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Tag: Romeo and Juliet

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General Information

Today is the last day of our first semester! I've loved getting to know your students and watching them grow through the first half of the year, and I'm excited about what the next few months will bring. At this point, I have finished grading all assignments that have been turned in that will count toward semester 1 grades. Students can turn missing work today or email it to me tomorrow. If your student believes they have turned in an assignment that has not been entered into the gradebook, they can check the "no name" pile or come talk to me. Thanks for a great first semester!

L. A. 8

Eighth graders are still working through Romeo and Juliet. We are almost done with Act 2, which puts us close to halfway through the text. This week, we did some writing and acting. Students wrote dialogue that they imagined would've happened between Juliet and her Nurse the night after she met Romeo. Then, they acted it out in pairs. We had some very creative sketches! We've also continued to review figurative language in the play and work on our school-wide goal of improving our understanding of complex texts.

Contemporary Lit.

This week, we learned how to write concluding paragraphs for our Literary Analysis Essays. Essays were due Tuesday night. Wednesday, we started our new unit: Rhetorical Analysis. Students will be looking at the different ways authors create persuasive arguments in multi-modal formats. First, we are analyzing commercials, using an Observe and Interpret protocol. Later, we will be analyzing the rhetorical strategies that brands use in social media, politicians use in political advertisements, and orators use in famous speeches throughout history. The unit is very quick and acts mainly as an introduction to rhetorical analysis, as they will continue to work on this skill more in-depth next year.

Writing Lab.

Students finished their Free Verse Poem this week, and we are now working on writing Persuasive Essays. Students are asked to think of an argument that is relevant to the subject of the "Gift of Gratitude" Scrapbook. They can write about why people should be friends with their best friend; why their fathers are the best cooks; or more objective topics, like why family dinners are important for bonding. No matter what topic students choose, they will be using the MELCon format to write a 5-paragraph essay.

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L. A. 8

We continue with Romeo and Juliet by diving into Act 2. This Act includes the famous balcony scene! This week, we've talked about motifs and imagery. Students made "text message" conversations between two of the characters in the play using modern language. We've also continued our practice of tackling complex texts with our Main Idea Paragraphs. We've switched from finding the main idea and then supporting it with details to finding the details and then using those to generate a main idea.

Contemporary Lit.

We've had a lot of work time this week and made great progress into our Macbeth essays. Students have packets that have helped them create thesis statements and main idea claims for their three body paragraphs. These packets are an outline of the entire essay, as well as containing the prompt, rubric, and places where we recorded textual evidence. The essays need to be five paragraphs long. We discussed how to cite textual evidence with context and reasoning (linking it back to the thesis statement). We also learned how to write introductory paragraphs that include an attention-getter, quick summary of the play, and thesis statement. Essays are due on January 15th.

Writing Lab.

After wrapping up our Personal Essays, we are quickly working our way through an Original Free Verse Poem. Free verse poems do not have a rhyme scheme or specified structure, which gives students a lot of freedom to express themselves rather than play with style. Students still need to include figurative language in their poems, but are not constrained to a particular type of poem. These poems should connect to the subject of their "Gift of Gratitude" Scrapbook, but can be about any topic: a specific memory, lessons learned from the loved one, descriptions of the person, etc.

General Information

Our guidance counselor, Mr. Wong, came to each class this Wednesday to discuss class options for the 2019-20 year. Students were given course catalogs and sheets to sign up for classes. They are required to have 8 credits (7 + study hall, if desired). Classes marked with an "R" are required, while the ones marked with an "E" are electives.

Incoming Freshman have a choice of three Language Arts classes, while next year's Juniors have a few more options. These classes range in difficulty and independent working levels. If you or your student has questions regarding which English class they should take next year, please feel free to contact me. Mr. Cole and Ms. Haig can also answer questions about classes they are currently teaching or plan to teach next year.

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L.A. 8

We're starting off the new year with a group art project! Students have divided into two "families" - Capulets and Montagues. They made family crests using symbols to represent their personalities. I am encouraging the families to be competitive, modeling some of the animosity between the two families in Romeo and Juliet. Families will be awarded points based on good behavior and other attributes, and maybe there will be a prize for the winning family!

We are also starting on Act 2 of Romeo and Juliet. This includes the famous Balcony Scene. Along with working on Shakespeare's language, we will also be discussing theme, motifs, symbols, and imagery.

Contemporary Lit.

We finished reading Macbeth before the holiday break, and now we are wrapping up our unit with a Literary Analysis Essay. Students will pick between four themes (Power, Ambition, Appearances & Reality, and Fate & Free Will) and write about how that theme works in the play. The essay will be due on January 15th. Students will have plenty of work time in class and have been provided with an outline packet that will guide them through the process.

Writing Lab.

Students are finishing up their Narrative Essays this week. We will be doing peer edits today, then completing the final drafts. Narrative Essays are not formal essays - they are stories about students' lives that they write into a more formal, polished piece. Narrative Essays include all of the traditional plot points - exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. However, in this case, students must write a true story that happened to them.

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L.A. 8

We are wrapping up Act 1 of Romeo and Juliet. This week, we talked about dreams and irony, and we also did a little bit of acting in the form of tableaux. Students are also practicing finding the main idea in a piece of complex text. I've also started to grade notebook checks on Interactive Notebooks: students must have pages complete and neat in order to earn 100%.

Contemporary Lit.

In Contemporary Lit., we are still making our way through Macbeth, slow and steady. We are finishing up Act 4 with some discussions on prophecies, and we had a little fun making our own spells and comparing Macbeth to Harry Potter. We also talked about socioeconomic class and how it relates to Macbeth. Next week, I plan on finishing reading Macbeth, then wrapping up the unit after the New Year by writing an essay about it.

Writing Lab.

After practicing a few pre-writing strategies, we have started our "Gift of Gratitude" scrapbook with the first writing assignment: a Memory List. Students are writing out 25 memories of the subject of their scrapbook, with ten pictures. Memories need at least 2 full sentences each.

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L.A. 8

We are continuing to read Romeo and Juliet this week, and should be nearly done with Act 1. We've added lots of pages to our Interactive Notebook, including a journal entry and notes on Act 1 Scene 1 (1.1). We will also do a small art project this week - creating masks similar to the ones Romeo and Juliet would have worn on the night we met. During this time, we will discuss various symbols in the play, such as stars, and how we can represent them on our masks. Homework includes Main Idea Paragraph #2. These Main Idea Paragraphs are part of the school wide initiative to help students understand complex texts and increase literacy scores on state testing. With weekly practice, students will become pros at recognizing the main idea of any text. 

Contemporary Literature

We are over halfway through Macbeth. This week, we are finishing up Act 3. We have discussed the roles of ghosts in literature, the role of guilt in our lives, and the motif of deception and truth in the play. As part of the latter motif, we created masks that explored the idea of lies revealing truths about certain characters. We also read about the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare's authorship - did William Shakespeare really write the work attributed to him, or was it Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford? 

Writing Lab.

It's a new session of Writing Lab.! We're off to a great start this trimester with our new cohort. We've begun by discussing the challenges we face that keep us from writing - anything from distractions and difficulties with spelling to feeling insecure and tackling bad memories. We also talked about various strategies we could use to combat these difficulties. Before we begin our "Gift of Gratitude" scrapbook, the project that will be the focus of the entire class, we are practicing various writing skills, such as Significant Details and Show, Don't Tell. 

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L.A. 8

Before the break, we began our Interactive Notebooks. These notebooks involve a lot of time and work - much of class has been taken up with cutting, gluing, writing, and coloring. However, this time will pay off, as all this work will aid in comprehension of Shakespeare and his language. We've discussed how to dissect the old-fashioned language so that students will have strategies in how to approach Shakespeare. This is very important! Many students are overwhelmed when they first see Shakespeare, so starting out with these strategies will make Romeo & Juliet more approachable and less stressful. We've also discussed iambic pentameter; the prologue to Romeo & Juliet; and will begin Act 1. 

Contemporary Literature

We're about halfway through Macbeth, having started Act 3 this week. Before Thanksgiving break, we learned how to write thematic statements and practiced using Disney songs (they can be really useful in language arts because they tell a whole story in less than 5 minutes!). We've also done more acting and played with the language in Macbeth by translating it into Modern English and translating Modern English into Shakespearean English. We've been discussing topics such as power, masculinity, fate, and appearances vs. reality, which the students really seem to enjoy. 

Writing Lab.

It's our last week! All of our hard work is coming together as we gather our writing pieces into our scrapbooks. I have provided students with binders, folders, and art supplies - although they are not required to use any outside crafting supplies, they can if they want to. Students will be graded on effort, creativity, and their productivity in class during the next three days. On Friday, we will celebrate by showcasing the finished products in class. Students can also bring snacks and treats to share if they want. 

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L.A. 8

We started Romeo and Juliet this week! First, we had some discussions about what we want in a romantic partner, what our parents and guardians want in our romantic partners, and what would happen if those things clashed. We also acted out a modern-English translation of the play, and had a lot of fun with it. We will be making interactive notebooks this week that will serve as our Romeo and Juliet workbook during this unit. Students can decorate the cover however they want, but the need to treat the inside of the notebook like a school workbook. 

Contemporary Literature

We're in the middle of Act 2 in Macbeth. We've done some work on thesis statements, as well as had a few debates about some of the themes in the play. We also had an impromptu discussion about the incident in Baraboo that has recently made national and international news. The ability to make claims and back it up with evidence when speaking translates directly into the same skills in writing. 

Writing Lab.

This week, we wrote a Dedication Page for our scrapbooks. This is the last writing assignment. The rest of the trimester will be spent editing and revising our work, then putting together our scrapbooks in a visually pleasing way. 

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General Information

Happy November! A quick note to parents: in general, all of my classes are struggling to show respect for the shared classroom space. Papers and writing implements are left behind, food is frequently found on the ground, and homework assignments and textbooks are also forgotten. A messy classroom can be very distracting to our learning, as well as extra work for me and the school custodians. Please remind your students that they need to be responsible for their garbage and belongings. 

L.A. 8

We are finishing up our Horror Unit with a section in our Close Readers. This will be a poem by Edward Field called, "Frankenstein." Students will use the skills we have learned in the Horror Unit to complete the assignment on their own. We will then begin to transition into our Shakespeare unit with an article about how Shakespeare's work improves brain activity among children. You can't teach Shakespeare without some acting, so we will be trying our hand at a modern-English translation of Romeo and Juliet this week. 

Contemporary Literature

Last week, we completed Act 1. This week, we are beginning Act 2 by drawing a graphic novel version (with comic book-style panels) of Macbeth's soliloquy from Scene 1. We've done some simple acting, but will get into more in-depth acting soon. We are also going to refresh our thesis statement skills, then practice them on an article about how Shakespeare's work improves brain activity among children. 

Writing Lab.

Our time in first trimester Writing Lab. is almost over! With three weeks left, we are finishing up the very last writing assignment - a Thank You Letter to our writing subject. This will be followed by a Dedication Page, then assembling our "Gift of Gratitude" Scrapbook. Students will not be required to buy outside crafting supplies, but are asked to do their best to make this project visually appealing and creative. They will also be given the opportunity to do rewrites on any writing assignments from the trimester that they wish to improve. This can raise their grades.