Tuesday, August 31; Wednesday September 1

Freshmen: Today we focused on two conventions of free verse poetry, namely using I and avoiding participles. Your task is to write a poem about a first person experience that shows understanding of these two conventions. Remember your first vocab exam is September 10, and you can view the schedule on another post. Also, be sure to read for 20 minutes Tuesday and Wednesday.

Sophomores: Today we focused on beginning Life of Pi. Everything through Chapter 8 (that means Chapter 8 as well) is due on Friday - make time to read each day. You can view the entire reading schedule on another post. Remember your first vocab exam is September 10, and you can view the schedule on another post.

CNF: Today we began Blink. We read the introduction - if you were absent or we did not finish, then finish on your own. We will read Chapter 1 in class Thursday and Friday, and you will take 3 notes per section.

Friday, August 27

Thanks to you all for a good first week. I feel really good about how classes have gone and look forward to the rest of the semester.

Freshmen: Today we shared your found poems and focused on the idea of creative response. Your task is to write a poem that is a creative response to Langston Hughes's poem "Mother to Son" where you write from the point of view of the son. This requires you to make many interesting decisions as both a reader and a writer - who is this son, how does he respond to his mother's advice, how old is he, does he retain her metaphor (analogy, actually) or create his own? Your poem is due Monday. Read for 20 minutes this weekend and bring your vocab book to class on Monday as well.

Sophomores: We continued viewing the interview between Campbell and Moyers; your homework this weekend is to read the introduction to the Tao te Ching (quiz on Monday), find two creation myths from various cultures and print them and bring them Monday, and bring your vocab book for a diagnostic exam on Monday.

CNF: We continued our Wait Wait game prep - we will finish it on Monday and play on Wednesday; be sure to have a copy of Gladwell's Blink on Wednesday.

Thursday, August 26

Freshmen: Today we focused on your letter to the editor assignment. You have the parameters on a write-up I gave you - remember, you can hand it anytime before October 7, but you cannot hand it in after that date. Read for 20 minutes tonight for homework.

Sophomores: Today we began a study of the following questions: What common traits are shared among many of the world's creation stories? And, what do these commonalities reveal about humans as a species? Your homework is to find and print two creation stories, each from a different culture. That is due Monday. Also due Monday are the following: Reading the introduction from the Tao te Ching (there will be a quiz on Monday), and bringing your vocab book Monday for a diagnostic vocab exam.

CNF: Today we finished listening to Wait Wait, and began prep for our game. You need to have a copy of Blink by next block period.

Tuesday, August 24 and Wednesday, August 25

Freshmen: Our primary focus today was learning the requirements for the Prayer and Great Thoughts assignment. See me for a handout and sign up for a day if you were absent. Today we read a poem, "For My Father," by Janice Mirikatini and explored it through questions and connections, particularly relating it to the summer read When the Emperor Was Divine. We then talked about the notion of "found poetry" and created our own found poems using newspapers. Your homework is to sift through one of the two summer reads and write a found poem with it that either represents the narrator's point of view, experience, or change she underwent through the course of the book. A typed copy of the poem (with a great title) is due on Friday. Also, read for 20 minutes Tuesday and Wednesday.

Sophomores: Today we focused primarily on the requirements for our daily prayer assignment using the Tao te Ching; see me if you need a write up or to sign up for a day. We also focused on gathering a writing sample on a reaction to the summer reading. You need to have a copy of Life of Pi by next block period, and you should start bringing your copy of the Tao each day. Please also bring your vocab book this week, and if you can remember, bring your Bible to class tomorrow for a study of world creation stories.

CNF: Today we focused on two topic-driven non-fiction texts, The McGlaughlin Group and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. The idea is to get exposed to various forms of non-fiction that deal with current events and issues. Please have a copy of Blink for next week, and this week bring in current newspapers and magazines for an activity we will be doing.

Monday, August 23

Hi. Welcome back. If you post a comment today, you will earn 10 points extra credit. Just put your first name and the period you are in (if there's two of you with the same first name, give me a last initial, too). Check the blog every day to get an update on what we did and what is due.

Freshmen: Today we did a basic introduction to the course. Bring back your signed disclosure statement next period, and have your binder as well. Remember, your homework every night Monday-Thursday, plus one day on the weekend, is to read for 20 minutes and to bring that book to class for our in class reading time - so be sure you read tonight. We will read the books from our class list together, so hold off on those. We looked at our first poem today and briefly discussed it. All and all, it was a good first day and I look forward to working with you all.

Sophomores: Today we did a basic introduction to the course. Bring back your signed disclosure statement next period, and have your binder as well. Also, remember to bring your vocab book this week and your copy of the Tao te Ching to class every day. We also began exploring the central thread of the course, which is how beliefs and philosophies shape shape both ourselves and characters in literature. The first book we will read is Life of Pi, but we will not begin that until next week on the block period day - just be sure you have it before then.

CNF: Today we did a basic introduction to the course, and you will receive a disclosure statement tomorrow. While homework will be a rarity in this class, I would like you to watch some of the news tonight and tomorrow and just have a sense of how it is a "constructed text." Also, bring some current newspapers or news magazines (Time, Newsweek, etc. - NOT Teenybopper Update or the like) to class later this week. The first book we will read is Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, so be sure to get a copy of it for next week.