All Boys, All Blogged: November 29, 2012

Focus: Student-led discussion of A Long Way Gone, Chapters 7-10

1. Warm-up: Tightening the reigns: A necessary overview of expectations and consequences in English 10


2. Fishbowl #3: Chapters 7-10

HW: Study for tomorrow's vocabulary quiz over List 8 SAT words; bring A Long Way Gone book to class tomorrow; prepare for book talks.

All Boys, All Blogged: November 28, 2012

Focus: Learning new vocabulary; revising your dialogues from yesterday

1. Warm-up: "What are you alluding to, police officer?" : SAT List 8 vocabulary review using dialogue

• First, create a "voice" for your character.  How would this character speak?  What kinds of verbal tics would he (or she) have?  What kinds of things would this character say?
• Imagine a situation in which your two characters would meet.
• Create a dialogue between these two characters using EIGHT of your List 8 vocabulary words.

2. Overview of the purpose of dialogue; revising yesterday's memoirs

• What inferences could a reader make about your personality based on this dialogue?
• What inferences could a reader make about your friend, parent, etc. from this dialogue?
• Where and how could you strengthen the voices in this dialogue?
• Add descriptions in between the pieces of dialogue to create the entire scene, thinking about:
• Setting
• Physical description of characters (clothes, hair, skin, posture, etc.)
• Gestures and movement
• Thoughts (what's NOT said out loud)

HW: Finish reading Chapters 7, 8, 9 and 10 by tomorrow, remembering your annotation focus; prepare for tomorrow's fishbowl discussion; study your vocabulary words for Friday's quiz.

All Boys, All Blogged: November 27, 2012

Focus: Telling your story

Please have out your annotations so that I may check Chapters 1-6.

1. Book talks!

2. Warm-up: 6-word memoir

3. Discussing Beah's first page and composing the first page of your memoir.  That's right!
   Click HERE for the rules of memoir club.

• What can we infer about the narrator from this little piece of dialogue?
• What can we infer about his high school friends?
• Why might the author start his memoir this way?

     Your task as a memoirist:

1. Start  a new folder in Google Drive and call it "Memoir."
2. Open a new document and call it "Opening."
3. Here is your first sentence: "My high school friends have begun to..." Finish that sentence in a way rings that reflects a conflict, or at least a sense of tension, between you and your friends.  If you can't think of a conflict with your friends, feel free to substitute "My parents" for "My high school friends."
4. Complete your opening page by offering a one-page dialogue between you and your friends.  Try to capture their voices and your voice as accurately as you can.  Of course, there are gaps in your memory; try to fill them as best you can, but don't worry if you have to use a little of your imagination (there's a big difference between "filling in the gaps" and straight-up lying).

HW: Work on Thursday's reading assignment (Chapters 7, 8, 9 and 10 with annotations); start looking over SAT List 8 vocabulary words and bring them to class tomorrow.

All Boys, All Blogged: November 26, 2012

Focus: Student-led discussion of A Long Way Gone, Chapters 3-6

1. Warm-up: Creating annotation bookmarks for A Long Way Gone:

• Give yourself a title that incorporates your role (ex: If Sam had chosen the "Outdoorsman" task, he could call himself "Sam vs. Wild").
• Create a symbol for your particular focus as an annotator and draw it carefully on your bookmark.
• Write your own motto, or use the one I gave you, or look up a new one.
• Write three role-related questions that you should be asking yourself as you read (ex: How is the land described?  How does that description reflect what's going on with the narrator here?).

2. Signing up for one-on-one essay conferences

3. Fishbowl Discussion #2: Chapters 3-6 of A Long Way Gone

HW: Start on Thursday's reading assignment and annotations; bring your book and annotations to class tomorrow; book talks; start preparing for this Friday's List 7 SAT vocab. quiz.

All Boys, All Blogged: November 16, 2012

Focus: Understanding the beginning of A Long Way Gone and establishing ourselves as memoirists, too

Kite Runner books and essays are due today.  Please turn them in right away.

1. Warm-up: Book Talks

2. Q&A on the "Journal with a Purpose" handout and applying it to the first pages of Chapter 3 for practice; also, figuring out a fair number of annotations per chapter.

3. Discussing Beah's first page and composing the first page of your memoir.  That's right!
Click HERE for the rules of memoir club.

• What can we infer about the narrator from this little piece of dialogue?
• What can we infer about his high school friends?
• Why might the author start his memoir this way?

Your task as a memoirist:

1. Start  a new folder in Google Drive and call it "Memoir."
2. Open a new document and call it "Opening."
3. Here is your first sentence: "My high school friends have begun to..." Finish that sentence in a way rings that reflects a conflict, or at least a sense of tension, between you and your friends.  If you can't think of a conflict with your friends, feel free to substitute "My parents" for "My high school friends."
4. Complete your opening page by offering a one-page dialogue between you and your friends.  Try to capture their voices and your voice as accurately as you can.  Of course, there are gaps in your memory; try to fill them as best you can, but don't worry if you have to use a little of your imagination (there's a big difference between "filling in the gaps" and straight-up lying).

HW: 1. Prepare for Monday's fishbowl by reading and annotating Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6; remember to mark the book each time you see an instance of your particular focus as a DJ, astronomer, sociologist, etc.  When you mark it, annotate it by offering an interpretation or posing a question about it.
2. Please finish today's memoir assignment by next Tuesday, November 27.

All Boys, All Blogged: November 15, 2012

Focus: Stepping into the violent world of A Long Way Gone

Announcement: Vocabulary is cancelled this week.  Enjoy.

1. Warm-up: Book talks

2. Finishing yesterday's activity and connecting our culture of violence to Ishmael's

3. Fishbowl #1: A Long Way Gone, Chapters 1 and 2

4. Wrap-up: Self reflections and goals

HW:  1. Read through the "Journal with a Purpose" handout (also linked HERE) and come to class prepared with any questions you may have.

2. Make sure your Kite Runner essay is turned in tomorrow during class at the latest.

3. The Kite Runner books must be turned in by tomorrow.

4. Start on your next reading assignment for A Long Way Gone by reading and annotating Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 (next fishbowl discussion is the Monday after Thanksgiving).

All Boys, All Blogged: November 14, 2012

Focus: Investigating cultures of violence

1. Warm-up: Reflecting upon and turning in webquests

2. Reacting to timeline and images of our culture of violence

HW: Prepare for tomorrow's fishbowl by reading and annotating Chapters 1 and 2 of A Long Way Gone; bring your vocabulary to class tomorrow for review of List 8 (quiz Friday).  FINAL DRAFT OF KITE RUNNER ESSAY DUE TOMORROW (FRIDAY AT THE VERY, VERY LATEST).