IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Outside of class entry--see prompts on Classroom if you need ideas.
We went over the Anna Quindlen commencement speech, marking examples of repetition, parallelism, analogy, and allusion and discussing their effectiveness.
I handed out the prep packet the Lord of the Flies socratic seminar that students will participate in on Friday.
I returned students' first STAAR persuasive essay. We discussed writing a clear thesis and providing specific support and examples. We also looked at our use of pronouns and talked about revising vague sentences.
Essay scoring explanation & strategy for discovering examples
An example of a vague sentence that would benefit from revision.
We took notes over rhetorical devices and persuasive techniques. These notes will be tested on the argument and persuasion test that is scheduled for Thursday, 12/15. Students will receive a review for the test this week. (Notes posted on Classroom. Come to tutorials A block Tuesday or Thursday if you're confused!)
I handed out copies of Anna Quindlen's commencement speech. Students should read it and look for examples of rhetorical techniques. We will look at the speech more closely tomorrow.
IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Horror movies or comedy movies? Write a half page response presenting a claim with reasons and evidence for support.
For the notebook check, students counted their entries (beginning with Monday, 10/24) and wrote that number on a post-it. Then they flagged their best example of writing for this 9 weeks (any entry since 10/24) and handed in the notebook.
We watched one more speech and finished our logos, ethos, pathos chart from yesterday.
William Wallace in Braveheart (apologies for the foreign subtitles)
I shared a handout of sample persuasive essay openings and closings on Classroom. Students chose one of their "this or that" notebook entries from this week and wrote an opening for that topic. We read our writing out loud and discussed ways to improve. They then wrote a closing to go along with their opening.
IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Pick a superpower: flight or invisibility? Write a half page response presenting a claim with reasons and evidence for support.
After reviewing the STAAR test with students yesterday, I determined that there are four areas of grammar that we can easily improve. Students worked in groups to curate lessons and quizzes that effectively teach those skills and shared the links on collaborative Slides. After sharing their own findings, they looked at the other lessons and quizzes. We also talked about what makes a reputable website--students did a good job of selecting good sites! (Absent students should read through each lesson and complete at least one quiz.)
To further our understanding of logos, ethos, and pathos, we watched two speeches and evaluated them for effectiveness in each of those areas using a chart like the one below.
Speech 1 - Ashton Kutcher at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards
Speech 2 - Elle Woods in Legally Blonde 2
Notebook check tomorrow! Make sure yours is up to date!
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.
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.
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.
