November 30

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Netflix or YouTube? Write a half page response presenting a claim with reasons and evidence for support.

We reviewed the multiple choice and short answer questions on the practice STAAR test that students recently completed, focusing on commonly-missed questions and test taking strategies. We will discuss the essay portion of the test on Monday.

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November 29

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: "Students Have 'Dismaying' Inability To Tell Fake News from Real, Study Finds" - Students read and responded to the article.

Students considered 9 different statements about popular psychology and determined whether they were truths or myths. Students talked at their tables about the myths to decide which could be applied to Lord of the Flies. Then each student chose 2 myths to analyze more closely, finding evidence from the novel and a second resource that was provided (full resource posted on Classroom). Tomorrow (or Thursday), we will use this information to begin a writing a brief essay on our discoveries.

Students who need to complete the STAAR practice from before the break should attend tutorials Wednesday during B block lunch or after school.

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November 28

Welcome back!

We used class time to finish up the STAAR Practice test. When students were done with the work, they had time to read, work on their writer's notebook (today's entry is an outside entry), or blog (next entry due 12/16).

Tomorrow, we will resume our usual routine with independent reading time and a writer's notebook entry--an article of the week. We will also begin our final assignment over Lord of the Flies. 

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Week-at-a-Glance

November 18

I'm in Atlanta for a convention, so here's what students are working on today.

November 17

I'm in Atlanta for a convention, so here's what students are working on today.

November 16

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: What are you thankful for? (A list is acceptable for this entry.)

Students had 10 minutes to complete the allegory handout and slides from yesterday. They handed in the allegory chart when finished.

I introduced the persuasive essay that students will write for the STAAR test. We looked at the rubric and scored sample student essays. The notes and rubrics are available on Classroom.

I am attending the NCTE Convention in Atlanta, so I will be absent tomorrow and Friday. Students will be completing a practice STAAR test those two days, and we will score it when we return from Thanksgiving break.

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November 15

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: What does it mean to be human?

We watched "Das Bus,"  an episode of The Simpsons that is a parody of Lord of the Flies. We discussed the parallels between the show and the book.

Students collaborated on Google Slides to share their information from the allegory and names chart that we have been working on. We will finish this up tomorrow.

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November 14

Second period completed this work in addition to Friday's work.

I passed back short answer work from last week. Here's how they were graded:

Students who scored a 1 on either of the short answers should plan to attend tutorials to get more practice.

Today's WNB:

Students used the remaining time to work on the allegory chart from Friday. We will finish this work tomorrow.

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November 11

Second period will complete this work on Monday due to the Veteran's Day assembly.

WNB: Why is it important to recognize Veteran's Day?

Students handed in the short answers from yesterday. We went over the SAT Writing Practice 3 handout.

I introduced the idea of allegory, and we discussed different examples of allegory in literature (see notes on Classroom). We watched a video retelling Terrible Things by Eve Bunting and talked about how the story is an example of allegory.

We began working on the "Allegory and Names" chart for Lord of the Flies. We will continue this work on Monday.

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November 10

Students used the first 30 minutes of class to work on their blogs. I wrote an example on my personal blog for students to use as a model.

We recapped the paired short response work from yesterday, then students independently completed a single and paired short answer that will be turned in for a grade. Students who did not finish before the end of class should complete the work tonight and hand it in at the beginning of class tomorrow.

Students also received an SAT writing multiple choice handout that we will discuss tomorrow (2nd period will discuss on Monday due to the Veteran's Day assembly).

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November 9

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Outside of class entry - Check Classroom for writing ideas!

We went over the answers to the chapter 12 multiple choice questions.

We recapped the short answer work from yesterday. I shared the rubric for the paired selections short response, and students practiced with their groups to write an answer. We will start with this tomorrow!

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November 8

IRT: ~20 minutes in the library
WNB: If you could vote in today's election, which presidential candidate would you choose? Why?

We continued our discussion of the 3 essays and practiced a short response. Students shared their answers, and we worked together to improve and strengthen them. Students used the remaining class time to work on chapter 12 multiple choice (we'll start with this tomorrow).

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Definition for Ch 12 multiple choice question

November 7

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Article of the Week - "Instead of detention, these students get meditation" (Band students read a different article.)

We recapped our short response work from Friday and looked at the scoring rubric. Students wrote a response to a question about Lord of the Flies and turned it in.

We went over the chapter 8-9 multiple choice questions from Friday.

We began our discussion of the 3 essays. We will continue this work tomorrow.

The next blog entry is due by 11pm Thursday, 11/10.

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November 4

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Vocab entry - As they read their choice books, students identified interesting or unfamiliar words then selected 4 words to define in their notebooks.

Here's how today's notebook entry should look.

We discussed short answer strategies, then students worked together to plan answers to 3 different questions about chapters 8-9 of Lord of the Flies. Students chose one of their plans to turn into a full short answer response. This took up most of our time! We'll pick up where we left off on Monday.

Also on Monday, we will go over the answers to the multiple choice handouts and discuss the 3 essays (Fear, Boys, Compact). Don't forget to write 5 questions/ah-ha moments based on the essays.

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November 3

Students had the first 30 minutes of class to work on their blogs. The next entry is due on Thursday, 11/10.

We recapped the instructions for the archetypes activity, and students continued working. We then shared the 5 examples and their connections to Lord of the Flies.

Students completed AP-style multiple choice questions over chapter 6 then checked their answers with their table.

Students began reading 3 essays connected to Lord of the Flies. By Monday, they should have compiled 5 questions and "ah-ha" moments from their reading.

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November 2

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: "A Walk in the Woods" (make up in tutorials)

Students took about 15 minutes to finish up the hero's journey charts with their partners. They then discussed their findings with other tables, and we determined which character best reflects the ideal hero's journey.

We then talked about archetypes. Students worked with their groups to find evidence for 4 different archetypes in Lord of the Flies. They also selected 5 other archetypes and explained how they fit the book. We will finish this work tomorrow.

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November 1

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Outside of class entry - Ideas and prompts available under the Writer's Notebook section of the About page on Classroom.

Students completed SAT writing practice questions, and we discussed the answers.

We reviewed the concept of the hero's journey (see video), then students worked in pairs to track either Ralph's or Jack's journey through Lord of the Flies.

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