April 30

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: How do archetypal characters and situations help us make predictions about a text? If you know that a story follows the hero's journey, what would you expect to encounter as you read?

We began an in-depth analysis of the archetypes in The Lion King. Students will use this information to complete a writing assignment on Wednesday. 

Today's Board

Week-at-a-Glance

April 27

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Article of the Week - "Too Much Sitting Is Killing You (Even If You Exercise)"

We reviewed the three short stories from this week and made connections through archetypes. Students then created a meme for one of the stories.

• 1st period memes
• 3rd period memes
• 4th period memes

Today's Board

April 26

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: What would you do if you encountered someone you thought might be evil?

We continued our archetype discovery in short stories, reading "The Possibility of Evil" by Shirley Jackson. Specific details about today's work are available on Classroom for absent students.

Today's Board

April 25

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Why is it that we sometimes fear people who are different? Why do many people think it is important to fit in? If someone doesn't mind being different, why do we often still pressure them to conform?

Students read "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst and looked for archetypes. Specific details about the assignment are available on Classroom for absent students.

Today's Board

April 24

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: How important is telling the truth? Would you speak the truth only for an entire day?

We read "Like the Sun" by R.K. Narayan and looked for archetypes. Specific details about this assignment are posted on Classroom for absent students.

Today's Board

April 23

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Happy birthday, Shakespeare! Choose one of these common Shakespearean phrases to write about: "apple of her eye," "all the world's a stage," "eating me out of house and home," "good riddance," "to thine own self be true," "green-eyed monster," "tower of strength," or "wear my heart on my sleeve."

We completed the "Character Archetypes" portion of our notes and worked on the symbolic archetypes on the back page. See Classroom for more details.

Today's Board

Week-at-a-Glance

April 19

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: What's in a name? Many names have special meaning or history. For example, the name Hannah means "favor" or "grace." The name Vito means "life." Write about your own name. Who named you? What does your name mean? Does it have a special ethnic or religious significance? Are you named for someone in your family? Do you have any nicknames? If you could change your name, would you?

We went over the Julius Caesar quiz from Tuesday.

We began taking notes on archetypes. We will continue this work on Monday. (See Classroom for specifics.)

Today's Board

April 18

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: If you were not scared, how would you live your life? From "9 Questions for Humanity"

I introduced archetypes with a "Walk in the Woods" activity. We will begin further discussion of archetypes tomorrow.

With the remaining class time, students worked through a peer review activity with their 55 word stories. Students turned in the assignment before the end of class.

Today's Board

April 17

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: outside entry

Students handed in the article from yesterday and the funeral speeches chart.

Students took a quiz over Julius Caesar.

With the remaining class time, students worked on the 55 word story assignment, due at the end of class Wednesday.

Today's Board

Week-at-a-Glance

April 16

Students had a substitute today while I took care of some personal business. I'll be back tomorrow!

Today's Article of the Week: America's Homelessness Crisis

Today's Agenda

April 13

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." - John Dalberg-Acton

We wrapped up our work with Julius Caesar. Specific details about today's work can be found on Classroom. Students will have a quiz on Tuesday, 4/17 (see quiz review slides on Classroom). Students will hand in the "Funeral Speeches" chart on Tuesday, 4/17.

Coming Up
Tuesday, 4/17 - Julius Caesar quiz
Wednesday, 4/18 - 55 word stories due
Friday, 4/20 - No School!
Saturday, 4/21 - North Texas Teen Book Festival!

Today's Board

April 12

Students took the English II STAAR test today! We'll resume Julius Caesar tomorrow.

Boomer and Baxter know you did your best on the test today!

April 11

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Outside Entry

We did an activity that walked through the essay planning process. Students worked individually or with a group to create an outline for one STAAR persuasive essay prompt.

Students received a section of the reading portion of the test. The key for this will be posted on Classroom at 7pm tonight.

We finished the day with some test day reminders and a Winnie the Pooh quote.

Good luck tomorrow! You are awesome!

Today's Board

April 10

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Parallelism Practice - Make up in tutorials.

We wrapped up Act II Scene 2 of Julius Caesar with a jigsaw activity. We watched the funeral speeches in Act III Scene 2 and analyzed persuasive techniques that Brutus and Antony used to convince the crowd. We will wrap this up tomorrow. Specific details are on Classroom.

Coming Up
Thursday, April 12 - English II STAAR
Friday, April 20 - No School!
Saturday, April 21 - North Texas Teen Book Festival!

Today's Board

Updated Week-at-a-Glance

April 9

IRT: ~20 min
WNB: Choose 1 statement that you strongly agree or disagree with and explain: Too much ambition inevitably leads to disaster; Politicians are more concerned with power than with issues affecting people's lives; Violence leads to more violence; Crowds can be easily manipulated and moved to violence.

We recapped our previous reading of Julius Caesar before getting into Act II, Scene 2 today. Specific details are on Classroom.

Coming Up
Thursday, April 12 - English II STAAR
Friday, April 20 - No School!
Saturday, April 21 - North Texas Teen Book Festival

Today's Board

Week-at-a-Glance

April 6

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: "The most valuable thing you have is your attention." - Lynda Barry

We read Act II, Scene 1 of Julius Caesar and discussed 3 important developments. Specific details and a copy of the text are on Classroom.

Independent Reading Stats & Top Readers for Last 9 Weeks!

Coming Up
Thursday, April 12 - English II STAAR
Friday, April 20 - No School!
Saturday, April 21 - North Texas Teen Book Festival!

Today's Board

April 5

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: We're going to be reading student essays that respond to this prompt, so share your thoughts in your notebook: Write an essay stating your opinion on whether a person can choose to be happy.

We looked at the blueprint for the English II STAAR test and made a plan of attack.

We examined the rubric for the persuasive essay, then students scored student samples to check their understanding.

We will resume our work with Julius Caesar tomorrow.

Coming Up
Thursday, April 12 - English II STAAR
Friday, April 20 - No School
Saturday, April 21 - North Texas Teen Book Festival!

Today's Board

April 4

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB:

Today's notebook entry inspired by the 50th anniversary of MLK's death

Continuing our work with Julius Caesar, we discussed the persuasive elements of Cassius's manipulation of Brutus in Act I, Scene 2. We also examined Cassius's motivations at the end of scene 2. Students worked in groups to analyze omens and interpretations in scene 3. Students who were absent should check Classroom for the text and specific details.

Coming Up
Thursday, April 12 - English II STAAR
Friday, April 20 - No School!
Saturday, April 21 - North Texas Teen Book Festival!

Today's Board

April 3

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Choose 1 statement that you strongly agree or disagree with and explain: There is never, ever a good reason to betray a friend; Advice from family members is more valuable than advice from friends; People are 100% responsible for their own fate.

We began with a four corners activity using the above statements. We recalled background information about Shakespeare and Julius Caesar before reading the play. See Classroom for specific details about today's work. Absent students should plan to attend A block tutorials on Wednesday, 4/4, to catch up.

Coming Up
Thursday, April 12 - English II STAAR Test
Friday, April 20 - No School!
Saturday, April 21 - North Texas Teen Book Festival!

Today's Board

April 2

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Article of the Week - "Having Your Smartphone Nearby Takes a Toll on Your Thinking" - students read, annotated, and responded to the article.

I reminded students that they should read a book from the AP list this 9 weeks. The list is available in the About section on Classroom.

As an introduction to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, we held a "Friendship Summit." Students worked in groups to create a list of the 10 qualities of a good friend. Each group then sent one representative to meet with others to combine their lists and come up with a final list of 10 qualities. Students repeated the process with a list of 5 qualities of a bad friend. We'll look for all of these traits as we read the play over the next two weeks.

Coming Up
Thursday, April 12 - English II STAAR test
Friday, April 20 - No School!
Saturday, April 21- North Texas Teen Book Festival!

Today's Board

Week-at-a-Glance