"Rhodesia, 1976" and Quoting Lesson & Practice

We discussed the reading for today, Alexandra Fuller's "Rhodesia, 1976," the first chapter of her memoir Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight. Then I gave a lesson on quote selection and integration. In the first step, quote selection, students should choose short phrases of vivid and precise language that supports analysis. In the second step, students write a sentence using the chosen phrase. The resulting sentence must be grammatically correct; in other words, the quotation should be integrated into the student's sentence as a functional part of speech, such as a noun (subject, object), verb (main verb or verbal), adjective (modifier), or adverb (modifier). The third step is properly documenting the source with a parenthetical reference.
Homework: Hand in Vocabulary Notebook tomorrow; Lesson 1 quiz tomorrow

The Process of Analysis: Five Moves

I gave a short presentation on Bloom's Taxonomy to emphasize the important of higher level thinking in high school. We discussed the Writing Analytically reading and the five steps of analysis. We also started the Alexandra Fuller reading from her memoir Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood.
Handout/Homework: Finish Fuller reading for class tomorrow
Vocabulary Notebooks due Friday
Memorize meanings of Lesson 1 roots, prefixes, and suffixes for Friday Quiz

Hiroshima Essay Feedback

Because of comments during yesterday's discussion of Hiroshima, I showed students some political cartoons published during WW2 that depict the Japanese in racist ways. Then I gave some essay feedback:
1. Attribution (author and title presented effectively)
2. Focus on writing task (discuss, not narrate or summarize)
3. Test as crutch (long quotes, inadequate paraphrasing)
4. Reading the book (an important educational experience)
5. Your personal peccadillos (minor) and stylistic problems (major): How will you address them?
Major: lack of ideas; wordiness, repetitive words & phrases; repetitive sentence structures (makes for choppy writing); formal voice and diction, no 1st person
Minor: spelling, apostrophe abuse, punctuate sentence structure
Students looked at their essays, which will be the first document in their sophomore writing portfolios.
Homework: Read introduction to Writing Analytically for tomorrow's class

Hiroshima Discussion

A number of students came in to finish their Hiroshima tests during lunch hour. We discussed Hersey's book: what it revealed about Japanese cultural attitudes, what it taught the world about radiation sickness, and how the habakusha ("explosion-affected persons") were treated in their own country.
Homework: Hand in Vocabulary Notebook on Friday;
Read Fahrenheit 451 Part 1 before Tuesday after Labor Day.

Hiroshima Test

Students who finished the book took their Hiroshima written tests. Makeups will be on Monday at lunch time in my classroom. Writing prompt: Using details and properly cited quotations from the book, discuss how one of the six survivors of the Hiroshima bombing illustrates the horrors of nuclear war. Students who haven't finished the book read during class, or read the Word Clues Introduction, or worked on their vocabulary lessons.
Handout: Word Clues Introduction
Homework: Read Word Clues Introduction; Get caught up on reading Hiroshima and Fahrenheit 451

Workday: Vocabulary Notebook Lesson 1

I gave students some feedback on their Greek and Latin prefix bookmarks, which were due yesterday:
1. Last name on ALL assignments
2. Thoroughness: Include all prefixes
3. Label GREEK & LATIN lists
4. Hyphens designate affixes (e.g., re-, -ing, ultra-, meta-, -ment)
5. Ease of use--clear to use as a reference look-up

After I showed them the Online Etymology Dictionary, students used the rest of the class period to work on Lesson 1 in their vocabulary notebooks. They worked in groups, using print dictionaries, my two computers, and their smart phones. Students will have a new Lesson every two weeks.
Homework: 
1. Hand in vocabulary notebook on Friday, 8-29, when there will be a short quiz
2. Written test on Hiroshima tomorrow 

Dictionary Skills: Finding Derivatives from Specific Roots

Students handed in their first assignment, their prefix bookmarks, and formed working pairs for our dictionary lessons. I familiarized students with the parts of a paper dictionary (pronunciation; abbreviations; POS; senses; fullest form; origin). Using the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, students looked up various words to work on their dictionary skills, as well as identify genuine derivatives from Latin and Greek roots.
Homework: 
1. Purchase Decomposition Books ($4.00) ASAP: first assignment begins tomorrow
2. Parent email or signature due by Friday

Welcome, Wise Fools!

Our first class period was devoted to classroom orientation and a slide show etymology lesson in preparation for our new vocabulary curriculum. Students took short notes on the lesson. I am doing my best to remember my new students' names, but please be patient. I gave students instructions on making prefix bookmarks for their vocabulary notebooks. Students who did not receive the summer reading assignment need to read John Hersey's Hiroshima and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 very soon (I can allow a bit more time, but both books are quick reads).
Handouts: Syllabus/Parent Letter; "Greek Roots and Derivatives"/"Latin Roots and Derivatives."
Homework: 
1. Parents read Syllabus/Parent Letter & acknowledge by email
2. Reading test on Hiroshima on Friday (make-up on Monday)
3. Bookmarks due tomorrow for Greek and Latin prefixes
4. Buy Decomposition Books ASAP for Vocabulary Notebooks ($4.00)