Contemporary Themes

Wed. 5/28
Class Evaluation

Thurs. 5/22
Work Time
Turn in portfolios
Hwk:
None: Class Evaluations (worth 10 points) on final exam day

Wed. 5/21
Work Time
Hwk:
Portfolios

Tues. 5/20
Work Time
Hwk:
Portfolios

Mon. 5/19
Work Time
Hwk:
Portfolios

Fri. 5/16
Grade groups
Work Time
Hwk:
Portfolios

Thurs. 5/15
Work Time in lab
Hwk:
Portfolio

Wed. 5/14
Work Time in lab
Hwk:
Portfolio

Tues. 5/13
Finish Chesterton group work
Discuss
Hwk:
Portfolio

Mon. 5/12
Work Time in lab
Hwk:
Portfolio

Fri. 5/9
Read G.K. Chesterton, "The Fallacy of Success"
Group work on reading questions
Hwk:
Portfolio

Thurs. 5/8
Guest speaker: Rachel Ortiz, Everest College
Hwk:
Portfolio

Wed. 5/7
Discuss "Fifth Grade Autobiography"
Work time on portfolios
Hwk:
Portfolios

Tues. 5/6
Things Fall Apart test
Finish analyzing childhood picture poems
Discuss "Photograph of My Father in His Twenty-Second Year"
Hwk:
Portfolio

Mon. 5/5
Work day on portfolios in computer lab
Hwk:
Portfolio

Fri. 5/2
Go over TFA vocab
Assign portfolio
Analyze poems for childhood picture poems
Hwk:
Portfolio

Thurs. 5/1
Finish share out on multi-flow: Tree map: Discuss Okonkwo as a tragic hero.
Discuss how an individual or society succeeds or fails
Hwk:
Look over portfolio requirements

Wed. 4/30
Share out on Mr. Brown vs. Rev. Smith--analyze their effect on Okonkwo's environment
Multi-flow: Okonkwo kills the messenger
Hwk:
finish vocab

Tues. 4/29
Discuss TFA part 2: analyze the theme of individual vs. society
Double-bubble: Mr. Brown vs. Rev. Smith
TFA parts 2 & 3 vocab--see downloads

Mon. 4/28
Finish TFA part 2 group work
Hwk:
Read TFA chpt. 24-25

Fri. 4/25
Finish discussion of "Elephant": write statement on thesis
Start TFA Part 2 group work
Hwk:
Read TFA chpt. 22-23

Thurs. 4/24
Discuss "Elephant": Analyze Orwell's use of irony and narrative strategies to communicate thesis
Hwk:
Read TFA chpt. 20-21

Wed. 4/23
Pass back benchmark essays
Finish group work on "Shooting an Elephant"
Hwk:
Read TFA chpt. 18-19

Tues. 4/22
Go over TFA part 1 vocab
Finish reading and annotating "Shooting an Elephant"
Group work on "Elephant"
Hwk:
Read TFA chpt. 16-17

Mon. 4/21
Start "Shooting an Elephant"
Prereading reflection
Read and annotate for irony, thesis, statements that indicate Orwell did not want to shoot the elephant
Hwk:
Read TFA chpt. 14-15

Fri. 4/18
Exercise various mental capabilities
Hwk:
Rest

Thurs. 4/17
Discuss Okonkwo's character. Contrast Okonkwo and Unoka
Hwk:
TFA Pt 1 Vocab

Wed. 4/16
Discuss Umuofian cultures (positive and negative aspects)
Bubble map for Okonkwo
Hwk:
TFA Pt. 1 vocab (see downloads)--due Friday

Tues. 4/15
Discuss the theme of success in The Emperor's Club
Discuss TFA--Umuofian culture
Hwk:
Read chpt. 13 TFA

Mon. 4/14
Continue The Emperor's Club
Hwk:
Read chpt. 11 & 12 TFA

Fri. 4/11
Begin The Emperor's Club
Hwk:
Read chpt. 9 & 10 TFA

Thurs. 4/10
Share out freewrite on "RHW"
Share circle maps on Ibo and Umuofian cultures
Hwk:
Read chpt. 7 & 8 TFA

Wed. 4/9
Finish discussion of "RHW"
Hwk:
Read chpt. 5 & 6 TFA

Tues. 4/8
Circle map of Ibo culture
Circle map of Umuofian culture (include textual evidence from TFA). Next to each attribute, write a + or - to indicate whether you think this attribute of the culture is positive or negative.
Hwk:
Read TFA, chpt. 3-4

Mon. 4/7
Discuss "Rocking Horse Winner" (theme and irony)
Hwk:
Read chpt. 1 & 2 of Things Fall Apart

Fri. 4/4
Finish discussion of "W.I."
"RHW" group work: reading questions
Hwk:
Read Achebe's biography in Things Fall Apart

Thurs. 4/3
Senior Activity Day

Wed. 4/2
Discuss "Western Intelligence"
Hwk:
Read background info for Things Fall Apart (author's bio, literary and historical contexts)

Tues. 4/1
Read "The Rocking-Horse Winner" (pp. 75-90 in The Best Modern Short Stories")
Hwk:
Create a multi-flow map: Use "Paul begins to ride his rocking horse to find a winner" as the central event. Analyze causes and effects.

Mon. 3/31
Group work on "The Western Intelligence"
Freewrite (10 min.): What roles do luck and hard work play in one's personal success?
Hwk:
Choose one quote from the Success Guide Sheet and respond in a 15-min. freewrite.

Fri. 3/28
Small group discussion: How does the Sugar Bowl example support or challenge Betances' argument?
Poll for American values
Read "Western Intelligence." Annotate for thesis
Hwk:
Double Bubble: East vs. West (in "Western Intelligence")

Thurs. 3/27
Finish share out on success guide questions
Double Bubble to discuss Betances: Early vs. later immigrants
Freewrite: Do you agree or disagree with Betances' argument
Hwk:
Read and annotate Sugar Bowl Bakery essay

Wed. 3/26
Share out on success guide questions
Hwk:
Read Betances. Annotate for thesis and support

Tues. 3/25
Hard Times Books 2 & 3 Test
Hwk:
Success Guide Sheets: separate sheet of paper, complete sentences

Mon. 3/24
Class activity: Social classes--analyze Dicken's attitude towards various segments of his society
Double bubble: Victorian society vs. modern society
Hwk:
Study for tomorrow's test

Fri. 3/14
Finish H.T. movie
Go over vocab
Hwk:
Start studying for test

Thurs. 3/13

Cont. Hard Times movie

Hwk:

same

 

Wed. 3/12

Assign vocab for homework

Finish discussion of Book 3

Grade work groups

Start movie

Hwk:

same

 

Tues. 3/11

Discuss Book 3 of Hard Times: multi-flow map to analyze the causes and effects of Tom's crime. Explain Dickens' criticism of Victorian society through Tom's character

Hwk:

Books 2 & 3 vocab--due Friday

 

Mon. 3/10

Discuss Goodman: How relevant or accurate is Goodman's portrayal of the company man?

Listen to Marketplace article.

Quiz on HT Book 3

Hwk:

Finish HT.

 

Fri. 3/7

Discuss satire in "The Company Man"

Group work: reading review questions for "The Company Man"

Hwk:

Read chpt. 8

 

Thurs. 3/6

Read and annotate "The Company Man"

Analyze satire in "The Company Man": target, weapons, purpose

Hwk:

Read chpt. 7

 

Wed. 3/5

District Writing Assessment

Hwk:

Read chpt. 6

 

Tues. 3/4

Prereading for Ellen Goodman's essay, "The Company Man": groups draw a picture of a stereotypical business man according to their imagination

Hwk:

Read chpt. 5

 

Mon. 3/3

Prep for Benchmark Exam: Analyze prompt, read and annotate text, consider stances, review structure for argumentative writing

Hwk:

Read chpt.4

Think of examples for the benchmark exam

Fri. 2/28
Cont. Bk 2 satire share out
Discuss the end of Book 2
Hwk:
Read chpt. 3

Thurs. 2/27
Cont. Bk 2 satire group work
Begin share out
Hwk:
Read chpt. 2

Wed. 2/26
Review definition and strategies for satire
Begin Bk 2 satire group work: analyze satire in Book 2
Hwk:
Read HT, Bk 3, chpt. 1

Tues. 2/25
Explain metaphor of Mrs. Sparsit's staircase
Read chpt. 11
Hwk:
Read chpt. 12

Mon. 2/24
Fix sentences in essays for parallelism
Read chpt. 9--analyze changes in Louisa
Hwk:
Read chpt. 10

Fri. 2/21
Analyze satire in chpt. 6
Analyze Harthouse's relationships with Tom and Louisa
 in chpt. 7
Hwk:
Read chpt. 8

Thurs. 2/20
Trace plot up to chpt. 5
Read chpt. 6
Hwk:
Read chpt. 7

Wed. 2/19
Go over worksheet on parallelism
Book 1 Test
Hwk:
Read HT, Bk 2, chpt. 5

Tues. 2/18
Go over worksheet on parallelism
Read Bk 2, chpt. 4: make a circle map of Slackbridge
Hwk:
Study for Bk 1 test tomorrow

Fri. 2/14
Go over vocabulary--turn in
Revise sentences for parallelism
Hwk:
Read Book 2, chpt. 3

Thurs. 2/13
Read Bk 2, chpt. 2: circle map of Mr. Harthouse
Pass back essays
Hwk:
Finish chpt. 2
Finish vocab

Wed. 2/12
Read Book 2, chpt. 1: Discuss Mrs. Sparsit's new situation; Describe James Harthouse
Hwk:
Book 1 vocab--due Fri.

Tues. 2/11
Discuss chpt. 14: Explain how each character has grown
Read chpt. 15: Analyze satire
Hwk:
Finish HT, Book 1

Fri. 2/7
Discuss chpt. 12: Who is the old woman?
Read chpt. 13: Make bubble maps for Stephen and Rachael.
Hwk:
Read chpt. 14

Thurs. 2/6
Discuss chpt. 11--analyze satire
Hwk:
Read chpt. 12

Wed. 2/5
Read chpt. 10: describe Stephen and Rachael; explain the significance of their names
Hwk:
Read chpt. 11

Tues. 2/4
Turn in essay
Read chpt. 9 and analyze satire
Hwk:
Finish HT, Book 1, chpt. 9

Mon. 2/3
Read chpt. 8: analyze Tom and Louisa's relationship
Hwk:
Essay

Fri. 1/31
Review Mr. Sleary's philosophy
Read chpt. 7, describe Mrs. Sparsit
Hwk:
Essay

Thurs. 1/30
Read chpt. 6 of HT
Write a one-sentence summary of Mr. Sleary's philosophy (p. 49)
Hwk:
Essay

Wed. 1/29
Peer editing
Start reading chpt. 6
Hwk:
Essay

Tues. 1/28
Finish discussion of chpt. 4: analysis of Bounderby and his relationship with Louisa
Read and discuss chpt. 5: circle map of Coketown
Hwk:
Essay: RD 2 due tomorrow

Mon. 1/27
Finish discussing chpt. 3
Read and discuss chpt. 4: Circle map and caricature of Mr. Bounderby
Hwk:
Essay
Finish chpt. 4

Fri. 1/24
Peer review
Read chpt. 3--Describe Stone Lodge
Hwk:
Essay--2nd draft
Finish chpt. 3

Thurs. 1/23
Review notes on video
Discuss Mr. Gradgrind's description
Compare Bitzer and Sissy
Hwk:
Essay

Wed. 1/22
Read chpt. 1 and 2 of Hard Times
Make a circle map to define the speaker in chpt. 1
Hwk:
Essay

Tues. 1/21
Finish group work on "Workers"
Video: Life in Victorian Times
Notes: describe the Victorian period, identify social classes
Hwk:
Essay

Fri. 1/17
Discuss "Workers": Analyze structure of Rodriguez's essay; State his thesis
Apply writing skills in Rodriguez to student essays. Share double bubble.
Hwk:
Essay--first draft

Thurs. 1/16
Finish Close Reading questions for "Workers"
Do Writer's Craft questions #1-3 in groups
Hwk:
Essay

Wed. 1/15
Pick up Hard Times
Assign Work Comparison/Contrast Essay
Continue group work: Close Reading questions #1-5
Hwk:
Prewrite for essay: double bubble (compare/contrast your two subjects for the essay)

Tues. 1/14
Finish tree map on different types of workers in "Workers"
Discuss
Group work--close reading questions #1-5
Hwk:
Freewrite: What jobs are you interested in for the future?

Mon. 1/13
Contrast Puritan Work Ethic and Work Is Fun Ethic in "Reinventing Work"
Share out on freewrite
Discuss "Workers": Make a tree map to classify the different types of workers
Hwk:
Chart "Workers": How does the author structure the text to convey the thesis?

Fri. 1/10
Finish "Reinventing Work" group assign.
Start reading and annotating "Workers" (Annotate for narrative segments and reflections.)
Hwk:
Finish reading "Workers"

Thurs. 1/9
Group work: "Reinventing Work": contrast evolving work ethics
Hwk:
Freewrite: What is "real" work? (Write for 10-15 min. straight.)

Wed. 1/8
Freewrite: What is the American Dream? How does the pursuit of it affect the way we work?
Discuss Babe and Larry
Hwk:
Read 30 min.

Tues. 1/7
Discuss Work Guide Questions: Multi-flow Map (event: The Information/Technology Age has dawned.) Discuss how work and society are changing as a result.
Hwk:
Babe and Larry reading questions

Mon. 1/6
Announcements: new seats tomorrow, review policies, new reading logs
Work Guide Questions (in pairs)
Hwk:
Read Babe and Larry
Annotate for interesting or surprising details