Test Review of Semester 1 Exams

We discussed all four of the exams students took at the end of Semester 1. Students wrote a short reflection on their writing for the first half of the year.

Octavia Butler's "Bloodchild"

Students read Octavia Butler's science fiction story "Bloodchild," winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards the year it was published. I handed back graded essays that students are welcome to revise for a higher grade, if they wish.

Work Day: Reading, Notes, Vocabulary

Students had the class period to get caught up on story notes, which are due tomorrow, and vocabulary notebooks, which are due on Friday.

Wells Tower's "Leopard"

We discussed motifs--repeated elements--of "Gorse Is Not People." Then students read Tower's "Leopard," a short story written entirely in second person narration. We discussed the story, and students worked on their story notes.
Homework: Story Notes #2 due on Wednesday; Vocabulary Notebook due on Friday

Frame's "Gorse Is Not People"

I discussed some background about New Zealand writer Janet Frame, and showed students how to create a Works Cited entry from an online magazine source. We read and discussed the story. Story notes on the next five stories will be due next week.

Carrier Bag Discussion and In-Class Writing

We discussed LeGuin's theory and tried to apply it to some of the storied we've read so far in this Unit. Then students wrote a short constructed response summarizing the features of the two types of stories.

Discussing LeGuin: Hero Story and Carrier Bag Story

Homework check: t-chart for hero and carrier bag stories. I briefly discussed grades. As a class, we gathered information about the chart. Then students divided into pairs to generate some questions to classify the short stories we are reading.

LeGuin's Theory of Fiction

I handed back the first set of short story notes, which have a completion grade of ten points. Incomplete notes were given five points, but they may be corrected for the same number of points. I gave a little feedback on specific stories, then gave a short lesson on theme. Four clues to an author's theme(s) or message(s) are: title, motifs, symbols, and theme statements.

Students spent the rest of the period on Ursula LeGuin's "Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction." They created a Works Cited entry for the essay, then read the essay. Students will record characteristics and quotes about the two types of stories in a t-chart: the hero story; the carrier bag story. Notes are due tomorrow; I will assign a grade for them.
Homework: Finish reading LeGuin and create the t-chart

Welcome Back!

I returned and briefly discussed the graded Bradford essays, which may be revised for a higher grade, if desired. I handed out Lesson 8 vocabulary, which will be our final Greek lesson. Students used the rest of the period to get caught up on story notes and vocabulary lessons.
Homework: Bradford essay due

Career Day at SWCCC

Career Pathways class only: students travelled to the SWCCC campus for Career Day.

Tuesday, November 19

Substitute teacher: Students read London's "To Build a Fire," and wrote their story notes.

Vocabulary Lesson 7 Quiz

Students

Work Day: Vocabulary Lesson 7 and Short Story Notes

Students had the class period to make up quizzes, work on vocabulary notebooks, and finish short story notes.
Homework: Story Notes #1 due on Monday (Achebe, Lahiri, Shea, Strand, Eggers)--stapled together in alphabetical order by Works Cited entry (author's last name); Lesson 7 Notebook due on Monday; Lesson 7 quiz on Monday

Short Story Work Day

I gave some management rules for paper copies of short stories: no marking; return ASAP.  We finished the "Jumper Down" story notes. For the rest of the period students worked on their short story notes, including two pieces  Achebe, Lahiri, Shea, Strand, and Eggers. I will do a note check on these five stories on Monday.
Homework: Vocabulary Notebook Lesson 7 due tomorrow; Quiz tomorrow

Short Story Notes: Second Lesson

We created a Work Cited entry for Red Sky at Morning. We finished the Achebe notes in class, and as a class created Works Cited entries for the Lahiri story and the flash fiction stories. We read "Jumper Down" and created short story notes for it (almost finished).
Short Story List so far:
Achebe, Lahiri, Shea
 

Short Stories: Achebe and Lahiri

Today I gave a few warnings about the Red Sky at Morning essay: analysis, not summary; transition sentences; evaluative conclusion reminders. Then I gave a lesson on POV using flash fiction.

Finish Red Sky; Begin Short Story Unit

Friday, November 7
Students took their final Red Sky at Morning quiz; band members may take the quiz on Monday during my office hours. Students read Chinua Achebe's "Marriage Is a Private Affair," and answered questions 7-9 at the end of the story, and the short constructed response on page 997.
Homework: Work on Red Sky comparative analysis essay


Monday, November 10
We made a few parting comments about Josh's coming of age at the end of the novel. In preparation for Jhumpa Lahiri's short story, I showed students two clips from the Bollywood film Jhoda Akbar, to show some differences in culture--especially the benign view of arranged marriage. I handed out copies of the story, and we read and discussed the beginning aloud.
Handout: Lahiri story
Homework: Work on Red Sky comparative analysis essay

Reading Quiz and MLA Title Transcription Rules

Students

MLA Rules for Transcribing Titles

I gave a handout from the MLA Handbook and discussed the rules for transcribing titles. We reviewed the grammatical concepts necessary for capitalization (subordinating and coordinating conjunctions, prepositional phrases, pronouns). Then students practiced, first with a slide show, and then with a worksheet.

Essay Guidelines and "Murder Your Lovelies"

I reviewed the comparative analysis structure for the Bradford essay; next, I handed out and discussed the essay rubric and reminded students about the deadline: Tuesday, December 2. The assignment is worth two hundred points, with five possible points for an early submission (before Thanksgiving Break). I presented a slide show lesson with examples on Becoming a Better Writer. The three areas of focus for these writing lessons were avoiding repetitive diction, evaluative conclusions, and refining quoting skills.
Homework: Finish Red Sky at Morning by Thursday class