Thursday, September 27, 2007

Tomorrow is a big day! Hat day! Don’t forget to bring your dollar. It also happens to be test day for vocabulary. Don’t forget to study!!!

HS 101: I believe Ms. Wood talked today about self-control.

VOCABULARY: We spent all day today doing work on vocabulary. We did the activities in the review unit, p. 42-49, and went over them.

HOMEWORK:

• Crossword puzzle for bonus points. rev-1-3-crossword-puzzle.doc
• Practice test for bonus points.

Wednesday, September 25, 2007

HS 101:  Ms. Wood talked today about RESPONSIBILITY.

VOCABULARY:  We reviewed the Unit 3 vocabulary words.  We will do activities with these words tomorrow and have the review test on Friday.

GRAMMAR:  We went over last night’s homework worksheets on pronoun-antecedent agreement and pronoun vagueness.

LITERATURE:  In small groups, the students answered the questions to the story “The Scarlet Ibis” on p. 325 and then began working on the questions for the study guide.

HOMEWORK:

• Finish the questions to the study guide for “The Scarlet Ibis.”

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

HS 101:  We really need to study for this week’s vocabulary test.  We devoted time today to working on study skills for this test.

GRAMMAR: We went over Vague Pronoun References on p. 568 in The Writer’s Craft.

LITERATURE; Quiz on “The Scarlet Ibis.”

HOMEWORK:

• Pronoun worksheets:
  • Pronoun Antecedent Agreement, p. 170
  • Vague pronoun references, p. 172

Monday, September 24, 2007

Welcome back from your long weekend.  Congratuations go out to the varsity football team for their win over Hannah-Pamplico on Friday night.  I wonder if Josh Turner was there and if he will write a sad country song about the loss?  That would be awesome, wouldn’t it?

HS 101--Ms. Wood was not here today…sorry!

VOCABULARY: Review Unit 1 vocabulary words.  Make flash cards for the ones you have trouble with and start studying now!

GRAMMAR: We went over pronoun-antecedent agreement.  Writer’s Craft, p. 565.

LITERATURE: We began reading “The Scarlet Ibis,” p. 314.

HOMEWORK:

• Finish reading “The Scarlet Ibis.”  You WILL most likely have a quiz tomorrow!!!

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Are you ready for the long weekend? I hope you enjoy it. We teachers will have to be at work while you students get to be lazy and sleep in. 😛

HS 101: Ms. Wood introduced the Six Pillars of Character today. We will be working with them for the next week or so.

COMPOSITION: The “Letter to Mom” assignments were due today. I will accept them on Monday, but they will have 20 points taken off the final grade for being late.

GRAMMAR: We went over interrogative pronouns and then worked on the last worksheet in that packet today in class. Look for a test next week on pronouns.

LITERATURE: I previewed the story, “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, we will begin reading on Monday by showing a short video clip created by students from another school. It is a bit strange and spoils the plot a little, but you’ll understand it more when we read it. We started on the study guide by looking up the vocabulary definitions and the literary elements.  Here is a link to the video if you want to see it again.

HOMEWORK:

• Whatever you didn’t finish with the study guide, finish it for Monday.
• Have a safe and enjoyable weekend.
• GO WOLVERINES!!!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Wow. This week has slipped by.  I completely forgot about doing this on Monday and Tuesday.  Let’s recap what we have done.

Monday-MAP testing.  If you were out, you may have to make that up.  Not sure.

Tuesday-Indefinite pronouns: these are pronouns without a definite antecedent (i.e. anyone, everybody, some, several, etc.). The Writing Process: Prewriting, Drafting, Evaluating, Editing/revising, and Publishing.  We took notes on Thursday of last week and reviewed yesterday. Composition: We spent some time in class working on our rough drafts for the “letter to mom” personal letter.  Homework: Quiz on the writing process, the indefinite pronouns worksheet, p. 43 & 44, and complete your rough draft.

Whew!  Now on to today.

HS 101: We were led through several rousing renditions of the Alma Mater.

Grammar: We went over the answers to one side of the homework sheet and then collected it for a grade on the other.

Composition: We took the quiz on the writing process and then worked on evaluating our letters both in peer evaluation and self-evaluation.

Homework:

• Complete your final draft of the letter.
  • Typed–it must be Times New Roman or Arial, size 12 font, single-spaced (most essays will be double-spaced).
  •  Handwritten–it must be printed in blue or black ink on lined, loose-leaf paper, single-spaced.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

What a dreary day!

HS 101:  We continued to go over the Alma Mater today.

VOCABULARY: We discussed the activities from last night’s homework and went over the last five words for the week.

GRAMMAR: We went over the worksheet on demonstrative pronouns and collected them for a homework grade.

LITERATURE: We went over the study guide for “The Sniper” and discussed the writing assignment we will begin tomorrow after the test.

COMPOSITION: We discussed the 5 steps of the Writing Process: Prewriting, Drafting, Evaluating, Revising/Editing, and Publishing.  You will have a quiz on these next week.

HOMEWORK:

• Vocabulary Activities, Unit 3
  • CS (1, 6, 13, 16, 17)
  • SA (3, 9, 14, 19, 20)
  • CRW (1, 5, 6, 14, 19)
  • VC (4, 5)
• Study for the Unit 3 Vocabulary Test!!!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

HS 101: Ms. Wood went over an analysis of the meaning of the mission statement of the school.

VOCABULARY: We reviewed the practice exercises for words 6-10 and discussed the new words, 11-15.

GRAMMAR: We went over the worksheet from homework and collected it for a grade.  We then took notes on demonstrative pronouns and did part of an exercise on p. 560.

LITERATURE: We took a quiz on plot, setting, character, and fiction.

HOMEWORK:

• Vocabluary Unit 3, Exercises.
  • CS ( 8, 9, 14, 19, 20)
  • SA (1, 4, 6, 13, 18)
  • CRW (4, 7, 8, 16, 18)
  • VC (3)
• Grammar worksheet, Demonstrative pronouns, p. 42.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

World Trade Center, NYC, September 11, 2001Today is the sixth anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on American soil. I can remember being in room 4001 at Lakewood High School in the middle of class when a fellow teacher came by to tell me that New York had been bombed. I couldn’t believe it when I turned on the television. Class was put on hold that day. I sat at my desk and watched throughout all of my classes. That was all we did all day. We were watching when the second plane hit. This was happening live as we watched. A horrific day. I will forever remember it. People ask “Where were you when President Kennedy was shot?” I wasn’t alive. “Where were you when John Lennon was shot?” I didn’t even know who The Beatles were when it happened; besides, I was only four. But I know where I was when the most defining event of recent history occured. I can never forget.

HS 101–Ms. Woods introduced the Alma Mater and the school’s mission statement. These articles will play into your semester grade. Keep them and learn them.

WARM-UP ASSIGNMENT–Write about what 9/11 means to you. Where were you? How has it changed your life? Your views about America? Your views about the world? Your views about war? Write about whatever comes to mind about this historic and tragic event.

VOCABULARY–We went over the activities from yesterday’s homework and then discussed the next 5 words (6-10).

GRAMMAR–We took notes on relative pronouns and then did some exercises in the WC book on p. 563-4.

LITERATURE–We ran out of time today so the quiz on plot, setting, character, and fiction has been moved to Wednesday. We began talking about the study guide for “The Sniper.”

I also gave you a calendar for the month of September. Click here for another copy:

HOMEWORK:

• Vocabulary Activities for Unit 3
  • CS (4, 7, 11,12, 15)
  • SA (2, 8, 12, 16, 17)
  • CRW (2, 3, 9, 10, 20)
  • VC (1, 2)
• Grammar worksheet, p. 47 (first page in the packet)
• Quz on plot, setting, character, and fiction tomorrow.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Welcome back from the weekend.  Congratulations to the Varsity football team for their victory on Friday night.

I have given you all a document with our planned activities for this week.  Keep it and check it off as we accomplish each task.  I will also attach it to this blog.Activities for September 10-14, 2007

HS 101: Ms. Wood went over study tips and test taking skills.

VOCABULARY: New procedures.  We will go over 5 words each day and do the activities for them for homework each night.  Perhaps this will help out.  The test will now be on Friday instead of Thursday.  This will only help if you apply yourself.

GRAMMAR: We did a worksheet on Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns today and turned it in for a grade.

LITERATURE: We finished reading the story “The Sniper”, p. 4-10.  We listed on a sheet of paper the events in order that they happened.  We then listed how we would feel if we were the sniper in the story.  This will be used for a writing assignment on Tuesday.

HOMEWORK:

• Vocabulary activities
  • Completing the Sentences (2, 3, 5, 10, 18)
  • Synonyms and Antonyms (5, 7, 10, 11, 15)
  • Choosing the Right Word (11, 12, 13, 15, 17)
• Complete the study guide for “The Sniper”.