Week of September 30-October 4

Monday, September 30:

• Quiz: Parts of Speech
• Finish reading "Popul Vuh" (p. 76 in the literature textbook)
• HW: Think about the relationships between the creator(s) and the people in both "Genesis" and "Popul Vuh." What do these story details of "Popul Vuh" reveal about the culture? How do those cultural values differ from those revealed in "Genesis?" Be sure to also mention cultural values of "Genesis" in your answer. Due tomorrow!

Tuesday, October 1:

• Warm-Up
• Check last month's warm-ups (one week's worth)
• Notes: Body Paragraphs
• Whole-class practice on constructing a body paragraph

Wednesday, October 2:

• Warm-Up
• Finish body paragraph notes
• Read the folktale "Cinderella" and annotate on the following:
• Characteristics of a folktale
• Symbolism usage - a symbol is an object or person that stands for a larger idea. Look for possible symbols and their meanings.
• Class discussion on characteristics and symbolism of "Cinderella"

Thursday, October 3:

• Warm-Up
• Read "Slow, the Weaver" and "The Brahman's Dream" aloud in class (p. 146 in the literature textbook)
• HW: Work on the following questions (due Monday):
1. How do both stories fit the criteria of a folktale? Choose one criterion for one story and a different criterion for the other story. Support your answers with story details.
2. What do these stories suggest about the way women were viewed in ancient India?

Friday, October 4:

• Fiction Friday #2:
• Read your choice book. Continue to do so even after you finish your reading log.
• Complete your reading log: write one summary paragraph, one analytic paragraph, and one personal reaction paragraph. Follow the directions on the handout given to you. This is due at the end of the hour.

Week of September 23-27

Monday, September 23:

• There is a substitute teacher today: read "Noah and the Flood" on p. 70 of the literature textbook. Answer questions #2, #3, and #7 - due by the end of the hour.

Tuesday, September 24:

• Warm-Up
• Discuss "Noah and the Flood"
• Pass out and discuss handout/guidelines of Non-Fiction Friday. Students will bring an article to class every other Friday (switching between Fiction and Non-Fiction days) and respond to questions listed on the handout. Students will have 15 minutes to respond to and turn in the answers to the questions, along with the article itself. Next, a student will be chosen at random (through a number generator) to read his or her article aloud to the class. The same student will then lead discussion on the article by asking open-ended questions and calling on students, whose hands are raised, to respond. Discussion will continue until the end of the hour. Students receive points by responding to the article and speaking up in discussion at least once. 

Wednesday, September 25:

• Non-Fiction Friday practice round
• Read the assigned article and write quick responses to the assigned questions (15 mins)
• Whole-class discussion on the article. You must speak at least once to receive full credit.
• HW: Bring an article to class by Friday
• Parts of Speech quiz on Monday

Thursday, September 26:

• Warm-Up
• Parts of Speech review
• Begin reading "Popul Vuh" aloud in class (p. 76 in the literature textbook)

Friday, September 27:

• Non-Fiction Friday #1:
• Write responses to the questions (listed on the handout) for your article (15 mins)
• Whole-class discussion on a chosen student's article. You must speak at least once in order to receive full credit for the discussion portion of your grade.

Week of September 16-20

Monday, September 16:

• Warm-Up
• Notes: Parts of Speech. We will be viewing Grammar Rock to learn the parts of speech. More advanced terminology will be added as we progress through the DVD. 
• HW: Bring a fiction book to class by Friday!

Tuesday, September 17:

• Warm-Up
• Notes: Myths and Folktales
• Pass out and discuss Fiction Friday handout and more specific directions for reading logs.

Wednesday, September 18:

• Warm-Up
• Read "Creation and the Fall" from Genesis aloud in class (p. 65)
• HW: Write a paragraph that explains how "Creation and the Fall" shows the qualities of a myth. Be sure to include details from the story for every quality of a myth that you mention. Time will be given to get started on the assignment in class. Due tomorrow!

Thursday, September 19:

• Warm-Up
• Group activity: Parts of Speech posters. In your assigned small groups, you will be given a part of speech. The goal is to created a poster about your assigned part of speech. Include the part of speech name, a definition, three drawings that demonstrate the part of speech. three original sentences using the assigned part of speech, and lots of color. This is due by the end of the hour.

Friday, September 20:

• Fiction Friday #1:
• Read your choice book. Continue to do so even after you finish your reading log.
• Complete your reading log: write one summary paragraph, one analytic paragraph, and one personal reaction paragraph. Follow the directions on the handout given to you. This is due at the end of the hour.

Week of September 9-13

Monday, September 9:

• Pass back and discuss writing common assessment
• Grammar pre-test
• Write one thing you are excited about for this school year and anything important you wish to tell me. Turn this is by the end of the hour.

Tuesday, September 10:

• Information on Fiction Friday: The first Fiction Friday of the year is Friday, September 20. You must bring a school and reading-level appropriate book to class by then. If you are worried about finding a book, I have a few extra ones, but I do not have enough books for the whole class.
• Log into the English 9/World Literature resources site and the class website through ePark. Answer the questions about the class website as you browse. The questions are due at the end of the hour.

Wednesday, September 11:

• Warm-Up
• Activity: reading with a purpose. Read "The House" and underline or circle anything you believe to be important. Next, using a different color highlighter, underline anything you believe a robber would find important. Finally, use another different color to underline anything a home buyer would find important. As you can see, reading is much more difficult if you do not have a purpose in mind or an idea of what to look for. Always try and figure out why you are reading something before you read it!

Thursday, September 12:

• Warm-Up
• Notes: Talking to the Text (putting your thoughts on paper while actively reading text). Model and practice as a class with an excerpt from Tina Fey's Bossypants.
• Practice talking to the text with a fast food and clothing labels article. Discuss on reading strategies and the article itself will follow.