September 25: Assignments and Homework

In-Class:

• Journal: Describe an argument you've had with someone else. What was your point of view? What was his/her point of view? Who "won"? Did you learn anything? Did you grow from the experience?
•  We did a worksheet where we stated a claim and came up with four arguments to support our claim.  To support each argument, we found evidence in the book, came up with a counter argument, and refuted it. Here is an example:

Claim: 

Lennie had a happier life than the other characters in the book because of his mental disability.

Argument #1:

Because he doesn't understand the significance of horrible acts, he suffers much less than others.

Evidence to support the argument: 

• George calls Lennie stupid and complains about him all the time; yet, Lennie still loves George and doesn't understand the burden he places on him (page #____)
• When Lennie kills Curly's wife, he doens't feel guilty about committing a murder.   Instead, he is worried he will get in trouble (page #_____)

Counter Argument: 

• When you don't know pain, you also can't know true happiness.

Counter Argument Rebuttal: 

• If you don't know what you're missing, you aren't missing anything.

Homework:

• Write your introductory paper on the back of the worksheet. Make sure to clearly and succinctly state your claim, distinguish it from the counter claim, and introduce what your paper will address. Here is an example:

Lennie is a physically healthy, happy, yet mentally handicapped man.  While some may argue being mentally disabled is  a grave setback, I argue that Lennie led a happier life than the other characters in the book because of his mental disability.  His lack of understanding when people mistreat him, his carefree attitude, and the absence of major responsibilities all contribute to making his life happier.

September 23rd: Assignments and Homework

In-Class:

• Journal: Where do you see yourself in five years? Be specific!
• Finish peer edits on Newspaper articles (those who turned it in late will get a reduced grade but that's much better than a zero!)  
• Finish group activity (10 pts.)
• Discuss group activity 

Homework:

• Work on late assignments and turn them in before parent/teacher conferences! 

September 19th: Assignments and Homework

In-Class:

• No journal today
• We turned in our Newspaper Article assignment (40 pts.).  Those who had it finished did a peer edit (10 pts.) of someone else's article. Those who didn't do it worked on it during class and turned it in.

Homework:

• None

September 17th Assignments and Homework

In-Class:

• Journal: What was your life like as a kid? What did you love to do? What did you worry about? What were your favorite foods? What did you want to be when you grew up? (10 pts.)
• We read the article, "In Praise of Boredom" and underlined parts that stood out to us. We had a class discussion about the way children are raised in today's world and whether or not children are allowed to be "bored" and explore/create.
• We looked at the 12th grade Common Core Standards for argumentative writing and discussed how it should look.
• We read an example of a student college placement argumentative essay on the article, "In Praise of Boredom" and talked about why it was an effective essay.
• Students split in to groups and read another argumentative piece on school dress code and decided whether or not it contained the components of a strong essay (10 pts.)  We didn't quite finish this, so we will complete it on Friday.

Homework:

• Newspaper article on Of Mice and Men due on FRIDAY.  Please come ready on Friday because we will be doing a peer review!!

September 15: Assignments and Homework

In-Class:

• No journal today
• We went to the book room to check out our new Language Arts textbooks and workbooks
• Those who did the homework peer edited each others' vocabulary short stories (5 pts).  Those who did not do the homework worked on the homework assignment in class and/or finished reading, Of Mice and Men
• Introduced the homework due Friday, September 19th.

Homework:

• Newspaper Article
  Assignment: You have two choices based on what your opinion is of George’s decision to kill Lennie.
  1)      If you agree, please write a 200 word “heroic acts” article reporting what happened.  You will need to use at least 3-4 quotes from characters in the book.  The quotes should be invented based on what the character is like and how he/she talks and what he/she might say.
  2)      If you disagree with George’s decision, please write a 200 word article recounting the homicide of Lennie.  You will need to use at least 3-4 quotes from characters in the book. The quotes should be invented based on what the character is like and how he/she talks and what he/she might say.
  Here is how you will be graded:
  ·         Use words that are interesting and varied!  The articles in your packet can give you ideas (10 points). 
  ·         Please properly punctuate your quotes (10 points).
  ·         Your article should be statement of facts (relaying information), not opinions.  Whichever stance you take, you will report as though that is what happened. It also needs to be a thorough (who, what, where, when, why, and how). (10 points)
  ·         You need an attention grabbing headline and an author byline (10 pts).
  This assignment should be typed and double spaced. It is due Friday, September 19^th. 

September 11: Assignments and Homework

In-Class

• Students who missed Reading Quiz #1 took it
• Students worked on a vocabulary worksheet on words from Of Mice and Men.  They determined the part of speech of each word and wrote new sentences.
• Journal: We watched two clips from 9/11.  Click here to watch one of the clips. We then reflected in our journal any questions, thoughts, or feelings surrounding the events of 9/11.

Homework:

• Write a 200 word narrative (story) using 10 of the 15 vocabulary words from the worksheet.  Please type it in size 12 font, double spaced.

September 9 Assignments and Homework

In-Class:

• Journal Prompt:

• “’A guy needs somebody—to be near him.’ He whined, ‘A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference  who the guy is, long’s he’s with you.’” –pg. 80

• Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Give evidence to support your answer (personal experiences work well).  Do you ever get lonely? Could you be happy living alone, disconnected from friends or family? Do you like being surrounded by a lot of people, or just one or two good friends? Do you ever feel better just knowing someone is in your house, even if you’re not in the same room? Is having a lot of money or fame worth it if you have no one to share it with? (10 pts.)

*If you missed a journal entry, you can do it at home and email it to me!  

•  Took a reading quiz on chapters 4-6 (20 pts.)
• Group Project (10 pts.): 

•  (If you missed class, you can do this on your own and hand in your notes for credit). Read the first couple pages of chapter 6 (the last chapter), up until Lennie drinks the water.  Then, read the first couple pages of the first chapter, up until Lennie drinks the water (10 pts).
  
  •List all similarities you find between the two passages.
  •What is significant about the description on page 109 in relationship to the scene that is about to unfold?
  •Why do you think Steinbeck chose to open and close the book with scenic descriptions?
  •Is this an effective way to tell the story? Why or why not?
   Homework:  
  • Complete the character similarities worksheet. Please email me at katie.houston@slcschools.org if you would like this emailed to you.

September 5 Assignments and Homework

In-Class:

• Journal: None today
• Listened to a presentation by the college prep advisor
• Discussed how to more effectively argue a point
• Wrote an argument for or against the school tardy policy (5 pts.)
• Interviewed a partner for the "Heroic Acts" news article assignment

Homework:

• If you haven't finished your reading or need to make up your vocabulary words, do it this weekend! I always take make-up work.  It will get a reduction for being late, but it's MUCH better than not turning it in at all!
• There will be a reading quiz on Wednesday!!

September 3 Assignments and Homework

In-Class:

• Journal: "He’s a nice fella,” said Slim.  “Guy don’t need no sense to be a nice fella.  Seems to me sometimes it jus’ works the other way around. Take a real smart guy and he ain’t hardly ever a nice fella” (45). Do you agree? why or why not?
• Took a reading quiz on chapters 1-3 and discussed the answers after (20 pts.)
• Did an activity called "Passing Notes" where we discussed the passage on pg. 44, second paragraph (5 pts.)
• Took notes on 8 Rules for Punctuating Quotes (please email me if you need the powerpoint presentation on this, katie.houston@slcschools.org)

Homework:

• Finish reading Of Mice and Men (due 9/5)
• Turn in 10 vocabulary words from the reading with definitions and page # (due 9/5)

August 29th Assignments and Homework

In-Class:

• Journal: Would you ever hurt someone you loved, even if it was for their own good?
• Introduction to Of Mice and Men
• Discussed with people around us the trials/rewards of caring for someone who is mentally disabled
• Looked at the rules of quotation marks

Homework:

• Read chapters 1-3 of Of Mice and Men (due 9/3)
• Turn in 10 vocabulary words from the reading with their definitions and the page number (due 9/3)

August 27th Assignments and Homework

In-Class:

• Journal: Describe life on another planet (10 pts.)
• We collaborated in groups about life on another planet and presented our ideas (10 pts.)

Homework:

• Turn in disclosure if you haven't already! Due Friday, August 29th

August 25th Assignments and Homework

In Class:

• Talked about what our names mean
• Discussed disclosure document
• Read heroic articles and discussed elements of newswriting

Homework:

• Disclosure document signed by a parent (20 pts), due Friday, August 29th