Friday, January 29, 2016

AGENDA 1/29

Video: Watch A Tale of Two Cities, Masterpiece Theatre DVD

Complete Socrative assignment for last night's poetry homework: Log on to Socrative Student and join room 910209 to complete the quiz. You can do this during class on your own device, or any time this weekend from a computer. Due before 4pm on Sunday!

HW: Complete Socrative assignment for last night's poetry homework: Log on to Socrative Student and join room 910209 to complete the quiz. You can do this during class on your own device, or any time this weekend from a computer. Due before 4pm on Sunday!

Read and take notes for Book the Second, chapter 10 "Two Promises," chapter 11 "A Companion Picture," chapter 12 "The Fellow of Delicacy," and chapter 13 "The Fellow of No Delicacy" for Monday.


Thursday, January 28, 2016

AGENDA 1/28

Work Day and Progress Checks - collect completed circle/tree maps for The French Revolution and Dickens' Life and Works, check and give feedback on 10 vocabulary words, and check and give feedback on notes for Book the Second

HW: Review the list of Selected Poets given in class and choose three that you are unfamiliar with. Then find and read one poem by each poet (I recommend using Poetry Foundation) and be prepared to answer a quick Socrative Student Activity - question 1 will ask you to name the three poets whose poems you read, and question 2 will ask you to write about one of the three poems--the one that you found most intriguing or that most resonated with you. You will need to be specific in your discussion of question 2, referring to specific line(s) or details that demonstrate you read the poem carefully. If you wish to complete this early, the join code is 910209.

 Read and take notes for Book the Second, chapter 10 "Two Promises," chapter 11 "A Companion Picture," chapter 12 "The Fellow of Delicacy," and chapter 13 "The Fellow of No Delicacy" for Monday.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

AGENDA 1/27

Work Day:

Complete your circle map, tree map, and reflection questions on "The Life and Works of Charles Dickens" using the piece I gave you in class, by editor Robert Sheperd.

Complete 10 vocabulary words for A Tale of Two Cities, Book 1 1-6 and Book 2, chapters 1-9, by writing the word, part of speech, page number, definition, and either an example sentence using the word or an illustration of the word's meaning

Read and annotate Book the Second of A Tale of Two Cities, chapter 7, "Monseigneur in Town"; Chapter 8, "Monseigneur in the Country"; and Chapter 9, "The Gorgon's Head." Notes due tomorrow in class for Book the Second, chapters 1-9.

HW: 10 vocabulary words, circle/tree maps for The French Revolution and Dickens' Life and Works, and notes for Book the Second due tomorrow in class!

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

AGENDA 1/26

Share information from your critical annotations by completing a circle map and tree map for information on The French Revolution. First, collect facts from classmates and add to your circle map. Then, decide ways to group the information into categories, and use a tree map to re-classify the details from your circle map in a more organized way. Finally, write a reflection on "what these maps show" (a summary) and "why these maps matter or are helpful," and bound that in red pen/marker.

HW: Read and annotate Book the Second, chapter 4, "Congratulatory," Chapter 5, "The Jackal," and Chapter 6, "Hundreds of People," Be ready to show your notes from Book the Second and your first 10 vocabulary words on Thursday.

Supports for vocabulary words: .pdf of EMC Access Edition, with words defined at bottom of each page
List of vocabulary words from Virginia Department of Education

Monday, January 25, 2016

AGENDA 1/25

College Center - next steps for seniors, financial aid, transcripts, etc.

HW: Read chapters 4, 5, 6, of A Tale of Two Cities, "Congratulatory," "The Jackal," and "Hundreds of People" and take notes for Wednesday.

Supports for reading A Tale of Two Cities:

Continue to work on your vocabulary glossary for A Tale of Two Cities

Friday, January 22, 2016

AGENDA 1/22

Reading Quiz over Book the First, chapters 1-6 in A Tale of Two Cities via Socrative Student
Discuss advantages/drawbacks of quiz format

Begin reading Book the Second and take notes--read Chapters 1-3, "Five Years Later," "A Sight," and "A Disappointment." As you read, you might make a character chart, or note symbols, foreshadowing/use of time, characterization, emerging themes/significant quotations, etc. Use your annotations to prepare for class discussions and essays.

Supports for reading A Tale of Two Cities:


HW: Read  Book the Second of A Tale of Two Cities and take notes--read Chapters 1-3, "Five Years Later," "A Sight," and "A Disappointment."

Thursday, January 21, 2016

AGENDA 1/21

 .pdf of EMC Access Edition of Tale of Two Cities to assist you with vocabulary and comprehension
Discuss Chapters 3 and 4, focusing on characterization of Jarvis Lorry

Reading Quiz tomorrow over chapters 1-6. The quiz will be as follows: 1) brown stockings
and then you describe what this item means in the text and why it's significant.

Sample quiz response: brown stockings
The “brown stockings” refer to the fine stockings that Mr. Jarvis Lorry wears as described in Chapter 4. Dickens describes the stockings as being sleek and form-fitting, showing off Lorry's “good leg”—he is a little vain about the beauty of this particular feature, and it reveals a tiny indulgence in an otherwise restrained and composed, serious man. This is consistent with the characterization of Mr. Lorry as someone who is orderly, proper, and well-put-together, as he has taken care with this part of his attire, but also shows that he has a natural flair that he has taken some effort to tame or restrain, as a representative and professional of Tellson’s Bank, because the color is a serious and mature shade of brown.

Other supports while reading the text:

Friday, January 15, 2016

AGENDA 1/15-1/20

Watch, take notes, and discuss: “French Revolution in 9 Minutes” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1_2NwmIobU

Critical Annotations directions and sample
Choose a topic from the list of potential topics on the bottom of critical annotations directions and research it for homework over the long weekend. They can read a website, find information in a book, or watch a video on any of the potential topics. Part of the assignment involves assessing the credibility of the source; it’s ok if the source is not particularly credible, because then they explain what would make it more reliable (see my sample). This assignment will be due next Wednesday in class, typed and in MLA format and will be turned in as BOTH a hard copy and to Turnitin.com. (Note: it takes a good 2-3 hours to complete--students should attempt this assignment in pieces over multiple days and NOT try to do it all at once!)

Begin reading the article “The Life and Times of Charles Dickens.” Students should annotate for understanding: highlight or circle unfamiliar vocabulary and predict the definition in the margins; paraphrase content in the margins and note important ideas; write questions for clarification or further discussion in the margins.

  1. What unfamiliar words did you find? What questions do you have?
  2. How did Dickens’ writing evolve over time?
  3. What is Dickens known for as a writer?

Read the article “The Historical Context of A Tale of Two Cities silently. As they read, students should annotate for understanding: highlight or circle unfamiliar vocabulary and predict the definition in the margins; paraphrase content in the margins and note important ideas; write questions for clarification or further discussion in the margins. When students finish reading, they should discuss in small groups, citing textual evidence as they discuss:

  1. What unfamiliar words did you find? What questions do you have?
  2. What specific influences led Charles Dickens to write A Tale of Two Cities?
  3. What specifically did this article add to your understanding of the history of the French Revolution?
  4. In what ways are Dickens’ “revolutionary ideas” characteristically English? How does his writing reflect the concerns of his country and time period?

Brief discussion of the novel’s title: what is suggested by each word of the title, A Tale of Two Cities? What understandings can we arrive at or predictions can we make based on the title of the novel?

Read Chapter 1, "The Period" aloud, and discuss:
  1. What unfamiliar vocabulary words did you find or questions do you have?
  2. Why does Dickens use antithesis here to contrast this time period? What does each image suggest? Why put all of these different comparisons in the first sentence? How does it add to our understanding of the complexity of the time of the French Revolution (and Dickens’ own “present day,” to which he compares the period?)
  3. How is France described? How does Dickens use personification to describe France and England? Why might he be using personification here?
  4. What seems to be his larger purpose in this chapter, “The Period”?
  5. Remember that this book was published in serial form: it’s more like a television series or set of “episodes” than a typical single novel. What elements in chapter one remind you of a television pilot?

Read Chapter 2, "The Mail," aloud, and discuss:
  1. What unfamiliar vocabulary words did you find or questions do you have?
  2. Why are the passengers and the guards of the mail coach suspicious of one another?
  3. What do Mr. Jarvis Lorry’s words and actions tell you about his character?
  4. What might the mysterious messages, “Wait for Mam’selle” and “RECALLED TO LIFE” mean? Make some predictions!

Thursday, January 14, 2016

AGENDA 1/14

Timed Writing: Poetry

HW: Browse poets you might be interested in for the Poetry Project and be ready to select a poet next Thursday! Read "Figurative Language" chapter from Sound and Sense and select ONE of the poems in the chapter to TPS-FAST.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

AGENDA 1/13

Preparing for timed writing, poetry: in groups of 4 write out the steps for poetry analysis essay on individual post-its and arrange, then compare with other groups and mark similar steps with a "check," to validate their thinking. Discuss what we noticed and what we want to remember to include on tomorrow's timed essay.

Flow Map we made for the steps of a Poetry Analysis Essay

HW: Prepare for tomorrow's timed essay. Browse poets you might be interested in for the Poetry Project and be ready to select a poet next Thursday! Read "Figurative Language" chapter from Sound and Sense and select ONE of the poems in the chapter to TPS-FAST.