Week at a glance November 26 - 30, 2012

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

1. anthrop - people,human - anthropology, philanthropist, misanthrope
2. ego - I or self - egotistical, egomaniac, egotheistic
3. humus - of the earth - human, humble, exhume
4. mater/matr - mother - maternal, matron, matriarch
5. pater/patr - father - paternal, patron, patriot
6. vir - man or manly - virtue, virile, triumvirate

This week we will continue our work reading and analyzing Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  In the first part of the novel, Jim warned Huck to stay away from the river.  This week's readings find Huck on the river and introduces us to his conflict as his conscience wonders what to do with runaway slave Jim.

• Mon: Review this week's Root Words.  Read Huck Finn Ch VIII - XI, pages 36 - 63.
• Tues: Huck Finn - quiz over Ch VIII - XI; complete VIII - XI study guide by the end of the hour. Begin reading Chapters XII - XVI, pages 63 - 95.
• Wed: Read Huck Finn Ch XII - XVI, pages 63 - 95.
• Thurs: Huck Finn - quiz over Ch XII - XVI; complete XII - XVI study guide by the end of the hour. Begin reading Chapters XVII - XVIII, pages 95 - 116.  Bring a book to class tomorrow for the IRP.
• Fri: Root Words Quiz.  Read and take notes for the IRP.

Week at a glance November 12 - 16, 2012

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

1. bene - well - benefit, benediction, benefactor
2. cred - believe - credit, creed, incredible
3. cres, cret, cru - rise or grow - crescendo, increase, concrete
4. luc, lum - light - lucid, lucrative, luminescent, illuminate
5. phil - strong love for - philosophy, philanthropy, bibliophile
6. sopho - wisdom - sophisticated, philosophy, sophomore

We are repeating last week's roots because we were actually a week ahead of where we needed to be.  This week we'll be back on schedule with a quiz for this Friday.

Junior Research Essay - Students need to have their essays turned in to the turnitin.com site as soon as possible.  Even with late credit, the best benefit students will earn for the essay will be the opportunity to have feedback from me and the site.  Rough drafts with comments will be posted this weekend.  We'll be back in the computer lab next week, Monday and Tuesday, to revise and submit the final draft.

From here to the end of the semester, we'll fall into a rhythm of having time to read Huck Finn in class Mondays and Wednesdays, a quiz and a study guide to complete in class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Root Words quizzes and time for the Independent Reading Project on Fridays.  Students who use their time wisely should find that this schedule gives them plenty of opportunities to complete work in class, though some reading will still need to be done outside of class.

• Mon: Review this week's Root Words.  Read Huck Finn Ch I - IV, pages 1 - 18.
• Tues: Huck Finn - quiz over Ch I - IV; complete I - IV study guide by the end of the hour. Begin reading Chapters V - VII, pages 18-36.
• Wed: Read Huck Finn Ch V - VII, pages 18 - 36.
• Thurs: Huck Finn - quiz over Ch V - VII; complete V - VII study guide by the end of the hour. Begin reading Chapters VIII - XI, pages 36 - 63.  Bring a book to class tomorrow for the IRP.
• Fri: Root Words Quiz.  Review Independent Reading Project expectations and assignment.  Read and take notes for the IRP.

Week at a glance November 5 - 9, 2012

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

1. bene - well - benefit, benediction, benefactor
2. cred - believe - credit, creed, incredible
3. cres, cret, cru - rise or grow - crescendo, increase, concrete
4. luc, lum - light - lucid, lucrative, luminescent, illuminate
5. phil - strong love for - philosophy, philanthropy, bibliophile
6. sopho - wisdom - sophisticated, philosophy, sophomore

This week we'll wrap up the rough draft for the Junior Research Essay.  Students will submit their rough drafts through a site new to WRHS: turnitin.com.  This site will speed up our ability to analyze and evaluate student essays.  It is also one of the top anti-plagiarism sites online and will carefully scrutinize students' use of sources in the essay.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - students will check out their own books this Friday. Students will do the majority of the reading of the novel on their own; however, we will occasionally have some time in class to be reading it. Students struggling with the novel have multiple options. I would prefer that they come see me either before or after school first. Another possible option is to use the online resource I have posted under the Course Materials section of this site. The site is done well and ties to what we are doing in class. The site also has chapter summaries that students may wish to use as a guide when they read. The chapter summaries will be best used only as a guide and not a substitute for reading as much of our work will be far more detailed than a simple summary of a chapter.

• Mon: New root words; quiz on Friday.  Junior Research Essay - complete the shaping packet to create the rough draft.
• Tues: Junior Research Essay - shaping packet due by the end of the hour.
• Wed: Meet in the computer lab.  Create a turnitin.com account.  Begin typing the Junior Research Essay rough draft.
• Thurs: Meet in the computer lab.  Continue typing the Junior Research Essay rough draft.  Finish the rough draft and submit it electronically through turnitin.com by 4pm on Friday.
• Fri: Meet in the classroom. Root words quiz.  Check out Huck Finn books.  For Monday - read Chapters I - IV, pages 1 - 18.