Week at a glance August 27 - 31, 2012

Root words for this week (root - definition - examples):

1. culpa - blame - culprit, culpable
2. duc / duct - lead - conduct, seduce, introduction
3. jud / jur / jus - law - judge, jury, justice
4. polis / polit - city - police, politician, metropolis
5. rect - straight - correct, direct, insurrection
6. urb - city - urban, suburb

This week we'll also continue our Crucible pre-reading unit as we read Puritan writings and discuss the unique qualities of their society.  On Wednesday we'll continue our work with the Personal Narrative and turn in a second, typed draft copy by the end of the hour on Thursday.  We'll wrap up the week on Friday with a Root Words quiz, time to read for the Independent Reading Project, and a look at vocabulary words coming up in The Crucible. 

• Mon: New Root Words; quiz on Friday.  The Crucible pre-reading unit: The Puritans - read and discuss selections in class.
• Tues: Finish Puritans reading and discussion. Study guide due by the end of the hour.
• Wed: Pass back and discuss the first draft of the Personal Narrative Essay.  Begin typing the second draft of the essay.
• Thurs: Typed second draft of the Personal Narrative Essay due by the end of the hour.
• Fri: Root Words Quiz.  IRP reading time. The Crucible - Vocabulary Words.

Week at a glance August 20 - 24, 2012

Root words for this week (root - definition - examples):

1. ante - before - antecedent, antebellum
2. brev - short - abbreviate, brevity
3. fin - end - final, infinite
4. pan - all - pandemic, panorama
5. poly - many - polygamy, polytheism
6. vac - empty - vacation, vacuum

This week we start in on our Root Words unit.  This is our vocabulary focus for the semester.  Students will identify and analyze six roots derived mostly from Greek and Latin roots.  Being able to identify and analyze the roots will give students tools that will help them define unfamiliar words in the future.  We'll also start our first essay of the school year: the Place-based Descriptive Narrative.  Our goal for this essay is to help students develop ideas, organizational strategies, and descriptive word choice.  Since it is our first essay, we'll move through the writing process together step-by-step.  We're also starting in on our unit over Arthur Miller's The Crucible as we take a look at a Brief History of Witchcraft in Christianity.  We'll wrap up the week with a Root Words Quiz, a review of literary terms, and time to read for the Independent Reading Project.

• Mon: Introduce Root Words; quiz on Friday.  Place-based Descriptive Narrative -- discuss assignment and expectations.  Pre-writing graphic organizer due Tuesday.
• Tues: Place-based Descriptive Narrative -- Pre-writing graphic organizer due.  Discuss essay structure.  Begin writing the rough draft.
• Wed: Place-based Descriptive Narrative -- Continue writing the rough draft.
• Thurs: Place-based Descriptive Narrative -- rough draft due at the beginning of the hour. The Crucible, pre-reading: A Brief History of Witchcraft in Christianity, notes in class.
• Fri: Root Words Quiz.  Literary terms review, notes in class.  20 minutes for the Independent Reading Project.

Week at a glance August 13 - 17, 2012

Welcome!

On this site you'll find a breakdown of each week's lesson plans and activities for English 11.  Assignments and due dates will always be listed in red.  You can access class handouts through the "Course Materials" section located on the top right of this site.  If you have any questions or comments regarding the things you'd like to see on this site, call me at WRHS or e-mail me at ritchjoh@usd437.net

This week is a chance for us to get to know one another, as well as to discuss the policies, procedures, and expectations of the class.  Each quarter we will do an Independent Reading Project.  This quarterly project will require students to read a book throughout the quarter.  The final product for the project will be a short essay identifying and analyzing the book's theme.  We'll wrap up the week with a trip to the library and a discussion of the IRP.

• Mon: teacher work day
• Tues: New student orientation
• Wed: Introductions and interest survey
• Thurs: Finish introductions.  Discuss syllabus and expectations. Syllabus quiz at the end of the hour.
• Fri: 1st Quarter Independent Reading Project (IRP) -- book talk, check out a book, procedures,  expectations, and due dates.