home

6/4/12 -- Hi all, I've added some links to three Prezis on MLA style and format. Find them (and many other MLA resources on the link for "MLA Format & Citation Info" to the right).

Here's an editing and revision checklist that may help you with your essay. Remember, it is just __one__ way of editing your work. You should also use the rubric with assignment below to make sure you meet each requirement of the final.

5/30/12 -- Here is your assignment for the final and the sign ups for presentations:



5/21/12 -- If you were out Friday or were rehearsing for the Awards Ceremony, be sure to see me Monday for the homework due Tuesday.

5/10/12 -- Your homework for the weekend is to complete the "motherhood" graphic organizer. Be sure to read the last two pages of the novel, and think about motherhood from all different angles. Here's the organizer if you need an extra copy (you can also make your own). 

5/8/12 -- Reminder!! Vocab quiz on words from chapters 11-14 this Friday, May 11th!

5/4/12 -- Poetry essay assignment! Due Tuesday, May 8th. [|Here's a link to "The Lockless Door" by Robert Frost]

Check out this document for rules on how to cite lines of poetry. Refer to the "MLA Format & Citation Info" tab to the left for general MLA rules for essays. 

5/3/12 - Here is an organizer with all of today's vocab in case anyone missed any words. The homework is also uploaded below. It is due tomorrow (Friday). 

5/2/12 -- If you didn't turn in Monday's reading homework in class Wednesday during the placement test, you can bring it to me Thursday.

4/23/12 -- Your homework tonight is to write example sentences for each of today's vocab words. Here is a PowerPoint containing the words, their definitions, and their examples. If you'd like to see the Mimio presentation, stop in and see me.

__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">FYI: Tomorrow we will be meeting in the lab! __

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">4/13/12 -- Happy Vacation!!!!!!!!! :) Below is your reading assignment in The Secret Life of Bees for over the break. You're only reading chapters 5-7, so be sure to read closely and be reflective as you read. Take time to focus on and appreciate Sue Monk Kidd's brilliant use of figurative language! Have fun this week and be safe! <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">4/9/12 -- Completed vocab organizer (with definitions) and tonight's vocab homework. Instead of answering questions that include the vocab words, you'll be writing your own original sentences. Hopefully this will help you increase your understanding of the words and remember their meanings through your own usage of them.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">4/5/12 - Homework Questions for Chapter 3&4 (due Monday, April 9th):

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">4/2/12 -- Homework questions for Chapter 1 of //Secret Life of Bees// (due Monday) and homework questions for chapter 2 (due Wednesday). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">3/27/12 -- Read through the following interactive Word document to learn more about the historical context of the Civil Rights Movement and the setting of //The Secret Life of Bees.// Some links may be blocked if YouTube is not available on your computer. <span style="display: block; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 140%; text-align: left;">After exploring, open the excel sheet below to determine which allusion you will be responsible for informing the class about. Then, research it and take notes so that when we encounter this topic in the book, you can help inform our reading.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">3/26/12 - Today you will have the full period to work on your proposals for your project/action plan. Proposals are due tomorrow. If you have already written yours, you should spend the period beginning your project. This will be the only time we have in class to work on this, as the rest will be completed outside of class. Please also have the book sign out letter for //The Secret Life of Bees// signed by a parent ASAP and brought back to school so I can give you a copy of the book. I'm attaching an extra copy here in case anyone misplaces it. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">3/21/12 - Ideas we brainstormed today for your "Now Go Do Something" Project Proposals (due next Tuesday, March 27th). <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">3/20/12 - Here are the study guides. I'll have them printed for everyone tomorrow in class. If you don't think a particular study guide and the lesson delivered by that group in class is going to sufficiently prepare you for the test on Thursday, you should refer back to that chapter.

<span style="background-color: #f6e5ea; color: #ff000c; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 170%;">3/16/12 - Don't forget: Vocab Quiz Monday!!!



<span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">3/16/12 -- Please read the following instructions for class today and plans for next week __carefully__.

<span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">First: Many of you have expressed concerns about the test next week. You should know that you certainly have the option of reading the chapters you feel you weren't adequately informed about by your classmates' lessons. However, I also think it would be helpful if we put together a study guide for everyone to have. So, after our vocab quiz on Monday, you will have the rest of the period to work with your group to create a study guide on your chapter for the rest of the class. I think this is the best way to do it, since those that presented are, essentially, the experts on their chapters. This study guide should:
 * 1) <span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">Summarize most of the content of the chapter, but as a general overview (not every little detail)
 * 2) <span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">Explain the main ideas of the chapter (as in, what are readers supposed to "walk away" understanding)
 * 3) <span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">Clearly identify the author's purpose for including the chapter and how it fits into the overall purpose of the book (many of you did not state this clearly enough in your lessons).

<span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Please come to class on Monday PREPARED to create this lesson plan. Our test is on Thursday so I will need them by the end of class to photocopy and distribute to you all in time to study. We will also upload copies <span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">to the wiki.

<span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Second: Your task for the rest of class to <span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">day is to blog and then and respond to the <span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">blog posts of others. Here is what I'd like you to write about:

<span style="color: #0089ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Connect what you have learned from your reading of //Chew On This// to the eating habits of your peers at PFA and in Lawrence in general. Do you observe healthy eating habits, unhealthy eating habits, or both? Are there more opportunities in Lawrence to buy natural, organic foods or to buy processed and mass-produced foods? Finally, what do you think we should do now? Many of you have mentioned wanting to create some kind of an action plan. What do you think we should do with all our new knowledge so it doesn't go to waste?

<span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">Happy Blogging and Happy Early St. Paddy's Day!!!!!!!!!!!!



<span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">3/14/12 - Thursday marks our last student-led lesson for //Chew// <span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">//On This//, and I want to say how impressed I've been by all of you so far! The lessons have been fun to watch, and I love seeing you teach one another. You're a very talented group of students, and you should be proud of yourselves! :) <span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">For homework Thursday night, you need to use each of the vocabulary words taught to you by your classmates to answer the homework questions. I'll pass them out in class, but I'm also uploading them here. After the "Your Way" presentation, I'll upload a completed vocabulary organizer as well, in case anyone needs any of the definitions. Start thinking about we should now do with all of this new knowledge. What should our next steps as a class be? We'll blog about this Friday! <span style="color: #800000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">

<span style="color: #0089ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">3/8/12 - Homework assignment from the "Stop the Pop" group: Read "The Power of One" (pages 154-155) and write down the main idea and 3 important facts. Due Tuesday (this WILL be a homework grade). <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">If your group wants to post information about your chapter on the wiki (even if you've already presented), come see me and we can get it on here. You can even post your PowerPoints or links to Prezis.

<span style="color: #0089ff; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">2/28/12 -- We are meeting in the lab today. Below is the lesson plan template you can use to type the final draft of your lesson plan. Remember that you must email this to me 2 class days before the date of your lesson. If your lesson isn't for two weeks, still try to get it in to me soon. The sooner you get it to me, the sooner I can provide feedback. :) Have fun working with your group today. Remember the rules and expectations you established when we began this project, and try to balance the workload fairly.

<span style="color: #0089ff; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">

<span style="color: #ff3e00; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">2/9/12 --- Below is a completed vocab organizer for anyone who was absent today, as well as the vocab homework questions due tomorrow. Great job in class today! :) <span style="color: #19945e; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">

<span style="color: #19945e; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">2/6/12 - Hi, all! I am //really// enjoying reading your blogs. I appreciate your honesty, your insight in terms of what you have learned, and your suggestions for second semester. Tonight's reading homework for //Chew On This// is posted on the //Chew On This// tab to the right. You are reading through page 62, and answering the reading questions. Please be sure to keep up with these assignments, as we will be using them in class. :)

<span style="color: #431994; font-family: georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">2/1/12 - Check out the tab for //Chew On This// for everything we discussed today and links to the videos. Here's a copy "The Pioneers" homework. We don't meet tomorrow and we have MAP testing Friday so this isn't due until Monday: <span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">

<span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">1/31/12 - Instructions for Today: <span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">
 * 1) <span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">Log in to your Edublogs account (if you don't have one yet, follow the steps below to set one up and then share your web address with me).
 * 2) <span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">Write for 30 minutes about any of the following topics: what you learned in this class last semester, what you liked about it, what you would like to see changed, what you would like to read in the future, topics you'd like to write about, goals you want to set for yourself, things you learned yesterday from Mrs. Serrano, questions you have after yesterday's presentation...
 * 3) <span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">Post your blog entry (making sure it's public), and then begin reading the posts of others on the links in the document below (I'll update the list of blogs if new ones get added).

<span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">1/25/12 - We are all using the same edition of the novel. Your works cited entry for this book should look like this:

= Halse Andersen, Laurie. //Wintergirls//. New York: 2009. Print. = = =

= =

<span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">1/24/12 -- Final Essays are due by the start of class on Thursday (Period 6, right after lunch). Because this essay is your midterm exam, no late work will be accepted. I will check submissions Thursday during class and make sure to let you know if for some reason I have not received your work. Keep working hard! So far, the drafts I have seen have been great! Follow the guidelines on the rubric and use the MLA sheets as a checklist. <span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">An essential part of MLA format is the Works Cited page. Here are instructions on how to create a works cited (it should be the last page of your essay) and what a sample one looks like. <span style="color: #199419; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">**[|Sample Works Cited Page]**

= = =1/18/12 - Reminder: Planning organizers need to be completed by Thursday or Friday of this week. The sooner you get it to me, the sooner I will get it back to you. If you bring it on Thursday, I will check it Thursday night and return it to you Friday so you will have it for the weekend. We will be meeting in class on Thursday to talk about MLA format and begin our first drafts. We will meet in the computer lab (E101) Friday. Here's the organizer for anyone who lost it:=

=1/13/12 - Just wanted to congratulate all of the impressive freshmen who performed at today's assembly! It was a lot of fun to watch. If you are interested in performing at the February assembly, please let me know!= = = =Here is the assignment for your midterm: = = = =Remember to bring your working thesis statement to class on Tuesday! No late assignments around mid-terms. Here's the handout on writing good thesis statements := == =Have a great three day weekend!=

= UPDATED Edublogs Addresses: = Check out what your classmates are saying about Wintergirls and provide them some feedback!

1/4/12 -- Happy New Year and Welcome Back!!! Here are instructions for today's class in the lab: [[file:Winter Girls Blogging Ideas.doc]]
== 12/23/11 - Just a reminder that over the break you should be completing your //Winter Girls// reading log for each chapter that you read. Hope you all are having a relaxing and fun break! See in you in 2012! ==

[[file:Winter Girls Reading Log.doc]]
12/20/11 - Tonight's reading assignment and questions are posted under the //Winter Girls// Tab.

=12/19/11 - Anyone absent Friday, should be sure to make up the journal entry completed in class (prompt posted on Powerschool). Also, see me today to grab a copy of our new book, //Winter Girls//. Read chapters 1-7 by Tuesday 12/20 and answer the 9 homework questions (I have copies, but they are also posted under the Winter Girls tab to the right).=

=12/13/11 - Just a reminder that the Pixton deadline has been extended to Friday of this week (12/16), but there will be no more time in the lab. If you haven't finished yet, you should consider coming in early Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, or staying after any of those days.=

=12/9/11 - Instructions for Class Today: =

=12/7/11 - You should all have set up your Pixton accounts by now. For those absent Wednesday or those having problems logging in, our Activation Key is:= =<span style="color: #ff000c; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 170%;">7D4-X5J. =

= = =12/6/11 -- Check the Gender Identity page for a copy of the story map organizer and for two videos that may be helpful in learning how to use Pixton. We will get started with Pixton in class tomorrow :)=

=12/2/11 - Here is a copy of the assignment distributed today in class. The second page is the topic sheet due Tuesday. Be sure to bring it to class!=



==== If you need help coming up with ideas, check out the titles you all brainstormed last Friday of works that contain gender stereotypes. I posted an image of the list on the "Gender Identity" page (you can get to it through the navigation bar on the right). ====

=11/30/11 - For homework tonight, be sure to read Amy Patterson-Neubert's article in depth (posted on the wiki on the Gender Identity page). You will need to be able to closely analyze this in class tomorrow.=

= = =11/18/11 - As promised, here is the list with links to everyone's blogs. You can either type the address of the blog in your web browser or hold down the "Control" key (Ctrl on your keyboard) and click on the link in this file: =

<span style="color: #df00ff; font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">Happy Blogging!

= = =11/17/11 - I'm looking forward to meeting all of your parents tonight! If your parents aren't able to come in and would like to set up another time to meet with your teachers, please have them call the school or email me. Great job jigsaw-ing the "Man Up" article today in class! I learn so much from all of your insights!= =Reminder -- Vocab Quiz Monday!=
 * Vocab Words: assertive, disparity, eschew, overt, exhaustive, extraneous, jostle, biased, manacle, domestic, intrinsic, predominant, fluctuate, advocate, conceivable. **

= 11/9/11 -- A reminder that your final grades should be in PowerSchool for all of your classes by tomorrow evening. I know some of you have been asking when you'll know for sure what's on your report card. Mine will be finalized tonight. I've been spending a long time reading your poems and your essays - they are truly excellent. They are a pleasure to read, and I am learning so much from them, so I've been taking my time. I don't see you all until Monday but if anyone wants to pick them up tomorrow, stop by my room. Enjoy the long weekend and good luck with your reflection papers! Can't wait to see them! =

=10/31/11 - Hey all, just a reminder that your final drafts of your poems are due Wednesday. Between now and Wednesday, you should also be working on your Poetry Analysis Essay (see the assignment and rubrics below if you need a reminder on what that should look like). I will give you an hour in class on Wednesday to type your poem and type your essay, but you should come to class with them already written or have them typed and saved on a flash drive or in your Google Docs. You'll then share them with me in Google Docs. Then, we perform our poems on Thursday in Mr. E's room! :)= =Spoken Word Poetry Assignment/Rubric:=

= = =<span style="color: #2b0080; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">10/20/11 - Hey all, sorry it has taken so long for me to invite you to this site! I will be much better about posting assignments and using this as a way to keep everyone updated as we move forward. Have a great weekend! I will see you Monday so we can finish //Bronx Masquerade!!// =

=

= =<span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">10/6/11 -- Welcome to our classroom Wiki! = <span style="color: #800080; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">We will use this site for many purposes throughout the year. On this "Home" page, I will post updates about what is going on in class, reminders, and any pictures or videos of things we do in class. Updates will be dated as they are entered, and the newest updates will always be on top. On the side bar, we will have pages for each unit we undertake or topic we are studying. There is also a discussion forum where we can all converse. If you are ever absent, this is a great place to check first in terms of what you have missed. If you have any problems with or questions about the wiki, just email me: emilylooser@gmail.com. Have fun!!