Friday, March 31

Today we continued to focus on your informative essays about Elizabethan England. You do not need to work on this over the break unless you will need more than 30 minutes of class time upon returning from spring break. After spring break you can anticipate getting 30 minutes of class time to finish your essay and another 30 minutes or so to plan your presentation with your group.

However, you will not get any more in class time to work on your This I Believe essay or presentation, so all of that needs to be finished up and ready to go once spring break is over.

Thursday, March 30

Today we got most of the informational essays about Elizabethan England written. We focused specifically on correctly integrating textual evidence. Below is an example of some of the ways students are incorrectly integrating textual evidence. Your task in class today was to identify and fix those errors. Your homework tonight is to spend 10 minutes on your essay so that we can finish it in class on Friday and begin work on the presentations. Read for 20 minutes and complete your This I Believe projects.

Find and correct the errors regarding textual evidence in this paragraph:

In the Elizabethan Age, England rose to great power. “The reign of Queen Elizabeth (1555-1603) saw England emerge as the leading naval and commercial power of the Western world.” (bardweb.net). During the time of Queen Elizabeth’s rule, England began to expand and explore the greater world. As said by bardweb.net, “Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the world” and “Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh sent colonists eastward in search of profit” (bardweb.net). This allowed England in “trade, might, and art” to establish “an envious preeminence” that few nations could match (bardweb.net).

Wednesday, March 29

Today our focus was on a few things. Most importantly, we focused on formulating a clear, concise thesis that is supported by the information you have compiled about your topic. From there we finished up the outlines and then used the outline to help begin your next draft. Spend 10 minutes tonight working on your essay and 20 minutes reading.

Monday, March 28

Today we focused on completing your research on your topic. Everyone should have six facts that you have quoted exactly and then restated in your own words. We also began outlining the essay, focusing on using one of the introduction and conclusion techniques we have studied as well as properly setting up your textual evidence with one of the lead-in techniques we studied. Work on your outline for homework tonight and read for 20 minutes.

Monday, March 27

Today we moved onto a research project about Elizabethan England in preparation for our reading of Romeo and Juliet. Today we choose groups and topics, and began researching your topic. You will need to have a total of six facts from two or three different sources. Once we have finished the research phase, everyone will write an informational essay on their own. Once the essays are complete, you will reconvene with your group and, based on your essays, put together a four-minute presentation about your topic.

Your homework is to read for 20 minutes.

Thursday, March 23

Today we looked at a few more This I Believe essays and signed up for presentation dates, which will begin after spring break. We worked a bit on your essays and on your presentations. Let me know if you have any questions. Your homework is to continue working on your essays and to read for 20 minutes.

Wednesday, March 22

Today we looked at a few more sample "This I Believe" essays and also looked at two student examples of the presentation component (what we're calling a visual essay). We took some time to work on these in class, and will have some time in class on Thursday as well. We have decided that these will be due after Spring Break and that you will present them a little at a time - we'll sign up for dates where two or three people per day present over a three week period or so. In addition to working on your essays, read for 20 minutes tonight.