Thursday, September 3, 2015

Post date: Sep 3, 2015 7:25:37 PM

Today was a tough day. I really don't feel good. About two times a year I just struggle with allergies, a stuffed nose, and a massive sinus headache. Today was day 1. Because I have such amazing students, it was o.k. I survived.

In Literature 9 we started class with trying to identify specific details from the biography of Frank Stockton (pg. 10). First the students read his biography and identified three facts deemed "brain cell worthy". That is a vital reading skill - determining what is important and what is superficial information. Then the students were grouped into three's, where they shared the information to determine if they chose the same three facts. Very quickly they realized that they found similar facts. The groups morphed again and the important facts again rose to the top. A quick, yet effective way, to see if we're reading for the right details. Then we discussed the five elements of a short story. Flocabulary provided an interesting video - characters, plot, conflict, theme, setting - (I can't get that song out of my head!), but it was a great review of the key parts of a short story. The rest of the class period was for reading "Lady or the Tiger".

In English 10 we started out with seven vocabulary presentations. We realized that we need to face our audience, make our lettering bigger and brighter, and we need to explain our vocabulary words. All-in-all, good first "speeches". Then whatever time was remaining (and it wasn't much) we continued to take notes on the Art of Communication.

In American Literature our presentations on the Colonization of Dione were completed. Everyone did a good job, some did a great job. I was impressed by some key individuals commitment to figuring out cargo hold capacity, the appropriate and needed personnel, and fulfilling our purpose. It was remarkable (and a little creepy) how each of the colonies matched with the historical colonies they were patterned after. The financial colony (A.K.A. Jamestown) made some of the same decisions that the original colony made. We then created our notebooks with a cover sheet, title page, and ordering our pages. We will be working with vocabulary teams, and we will be starting that tomorrow.

As each day passes, I realize more and more how much I love what I do. I hope the Cross Country team does well. Have a good Thursday everyone!