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    Last updated on 3/16/07

EXPLORING AMERICAN LITERATURE 
while we improve our reading, writing, listening and speaking skills.

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A WORD ABOUT OUR DAILY "DO-NOWS"
Each class period begins with a short activity to develop vocabulary, grammar, and critical reading skills. 
Each day students guess the definition of the word-of-the-day after reading a context sentence that contains the word. 
The definition is then revealed. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, students are given sentence correction exercises. 
Tuesdays we work on critical reading samples followed by short multiple-choice assessments. 
Thursdays students work on sentence completion activities.
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LESSON PLAN DISCLAIMER: The posted schedule of lessons is an estimate. I have found that typically I plan more than I can actually achieve each day. That is because I believe time is a precious commodity that should not be wasted and I don't want to see my students sitting around doing nothing in class. Frequently you will see lessons get moved to the next week because we have taken time in class to discuss life issues or literary topics in depth. 

During the week of March 12-16, 2007
* Students who must complete their persuasive essays will complete them in class and 
complete the novel reading at home on their own.

On MONDAY we will review answers to question on chapters 1-7 of The Scarlet Letter. We will also discuss how the film adaptation varied from the original novel, particularly noting how the characters of Reverend Dimmesdale and  Hester Prynne were changed. 

On TUESDAY, vocabulary pack #18 will be handed out, we will complete our next critical reading, and we will begin reading chapter 8 in The Scarlet Letter.

On WEDNESDAY, we will read chapter 9 of The Scarlet Letter.

On THURSDAY we will read chapter 10 of The Scarlet Letter.

On FRIDAY we will gather together in our groups to begin the layout of our newspaper projects. 
Student portfolios will be updated today and green NJ Language Arts HSPA workbooks will be collected.

During the week of March 5-9, 2007

We will be taking the New Jersey High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) in the morning. During afternoon classes we will be watching the modern adaptation (censored) of  The Scarlet Letter on DVD. 

During the week of January 30- February 2, 2007

We will begin reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. We will also begin a special project which involves forming mock publishing companies to design, write, and publish a class newsletter. Students will design a masthead and think of a title for the newsletter. The newsletters must include persuasive essays, the topics of which may be chosen by the students. Each student must research sources for supporting details on their topics and write a persuasive essay for inclusion in the newsletter. 

During the week of November 27- December 1, 2006

Monday: (Shortened periods) Jeopardy game to review vocabulary packs 5-8. Discussion of handouts on descriptive words, transition words, and story starters.

Tuesday: (Shortened periods) Word of the day test on vocabulary packs 5-8. Handout vocabulary pack # 9

Wednesday: Critical reading #10 completed in class. Handout and discussion on Louisa May Alcott's life. We move on to discuss  how personal anecdotes can be a starting point of good literature, as in Alcott's Hospital Sketches. Students will be given the assignment  to write a personal anecdote to share with classmates.

Thursday & Friday: We define culture and begin to think about the importance of culture and tradition in preparation for reading Zitkala-Sa's autobiographical story: "The School Days of an Indian Girl" 

During the week of November 20-22, 2006

Monday: Word of the Day Test, Dialogue Test, Discuss answers to questions for "A Night" from Hospital Sketches.

Tuesday: Lecture on complex sentences and weak verbs

Wednesday: Students will share their picture prompt stories with each other.

During the week of October 16-20, 2006

We will discuss HSPA scoring rubrics for essays and open-ended questions.

Students will complete a series of assessments for the HSPA which will indicate needed remediation. The assessments include: 
1 picture prompt story, 1 persuasive essay, 1 narrative reading, 1 persuasive reading.

During the week of October 3-6|

Tuesday:A) Take a word of the day test on the vocabulary pack #3 words B) Receive vocabulary pack # 4 
Finish reading "The Fall of the House of Usher." Emphasis on how foreshadowing is used in the story and being an active
reader.  Focus on the definition of "fancy" and "started" as used in the story and compared with current day meanings for the words. Comment on how Poe uses a story within a story when the narrator reads about Ethelred to calm Usher's nerves.   

Wednesday: Answer multiple choice questions #1-11 on page 210-211 relating to "The Fall of the House of Usher." Also answer the Thinking it Over questions #1-4 using the proper format for responses to open-ended questions. 

Thursday: Discuss answers to the Usher questions. Begin reading "The Cask of Amontillado."  Finish reading story for homework.

Friday: 

Students will answer two open-ended questions from "The Cask..." in class. Their responses will count as a quiz and their grade will be determined by the form of their answers ( A) complete sentences that incorporate the question as part of the answer B) answers that refer to specific quotes in the text C) answers all parts of the question) as well as the accuracy of the content of the answers. 

During the week of September 25-28:
Monday: A) Take a word of the day test on the vocabulary pack #2 words B) Receive vocabulary pack # 3 C) Explanation of the first journal writing assignment (exposition defined) D) Review how James Fennimore Cooper developed the excerpt from The Prairie which we read in school last week. 

Tuesday: A) Critical reading activity B) Review of adjectives, charged words, and connotation verses denotation  C) Short video introduction to Edgar Alan Poe (note taking session) C) Hand out Edgar Alan Poe books.

Wednesday: Read "The Fall of the House of Usher" as a group in class.

Thursday: Read "The Cask of Amontillado" as a group in class. 

During the month of September:

We will review and discuss Mrs. Francis' class expectations for English 11. 

We will take "starting point" assessments relating to grammar and reading skills. 

We will review PARTS OF SPEECH and SENTENCE STRUCTURES.

We will review READING STRATEGIES to become active readers.

We will focus on the development of a short story through the ELEMENTS OF FICTION: character development, setting descriptions, themes, plot construction, conflicts, and the use of figurative language. 

We will read several short stories that will hopefully serve as inspiration for the picture prompt stories we will write.