Game Plan
- Excalibur
HW: Blog Assignment #8
Work on WW #2 First Draft – Due Friday
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November 5, 2009
November 4, 2009
Game Plan:
- Excalibur
HW: Blog Assignment #8
Work on WW #2 Draft 1 – Due Friday
November 2, 2009
Game Plan
- SSR + Welcome Scribe!
- North: Collect magazine
- Explain blog assignment
- A word about Writing Workshop
- Finish Medieval Time Study Guide
HW: Blog Assignment # 8
Work on WW #2 Draft 1 – (Due Friday)
November 2, 2009
Nothing screams ‘medieval times’ like a coat of arms. Since we will begin our journey into this time period by reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I thought it appropos for you to channel your inner knight/lady and create your own personal shield.
Traditionally, a coat of arms represents the core values and ideals of a family. Some of you may already have a family crest, but for this assignment, I need for you to design one that symbolizes YOU and your personal beliefs.
Because some of us might be limited by our ability to draw and/or upload images onto the blog, all I require is a written explanation forat least 3 symbols, and a Latin motto (with translation). Of course, you are free to upload an image of your shield for possible extra points, but an acceptable post would look something like this:
Motto:
Scientia sapientes juvat – Knowledge calls the wise ones
Symbols used:
- gold fox (for one who will use all that he/she may possess of wisdom and wit in his/her own defense
- blue lion (for truth, loyalty and dauntless courage)
- orange torch (for worthy ambition, truth and intelligence)
Here are a couple of sites that may prove useful for this assignment:
The Meanings Behind the Symbols
Have fun! 
October 29, 2009
AGENDA(Door) #1
- SSR
- Finish Medieval Times Study Guide pg.74(old text)
AGENDA(Door)#2
- Finish Medieval Times Study Guide pg.74(old text) for only 40 minutes
- Surprise Activity for rest of the class
HW for both: Work on polished draft due tomorrow at 8pm, Revolution Magazine due Monday, & bridges.access.com career assignment due Monday
Before class started Mrs.Edwards explained and called for a poll of which door the class wanted to enter. Seventeen people wanted door one, but the rest of the class as Mrs. Edwards put it wanted to “risk it” and gamble on door two. So the deal with door two was that the class had only forty minutes to finish the Medieval Times Study Guide from yesterday and whoever completely finished said time will receive a homework pass. Those who didn’t will have an extension on Monday. Although since no one actually finished and everyone was working diligently, Mrs. Edwards kindly lessen the agreement and gave those who made it to the back side of the guide a homework pass. Then came the secret activity that most of us betted on. It just turned out to be a viewing of ”Doctor Who”, Mrs. Edwards Halloween treat for the class.
October 19, 2009
So, people, let’s crack open that Lit book! Next week we shall be embarking on a journey into the Middle Ages – aka the medieval period – and we begin with Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. For those not familiar with the Arthur legend, it would be a good idea to at least wiki ‘King Arthur’ and get a general sense of the story.
But that is not the assignment for the week. This week, I’d like you to start getting comfortable with the vocabulary used in the poem. So, go to page 209 of your text – yes, the big, purple book! – and find the 15 words listed in a box marked ‘WORDS TO KNOW’. Go ahead and find the definitions of these words on your own, if you don’t know them already, then come back to the blog and complete this:
Compose a short paragraph using the vocabulary words correctly and inventively. No, you may not change the form of the words (i.e. changing it from a noun to an adjective) and yes, the paragraph has to make sense. You need to put each word in ALL CAPS within the body of your paragraph. Using 5 words appropriately gets you an AP; 10 words is the P; all 15 words earns the AE. Of course, if you have egregious grammar/conventions errors, your grade will go down, regardless of how many words you do use.
Have fun!
October 15, 2009
Game Plan
- SSR
- Book Orders?
- Minilesson:Reflective Essay
- Workshop
We started off class with SSR and then Mrs. Edwards asked if we had any book orders. The book orders were due today. She told us about the peer reviews that are in a bucket that we can do for extra credit. She then gave us a mini lesson on Reflective Essays. Reflective Essays are composed of four elements: the incident,thoughts and feelings then and now, and the universal truth. We then worked on our new essay or our second draft of our old story for writing workshop.
HW: Blog Assignment #6 due Friday 8pm
Work on 2nd draft due Monday 8 pm on turnitin.com
Project Revolution Article due Friday in house/10:30 am
October 12, 2009
Game Plan
- SSR & Welcome Scribes!
- Collect Progress Reports
- A word about peer reviews & Blog Assignment #6
- Mini Lesson : S.T.A.R.
- Workshop
We started off our class with SSR for 20 minutes. Then Mrs. Edwards explained our schedule for tomorrow and collected our progress reports. She went over Peer Reviews, that are due tonight at 8 pm, because there was some confusion on how it is done. She also explained our blog for this week and a mini lesson about S.T.A.R.- substitute, take out, add, and rearrange. We then were able to do writing workshop and/or our peer review.
October 12, 2009
Since we’re so engrossed in Writing Workshop this month, I think it’s time to read a piece of literature to keep up with our reading and Harkness skills. Below is a link to A Sound of Thunder, an award-winning short story by science fiction writer, Ray Bradbury. Lucky you, it even comes with pictures from the comic book!
Read the story. The first person to respond to this assignment will have the honor (LOL!) of answering my initial question. Then, in true Harkness style, that same person must come up with a question that, in turn, will be answered by the next person and so on and so forth. The object of this assignment is to engage in an online conversation about the text.
You will be graded on two things: the thoughtfulness and clarity of your response to the question AND the depth and provocativeness of your own offered question. And since this is now our 6th blog assignment, it’s a given that I will also be looking at grammar and English conventions.
Again, there may be overlapping posts, depending on when you respond. To avoid confusion, if two people before you have answered the same question but have come up with two separate questions of their own, you are allowed to choose which question your respond to. JUST MAKE SURE YOU IDENTIFY WHOSE QUESTION YOU ARE RESPONDING TO, i.e. “Austin asked…and I think…”
So, here’s the link: A Sound of Thunder
And here’s my starter question: How does this story relate to Project Revolution’s essential question?
October 8, 2009
Gameplan:
- SSR
- Grade Reports/Collect 3 Paragraphs
- Mini Lesson: Slice of the Pie
-Workshop/Conferencing/Share Out
HW: Blog Assignment #5 (Due 8:00 PM on Friday), Work on Draft 1 (Due 8:00 PM on Friday), Parent/Guardian Signature for Grade Report (Due Monday)
- We were assigned to sit with our 11 o’ clock buddy today. Then we did SSR for 20 minutes. After SSR, we received our grade reports and no one in the class had a NC! We felt so proud of ourselves, because we had the highest grade point average out of the other houses. After giving us our grades, Ms. Edwards told us that if we needed to ask an important question about our grades then we should have a mini conference with her while we were doing writing workshop. Then Ms. Edwards talked to us about the “slice of the pie”. She meant that when we write about something we should just focus and give information on our topic, and not just shoot out fluffy bullets. She also said that less is better, because when you write and want to write more than what you can give, you are most likely just going to write about something else. We also had to do an activity where we were supposed to find things that could start a story in a Where’s Waldo picture. We found many for example: a naked clown on a pogo stick, a lonely lion, and a bumper car going wild. After the activity we did writing workshop and ended the class with sharing our work with our 11 0′ clock buddy for any suggestions or ideas that can help with our writing.
