10/13 - 10/14

Today's objectives:

• Review clauses and punctuation
• Create an original allegory to share with the class

What we did:

• Students completed a review exercise in their writer's notebooks where they had to create sentences about a picture according to specific instructions using clauses and appropriate punctuation.
• Students received instructions about a group project that we will be working on for the next two days. Students divided up into groups and began working on creating their own allegories based on a topic of their choice. They were required to first decide how they were going to symbolically represent their topics. Once they had planned their stories out, they worked to create a storyboard, complete with drawings and captions, showing their allegories. We did not have sufficient time to finish, so we will continue working next time and present at the end of class.
• No homework aside from outside reading.

10/11 - 10/12

Today's objectives:

• Distinguish between independent and dependent clauses.
• Punctuate sentences with multiple clauses correctly.
• Define allegory and interpret a sample allegory.

What we did:

• We took notes on independent and dependent clauses (see website under today's date to get the notes). We then did a class activity where everyone was given a clause to work with, and they had to match up with other students in order to form sentences. Students practiced writing a variety of sentences with independent and dependent clauses, punctuating correctly with commas and semicolons.
• We learned that an allegory is a symbolic story that represents real situations. Students listened to the Dr. Seuss story, "The Lorax" and made connections between the fictional characters and real people. We discussed how this children's book is an allegory of the conflict between environmentalists and business people/developers.
• No homework aside from outside reading.

10/7 - 10/10

Today we took the practical part of the short stories exam. Students were given a short story to read and annotate. Once they were finished they were sent to the writing lab to write a Schaffer paragraph describing how the story's symbolism contributed to an overall theme. Students who missed this portion of the test can make it up during flex time in the testing center (room 306).

10/5 - 10/6

Today's objectives:

• Take part one of the short stories unit exam (vocab)
• Review pre-writing strategies
• Review expectations for part two of the exam (writing)

What we did:

• Students took the vocab exam. We corrected it together after everyone was finished.
• We watched a video rendition of Guy de Maussapant's "The Necklace," after which I modeled for the students how I would write an analysis paragraph about its symbols and theme. I did this to give students an idea of how to approach the writing prompts they will receive next time, and how pre-writing to plan a written response is a good strategy.

Homework:

• Article of the week #3 (due next time!)
• Review Schaffer organization, theme, and symbolism for written test next time.

10/3 - 10/4

Today's objectives:

• Identify elements of plot structure and examine how plot structure is modified in order to create a certain effect.
• Review vocabulary terms in preparation for vocab test

What we did:

• We reviewed plot structure terminology (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement, etc.) as a class.
• We talked about a couple of ways in which typical plot structure is modified by the use of flashbacks, plot within a plot, etc. and how that affects the story.
• We read a short story, "Cranes." Students then worked in groups to trace the plot structure, identifying "interruptions" in the traditional plot structure. They also identified the climax and theme, and evaluated the overall effect of the plot structure on the theme.
• We played a few rounds of Vocab Bingo in order to review for the text next time.

Homework:

• Review for the test
• Article of the Week #3 (due Friday for A day students and Monday for B day students)

9/29 - 9/30

Today's objectives:

• Determine how literary devices shape themes
• Write about a theme, describing how it is developed
• Evaluate paragraphs for organization elements

What we did:

• The students were given an assignment to read Katherine Mansfield's "The Apple Tree" as a practice for our short stories exam. I explained that on the exam next week, the students will be expected to cold read a short story, determine a theme, identify literary devices (such as irony and symbolism), and write about how the literary devices help to develop the theme throughout the story. After reading "The Apple Tree," the students practiced all of these steps in groups and produced an 8-sentence paragraph. Once they had finished, we went through the paragraphs step by step to check for organization, and the students color coded their sentences to show the Schaffer model organization. No homework was assigned for tonight other than reading and making sure that parents have given permission for school computer access on Skyward.

9/23 - 9/28

Today's objectives:

• Define symbolism and identify symbols in the world around us.
• Recognize symbolism, foreshadowing, and irony in a short story.
• Analyze an author's choice of symbols, identifying various levels of meaning.
• Write about how literary devices (symbolism, irony, characterization, allusion, etc.) help us to see how themes are developed.

What we did:

• We spent some time talking about common symbols in the world around us. We viewed several examples, and we heard from various class members about what different things these symbols could represent.
• We discussed how one symbol can have various meanings that require different levels of interpretation to discover. Some meanings can be classified as "surface level" while others require a little more inference, or looking at them from multiple perspectives.
• We applied what we learned about symbols to a short story, "Like the Sun." Students worked in groups to read the story and interpret the symbolism in it before reporting back to the whole class.
• We discussed how understanding the symbolism in a story can lead us to a theme or overarching idea that the story expresses. I modeled for the students how they can use the Schaffer paragraphing model to write about a theme, using symbolism examples as supporting details.
• I assigned the students a different story to read, where they were responsible for noticing literary devices that helped them in their understanding of theme. The students worked on creating their own paragraphs in which they stated a theme, and then argued how the story's symbolism, irony, allusions, characterizations, etc. helped them to arrive at that theme.

Homework for tonight:

• Read for at least 30 minutes from your personal reading book
• Have your parents log in to Skyward with their family access login and password. Have them follow the instructions to grant you permission to use school computers.