Week at a glance Aug 30 - Sept 3, 2010

Curriculum focus: determines word meanings through knowledge of word structure: Greek and Latin roots and prefixes and suffixes (11.1.3.k3), using information from the text to make inferences and draw conclusions (11.1.4.K5), analyzing how the author’s use of irony contributes to his/her purpose (11.1.4.K11c), and contextual aspects of setting: how history, society, and culture influence events in the text (11.2.1.K2)

Root words for this week (root - definition - examples):

1. culpa - blame - culprit, culpable
   
2. duc / duct - lead - conduct, seduce, introduction
   
3. jud / jur / jus - law - judge, jury, justice
   
4. polis / polit - city - police, politician, metropolis
   
5. rect - straight - correct, direct, insurrection
   
6. urb - city - urban, suburb

We will continue our Root Words unit this week with the roots listed above, quiz on Friday. We will also begin our unit leading into Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Since Miller's play deals with witchcraft, we'll have notes over the history of witchcraft so we can understand the social and historical context of the play. We'll also read a few essays and poems written by Puritan authors to further understand the social context. We'll have class discussions on who we trust and why. We'll wrap up the week with a root words quiz and a written reflection on the issues we discussed this week.

• Mon: New root words, hand out and begin Trust Survey
• Tues: Trust Survey Socratic Seminar
• Wed: History of Witchcraft, presentation and notes
• Thurs: Root Words quiz, The Puritans, in-class readings and assignment due by the end of the hour
  
• Fri: Meet in the computer lab. Personal Narrative final draft due by the end of the hour.

Week at a glance Aug 23 - 27, 2010

Curriculum focus: determines word meanings through knowledge of word structure: Greek and Latin roots and prefixes and suffixes (11.1.3.k3), organizing and planning a written piece (11.7.1.3), composes persuasive writing (11.7.2.1c), adapts writing by identifying, analyzing, and understanding audience (11.7.2.2), writes using one or more text structures when appropriate to a achieve a specific purpose or to address a specific audience: problem/solution (11.7.2.4d), and develops clear and purposeful ideas with sufficient evidence and/or relevant detail to satisfy purpose using sufficient evidence, examples, anecdotes, quotations, expert opinions, and/or statistics (11.7.2.1d)

Root words for this week (root - definition - examples):

1. ante - before - antecedent, antebellum
2. brev - short - abbreviate, brevity
3. fin - end - final, infinite
4. pan - all - pandemic, panorama
5. poly - many - polygamy, polytheism
   
6. vac - empty - vacation, vacuum

This week, we start in on our Root Words unit. The Root Words unit will be helpful to students as it provides students with essential tools for learning words by knowing their structure. The first six roots are listed above. We also write our first essay of the school year: the Personal Narrative. The Personal Narrative is an essay with both narrative and expository elements. Students will relate a story of their experience to a song or poem. They will then analyze their experience in the context of the song or poem. Since this is our first essay, we will go step-by-step through the writing process. A handwritten rough draft for the Personal Narrative is due on Friday. Check the Course Materials section for copies of this assignment.

• Mon: Root Words introduced. Organize binders. Personal Narrative, assignment overview. Personal Narrative prewriting due Tuesday.
  
• Tues: Personal Narrative prewriting checked in class. Creating an informal outline. Begin creating an informal outline for the Personal Narrative.
  
• Wed: Personal Narrative informal outline checked at the beginning of the hour. Writing the introduction. Introduction paragraph due at the beginning of the hour on Thursday.
  
• Thurs: Personal Narrative - Discuss pulling in quotes and analyzing the material. Introduction paragraph checked by the end of the hour. Begin writing the rough draft.
  
• Fri: Root Words quiz; Personal Narrative handwritten rough draft due by the end of the hour

Week at a glance Aug 16 - 20, 2010

Welcome!

On this site, you’ll find a breakdown of each week’s lesson plans and activities for English 11. Assignments and due dates will always be listed in red. You can access class handouts through the “Course Materials” section located on the top right side of this site. If you have any questions or comments regarding things you'd like to see on this site, call me at WRHS or e-mail me at ritchjoh@usd437.net

This first week is a chance to get to know one another and preview what is ahead. We'll start the week with introductions. We'll then move on to a discussion of the syllabus, classroom policies and procedures, and a look at what we'll do during the 1st semester. Thursday will be a day of pre-tests to help us figure out where we are and what our needs our this year. We'll wrap up the week on Friday with a brief history of the English language to show how our language is always changing and emphasize the importance of context whenever we speak, read, or write.

• Mon: New student orientation
  
• Tues: Introductions, bring a 1 1/2 - 2" binder to class for Friday.
  
• Wed: Finish introductions. Syllabus and course overview.
  
• Thurs: Pre-test day - 1st semester and Root Words pre-tests.
  
• Fri: Personal Narrative preview: read and discuss Robert Frost's "Birches." Read and reflect assignment due by the end of the hour.