October 31

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Happy Halloween! How do you feel about scary movies? <OR> What was your favorite costume when you were younger?

Students submitted their extended metaphors on Canvas and rated other students' responses.

We added the term "incorrect premise" to our logical fallacies notes. Students then read a piece and looked for the incorrect premise.

We read an excerpt from Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail. Students compared this text with Antigone's speech to Creon and wrote a short response.

We will resume our reading of Antigone tomorrow.

Today's Board

October 30

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Some people believe there is no such thing as a truly unselfish act, that even when we do something to help others, we're seeking glory and satisfaction for ourselves. What do you think?

We added logical fallacies to our argument and persuasion notes.

Students continued reading Antigone and working through the analysis packet. They are on track to finish the play by Friday and take the test on Wednesday, 11/7.

Today's Board

October 29

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB:

Students continued reading and discussing Antigone. They should finish the play and packet by Friday and prepare for a test next Wednesday (11/7).

Today's Board

Week-at-a-Glance

October 26

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Which of these values do you believe is least important? loyalty to family, obedience of local and national laws, observance of religious beliefs and customs, following your own conscience, or achieving respect and recognition

We recapped the Prologue of Antigone and continued reading and working on the analysis packet.

Today's Board

October 25

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Article of the Week - "Social Media's Impact on Student Mental Health Comes into Focus" (really interesting infographic in this article)

While students worked on the notebook entry and independent reading, I met with individual students for reading conferences.

Students took a quiz over Greek roots. These grades will be entered soon.

Students began working with their groups to read Antigone and complete an analysis packet. We will continue this work tomorrow.

Today's Board

October 24

IRT: ~20 minutes
Tuesday's WNB: Are there any present-day rules or laws that you think are unjust? What laws would you like to see changed and why? What are some ways to protest an unjust law?
Wednesday's WNB: Of these 5 values, which one do you think is most important? Loyalty to family and friends, obedience of local and national laws, observance of religious beliefs and customs, following your own conscience, or achieving respect and recognition.

Tuesday: We finished reading Oedipus Rex. Students had time to finish up the questions packet. We also completed some practice AP multiple choice questions. (I left early, so I forgot to post the blog. My apologies!)

Wednesday: We reviewed Oedipus Rex and completed some more practice AP multiple choice questions (1st only). I introduced Antigone, which we will begin reading tomorrow.

Greek roots quiz tomorrow!

Today's Board

October 22

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB:

We recapped our previous reading of Oedipus Rex and read Ode 2, Scene 3, and Scene 4. Students answered questions along the way.

Greek roots quiz is Thursday, 10/25.

Today's Board

Week-at-a-Glance

October 19

(We watched today's episode of Hawk TV instead of reading today.)
WNB: Tomorrow is the National Day on Writing. Why do you write?

We continued reading Oedipus Rex and uncovering the mystery. Today, Oedipus's paranoia continued to grow as he accuses Creon of wanting his power. We also met Queen Iocaste, Oedipus's wife. We added more details to our timeline organizer.

October 18

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Article of the Week - "There Are 3 Types of Failure"

Students used the first 30 minutes of class to read, annotate, and respond in their notebooks to today's article while I met with individual students for reading conferences.

We recapped yesterday's reading of Oedipus Rex then read Scene 1 and Ode 1 and added more notes to our timeline organizer. Students had time to answer questions in the packet. We will continue the story tomorrow.

Today's Board

October 17

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Choose a different statement from yesterday's activity and write about it.

We began our work today with some ancient riddles. The last riddle was the Sphinx's riddle that Oedipus answered to save the city of Thebes from a plague: What creature goes on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?

We read the Prologue and Parados of Oedipus Rex and answered questions along the way. We also created a timeline to help us better understand the order of events in the play.

Today's Board

October 16

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: Choose one of the statements from the agree/disagree activity and explain your thoughts. (Statements: The actions of one person can have widespread effects. Leaders who rely on intimidation will ultimately fail. A guilty person cannot escape justice. What a person strives for may bring more sorrow than success. Suffering helps a person gain knowledge. It's always better to know the truth.)

We went to the library during independent reading time. Students were reminded to select a book from the AP list to read this 9 weeks--they'll write about it on the final exam. This list is available on the Course Resources page on Canvas.

After the agree/disagree activity, we finished the notes from yesterday and began studying Greek roots. Students will have a quiz over Greek roots on Thursday, 10/25.

Today's Board

October 15

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: In your own words, define the word "tragedy" and give examples. Why are books, movies, the news concerned with tragedies? How are they used as a form of entertainment in our society?

We began an exploration of Greek drama today. Students took notes to prepare to read Oedipus Rex and Antigone.

Today's Board

Week-at-a-Glance

October 12

First period took their midterm exams today. Grades will be entered soon.

Have a great weekend! Monday begins the new 9 weeks!

Boomer and Baxter are excited about the cooler weather!

October 11

1st period

IRT: ~20 minutes

We went over the results from the lit terms test. Overall, students did pretty well!

We looked over the midterm review again. Students will take this test tomorrow.

I handed back the performance task essays and reflections. Students should keep these--we will revisit them next 9 weeks.

Students used the remaining time to catch up on missing work and study for exams.

4th period

Students took the midterm exam. These grades will be entered soon.

Today's Board

October 10

All sophomores took the PSAT test this morning, so I didn't see 1st period. 

In 4th period, we went over the lit terms test and reviewed for the midterm exam. I passed back the performance task assignment. Students should hang on to this--we'll do more work with it next 9 weeks.

Tomorrow, 4th period will take their midterm exam. 

Friday, 1st period will take their midterm exam. Students will be released at 12:20pm.

Nothing on the board today, so here's a Liz Climo cartoon.

October 9

IRT: ~20 minutes

I handed back student notebooks and reminded them to update their currently reading pages.

Students had the rest of the class time to complete the midterm reading ladder and reflection assignment on Canvas.

Tomorrow, all sophomores will take the PSAT test, so I won't see 1st period. In 4th period, we will review for the midterm exam.

On Thursday, 1st period will review for the midterm exam and 4th period will take the exam.

On Friday, 1st period will take the midterm exam. Students will be released for the day at 12:20pm.

We begin a new 9 weeks on Monday!

Today's Board

Week-at-a-Glance

October 5

WNB: How can ordinary people be heroic? What could motivate them?

After completing today's notebook entry, students completed a reflection form and handed in their notebooks. They also read independently.

We went over the midterm review. First period will take their test on Friday, 10/12, and 4th period will take their test on Thursday, 10/11.

We reviewed the 2 speeches from Julius Caesar. Students can access the speeches on Canvas.

First period completed a practice PSAT reading section. We will look at this more closely on Tuesday, and 4th period will do the practice then (4th period was more abbreviated due to the pep rally schedule).

Coming Up
Monday, 10/8 - No School
Tuesday, 10/9 - Reading Reflection
Wednesday, 10/10 - PSAT for all sophomores
Thursday, 10/11 - 3rd & 4th period midterm exams
Friday, 10/12 - 1st & 2nd period midterm exams; students released at 12:20.

Today's Board

October 4

Students handed in 3 scored articles to add points to today's test, last week's persuasive essay, and the essay reflection.

Students took the literary terms test. When they finished, they had time to read independently. The grades (with bonus points added) have been entered in Skyward.

Coming Up
Friday, 10/5 - Notebook check & begin midterm review
Monday, 10/8 - No School
Tuesday, 10/9 - Reading reflection
Wednesday, 10/10 - PSAT for all sophomores
Thursday, 10/11 - 3rd & 4th period exams
Friday, 10/12 - 1st & 2nd period exams, students released at 12:20

Today's Board

October 3

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: "It is not in words that I should wish my life to be distinguished, but rather in things done." Oedipus in Oedipus at Colonus by Sophocles

Students had time to finish and hand in the terms chart for "The Possibility of Evil."

Students completed a practice PSAT writing section, and we checked and discussed answers. We will do a reading practice on Tuesday.

Today's Board

October 2

IRT: ~25 minutes
WNB: Tone Word Discovery - Look up the definitions for the following words and copy them into your writer's notebook: resigned, bitter, apathetic, accusatory, mournful, overbearing, condescending, resentful, whimsical, eerie, suspicious. (These words will appear on Thursday's test.)

After completing the notebook entry, students used the remaining time to read.

We learned about gerunds and infinitives and how they operate in a sentence.

We recapped "Like the Sun" and applied the literary terms to the story.

Students began reading Shirley Jackson's "The Possibility of Evil" and tracking literary terms. We will finish and hand in this work tomorrow.

Coming Up
Thursday, 10/4 - Lit Terms Test
Friday, 10/5 - Notebook Check
Monday, 10/8 - No School
Wednesday, 10/10 - PSAT Test for all sophomores
Thursday, 10/11 - 3rd & 4th period midterm exams
Friday, 10/12 - 1st & 2nd period midterm exams // Early release

Today's Board

October 1

IRT: ~20 minutes
WNB: "The more get into someone else's stories, the less they become an 'other.'" - Glynn Washington (Here's the source for this quote--a really interesting article!)

We watched Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "Danger of a Single Story" TED Talk and discussed the importance of sharing our stories and strategies for widening our perspectives.

Students will have a literary terms test on Thursday. Here are the terms we will cover.

Students read "Like the Sun" by R.K. Narayan and answered questions about the character's moral dilemma and made predictions about the story. We'll revisit this story tomorrow and seek out the literary terms.

Today's Board

Week-at-a-Glance

Next 2 Weeks (Time is flying!)