SENIORS: The storyboard for your children's book is due TODAY.  As it is a rough draft, I will understand if it is not perfect; however, make it as complete as you can.  Now is the time to experiment with combinations of words and pictures; you can always change your mind. 
                                                     HAVE A FUN BREAK!

SOPHOMORES: I passed back the notebooks; one thing that I noticed for many of you is the LACK of Cornell Notes.  Do not blow this off; you will need your notes for the paper you will write when we get back from Spring Break.  You can still do them and turn them in for some credit.  We continued with notebook responses, writing about the following:
       Chapter 7 has a short flash-forward which shows us Elie in Paris.  What do the following people in that scene show us about human nature: 1) Elie 2) The woman  3) The children
       There is another scene in which a son takes a piece of bread away from his father.  Elie Wiesel ends that scene with the sentence, "I was fifteen years old."  Why do you think he did that?

        On the back of the B.F. Skinner interview is a poem written by an anonymous student from Columbine High School.  After reading the poem, do the following: This poem catalogs many contradictions in life.  Pick the three that stand out to you the most and explain why those three have more meaning to you than the others.  Also, which of these contradictions have you personally experienced and/or witnessed?

        I passed out another handout; on one side we learn about how John Locke feels about the nature of man, and the other side has song lyrics from Pieces of You by Jewel.  We had a class discussion about these pieces.  If you didn't get the handout, see me.
                                                              HAVE A FUN BREAK!

SENIORS: Still working on your storyboard, which is due tomorrow at the end of the period.  It does not have to be perfect, but it will be worth 100 points.

SOPHOMORES: Today's notebook response was this: Concentrating on Chapter 6, what do the following people show us about the nature of man? 1) Elie  2) Elie's father  3) Juliek
      After the notebook response, we got into groups and read an interview of the psychologist B.F. Skinner.  Each person in the group created 3 questions for the group as a whole to talk about and answer.   Also, I had 3 questions for the group to answer: 1) What is B.F. Skinner's claim?  2) What three things influence behavior?  3) Do you feel like your behavior has been or is being modified in some way?  Give an example from your experience.
     Lastly, I collected the notebooks; the HW was to read Chapter 7 of NIGHT.
 

SENIORS: We began working on the storyboards for your children's book.  These will be due this Thursday, before you go on break.  If you've been absent, I did a notebook check on Friday; so if I haven't checked your notebook, get that to me ASAP.

SOPHOMORES: First, a reminder that there will be a notebook check on Wednesday; I have a list of what I'll be checking for on a previous blog.  The notebook response for today was: So far, what has surprised you the most?  Why was it surprising? (This can be about anything you've read in NIGHT).  We also had a pop quiz.  The questions were: 1) What were Elie's thoughts/feelings about God?  Supply two quotes to support your answer.  2) What is the relationship between Elie and his father?  Supply two quotes to support your answer.  3) What is symbolic about the knife and the spoon that Elie's father gives to him?  4) Why was Akiba Drumer's faith important?  5) Why does Elie ask the question, "Were we men then?"   Lastly, we did a Silent Socratic; see me about that.  Your HW is to get caught up on reading up to and including Chapter 5 of NIGHT.

SENIORS: We continued work on your children's book rough draft; and I did a notebook check, collecting the notebooks I didn't get to during the class period.

SOPHOMORES: We did a "Stop and Jot" with a TED Talks video (Samantha Power on a Complicated Hero).  I will be doing a notebook check on Wednesday.  Here's what I'll be looking for: Grammar Exercises (we did 11 or 12, don't worry if you don't have them all, having most will do), and a Business Letter Template.  We also did writings on Morals, Conscience, Einstein Quote, and a Time When You Weren't Believed (and Why); these are all explained on older blog posts.  I will also be looking for Cornell Notes, Chapters 1-5, Thematic Ideas (faith symbols, inhumanity towards others, what we learn from dialogue, traditions, silence, character descriptions, father/son relationships), the Samantha Power Stop and Jots, and your response to comments on her talk.

SENIORS: We continued the work on the rough draft of your children's book.  Your notebook and rough draft information are due to me this Friday.  Rough draft info can be shared electronically.

SOPHOMORES:  Questions and observations were pulled from Chapter 3.  Your HW tonight is to read Chapter 4, pulling information as explained by your group's job title.  Be ready with that specific information tomorrow.
                                                    JORGE: Your group gave you the job of Connector.  Your job is to help everyone make connections to other ideas, such as stuff we've done in class, other stories (and plays) we've read, and especially experiences you have had.  Be ready to explain your connections clearly (examples: how you and one of the characters in NIGHT are alike or different; human nature as seen in the story The Interlopers, etc.)

SENIORS: The warmup for today was about pets.  What kind of pets did you have? What were your responsibilities with those pets? Did you enjoy those responsibilities or were they chores?  Did you get along with your pets or not? If you didn't have pets, why not? 
       The following are 2 lists of what you should be thinking about for your children's book.  The first list is for those of you who are writing a fictional story.
     Who is the protagonist?     Who is the antagonist?  What is the conflict?  What is the setting?  What is the theme?   Do you need dialogue?  What is the climax?  What other characters does your story need?  What age-range are you writing for?

This next list is for those who are writing an informational book.
   What is your topic?  Do you need to narrow it down?  What facts are you going to use?  How many?  Serious tone or humorous?  Realistic illustrations or cartoony?   What age-range are you writing for?

Also, don't forget that I will do a notebook check this Friday.  Here's what I'll be looking for:
1. Write about a book you read as a child.  2. Horribly Wrong  3. Child's Question  4. Morning and Bedtime Routines  5. When I was a Little Kid   6. Pets   7. Brainstorming topics    8. Brainstorming ideas for your book


SOPHOMORES: In your notebook, describe a time when you weren't believed.  Why do you think that happened?  Title it, Belief.   Also, we read the Myth of Cassandra, doing a comparison/contrast between that work and the first two chapters of NIGHT, tying both in with our big picture question of What is the Nature of Man?

SENIORS: In your notebook, respond to the following: Think about a time when you were a little kid.  What was important to you then?  What things did you like to do?  What were your favorite toys and games? What did your room look like? Try writing about different ages in your life.  What changes (if any) do you notice?  Be specific; don't tell say, "I liked to play games," and then move on to something else.  Tell me what kind of games you liked: did you like cerebral board games or did you prefer more active games like softball?  Then, give yourself 5 minutes to freewrite story ideas, the more the merrier.  When done, pick one idea and write down everything you can think of that is positive about that topic.  Then think about all the negative associations.  Having both lists is a way of determining if your idea has the important plot element of CONFLICT.  Lastly, keep up-to-date on notebook assignments as I will be doing a NOTEBOOK CHECK this Friday.

SOPHOMORES: In your notebooks, write down possible themes you should have in mind as you read NIGHT.  Look in a classmate's notebook and copy down the specific themes.  I then modeled Cornell Notes, pulling information and questions from the first few pages of the book.  Your homework is to have Chapters One and Two (up to and including page 26) read for tomorrow, creating Cornell Notes along the way. 

SENIORS: Add this writing assignment to your notebook: Pretend you are your favorite animal and follow it from sun-up to sun-down.  Use sense imagery (the five senses).  What does your favorite animal see? hear? taste? touch? smell?  After that, think about an animal that would be the opposite of your favorite and do the same all over again.  For example, if your favorite animal is an elephant, the opposite could be an ant or a lion.  Also, start brainstorming ideas for your book; it's time to figure out things such as, will you write a fictional story or an informational book?  Will your illustrations be drawn by hand or found on the internet?

SOPHOMORES: We began reading NIGHT by Elie Wiesel; we got through the preface and the foreword, pulling information and asking questions through the use of Cornell Notes.  Make sure you bring your copy of NIGHT with you to class every day.

SENIORS: Today's notebook response is: Describe the bedtime routine of a child. You determine the age.  What difficulties might exist; what might be easy?  Then try writing about the morning routine.  During the rest of the period, we finished analyzing children's books, answering the questions in our notebooks.  Tomorrow is the last day for showing your photo to the class.

SOPHOMORES: We went to the library to get a copy of NIGHT, by Elie Wiesel.  If you don't have a copy, get one ASAP, or you are going to get seriously behind in assignments.  In your notebook, respond to the following: "The world is not dangerous because of those who do harm, but because of those who look at it without doing anything." Albert Einstein  Do you agree or disagree?  In either choice, tell me why.

SENIORS: Today's notebook response is: Think of a question a child might have.  Then list all the possible answers an adult could give.  Once again, be as normal or outrageous as you like, but keep it appropriate for your audience.  We continued sharing pictures and analyzing children's books.

SOPHOMORES: First, make sure you bring your school I.D. tomorrow, as we will be going to the library to pick up a book that we will be using for our new unit.  Then, make sure you have responses to the following in your notebook:  3/12  What does it mean to have morals? Do you consider yourself a moral person?  Explain with an example.   3/13  "Since conscience can cause personal suffering, most people do not act from conscience."  How does this statement apply to you.  Write an example of when you did, or did not, follow your conscience.  I expect to see a response that is at least a paragraph in length.

SOPHOMORES:  I forgot to tell you this: Bring you ID on Thursday as we will be getting a textbook from the library.

SENIORS: Every day we will be doing some brainstorming for our children's books; today we wrote about the following: Think of a normal action in which a child might participate.  then list all the possible things that could happen to make that situation not work or go horribly wrong.  Be as normal or outrageous as you like.  However, always remember your audience, so keep it clean and any extreme actions should be for comic effect (in other words, you're not writing a screenplay for a slasher movie).

SOPHOMORES: One day down, one to go! Get your rest tonight and eat a good breakfast tomorrow.  Good Luck!

SENIORS: Today we started our new unit: Children's books.  There are several question you need to get in your notebook, as we will be referring to them many times.  These questions will apply to the children's books you will analyze.  Also, we shared pictures of ourselves as kids (2-10 years), thinking about how we could use our own memories as source material for the books we will write.  This is worth 100 points, and the last day to do this is tomorrow (unless you have an excused absence).  Lastly, tonight is the last night I will look at anything for the Senior Portfolio for a grade.  I have to turn in grades tomorrow morning.

SOPHOMORES: We did Grammar #11 and worked on strategies for tomorrow's CAHSEE.  Get a good night's rest tonight, and eat a good breakfast tomorrow.  Remember to go to your CAHSEE assigned classroom first period, not your normal first period class.  GOOD LUCK!

 

SENIORS: Make sure I get everything today.  The exception is 7th period because we had major technical difficulties; your deadline is tomorrow.  The wise thing would be to find a computer tonight and get everything done, no matter what period you're in.

SOPHOMORES: We did Grammar #8, went over the answers to the Subject/Verb Agreement exercise, then (in groups) went over some of the answers to the Practice CAHSEE.

SENIORS: Time is running out; get the final drafts of all Portfolio work in to me (email or hard copy) by tomorrow!

 SOPHOMORES: Today we did Grammar #7, made lists of indefinite pronouns, and worked an exercise on subject/verb agreement.  See me for the handout.  We will go over the answers tomorrow.

SENIORS: Keep at it; due date is this Wednesday!

SOPHOMORES: Today we did Grammar #6, went over the answers to the Parallel Structure exercise, discussed some things to know for the writing component, and (in your notebook) wrote down some ideas for possible prompts.

SENIORS: The first progress report for the second semester will be coming up soon; everything that we have worked on so far is due by Wed., March 6.  Check Gradebook to make sure you have turned in your resume', cover letter, personal statement essay questions, and the personal statement essay.  Everything must be in its final draft to get credit.

SOPHOMORES: Today we worked Grammar #5, Misplaced Modifiers, and Parallel Structure. With the grading window for this progress report closing soon, check Gradebook to see if you are missing any work and see me ASAP if there is something you need to catch up on.