Hello, Students!  I am with Lillie, Meg, Jahde, Tori, Abbi Green, and some other students in Paris by now.  While you're sitting there being immensely jealous (join us next year for the Italy/Greece trip!), select from the following tasks to complete by the end of this week:

Today's Assignments (ask a friend to log you in if there are issues):

• Task One: Head to www.noredink.com and complete "Hyphen Hilarity", as well as any other assignments you have missed.  STAY FOCUSED and resist the urge to share out your sentences!
• Task Two: Work on your character cards for TKAM.  Remember to collect and write out quotes and page numbers for the character on the back of his/her card.  Start from the beginning of the novel, and work through Part One.
  • If you need the magazines to continue clipping items for your collages, the box is under the table where it was last time.
• Task Three: Review the TKAM Part One vocabulary words at Quizlet (No need to make a new account, unless you want to, and also download the free app).  Test on Monday, April 17.

• Chromebooks must be logged off & shut down at the end of class, and returned to the cart.

See you on Friday!
Love, Lowther

Hello, Students!  I am with Caroline H. for the state Poetry Out Loud finals; be sure to send her good vibes as she represents GRC today as a former Cohort member and all-around awesome person!

Today's Assignments (ask a friend to log you in if there are issues):

• Task One: Complete the Chapters 4-5 Reading Check on Edmodo.  This is a timed quiz.  Remember to always use correct grammar, punctuation, evidence, and complex sentences.
  • After completing the Reading Check, you may shut down their Chromebooks, but keep it out to use later on in class.
• Task Two: Get out the cards we began yesterday,  as well as your notebooks (sorry, Noah).
  • Finish copying down my sentence and key from the board, then set aside your notebook.
  • For each of the characters requested, find strong quotes that illustrate the following aspects of each selected character, using the text from Chapters 1-5.
    • PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION. Ex. (This is for Mr. Nathan Radley, who you do not have to cover) "Mr. Radley...was a thin leathery man with colorless eyes, so colorless they did not reflect light" (p.14).
    • PERSONALITY TRAITS. Ex. "Miss Stephanie Crawford said [Mr. Radley] was so upright he took the word of God as his only law, and we believed her because Mr. Radley's posture was ramrod straight" (p.14).
    • REFLECTION OF THEME (Spoilers, so I can't give you an example of this, sorry!)
      
• Task Three: After finding the quotes, get back onto the Chromebooks and open up Edmodo.  Respond to the prompt as a reply, then comment on at least two classmates’ responses.  You will be graded on both the quality of your original post, as well as your response to your peers’ posts.
  • Prompt: Select one character and one theme to explore.  Using the evidence you identified on your cardstock, create a well-crafted complex sentence that incorporates all of the items from the board example (use it as a model, if needed).
    1. Complex Sentence
    2. Proper punctuation/grammar
    3. Proper citation (and location of citation)
    4. Brackets to replace or insert text
    5. Inclusion of theme
    6. Ellipses to condense quotes
    7. No floating quotes!!
  • If you do not get to this during class, complete it for homework, due tomorrow.  If you don't have internet access at home, just write your awesome sentence on regular paper and submit in class tomorrow.
• Chromebooks must be logged off & shut down at the end of class, and returned to the cart.

See you at rehearsals!  One week until our first school show!
Love, Lowther

Hello, Students!

I am at the Kentucky Association for Gifted Education conference today and tomorrow, learning about interesting ways to teach you, and other amazing students like you!  Please read over the following directions, and give Mrs. Baumgardner all the respect she truly deserves.  She'll be taking over for Mrs. Wilson once the baby comes, so art students will get to know her well.

See you at rehearsals!
--Lowther

• Check mail for Chapter 3 Vocab sheets.
• Announcements/due dates:
  • Turn in Chapter 2 Vocab sheets to Inbox now (I’ll be back this afternoon to pick up)
  • Chapter 3 Reading Check WEDNESDAY (this means you have to read)
  • Chapter 3 Vocab Due WEDNESDAY
• Three tasks for today and Tuesday:
  • Task One: Finish “Scarlet Ibis” essays.  Due Wednesday!  Proper essay format for #1; paragraphs are acceptable for the other two options.
    • Chromebooks must be logged off & shut down at the end of class, and returned to the cart.
    • If not finished on Monday, complete on Tuesday, it’s due Wednesday!
  • Task Two: Get out magazines and envelopes, and cut/tear out words/images that represent each character and the themes from TKAM.  DO NOT GLUE TODAY!!!!!!
    • Clean up your trash as you go along, but definitely at the end of class.
  • Task Three: Read Chapter 3 and complete Vocab Squares.  Reading Check on Wednesday.

Reminder of "Scarlet Ibis" Essay Prompts:

• General Directions:
  • ​Write using complete sentences in paragraph essay format. Your response should have an introduction with thesis statement, body, and conclusion.
  • Use appropriate pronouns (NOT “I”, unless you are asked a personal question; not “you”, ever.  Use  “one”, “the reader”, etc.)
    
  • ​Support your response with examples from the text, with appropriate quotes and citation formats.  However, do not over-quote!!
    
  • Be aware of proper grammar and spelling.
    
• Question 1: Everyone MUST complete the following question:
  
  • ​In the last sentence the narrator calls his brother his “fallen scarlet ibis.” In what ways could the ibis be a symbol for Doodle? Consider the details in the story, especially where they parallel Doodle and the ibis. Support your response with examples from the text (quotes, paraphrase, phrases, words, etc.).

​

• Question Choice: Select TWO, and indicate the number on your response.
  
  2.  Discuss possible relationships between causes and effects throughout the story that culminated in Doodle’s death.
  
  3.  How does Hurst use sensory details to make the story come alive.  How do these details contribute to the mood of the story?
  
  4.  Consider the following quote, and discuss whether having the wrong motivation underscores or overpowers the good that someone accomplishes.  You should include specific examples from throughout the story to support your response.
  “They did not know that I did it for myself; that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother” (p. 113).
  
  5.  Discuss why the  narrator showed Doodle the coffin in the barn loft.  What personality trait does this show about Brother?
  
  6.  Knowing what you do about the final outcome, would you use similar  motivations for others?  What rules would you follow if you were in charge of Doodle’s success?
  
  7.  Judge whether or not the narrator is a good brother to Doodle.  Discuss their relationship, using specific incidents and examples from the story.
  
  8.  Explain why Doodle might appear so much more emotional than the rest of the family over the death of the scarlet ibis.
  
  9.  What parts the dialogue and description especially affected you?  How did they make you feel?  How did they increase and expand your connection to the story?
  
  

November was a crazy month!  Students worked on the National Novel Writing Month project, and most reached the 15,000 word count goal, and wrote their first novel in only one month!  Big congratulations go out to Alex, Ben, Bethany, Charli, Des, Emily, India (the first one to win!), Maxwell, Noah, and SJ for winning this year!

We will be working on our novels throughout the rest of the year, in conjunction with our other classroom projects, so this isn't the last you've heard about NaNoWriMo!


Items Due Today: Prong folder with student's name and novel title.

Due Next Class: Independent Study Novel Summary Charts.  10% if not submitted tomorrow.

Due Tuesday, 12/13: Vocab squares for the following words: pious, scrupulous, attrition, edification, ablution, elocution, writhe, pedestrian, carrion, pinion, kismet, deploy, cavlier, egg (verb), mete, nullify.  Use the Quizlet to help.

Yesterday's Bellringer: In your notebook, respond to the following prompt:

• Your story is going to be about a motorcycle.  It takes place in the present day but also includes a few flashbacks.  Keep your flashbacks brief, vivid, and in narrative form.  Return to your regular story as quickly as possible after you make your point, give your story some necessary history, or provide your character with some depth.
  
• Start with: "The sound of the..."
  
• One-third of the way through, click on the Random Plot Twist generator, and incorporate the 4th item on the list somehow into your story.
  
• About two-thirds of the way through, refresh the Random Plot Twist generator, and incorporate the 8th item on the list.
  

What we did today: Shared out "The Motorcycle" prompt; received new vocab list and assignment.

What we did yesterday: "The Motorcycle" prompt (described above); scheduled 2017-2018 with Mrs. Mink, freshman counselor.

Skills: Creativity; independent thought; grammar and syntax; plot structure.

ELA Common Core Standards covered:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3.a
  Engage and orient the reader by setting out a problem, situation, or observation, establishing one or multiple point(s) of view, and introducing a narrator and/or characters; create a smooth progression of experiences or events.
  
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3.b Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing, description, reflection, and multiple plot lines, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
  
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3.c Use a variety of techniques to sequence events so that they build on one another to create a coherent whole.
  
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3.d Use precise words and phrases, telling details, and sensory language to convey a vivid picture of the experiences, events, setting, and/or characters.
  
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.3.e Provide a conclusion that follows from and reflects on what is experienced, observed, or resolved over the course of the narrative.
  

Items Due Today: Independent Study Novel--bring to class daily!

Due Next Class: Nothing is due tomorrow, except daily Reading Log, completely due Wednesday, 10/26.  I will spot check, so be sure to bring your Reading Log daily.

Future Due Dates:

• Friday, 11/03: Independent Study Novel must be complete
• Tuesday, 11/15: Independent Study Novel GROUP PROJECT due

Yesterday's Bellringer: On a Post-It note, write a quick, encouraging note to one of your classmates.  You won't know who receives your kind note, so make it general, but do sign it with your name.

What we did today: Broke up into Independent Study Novel groups to divide up the book into approximately 14 equal portions; make master list with group members' names, due dates, and page numbers to submit to Lowther; learn about and decide upon group alternative book report project.

What we did yesterday: Discussed Reading Log expectations and due dates; began literary devices in Interactive Notebooks via Into the Woods.

What we did recently: Worked in the computer lab to continue/finish writing Storytelling Essay/begin short story geared toward children; learned annotation techniques; art freewrite (Sleeping Gypsy); recitation and discussion of 1st quatrain of Tao Te Ching, and relation to theme of "The Marks of the Wise Man..."; began "The Road Not Taken", by Robert Frost; selected Independent Study Novels and groups; began literary devices via Into the Woods.

Skills: Annotation and literary analysis; creativity; recall/memorization; independent thought

ELA Common Core Standards covered:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3: Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.5.a: Interpret figures of speech (e.g., euphemism, oxymoron) in context and analyze their role in the text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.5.b: Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations.

National Arts Standards covered:

• Anchor Standard #7: Perceive and analyze artistic work
• Anchor Standard #8: Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work

Items Due Today: None.

Due Next Class (see images below post, if needed):

• Finish annotating "The Marks...", lines 15-18 on paper.
• Memorization of first quatrain in the Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu.
• On the back of "The Marks..." paper, discuss what YOU THINK the meaning of the quatrain is.  Please refrain from looking up the interpretation from an outside source; I really only care about your interpretation, not "the right" answer.
  

Future Due Dates:

• Tuesday, 10/04: Group Children's Story presentation, during 8th, in Cardinal Theatre
• Thursday, 10/06: Computer Lab Day to finish Children's Story Individual Essay, via Edmodo (more info to come) by MIDNIGHT.  Also, LAST 8th period rotation :(

Today's Bellringer: none today

What we did today: Continued annotating and analyzing "The Marks of the Wise Man, of the Half Wise, and of the Fool", by Rumi.  Took a walking trip to illustrate the "wise...half wise...the fool".  Focus on diction, literary devices, characterization.

Skills: Annotation and literary analysis.

ELA Common Core Standards covered:

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.1: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3: Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.5: Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.5.a: Interpret figures of speech (e.g., euphemism, oxymoron) in context and analyze their role in the text.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-10.5.b: Analyze nuances in the meaning of words with similar denotations.

Items Due Today: ROUGH Draft of Storytelling Essay, submitted through Edmodo.  See rubric at end of this post.

Due Next Class:

• Thursday, 09/29: Group Children's Story presentation, during 8th, in Cardinal Theatre

Future Due Dates:

• Thursday, 10/06: Children's Story Individual Essay, via Edmodo (more info to come) by MIDNIGHT.

Today's Bellringer: none today

What we did today: Students worked on rough drafts of storytelling essay (see post from 09/13/16).

Skills: Writing to Inform.

ELA Common Core Standards covered:

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2.A: Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2.B: Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience's knowledge of the topic.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2.C: Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2.D: Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2.E: Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms and conventions of the discipline in which they are writing.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2.F: Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).