Homework: June 17--FINALS PREP

English 11 (A and G blocks)

• Work on your portfolios. A block, yours is due THURSDAY at 7:30. G block, yours is due FRIDAY by noon.
• Prepare for your final exam. Here's the information on the exam:
• As you know, THESE ARE OUR COURSE ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
•  What is the power of the individual voice to make change?
• What roles do stories play in our lives?
• What is the story and who gets to tell it?
• How have stories made us who we are?
• How do the stories we tell and the language we use define who we are and how we think?
• To prepare for your final, revisit the major texts we’ve studied this year. They are:
• Sherman Alexie: True Diary (novel), Smoke Signals (film)
•  Tim Burton: Big Fish (film)
•  Tim O’Brien: The Things They Carried (novel)
• Sebastian Junger: Restrepo (film)
• Sarah Koenig: Serial (podcast)
•  F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby (novel)
• Shakespeare: Twelfth Night (play)
• Additionally, make a list of independent reading books you read! Next, start thinking about those essential questions and those texts, as well as common themes/motifs we’ve studied this year. Really think through the messages these texts share, and the strategies they use to share those messages.
• In class, for your final, you will be asked to write an essay. I’m not going to give you the exact prompt ahead of time, but it is directly connected to the essential questions. You will use at least three class texts, and maybe even independent reading books, to answer the prompt. You’ll need to use specific details!

Honors English 11 (C block)

• Complete your portfolio.
• Complete your "This I Believe" essay and be ready to read it aloud Friday morning in class! Make sure you're on time...7:30!

Creative Writing II (F block)

• Work on your writing portfolio. You'll have time in class on Monday to finish it up.

Homework/resources: June 16

Honors English 11 (C block)

• Study your vocabulary--you have a quick quiz tomorrow!
• Work on portfolio and "This I Believe"--remember, there's time in class tomorrow, too!
• Here are some "This I Believe" essays to listen to. There are thousands online if you want to hear more!
• "Accomplishing Big Things in Small Pieces" (the one we listened to today)
• "I didn't wash my car last month" 
• "Find a Good Frog"
• As you've noticed, these all follow the same general guidelines: state a belief, explain it, and tell a story. Make sure your essay does so, too!

Creative Writing II (F block)

• Work on your portfolio!

English 11 (G block)

• Finish your portfolio by FRIDAY at NOON.
• Come take a vocab make-up today or tomorrow, if you're interested!
• Use the handout from class today to prepare for your FINAL--7:30 next Tuesday!

Homework: June 15

English 11 (G and A block)

• Work on your portfolio!
• And, if you're planning on retaking the vocabulary test, make sure you study!

Homework: June 12

English 11 (G and A blocks)

• Work on your portfolio!
• If you didn't do well on Friday's vocabulary test, and will be taking a make-up, STUDY! There may be some of the same words, and some different words, on the make-up test. It will be offered Tuesday or Wednesday directly after school.

Honors English 11 (C block)

• Check the previous post for a full list of what you're working on. We'll finish presentations on Tuesday. Thanks to our two groups for starting strong on Friday!

Honors English 11 C block schedule

Here's the schedule for the rest of the year, folks! We've talked about this already, but I figured I'd put it all in one place!

• Thursday--project work time.
• Friday--project presentations begin! (We'll talk about "This I Believe" in class during some of that time.) Work on your written project work/portfolio/"This I Believe" for homework. Study for your last vocab quiz--it's Wednesday!
• Tuesday--project written work due! Presentations continue/wrap up. We'll debrief in class. Work on your portfolio/"This I Believe" for homework.
• Wednesday--final vocabulary quiz, work time on portfolios and "This I Believe."
• Friday--finals block! Make sure your portfolio is done, and make sure your "This I Believe" essay is printed and ready to go. In class, we'll read "This I Believe" essays and do a final reflection.

PHEW! Let's go!

Homework: June 10

Creative Writing II (F block)

• Give the first three poems in the packet a "first read." Make some notes about what you notice, like, and question.

English 11 (G block)

• Do a "first read" of Act II, scene 4. Find 3 moments/lines/ideas that you think are especially important, and jot notes about why. (It's even ok to identify moments that you think are important, even if you don't know why...just write down why you think they're important!)
• Study your vocabulary!!! The test is on Friday!!!

English 11 (A block)

• Study your vocabulary!!! The test is on Friday!!!

Homework: June 9

Creative Writing II (F block)

• Finish your draft of your poem!

English 11 (G block)

• Study your vocabulary and work on your portfolio.

English 11 (A block)

• Give Act 2, scene 4 a read-over. Identify 3 lines/sentences that you think are important, and jot quick notes in the margins. Even if you're not sure WHY it's important, if you think it is, make note of it!
• Study your vocabulary and work on your portfolio.

Honors English 11 (C block)

• Work on your project!
• Presentations start Friday.
• Written work is due on Tuesday.
• We have one more vocabulary quiz to take--it'll be on Wednesday next week.
• Don't forget you're also working on portfolios and "This I Believe." We'll talk more about those later this week...your project is your priority right now, but you can work on these others if you have time!

Homework: June 8

English 11 (A block)

• Make sure you're studying for your vocabulary test on Friday!
• Don't forget, you can use vocabulary.com to help you study. If you search for the "100 Top SAT words" list, you can click on the PRACTICE tab and it will quiz you! (You have to sign up for an account, but it's free and easy and useful.) Your test will ask you to write down definitions that are clear and accurate. They don't have to be the exact ones on the handout, but they need to be right!
• Make sure you're working on your portfolio!

Honors English 11 (C block)

• Work on your project! If you were absent today, make sure you watch the rest of Restrepo (you can find it on Netflix, YouTube, etc.), and get in touch with your group members to make sure you're on track with your project.
• Remember that the first step is to come up with a theme. Here are a couple of resources to remind you how to do that!

and

Homework: June 5

Honors English 11 (C block)

• You know what you need to do: work on your project! 

Creative Writing II (F block)

• Work on your poem.

English 11 (G block)

• Finish reading Act I, scene 5, and read Act II, scene 1.
• Pick out 3 important lines/ideas, and jot notes in the margins about why you think they're important.

Homework: June 4

Creative Writing II (F block)

• Read and mark up the rest of those poems. 

English 11 (G block)

• Study your vocab! Your final vocab quiz is tomorrow.
• Your FINAL VOCAB TEST will be on FRIDAY the 12th.
• Start working on that portfolio!

English 11 (A block)

• Study your vocab! Your final vocab test will be on Friday the 12th.
• Start working on your portfolio.

Homework: June 3

English 11 (G block)

• Read Act I, scene 4 in Twelfth Night. Pick out 3 lines that you think are especially important, and make notes about why.
• Study your vocabulary! Your quiz is Friday.

English 11 (A block)

• Study your vocabulary! Your quiz is tomorrow!

Honors English 11 (C block)

• We're starting to work on projects--revisit your group's story, to make sure you're familiar with it. Start thinking about connections between/among your story, Big Fish and Restrepo. 
• Read over the assignment sheet/handout packet for the "This I Believe" essay. We'll talk a lot more about that assignment in the upcoming days.

Homework: June 2

Honors English 11 (C block)

• Read and make notes on the three handouts I gave you today:
• Group project assignment sheet (we'll talk about groups, stories, and due dates tomorrow)
• Portfolio assignment sheet (due on Friday, June 19)
• "The Moment I Knew I Was an Adult"--read and make quick notes
• Additionally, I'll be collecting your The Things They Carried work tomorrow, so I can take a look at it and give you credit. See the previous post with the picture of the list...email me if you have any questions!

Creative Writing II (F block)

• Read some poems, and make some notes!

Homework: June 1

Creative Writing II (F block)

• Read your independent reading book, and find more fodder for your found poem!

English 11 (G and A block)

• Study for your vocab test. A block, yours is Thursday. G block, yours is Friday.
• Read the story I gave you called "The Moment I Knew I Was an Adult." Use the instructions on the top of the handout to react to the story.