These unique qualities are often a result of geography. For example, Greece and Japan have creation myths which heavily emphasize the ocean. This is expected because Greece is coastal and has many islands, and Japan is entirely islands.
Freshmen also added three new vocabulary words - archetype, collective unconscious, personal unconscious.
We also discussed means of transmitting myths and stories. Traditionally, we have two options - oral or written. To look at the pros and cons of both methods, students played a game. In teams, we essentially played "telephone" with Aesop's fables. The first student would hear the actual story, and then transmit it to the next team member, and so on. The final student would write the story down, and we would compare it to the original to see what modifications occur with oral transmission.
10th Grade - Sophomores continued through the beginning of TKAM, and we read through CH 2 in-class. We discussed the reliability of the narrator - as this story is told from a 1st-person point of view, and it is clear that the narrator is talking about a point in their childhood, I asked students how trustworthy they feel the narration is.
We have also added three vocabulary words for the day - placidly, amiable, and nebulous.
As an experiment, the first in-class writing entry for TKAM involves recall. I asked students to take 10 minutes to write down their earliest memory, in as much detail as possible.
Homework - Read CH 3; Research Mini-Project summaries due through e-mail.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Feb 2nd Daily Plan
9th Grade - Freshmen are continuing in their unit focused on Mythology. Today we discussed the idea that the creation of mythology is an ongoing process, and that there are many myths alive today, and in every society.
Part of the reason for this is that people of all societies throughout history have generally had the same wants and needs. To demonstrate this, students were asked what their goals were in the next 25 years. In very general terms, these goals are the same as they would be for any cultural group (be successful, have a good job, marriage, family), and at any point in time.
We continued this conversation by discussing rites of passage, another cultural commonality. Students found examples of rites of passage in modern day American culture, and we briefly compared these to historical examples.
Finally, students performed an activity in small groups. Each group was assigned two creation myths from different cultures, and were asked to find commonalities between their myths. Finally, the class came together to list the commonalities of all the creation myths discussed.
10th Grade - Sophomores started reading To Kill a Mockingbird in class today. We are continuing to set context throughout the reading by having students share their research findings from the previous class periods. Today, the group that researched The Great Depression presented, to help provide a greater understanding of the setting.
I spoke to the class about reading strategy as we started the book as well. Basically, I explained to students that in order to best understand and enjoy this novel, they should read it primarily as a story. What this means is that rather than read through the book as a textbook searching for information, they should read it for the sake of getting involved in a storyline. Overall, this will provide greater enjoyment, engagement, and understanding.
I also explained to students my goals for outside-of-class reading of TKAM. For the sake of using class time effectively, it is best that the students do the majority of reading at home, so we can use the time in class to discuss and delve deeper into some of the issues raised in the novel.
However, to do this well, students must be coming to class prepared. If students are all able to come to class and contribute to class discussion and can demonstrate comprehension, I'm psyched and less class time can be devoted to reading, and quizzes over the previous night's reading. Win-win situation.
Homework - Complete Chapter 1.
Part of the reason for this is that people of all societies throughout history have generally had the same wants and needs. To demonstrate this, students were asked what their goals were in the next 25 years. In very general terms, these goals are the same as they would be for any cultural group (be successful, have a good job, marriage, family), and at any point in time.
We continued this conversation by discussing rites of passage, another cultural commonality. Students found examples of rites of passage in modern day American culture, and we briefly compared these to historical examples.
Finally, students performed an activity in small groups. Each group was assigned two creation myths from different cultures, and were asked to find commonalities between their myths. Finally, the class came together to list the commonalities of all the creation myths discussed.
10th Grade - Sophomores started reading To Kill a Mockingbird in class today. We are continuing to set context throughout the reading by having students share their research findings from the previous class periods. Today, the group that researched The Great Depression presented, to help provide a greater understanding of the setting.
I spoke to the class about reading strategy as we started the book as well. Basically, I explained to students that in order to best understand and enjoy this novel, they should read it primarily as a story. What this means is that rather than read through the book as a textbook searching for information, they should read it for the sake of getting involved in a storyline. Overall, this will provide greater enjoyment, engagement, and understanding.
I also explained to students my goals for outside-of-class reading of TKAM. For the sake of using class time effectively, it is best that the students do the majority of reading at home, so we can use the time in class to discuss and delve deeper into some of the issues raised in the novel.
However, to do this well, students must be coming to class prepared. If students are all able to come to class and contribute to class discussion and can demonstrate comprehension, I'm psyched and less class time can be devoted to reading, and quizzes over the previous night's reading. Win-win situation.
Homework - Complete Chapter 1.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Feb 1st Daily Plan
9th Grade - Freshmen had a brief discussion over the topic of mythology to start the day, specifically looking at what differentiates the concept of myth from legends, folklore, urban legends, fairy tales, etc.
What was explained to students is that myths generally provide some context for the values and behaviors for a specific society, and that myths are not solely historical.
I provided students with a short list of stories, and asked them to classify which category they thought each story would fall into.
Students also were given time to read in class (S.S.R.)
10th Grade - sophomores spent the majority of the class period reading (S.S.R.), as I've been focusing on making sure that students bring their personal books on a daily basis. Today was also designed to give sophomores a short breather before delving into the text of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Homework - summary for mini-projects due Friday, 2/4.
What was explained to students is that myths generally provide some context for the values and behaviors for a specific society, and that myths are not solely historical.
I provided students with a short list of stories, and asked them to classify which category they thought each story would fall into.
Students also were given time to read in class (S.S.R.)
10th Grade - sophomores spent the majority of the class period reading (S.S.R.), as I've been focusing on making sure that students bring their personal books on a daily basis. Today was also designed to give sophomores a short breather before delving into the text of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Homework - summary for mini-projects due Friday, 2/4.
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