October 23

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Outside entry

After reviewing the literary terms test, we continued reading Julius Caesar and watched the funeral speeches in Act III, Scene 2. We will continue this work tomorrow.

Students received a copy of the midterm review (also available on Classroom).

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Week-at-a-Glance

October 20

Students had 1 hour to choose a topic and write a persuasive essay.

I'll have the midterm review ready on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

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October 19

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB:

I reminded students to be sure their Currently Reading pages are up to date in their notebooks. Here's an example. 

Title, author, # pages total, genre, date started, date finished/abandoned (include pages read when abandoned), 2 sentence reflection.

We discussed how to use transitions effectively to connect ideas between paragraphs. These notes are available on Classroom.

We finished up our introduction to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and read Act I, Scene 1, and the beginning of Act III, Scene 1. We will continue reading on Monday because we're writing an essay in class tomorrow.

Tomorrow morning is the last opportunity for students to retake the literary terms test if they scored below a 70%. 

Also tomorrow, we will write a persuasive essay in class. Students will be allowed to use their notes.

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October 18

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: After a four corners activity where students determined their level of agreement with different statements, they chose one statement to respond to in their notebooks:

1. Too much ambition inevitably leads to disaster 
2. Politicians are more concerned with power than with issues affecting people's lives 
3. Violence leads to more violence
4. Crowds can be easily moved and manipulated to violence.

We looked at examples of different ways to write an introduction to an essay. These notes are available on Classroom.

We learned about ancient Rome and Julius Caesar to prepare for our reading of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. These notes are available on Classroom.

Students who scored below 70% on the literary terms test may retake the test Thursday before or after school or Friday before school. We will go over the whole test in class on Monday.

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October 17

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Netflix or YouTube? Students wrote about which video service is best.

Students who did not hand in their articles from yesterday were reminded to do so today.

We went over the literary terms test. Students who would like to spend more time reviewing specific test questions may come in Wednesday or Thursday before or after school (7:40 or 3:45) or Friday before school (7:40). Students who scored below 70% may retake the test Wednesday or Thursday before or after school (7:40 or 3:45) or Friday before school (7:40).

We discussed how to format a claim and body paragraphs for a persuasive essay. Students will put this process into action on Friday.

We watched John Branyan's "The Three Little Pigs" as an introduction to Shakespeare's language before we begin Julius Caesar tomorrow.

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Updated Week-at-a-Glance

October 16

IRT: ~15 minutes
WNB: Articles of the Week - "The Case for Banning Guns" and "The Case against Banning Guns"
Students read and marked the claim, facts, and counterargument in each article. They then chose one argument they agreed with and explained why in their notebooks.

Students had about 35 minutes to read and mark the articles, write their notebook entry, complete a form on Classroom, and read independently.

We finished up the SOAPSTone analysis of the "Cat Bill Veto." We also finished the argument and persuasion notes (on "Part 2" Classroom).

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Week-at-a-Glance

October 13

Students took the Literary Terms test today. All grades have been entered in Skyward. Students who scored below 70% may schedule a retake before school or after school Wednesday, 10/18, or Thursday, 10/19, next week.

On Monday, we will resume our work with argument and persuasion.

Weekend homework: READ!

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