Week of April 13th, 2015

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." - William Butler Yeats

The goal of this English class is to produce critical thinkers. Students are not only reading for comprehension but for meaning and relevancy of the work as a whole. Literature is also an example of good writing. The writing improves when a student reads. Vocabulary also improves because the student is learning to read in context. We want successful students who can think critically and communicate effectively. 

Academic English 9:  Students will review the Sentence Structure Test.  They will take a quiz on  Reading Assignment 1 for Great Expectations on Monday, 4/13. There will  be a study guide and notebook rubric grade given for the reading assignment.  Through discussion, students will respond, analyze, and connect to the novel. Students will use the laptops to create an Annotated Bibliography. They will be identify elements of an Annotated Bibliography.  Students will be required to complete an annotated bibliography for 4 sources (website, newspaper, journal, magazine) on Victorian England, Charles Dickens, the Industrial Revolution, and England from 1836-1870.  One annotation a week will be due over the next 4 weeks.  They have the opportunity to prioritize class time to read and respond to the novel, or read and respond to the informational articles for the annotated bibliography.  Reading Assignment 2 (quiz, study guide and notes)will be due on 4/20.

Practical English 11:  Students are working on the Research Paper.  Due dates have been discussed and agreed upon.  We have identified the 2 major types of research papers.  They are responsible for picking the type of paper they wish to write.  Individual topics have been picked.  Students will research their topic. They will need to find valid, reliable sources.  Students will need to use the database. They need to fulfill the requirement of 4 citations and notes.  Vocabulary Unit 4 list will be distributed on Thursday.  Definitions, dissection, and sentences will be due by Tuesday, April 21st.

Public Speaking:  Speeches will be completed on Tuesday, April 14th.  One-to-one conferencing will begin on Wednesday, April 15th.  Students will begin reading, responding, and discussing Persuasive speech writing found in the text.  Chapter 16 will be due on Friday, April 17th.