Friday, January 17, 2020

It's finally Friday - you've survived another week!

Today you'll be reading chapters 3 and 4 in class. Whatever you don't get through reading in chapter 4 is your responsibility to finish on your own tonight for homework as well as read all of chapter 5 this weekend. Go ahead and open up the Animal Farm Full PDF posted in Google Classroom and open it up to chapter 3.

Once you've read chapter 5, there are some questions posted in Google Classroom that you'll need to answer. Please have these completed by Monday, January 20 at 11:59pm; after that, you'll need to finish it and then complete a late slip before I'll grade it.

STEM/Honors: Don't forget you have a Flipgrid due by 2:30pm today, as well as your Rhetorical Speech Comparison due Monday by 2:30pm.

All Classes: Your Vocab Menu Activity is due Tuesday by 2:30pm!

Enjoy your long week (no school on Monday)!

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Before we get into it today, a couple housekeeping notes:

• Vocab Menu is due Tuesday by 2:30pm. Anything after that must have a late slip or I won't take it (yes, I'll know that you turned it in after that time even if I'm not here that day!)
• Bookmark worksheet for chapters 1-2 is due tomorrow (Friday)
• Honors/STEM only: Your Flipgrid video is due tomorrow by 2:30pm
• Remember, if you're absent, it's your responsibility to check the class blog for the day(s) you were out and then go ask for the activities/homework you missed
• You should be working on your 6 assigned IXL skills outside of class time. If you need info on that, check the IXL Skills tab at the top of the blog. This is your responsibility to be working on these, and they will be due in about a month - don't wait until the week they are due to start on them!

Today you're going to look at how rhetoric is used throughout Old Major's speech you read yesterday. You'll have the chance to reread his speech and "Beasts of England" that Old Major sang with the animals, then find examples of each of the 3 types of rhetoric: ethos, logos, and pathos.  You should have time to finish it in class, but if you don't you'll need to complete it for homework. This assignment is posted in Google Classroom and will be due tomorrow.

Go ahead and put your laptop away now, because you've got an activity to do before we get started!

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Today you're going to finally begin reading "Animal Farm." Before we get into it, go ahead and get out your notes from yesterday's Nearpod - you can use them to take this short quiz over rhetoric.

After your quiz, head over to Google Classroom and open up the Animal Farm Full Text PDF. Ms. Fowlkes will be leading you through the reading today, but everyone is going to need to be prepared to read. Remember if you read out loud, you'll need to read a minimum of 3 sentences before you can be done. If you're not reading out loud, you are still responsible for following along on your screen! This is not a time to sleep, be on other websites, or work on class assignments. You are also expected to participate in the discussion and answer questions that Ms. Fowlkes or your classmates ask.

Today, you'll be reading chapter 1 and most of chapter 2 in class. Whatever you don't get through reading in chapter 2 is your responsibility to finish on your own tonight for homework. There is also a reading bookmark sheet that you will get today; you will need to complete it based on what you read in chapters 1 and 2. This sheet is due Friday in class.

Okay, go take your quiz and then open up the text. Enjoy the story - it gets crazy!

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Sorry guys, I told you I would be out again, but I'll be back next week. In the meantime, keep on showing Ms. Fowlkes how amazing and incredible you guys are!!

Today, you're going to need headphones for your computer. You're going to be doing today's entire lesson on Nearpod by clicking here after you read the rest of this blog post. You will be taking some notes today, as well, and Ms. Fowlkes will give you the sheet you'll be taking notes on. If the link asks for a code, it's AJPWI.

These notes will be due tomorrow, so what you don't finish in class must be finished at home tonight for homework. If you were absent today, please get these notes from Ms. Fowlkes and make sure you turn them in the day after you return to school.

Also, don't forget that your Vocabulary Menu project is due one week from today! Some of you guys didn't do too well on this project last grading period and it brought your grades down a lot - don't let that happen again! You should be working on this outside of class time. You should also be working on your assigned IXL skills outside of English class, too: during intervention time 5th period or at home, preferably. These will be taken for a pretty big grade sometime at the end of February (another big grade that a lot of you missed out on last grading period). If you need info about what skills and the grading expectations, check the IXL Skills tab at the top of this blog.

And as always, any questions or concerns should go through Ms. Fowlkes first, and then you can email me: melissa.keith@cmcss.net

Monday, January 13, 2020

Happy Monday! 😊

Yes, I'm back today (but just for today). I can't wait to see how awesome you've been for Ms. Fowlkes while I've been gone and meet the few new faces we have in some of our classes!

Today we're going to continue looking at some information about "Animal Farm" and George Orwell. Looking at the scores from Friday's test, it looks like you guys are on the right track for understanding the background that goes into Orwell's novel.  Today we're going to explore a little more about the novel itself since you'll start reading it later this week.

Before we get into it, though, please click here to do a quick refresher about the different characters in "Animal Farm" and who they represent.

Once you're done with that, come back here and open up the "Animal Farm" Lightbox. I will give you the webquest sheet to write down your answers. This needs to be completed before you come to class tomorrow, so what you don't get done before the bell becomes homework (however, you have more than enough time to get it all done if you're paying attention and focused on the assignment). If you were absent today, please make sure to get a copy of the webquest worksheet and turn it in tomorrow.

I'm loving that I get to be with you today - don't worry, I'll be back soon!