For the week of Dec. 7-11, 2020:

Objective: Students will begin reading Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. The book will be read over the course of the 3rd six weeks, averaging about five chapters per week. My objective for this week is to introduce the book to students, provide historical context for its subject matter, and to invite the students to create their own relationship with the characters.

Focus question: How do the first five chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird contend with racism in Maycomb, Alabama?

Monday, Dec. 7 and Tuesday, Dec. 8:

Asynchronous work: Students will watch Dr. Seuss's 'The Sneetches,' which is a cartoon allegory about prejudice. They will then listen to my narration of the novel while following the text in a PDF. After reading the first two chapters, they will answer guided reading questions and submit the responses.

Wednesday, Dec. 9 and Thursday, Dec. 10:

Asynchronous work: Students will continue listening to the narration of the novel while following the text in a PDF. After reading chapters 3-5, they will answer guided reading questions and submit the responses.

Friday, Dec. 11:

Focus question: At this start of the 3rd six weeks, how have you adapted to learning in this pandemic?

Synchronous work: Students will complete their weekly learning journal, in which they will record what they learned in all their classes during the week, any struggles they may be encountering at home or at school, and speculate as to what will happen next in the book.

Exit ticket: Students will provide advice to other students during this pandemic about how they recommend they manage their time. Students will submit this on a communal Google Doc.

For the week of Nov. 30-Dec. 4, 2020:

Objective: Students will learn the nuance of language used in different types of communication (specifically, the necessary components of emails to a teacher/school elder, texts to a friend, and correspondence with a potential employer).

Focus question: What kind of impact does the language in a text, email, or job application have on the intended audience?

Monday, Nov. 16 and Tuesday, Nov. 17: Students will begin their study of this topic with discussing on the appropriate and inappropriate formats of emails to teachers/adults at school. This study will include punctuation, understanding the various components of an Outlook message compose box, and differentiating between messages to teachers, administrators, counselors, etc.

Wednesday, Nov. 18 and Thursday, Nov. 19: Students will refer to their sent emails and select one they'd like to rewrite. Using a rubric I will provide, they will grade their rewritten email on effectiveness, punctuation, grammar, style, spelling, and language.

Friday, Nov. 20: All students will complete and submit their writing journal.

For the week of Nov. 9-13, 2020:

Objective: Students will apply prior learning of the elements of a story to annotating T.C. Boyle's 'The Lie' to identify plot, characters, setting, conflict, and theme.

Focus question: How do the five main elements of a story contribute to its overall meaning?

Monday, Nov. 9 and Tuesday, Nov. 10: Students will listen to a recording of 'The Lie' (as read by Stephen Colbert) while I model annotation for them. They will then download a copy of the story and annotate the 2nd half of the story themselves.

Wednesday, Nov. 11 and Thursday, Nov. 12: Students will finish annotations and submit for a grade. Students will also answer four short-answer questions about the story.

Friday, Nov. 13: All students will complete and submit their writing journal.

Week of Nov. 2-6, 2020

Objective: Students will apply their knowledge of the basic elements of a story to listening to, analyzing, and responding to T.C. Boyle's 'The Lie.' As in previous weeks, students will continue their current events quizzes and learning journals.

Focus question: How do plot, characters, conflict, setting, and theme contribute to our overall understanding of a story?

Monday & Tuesday, Nov. 2 and 3: Students will (asynchronously) watch the Flocab video on last week's current events recap and take the corresponding quiz. During synchronous class time, I will play a recording of the first 1/3 of T.C. Boyle's 'The Lie,' and students will participate in a discussion about what is happening in the story. (I will also make the recording available on Google Classroom, in case students wish to listen to it asynchronously.)

Wednesday & Thursday, Nov. 4 and 5: Students will finish listening to the recording of T.C. Boyle's short story 'The Lie' and analyze the story. They will also reflect on a lie they have told in a timed writing assignment.

Friday, Nov. 6: Students will complete their weekly learning journal.

Oct. 26-30, 2020 (start of the 2nd six weeks)

Objective: Students will learn the five basic elements of a story (plot, setting, character, theme, conflict) and learn how each contributes to the overall meaning of a story.

Focus question: How can students identify the five basic elements of a story in a given text?

Asynchronous work for Monday, Oct. 26, 2020: Students will watch a Flocabulary video on last week's current events and complete the accompanying quiz on Google Classroom. Students will also watch a Flocabulary video on the five basic elements of a story and answer questions to identify these elements in certain examples via a Google Forms worksheet.

Asynchronous work for Wednesday, Oct. 28, and Thursday, Oct. 29: Students will listen to a recording of Stephen Colbert reading T.C. Boyle's short story "The Lie." After listening to the story in chunks, the students will assess the ongoing state of the five elements of a story as applied to "The Lie", and make predictions about what they think will happen next.

Asynchronous work for Friday, Oct. 30: Students will complete their learning journals for the week via Google Forms.

Note: On Oct. 29 (Thursday) Carter-Riverside H.S. will be administering the PSAT to juniors only. On that day, all students who are not taking the test will stay home and complete any outstanding assignments.

Oct. 19-23, 2020 (start of the 2nd six weeks)

Objective: Students will begin a new unit on the five-paragraph essay. This unit will last throughout the 2nd six weeks. Because the five-paragraph essay is crucial to success on the STAAR tests and in various other fields (cover letter writing, college and scholarship applications), we will begin this unit with a study of basic structure.

Focus question: How does the development of a thesis statement help a student create the foundation for a five-paragraph essay?

Asynchronous work:

1. Complete Current Events: Week of Oct. 16, 2020 bell ringer (via links on Google Classroom).

2. Watch video on five-paragraph essay structure; in the associated assignment, read through three possible prompts and write a draft thesis statement.

Oct. 13 & 14, 2020

Objective: Remind students that this is the last week of the six weeks, and that grades in all their classes, including English III, will be submitted at the end of this week. Continue weekly current events recap via Flocabulary and associated Google Forms quiz.

Focus question: Of the plentiful issues and events covered in this week's recap, which is the most important to you? Which is the most important to Americans everywhere?

Asynchronous work: Watch Loom video on Flocab current events review; after viewing video, take 10-question quiz on video content.

Oct. 15 & 16, 2020

Objective: Students will practice skills which they will be tested on district benchmark practice questions.

Focus question: In order to identify the tone, mood, and genre of a written text? Can these elements be identified simply by visual clues, or do they require close reading?

Asynchronous work: Watch Loom video on Flocab tone and mood exercise. Fill out the associated Google Form by answering short answer questions about the texts in the assignment.

Synchronous work for Oct. 13-16, 2020: Discussion during the 2nd half of class regarding end of six weeks deadlines and return-to-school procedures. Review of tone/mood/genre skills.

For the week of Oct. 5-9, 2020: This is the first week staggered in-person learning. Students will complete Common Lit assignments from last week regarding the Holocaust (in two contexts: during WWII and in 1967). Students will watch a Flocabulary video on current events ( a recurring assignment) and take a quiz on the content of the video. Later in the week students will begin a learning journal that will count as both a weekly quiz grade and a composition grade. I will show students how to create their own learning journal within their individual Google Drives.

Lesson plans for the week of Sept. 28—Oct. 2, 2020

This week we will be studying the Holocaust in two contexts. The first is an introduction to the genocide itself, a short non-fiction text about how the Holocaust began, who was responsible, and the statistics about who was killed. Later in the week, we will study the social experiment by Californian history teacher Ron Jones in 1967. In an effort to show his students how Nazi Germany took hold of all German citizens, Jones announced to his students that he was starting a new movement called "The Third Wave." He instilled strict rules, starting with simple things like entering the classroom, seating charts, and making everyone pledge to follow the same rules. By the end of the week, the students' behavior resembled that of Nazis in WWII Germany. My goals for this week are to get students to annotate texts as they read, and understand the historical precedents by which totalitarianism is enacted.

Both texts have assessment questions at the end and are accessible through Google Classroom and Common Lit. We will also conduct in-class discussions about the texts and its possible links to present-day human societies.

Lesson plans for the week of Sept. 21-25, 2020

Students will continue their study of poetry from last week, by reading through a chapbook I've made for them. The 15 poems I've included in the handout include a variety of perspectives, races, and subject matter. Once students have read at least half the poems and chosen a favorite, they will access a Google Form (available on our Google Classroom) in order to answer several questions about this poem. It's a little trickier to grade written work, but I believe it is important to try. The questions on the quiz are open-ended, so students must write out what they admire about their favorite poem, the literary elements they find appealing. (These skills were worked on last week so I'm continuing their application this week.)

ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE BY 11:59 PM CENTRAL TIME ON FRIDAY, SEPT. 18, 2020.

Lesson plans for the week of Sept. 14-18, 2020

Because your student's English III class period does not meet every day, the assignments for the following week are collectively due by midnight each Friday.

1. Flocabulary is basically Schoolhouse Rock for Gen Z kids. I have found their videos, on a variety of subjects, incredibly useful and entertaining for students. I'd like to have everyone watch their weekly video on current events, because awareness of news in students' city, state, and country is essential for responsible citizenship. Students will watch the summer 2020 recap and take a quiz following the video.

2. The comprehension and analysis of poetry is a fundamental skill for high school students. But before reading any specific examples of poems, students will first learn what defines a poem. It is the one subset of literature that is unlike any other. There are very few rules as to structure, subject, and style, but many poems have specific forms, which are equally important to learn about. (Includes viewing of a Flocabulary video.)

3. Students will be exposed to poetry from a variety of sources, including classical Western poetry, examples from the Harlem Renaissance, and more recent poetry written by modern-day migrants. Students will watch a video on Types of Poetry and answer a series of questions about the video. Assignment is due by Friday, Sept. 18. (Includes access to a poetry chapbook which I will upload to Google Classroom.) Once the student has read through the chapbook, student will select his/her favorite poem and write three paragraphs explaining why they chose it, and which literary elements of the poem they like best.

ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE BY 11:59 PM CENTRAL TIME ON FRIDAY, SEPT. 18, 2020.

Lesson plans for the week of Sept. 8-11, 2020

Since this is the first week of school, I am more concerned about getting to know my students, as well as checking in on their emotional, physical, and mental health. During virtual learning, as per Carter-Riverside guidelines, there will be no homework, but if we return to classes in person, I will assign homework on a daily basis.

Tuesday, Sept. 8: First day of school! Students will watch welcome video on Google Classroom and complete introductory questionnaire, via Google Forms, on their hopes for this semester and what life has been like for them since the Covid-19 lockdown began in March 2020. I also plan on scheduling one-on-one Zoom conferences with each student for this week. Since we will not be meeting in person, I want to get to know all my students as well as possible, however I can. I understand that many students work, so I want to give them the option of meeting with me via Zoom outside of normal school hours.

Wednesday, Sept. 9: Students will research the definitions of this week's vocabulary words. The assignment will be posted on Google Classroom, and the researched definitions will be due by midnight on the same day.

Thursday, Sept. 10: Students will apply vocabulary words to their own life by writing a sentence using each word that is relevant to their life. For example, if the word is affable, a student could write, "My parents are much more affable toward me when I do well on a report card." This assignment will be due by midnight on the same day.

Friday, Sept. 11: Fridays in my class will focus on composition. Since this is the end of the first week of school, I want to know how students felt about their first full week of virtual learning. In three paragraphs of at least six sentences each, students will write to describe their feelings about attending school during a lockdown, accessing schoolwork via laptops instead of walking into each of their classes, and trying to stay safe and healthy while also attempting to enjoy high school. I will also complete the assignment, and make my writing sample available to the students to read and analyze.