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