Tag Archive for animal farm

Unit Test Tuesday!!

January 31, 2017 / / No comments

Standard: 

  • ELAGSE9-10RL1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
  • ELAGSE9-10RL2 Determine a theme or central idea of text and closely analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • ELAGSE9-10RL3 Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
  • ELAGSE9-10RL6 Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.

Learning Target: I will demonstrate my knowledge on a comprehensive unit test, covering several standards.

Opening Session: Sit back and relax with this oddly satisfying video!

Work Session: Welcome to class! Today you will be taking your Animal Farm unit test. You will have all of class to work on it, but you probably won’t need it 🙂

Closing Session: Reflection on this unit – for your TOTD, please give me some feedback on this unit. What did you like, what did you not like, do you think you learned a lot, what should I change?

Differentiation: Specialized instruction according to student accomodations, process (annotated or modified test available)

Assessment: Test will be a major grade.

Lab Day 2, Essays Due!

January 27, 2017 / / No comments

(look at that, I’m a poet and don’t know it! or do I?)

Standard:

  • ELAGSE9-10W1 Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

Learning Target: I will finish writing my communism essay and peer edit a friend’s; I digitally turn in my essay.

Opening Session: An Editing Checklist to run through before you turn your paper in!

Work Session: Welcome to the lab for day 2! Today your goal is to finish typing your essay.

1st block: I’m going to give you the same timers you had yesterday so you can go through and systematically finish or edit each of your paragraphs:

  • 10 minutes for your introduction
  • 15 minutes for your first body paragraph
  • 15 minutes for your second body paragraph
  • 15 minutes for your third body paragraph…
  • …and the rest of class to work on a conclusion, a fourth body paragraph, or to revise your earlier paragraphs.

Honors: You guys should be more or less done with your essays, so you will do some peer editing. I want you to go on to our shared Google Drive folder, and open up a document that was uploaded by a friend in the class. This is important! You MUST turn on “Track Changes” in Word and use the Comment feature to peer edit!!! You are NOT supposed to just type over your friend’s essay. You need to make absolutely sure you’re using track changes and comments to do your editing!!

While you’re peer editing, I want you to check for the following things:

  • Is the essay written in the proper font and style (12 point Times New Roman double spaced, no extra spaces, no bold, italics only where needed)?
  • Is the MLA heading correct (Student Name, Teacher Name, Class Name, Date)?
  • Is there a centered title? No other formatting besides centering?
  • Indented paragraphs?
  • Does the author write in first person – I, me, me, you, us, we, our, your, etc.? If you find first person, suggest an alternate way to phrase things in a comment!
  • Does the author use contractions (don’t, can’t, won’t, etc.)? If you find any contractions, type out the complete words.
  • Are there any points in the essay where the author is unclear or drifts away from his or her main purpose? If so, put a comment on the paper and make a suggestion for fixing it.

At the end of class, make sure everything is saved and uploaded to Google Drive!

Closing Session: Essay Reflection TOTD – how did this essay go? What grade do you think you will get?

Assessment: Essays will be graded

Differentiation: Process (scaffolding questions); product (varied length as needed; quote requirements increased or decreased as needed).

 

Welcome to the Lab!

January 26, 2017 / / No comments

Welcome to lab 201! Today we will be typing your essays!

Standard: 

  • ELAGSE9-10W6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

Learning Target: Students will type their communism essays.

Activator: Log onto the computers and open Word! I’ll come around and help with login and program finding issues…

Work Session: It’s lab day! That means today you’re going to have time to type your essay. I know we didn’t do a handwritten draft this time around, but one of the things we want to work on this semester is your ability to sit in front of a screen and keyboard and compose something, typing as you think. The only real way to get good at this is the same way you got good at writing on paper – PRACTICE!!

Today I’m going to first go over how to set your paper up in MLA format by changing the font, font size, and spacing, and then how to add an MLA heading and title. Then we will start typing your paper!

  • 10 minutes for your introduction
  • 15 minutes for your first body paragraph
  • 15 minutes for your second body paragraph
  • 15 minutes for your third body paragraph…
  • …and the rest of class to work on a conclusion, a fourth body paragraph, or to revise your earlier paragraphs.

Even if you don’t know what to say or can’t say it perfectly, just TYPE SOMETHING! It’s a whole lot easier to go back and revise than it is to compose new stuff, so while the clock is running, just BLEEURGH brain dump onto the screen! (Please don’t really barf on the keyboard. I don’t want to clean that up.)

Tomorrow we will be in the lab as well 🙂

Closing Session: Ok, we’re going to turn in your papers a little differently this semester: online. Create a gmail account if you don’t already have one, and then send an email to me – jillebristow@gmail.com (don’t forget the e!). I’ll then add you to our shared folder, and you can upload your essay there to turn it in.

Assessment: Formative checks at every timer interval, summative essay grade

Differentiation: Scaffolded essay prompt, sentence starters or paragraph frameworks given as needed.

It’s ESSAY TIME!

January 25, 2017 / / No comments

Standard: 

  • ELAGSE9-10RL1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Learning Target: I will begin brainstorming and outlining for my first formal essay in this class about whether or not communism could ever work in America.

Activator: Just for fun – A clip from American Dad, about Steve the Communist. Hey look, this stuff extends outside of class, too!

Work Session: Today we’re going to split the block in half and work on two things. First, your essay for this unit! DUN DUN DUUUUUUN!!!!!

Essay prompt: Could communism ever work in America? Drawing on sources of how communism has worked or not worked around the world (the articles we read in class), decide if communism could ever work in America. If so, why is the system not already in place? If not, why not?

You must include FOUR QUOTES from the articles we read in class in your essay!

Your essay must meet the following criteria:

  • MLA format, including headings, 12 point Times New Roman, double spaced.
  • Formal style (no contractions [don’t, wasn’t, etc.], no first person [I, me, my, you, your, our, we, etc.], no slang or abbreviations)
  • 750 words
  • Due on Friday, January 27th. 

Today we’re going to go over MLA format and start brainstorming your essay. I want you guys to take a minute to think about your opinion on the prompt above….and when you have it, write it down on the top of your paper.

Now write one of your four quotes from yesterday…and then write 1-2 sentences explaining WHY it supports your opinion on the matter.

Do three quotes that way!

Next up, the counterargument… Write a quote that goes against your opinion, and then 3-4 sentences explaining why that is WRONG. (I like the sentence stem “Some people think…..but those people are wrong because…..”)

We’ll continue with brainstorming until you’ve got a pretty good handle on the prewriting, and then you’ll have the rest of the first half of the block to draft!

COMPUTER LAB TOMORROW – COMPUTER LAB FRIDAY – REVIEW MONDAY – TEST TUESDAY!!!!

Honors: Your first MGP project is due next Tuesday, January 31st.

Closing Session: TOTD – write your thesis statement (your answer to if communism could work in America or not) on a slip of paper and turn it in!

Assessment: Formative assessment of completion of study guide

Differentiation: Student choice (essay topic, choose a side to defend), process (tiered essay assignment), readiness (study guide time for those who need it)

Chapter 10: Where did they go wrong?

January 23, 2017 / / No comments

Standard:

  • RL.9-10.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).

Learning Target: I will finish reading Animal Farm by annotating chapter 10, and then discuss the ultimate outcome of the book.

Opening Session: Animal Farm Chapter 10 Summary by Book Cheats – check out this guys eyes. What’s up with that?

Work Session: Welcome back! Today we’re going to be reading chapter 10! But don’t reach for those novels yet, because today we’re going to be doing something called annotating the text. I’ve copied the chapter for each of you, and you’re going to be writing all over it.

  • Circle vocabulary words (or any word you’re unsure of) and write the definition in the margins (you can google the definitions on your phone! just search “define _______”)
  • Underline anything you think is an important detail (or highlight if you have a highlighter)
  • Place a star by anything interesting and write notes in the margin.
  • If you are confused and have to stop and figure something out, write down what you figure out in the margins so you can refer to it later on.
  • Make at least TWO ANNOTATIONS PER PARAGRAPH
  • You can work on another sheet of paper if you want (some people prefer this because then they don’t mark up their books! But I am like JK Rowling – I think once the book is yours, you should read it with all your heart. Crack the spine, make notes in the margins, destroy it because you read it so hard. That’s how you show a book you love it)

Ok, so after we read and annotate the text on our own, I’m going to call a few people up to the document cam. You’ll place your paper under the doc cam and show what you wrote down for one of your pages, and give the chance to copy some of your notes if they’re particularly insightful.

 

Closing Session: At the end of class today, we will have finished the book. I want to revisit how you felt at the beginning of the book versus how you feel now, and ask you this as your ticket out the door: Could you have predicted what happened to Animal Farm? Did you think it would end that way? Does it surprise you?

That’s it for today! Tomorrow we will read a short story about a very different tyrannical government. Until then!

Assessment: Annotations will be graded (participation/completion at this point)

Differentiation: Students may be given the audio version if needed, or read with a partner or in a small group.

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