Week of March 26

Friday
Students finalized the Literary Devices Crossword and turned it in.
Handout: Vocab stems 1-6
See how many you know without looking at your stems list. Then fill in the rest using your list.
Homework:
Vocab stems list is due Monday.




Thursday
Special Schedule - No Class Today


Thursday
Students finalize the Literary Devices Crossword and turn it in.
Handout: Vocab stems 1-6
See how many you know without looking a your stems list. Then fill in the
Homework:
Lit. Devices is not homework; we will continue it on Friday.

Wednesday
Error/Fixit: Ides of March/Volcanic Iceland
Students analysed the news article "Tighter Security for the SAT" using the News Article Analysis w/s. The w/s was then turned in.
Homework:
Lit. Devices is not homework; we will continue it on Friday.



Tuesday
Error/Fixit: Nuts for Pecans/Larsen B Ice Shelf
We revised for and took the final Parts of Speech / Sentence Structure test, graded it, and turned it in.
Handout: Literary Devices crossword (review - students could work in groups and use their notebooks).
Homework:
Lit. Devices is not homework; we will continue it on Friday.



Monday
Error/Fixit: Tunisia/Silly Putty
Paragraph structure work: Japanese-Amercans During WWII and Albert Einstein: Winning the Race to Develop the Atom Bomb
The first was turned in; the second w/s was to be finished for homework
Students also challenged their brains by completing Animal Crackers and Checked-out Charlie crossword puzzles.
Homework:
Finish w/s 229 - due tomorrow

Spring Break

March 19-23

PTA Conferences March 29

Week of March 12

Friday
7th/8th grade field trip


Thursday
Stems List #6 Quiz.
In groups, students continued discussing and completing the Turning to the Dictionary for Help Packet (3-3 to 3-8), which was due at theend of the period.
Homework:
Read


Wednesday
Error/Fixit
Handout: Turning to the Dictionary for Help Packet (3-3 to 3-8)
In groups, students discussed and worked on the Turning to the Dictionary for Help Packet.
It was turned in, and students will finish it tomorrow.
Homework:
Stem List #6 sentences - due tomorrow
Quiz on the Stems #6 tomorrow



Tuesday
Students worked on posters featuring aspects of Pirate Pride for tomorrow's Whirlybird Wednesday.
Homework:
Stem List #6 sentences - due 3/15
Quiz on the Stems on Thursday



Monday
Collected Sonnets.
Error/Fixit: Ezra Jack Keats/Tuskegee Airmen
Students had time to work on their Stem List #6 sentences.
Homework:
Stem List #6 sentences - due 3/15
Quiz on them Thursday

Here's an example of a modern-day sonnet

The Little Penguin
By clayhoop, Mesa, AZ

On top of the cliff, a flash of black and white,
A trail of icy mist lies in its wake.
It hurtles o'er the edge and out of sight,
A penguin's life and much more is at stake.

For this li'l penguin had the thought in his head,
The flippers by his side were really wings.
The thought ne'er crossed his mind he could be dead,
For flying seemed as easy as swimming.

Inspiration had come when he saw another fly
Away from a thrashing killer whale's jaws.
He thought, If they can do it, so can I!
Though it defied all Mother Nature's laws.

Before hitting the waves he finally started to glide,
He didn't quite fly but felt like it inside


retrieved 3/10/12 from http://teenink.com/poetry/sonnet/article/220524/The-Little-Penguin/

Week of March 5

Friday
I collected the worksheets from yesterday.
Students watched a documentary on E. A. Poe and completed a worksheet on the poet.
Poe worksheet was turned in.
Those who were absent can view the documentary online at the following sites:
E.A. Poe Biography
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
On a blank sheet of paper, make three columns, landscape format. Label them: What I already know about Edgar Allen Poe; Some things I wonder about him; Interesting details from the documentary
Fill in the first two, then fill in the last one as you watch the videos.
Homework:
If absent, view documentary online and complete worksheet.
Stems List #6 sentences due Thursday, 3/15, and there will be a test on them next week.
Sonnet due 3/12 - see example above; follow rubric!



Thursday
Students worked on grammar, syntax, figurative language, literary elements, spelling, and vocabulary (Language Practice Week 9 and 10, and Week 5 Friday (O. Henry).
Homework:
Finish w/s for homework



Wednesday
Error/Fixit: Barbie/Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Handouts: Shakespearean Sonnet Rubric; Sonnet example; Poem in Pocket w/s for tomorrow
We reviewed and practised the iambic pentameter and the structure of Shakespearean Sonnets.
Homework:
Find poem for Poem in your Pocket Day - tomorrow
Start on Stem List #6 sentences - due 3/16
Shakespearean Sonnet due Monday, 3/12 (follow rubric)


Tuesday
Collected ballads
Error/Fixit: Ohio/Dr. Seuss
We watched videos on iambic pentameter and writing a sonnet.
Students formed groups and jigsawed the handout Writing Shakespearean Sonnets.
Homework:
Find poem for Poem in your Pocket week.
Start on Stem List #6 sentences - due 3/16



Monday
Collected Grammar Packets from last week
Error/Fixit: The Pig/Whooping Crane
We listened to a reading by James Earl Jones of E.A. Poe's "The Raven."
Students began their own ballads based on Bad Country Ballads w/s.
Requirements: 16 lines; couplets rhyme; must tell a story
Homework:
Final copy of original ballad due tomorrow
Start on Stem List #6 sentences - due 3/16
Quiz on them next week